Ameseginalehu
We want to say አመሰግናለሁ to each of you for praying for our trip to Addis Ababa last weekend! That’s Amharic for thank you, also one of the hardest words in Amharic to say. We never did get it quite right. Although we didn’t come back with a handle on the language, the Lord did answer our prayers for fruitful conversations, new relationships, amazing worship, and some possible direction for the future! There was also some great Ethiopian food, coffee, and culture we got to experience too.
We spent most of our short few days in Addis visiting Trinity Fellowship, which is both a young church plant and training college for pastors. Brian is a Kenyan who just finished the pastor’s college and is now in a residency program, helping to establish a Somali church in Addis. Recently, he and the pastor of Trinity have been talking about Brian returning to Kenya after residency to plant a church in Nairobi. When they understood that we had traveled all the way from Kenya without any knowledge of this, and that we were eager to help plant a gospel-grounded-oriented church in Nairobi, there was some excitement about what the Lord may be bringing together!
Much of the afternoon after church on Sunday, Lilli and I got to spend with this Kenyan couple, getting to know them and sharing our hearts for the future. Already, there is a growing kinship and unity that we feel with this wonderful family (they have two young children). It’s still very early and we wouldn’t look to plant the church until sometime in 2024. Much needs to happen to confirm this calling, but we wanted to inform you about what happened in Addis and invite you to continue to pray with us about this possibility that has us so excited!
In the meantime, we joyfully continue our ministry at Rift Valley Academy and Moffat Bible College. The term ended very well, with all of our students making it back to their families throughout Africa and across the world. In just a few days we begin welcoming our family to Kenya for Christmas with the arrival of Hannah and Henrik, Lord willing – followed by Josh from Sweden and finally Tiana on the 17th. We are so excited as it’s been five years since we’ve all been together to celebrate Christmas!
Thankfully Pray
- Praise God for an amazing trip to Addis Ababa and for giving us some possible direction for the future
- Thankful to end the term well and no complications for kids to return to their families
- Thank God for the continued rain and increased food supply in our area
- Lilli has had chronic foot pain for the last five years – pray she would have some relief
- Please pray for smooth travel to Kenya for our family and that we would enjoy one another, experience peace and rest, and joyfully worship our Savior together!
- Pray for this possible Nairobi church plant, for the Lord to continue to confirm this to us and the Kenyan couple, for the building of a team, for unity of relationship and purpose, and the thousands of other details that a church plant would involve.
Snapshots
