PraiseThe LORD - The kids will have $300 more per month for food.

This last month we have being praying that God would raise additional funds to increase the food budget at La Grace de Dieu (Grace of God)Orphanage in Kinshasa,DR Congo. God raised $900 for the children. On our recent mission trip, we discovered that the children were not getting fed regularly. We are in the process of hiring a trusted Congolese friend to help cook and feed the children so that they are getting all the food we have sent them.

Ethiopia ACT - Aids Care and Treatment - Video

The video from Ethiopia ACT Project - AIDS Care and Treatment -- www.mtwact.org. Covenant is sending a team of counselors and medical persons to care for the people of Addis Ababa. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouZVT41KcJI

Summer Friends - African Refugees in St. Louis

During this summer, our son Stephen became friends with some African refugees in St. Louis. We learned that they wanted a bicycle. Skip thought about the idea of getting them a bike and realized that it would be financially difficult for our family to buy a bike for them. Skip asked the children to bring a bike that we could fix through Bike Works in St. Louis. Bike Works offers used bike parts at a reduced price. They open their bike shop for people to fix their bikes each week. We prayed and put out an email to the Covenant Seminary community to see if anyone could help. Two families responded and gave us bikes for these refugee children. Praise the Lord for his provision. The photos above are of the bike that was brought to Skip by the young child and what God provided through his people.

Leaving Africa

With heavy hearts, rumbling tummies, and encouraged spirits we prepare to leave Africa. We will have traveled over 18,000 miles in humble service to the poor and orphaned before landing in Saint Louis. We have been encouraged in a mighty way by God's love, faithfulness and commitment to his people. Along the way we have: laughed, cried, stumbled through many languages, eaten bizarre things, contracted food poisoning, slept under mosquito netting, suffered from altitude sickness, shared the gospel, enjoyed the smiles of strangers, worshiped in seven churches, made many new friends, held babies, fed the hungry, played with children, assisted the elderly, attended to the ill, shared resources, visited widows in great distress, wrestled with the sting of poverty, explored future ministry opportunities and have praised and prayed continually to our mighty God. We have been called a blessing but He alone is worthy to be praised! In two countries, under the oppression of rampant corruption and greed, we see the Lord's hand at work, his name being praised and his son exalted. On soil where whatever rests in your own two hands must be sold in order to have food for that day, we have learned more deeply about power of the holy spirit and the meaning of true faith. We now return to a land, also of great poverty....despite having an abundance of personal resources... we are a people that are poor in spirit, faith and belief in an Almighty and Sovereign Lord. The harvest is indeed ripe and the workers are few. We see great need for continued work in both Kinshasa and Addis Ababa, but also in our own hearts and in the cities oh America. Please be in prayer for our re-entry and for our future service to the poor and orphaned. Thanks to each of you that have supported our mission with faithful prayer and personal resources. We have been greatly encouraged by each of you and thank God for your partnership. We look forward to seeing each of you soon! Ciao and Mbote! Skip and Keary

Images from Addis

More coffee

We visited another beneficiary this morning. She had a friend in her home and they were preparing breakfast. Seven of us squeezed into her tiny, but clean, one-room home. We talked for 30 minutes as the coffee brewed for the daily coffee ceremony. They asked if we would take a photo of them. It was not clear though, due to the rising smoke from the burning incense. The two women and their children were beneficiary families. They were receiving help from the project and were praising God for the assistance. They admitted that the little they had was enough to help them survive and they were very grateful his provision. The homeowner had a 7 year old girl. I asked if she would like to see a photo of Madelyn. I shared one of Maddie holding a large hen from the Wylie's farm in Virginia. She grinned from ear to ear. We commented that the daughters might be friends if we lived in Addis! It was a very special time together. Skip prayed for both of the women and we left to see some other families. As we walked down the road children peeked out of their door frames and some from the afternoon clubs found us and walked with us. It is challenging not being able to communicate. We know zero Amharic but enjoy holding hands and smiling! A funeral procession ahead blocked our path and plans quickly changed to visit families at another time. We watched boys playing bottle cap games in the street, vendors selling mounds of fresh mangoes and avacados. For one of the poorest nations in the world we were impressed by the cleanliness of the public spaces and supply of food, as compared to the DRC.

A taste of the culture

We were invited out to enjoy a traditional Ethiopian meal. Our group of seven enjoyed a shared plate of wat, injera, beef and goat tibs, and berbere. There was music and dancing on stage. I hope I can upload a video clip for you to enjoy. A very delicious meal! So glad Skip is feeling better! At the end we enjoyed partaking in the coffee ceremony ...complete with burning frankincense!

Afternoon clubs

Our afternoons in Ethiopia were spent at different locations helping with girls and boys clubs with beneficiary kids. One afternoon Keary was at the Lideta office helping with knitting and Skip went to the Bole office to play games. Our final afternoon was together with a group of ten boys playing American games, sharing stories and enjoying lifesavers!

Medical Clinic

A group of 50 doctors, nurses and medical students from the Medical College of Georgia are visiting the site and are running a clinic for the next 10 days. They anticipate seeing up to 1000 patients total. It was a joy to watch them set up and welcome folks off the street. Here is a photo of the "waiting room."

Good Morning Addis!

We had a good night's rest. Unfortunately Skip awoke feeling terrible. He has a headache and a slight fever. We are at 8,000 feet here in the city so he might be having altitude sickness. I left him in bed and went out on a few home visits with Mike Treadwell this morning. He is part of a larger team that services 400 adults and 750 children (called "beneficiaries") living with HIV. The beneficiary families receive medical care, free ARV medication, food assistance, school fees and other perks. He visits a few folks from the program each day. This morning we were in 3 homes. Each of the homes were found down rocky alleyways hidden between businesses, were simply one room and all were at any day going to be razed. They were constructed of tin on the exterior, had inner cardboard walls covered with newspaper and a dirt floor. The first woman we visited wanted prayer for her new marriage and for her child living with extended relatives. All of them were positive. It was explained to her that the virus can mutate (and become unresponsive to the ARV medication) between 2 positive partners if they did not use protection. She was not worried that it would happen to them. She was very grateful that we had stopped by to evaluate her health. The second home housed a women and her mother (sick in bed with TB). She wanted prayer for their health as well and for the TB culture results to come sooner than the expected 6 weeks. In the 3rd home was a bed stricken man with AIDS. He was no longer able to walk. He had a friend that would get him out of bed and take him out for fresh air (if that exists in squalor). We asked how we could pray for him and he refused. As an orthodox Christian he did not believe that we worship the same God. Our translator got into a deep spiritual conversation with him. In then end he admitted that he believed the Bible, but not some parts, including much of Romans. We had a friendly departure and he thanked us for our time together. My overall reaction was positive. It was a joy to be their homes, be a part of their lives and live out their struggles...if only for a moment. God is with us all, no matter our condition, and it was apparent that they were appreciative of the assistance they were receiving, especially the prayer. In comparison, people in Congo are living in much worse conditions.