A Picture's Worth A Thousand Words...

Wrapping it up...

Dear family, friends, and support partners,

What a summer it has been! I am safely back in the United States and have been for a little over 2 weeks. God is at work in amazing ways in Ethiopia and I can truly say that God used this summer to shape my life. Honestly, I'm a little overwhelmed at the thought of trying to describe this summer and the work that God is doing using words, but I am going to try!

As I'm sure you know, this summer I was a part of a team of 20 students who lived in a city named Bahir Dar, Ethiopia for about a month. I wasn't quite sure what to expect until I stepped off of the plane, and when I did there were some things that surprised me. For example, in Ethiopia having a person feed you a meal is culturally known as a sign of affection - so having another person's fingers in my mouth took some getting used to... Another example of a cultural surprise was seeing grown men holding hands walking down the street as a sign of friendship. This was surprising at first, but after the first week I was proudly walking down the street holding my Ethiopian friends' hands. I quickly learned to love the people and the culture of Ethiopia and enjoyed the openness, fellowship, and commitment to relationship that is a part of everyday life.

While we were in Bahir Dar, we partnered with the local Campus Crusade ministry to share the gospel in the city. We spent about several hours each day sharing our faith on the streets and in cafes. This was definitely a growing experience as our team took the step of faith to go and share, leaving the results to God. We worked with Ethiopian high school students who served as our translators while sharing. These kids were filled with incredible boldness and enthusiasm for Christ. I have been so blessed by their friendship and love and can't wait for the day that I see them again. At times, we encountered minor persecution during sharing - being kicked out of cafes, being labeled "Protestant" by angry members of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, and being told we need to leave the city soon by random people on the street. However, through it all our team experienced joy. This joy came simply from our relationship with Christ and the act of sharing His message of hope. I learned that I cannot fail at sharing my faith - I simply need to share the message with a loving spirit, and the Lord will work in the heart.

I have been changed as a result of the people that God placed in my life this summer. The Ethiopian staff are incredible men and women of God. Our team was blessed by their love and inspired by their passion to live for the gospel – no matter what the cost. These people live with no reservations, they desire to serve the Lord and are not distracted from that goal in any way, they want to give their life for the Lord and spreading His love. What an amazing example of faith. I also learned so much from my team. I am filled with joy at the thought of our friendship and truly love each one of them. Their passion inspires me and challenges me to show Christ's love in all that I do.

During our last week in Ethiopia, we were able to help organize and attend the Life4All conference, which is a National Campus Crusade Conference for Ethiopian college students. Being surrounded by these students’ joy and heart for the Lord was truly humbling. It is so good to see God's provision...our team was asked to perform 2 fifteen minute sets for the 3,000 Ethiopian students attending the conference. So, I was blessed to lead our team in learning several songs and a dance routine to "Joyful, Joyful" from Sister Act. The team did a WONDERFUL job and were so gracious to learn a crazy song and dance routine for the conference. They showed such eagerness to perform for the Lord in front of the Ethiopian students and displayed true humility during rehearsals and performance.

This summer I was able to catch a small glimpse of how big God is. I saw this firsthand as I talked to a man named Habtamu. I met Habtamu randomly in a café when I asked to sit down next to Him. We started talking about Ethiopia and our lives, and then the conversation turned spiritual. I learned that Habtamu grew up believing that God was a distant, unloving, and unknowable figure. As I began to share the message of Jesus’ love and sacrifice for us – Habtamu’s eyes began to light up until he interrupted me with the question – “How do I have a personal relationship with Jesus?” The only way I can describe Habtamu’s openness is God.

Over the summer I learned (and am continuing to learn) that God has a heart for all people and that He has a good and perfect plan to bring people into a relationship with Him. But, that plan doesn’t end in Ethiopia…what really excites me, is knowing that the God who is doing such wonderful things in Ethiopia is the same God I am serving in America, the same God I am serving at the University of Arkansas. This summer I was able to experience God’s heart for Ethiopia and for the world, and I'm so grateful to you for your continued prayer, interest in my life, and love that made this trip possible.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

In Him and with love,

Nathan