Answered Prayers and Miracles
Music: "Let There Be Peace On Earth"

As we prepared for this mission, we were told that we would be sowing seed and watering and to not expect to see results. The work there is new, so our mission was to help open doors for the missionaries to do follow up work.

God had other things in mind !

Our many prayer partners around the world paved the way for exciting things to happen !!

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I think the first miracle was in the amazing healing of my hip that I broke just ten weeks earlier.
I had no problem carrying out my responsiblities.... walking on VERY UNEVEN grounds and climbing many flights of stairs.
On the trip back home, I was helping another lady with HER baggage.....I liked that change !
God got much testimony mileage from that broken hip ...!!

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A very amazing thing happened on our way to the second camp.
As we wound our way through the rutted street, past the horror of the refugee camp to the church , our van bottomed out in a very deep gulley. There were several young men hanging around and two of them gave a push to dislodge us.
Walt, our missionary and driver, gave them a tip but they were not happy with the amount.
They argued and argued and then followed us to the church.
About a half dozen angry young men gathered at the door to express their disatisfaction.

Needless to say, we were a bit concerned about how this was going to effect the camp we were beginning. Later I learned that one of the Ethiopian men of the church had explained to the young men what we were doing and asked them to please not interfere. He invited them to join us.

The ring leader and a couple of the others did come in !
Our camp was four days and the angry, young man came each day and enthusiasticly joined in with the activities.
The day following the camp, he came back to the church and gave his life to Christ !!!

(Two others came back that day and made a commitment also. I do not know which young people they were, but I have a feeling that they were this young man's friends.....wow !)

I call this a miracle !

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At the close of our first camp, one of the young men kept trying to get the leaders' attention.
We were scurrying around signing student's Bibles. Thinking that was what he wanted, we each were signaling back to him across the room that we would be right with him. When Dee finally got over to him to see what he wanted he said, "I WANT TO BECOME A CHRISTIAN !"
She beckoned Asrat and he took the young man (in his twenties) into the other room and led him to Christ !

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In the second camp, a very fearful looking young girl, Abiot, was in my group.
She wore a scarf about her head seemed very uncomfortable and shy.
She had very little understanding of English, so I relied on one of our Ethiopian team members to sit in and translate. I was disappointed when she did not show up the following day. She lived a little farther away from the church than the others and I was afraid she might not come back.

I was so happy to see her the third day. Following our small group, she continued to talk with Mesfin. He told me later she had made an appointment to talk with him the next day.
She showed up early the next day, Mesfin spent some time with her and she accepted Christ !

The entire countenance of this young lady changed.
She had a smile on her face and came back the next day laughing and having a great time with the group.
As we said goodby, she kept coming back to hug me and repeating over and over,
"PLEASE DO NOT EVER FORGET ME ".

Oh my......how could I ever forget Abiot ?

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One other personal experience means so much to me.
(A bit long, but hang in there with me)

During my spiritual preparation time before I left home, I kept feeling there was someone (a lady) at the hotel with whom I should have some personal contact.

When I saw the lady who waited on us at breakfast the first morning after we arrived, I felt that she was the one. I looked for her each time I went to the restaurant, but as the last day arrived I still had had no opportunity to talk to her.
I was so glad to see she was working that last morning we were at the hotel.
As it "happened", my roommate went back to our room early and no one else was in the restaurant.

I found that her name was Mehret and we talked a moment.
She asked me if I would mail a letter for her and she said she would like my address.
I (for the first time ever) had typewritten my testimony, with salvation scriptures, before I left home. I told her I would go to the room and get my address. I now knew why I had been prompted to type this out. I added a personal note to the typed page and included my address.

As we left that day, our church Minister of Missions said he had prayed with a lady (Mehret) in the restaurant and also an evangelist from the Netherlands had prayed with her !!

I was SO EXCITED !
I knew then that I had HEARD right and I was supposed to share my testimony with her.
God is doing something in her life and I will be anxious to find out the end
.......or the beginning of this story......another WOW !

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The ladies who did the health seminars, did one in the Popolary Library a few days after we were there. At the close, a young man slipped Asrat a note saying he wanted to know about becoming a Christian and gave his phone number.
Since returning home, I have heard that he did speak with Asrat and has accepted Christ !
Many times, for the Ethiopians, it is necessary to be very discreet in talking to a Christian.

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When our health team spoke at a large church meeting the second week, seven men accepted Christ and five have responded since we returned home.
They now have a nucleus who want to hold a Bible Study Class !
***Update: November 15, 2000...the Bible Study Class now has become a 50 member church...and we have only been gone three weeks!

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Even our business men speaking to other business men and three members of Parliment, were enthusiastically accepted. One man asked for a Bible and on another occasion, a question that was asked opened the door for a personal testimony. Many businessmen asked for our missionaries' business card, so he has an opportunity for building relationships.

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In the ESL Camps, we know that there are several young people whose hearts are open and who are very close to making a commitment. The reassuring part is that we have fine Christian Ethiopians who will be mentoring the new converts and who will continue to keep in touch with the other young people also.

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The bottom line is : When I want a few days of R&R, time at the lake or a trip to Branson is great.
But for a totally fullfilling, exciting, memorable experience,
nothing beats tilling new ground with the Lord !

I feel SO BLESSED and SO HUMBLED to have been called to go to Ethiopia.

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What can YOU do?

Pray:
* For the missionaries and the local Christians who are continuing the work in Ethiopia.
* For someone to be willing to go to Addis and continue English classes. Walt and Kelli are scheduled to return to the states in seven months and there is no one to carry on in their place.

Give:
* Just one example is that we did not have enough English Bibles to distribute to the young people at the second camp.

Go:
* Listen to your heart and respond if God is calling you to go as a mission volunteer.

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