We are excited to help spread the word about the need of family sponsorships in the Korah community of Addis, Ethiopia. Pastor Tesfye has a powerful testimony of living himself in the trash dump and being raised up out of the dump and receiving medical treatment because of a sponsor whom he still has never met. He went on to the university and got a degree because of his sponsor. Sponsorship is life changing and life saving for people who have no way to make it on their own. There are thousands of families in the Korah area that are in need of sponsorship just like Tesfye was. That is why he now is Pastor in this community and is giving back by helping his own people rather than using his engineering degree for himself. His heart is gold and we are partnering with him to try to get as many families as we can sponsored in the Korah community. The home visits were very eye opening and there really is no way to explain the poverty that these families live in without you seeing it with your own eyes.
I am so blown away by the compassion of my team! There were many families that gained sponsorship just by our own team members. They truly are changing the world for one, or two, or three.
The team dug in and took notes and got to know the families in order to be able to advocate for them and get them sponsors. A family sponsorship is $50 per month. We are in the beginning stages of getting it all organized. If you would like to change the future of a family in Korah through sponsorship, please email info@ordinaryhero.org for more information. We will have the pictures and profiles put together soon.
Our videographer, Ryan, is capturing some awesome moments from this trip.
One mother brought her baby in, saying the baby wouldn't take milk. We discovered the baby's tongue was barely there. It needed clipping or something. A team member helped her be able to take the baby to the Dr.
We took a break for lunch. Yes, that is our team filling up the ENTIRE restaurant! :-)
We then returned to Korah right about the time there came a downpour. We made our way down the complete mud path to a second church Pastor Tesfye started a few months ago. He wanted to show us. This church is in a community of Korah that does not have a church at all. He has big plans to bring in the widows to help sell in a bakery by the church and milk cows to earn income. It is going to be awesome!
Once we all went through a great deal of mud, getting stuck in the van, and pushed out of the mud in the van by all the leaders, we finally made our way to the small mud wall church. Pastor Tesfye told us why he wanted us there. He simply wanted us to pray for the church. He said we were the first team to come and he didn't want anything except prayer. It was an amazing moment for everyone as we prayed for Pastor Tesfye and his new church and the people in that community, and then all joined together singing "Mighty to Save" that I played from my phone. We are excited to see God move in that community!
It was very humbling to be sloshing through the mud with the sweet people of the community who slosh through it every day. As the van doors opened and you look out into nothing but mud that is ankle deep, you just swallow your pride, your American cleanliness, and step right in it and join in as one with the sweet people who live in circumstances every day that most of us can't imagine. It was all worth the many times the van got stuck, the many puddles of mud that we all stepped in to catch a glimpse of Pastor Tesfye's passion and vision for this community.
We had an amazing day, captured some amazing, life changing moments, and hope to gain many family sponsorships for the unbelievably loving people of Korah. Every young child reminds us of young Pastor Tesfye's. They have every opportunity awaiting them through sponsorship, just as he did.
Change the World For One!
I like my daughter to be in this environment, no only to love on God's children, but to humble her.
ReplyDelete