Our last days in Ethiopia...

In some ways it feels like we just arrived, but at times it feels longer than a month and a half. We miss our family and friends and consequently time feels like it is going by very slowly. On the other hand, we have built great relationships and we are sad to go back home. Nonetheless, we have enjoyed the time we've been here, we have been blessed to have met and served the people here in our various ministries and we have also learned a lot in the process.
 
This week is our last VBS, in fact our last day is today. Even though it is our last VBS and we (gina and the other girls in the team) are kind of running low on energy we have been blessed through this ministry. We have been able to train some of the members of IEC (International Evangelical Church) who volunteered to help out with VBS, and we have been able to not only share the Gospel with the kids but also disciple them throughout the week.
 
Additionally, we (gina and girls on the team) have been able to spend more time with the girls from Deborah house (these are the girls that used to live on the street). We shared the gospel with them through Gospel bracelets, and they understood it clearly and that same day using their bracelets, one of the girls shared the Gospel with one of the guards that works at their house. It is evident that these girls love Christ and are grateful for what God has done in their lives. Their testimony is very encouraging and refreshing, and their joy is contagious. It has been a blessing to get to know these girls and to minister to them. [Above is a picture of some of the girls wearing the bracelets. There were about 30 girls total.]

Lastly, we (Mike and Gina) want to thank everyone who has been praying for us from the beginning and also those who have helped us financially to get here to Ethiopia and do what God brought us here to do. We thank God for each of you and pray that He may continue to bless you and that you may be encouraged and blessed knowing that God has done great things here in the Ethiopia through us and in us over the last six weeks. We look forward to sharing with you more details about our adventures!

Blessings!

Gina and Mike

A Good Way to Meet the Locals

Rainy season has arrived. Every day when I leave for class, I ask myself, "Is it going to rain in the next 30 minutes." I'm usually right, but today was the second time that I was dead wrong. While walking to class today (30 min), I rounded the last corner (Sar Bet = Grass House) when it began to rain. I thought to myself, "Well, good thing I brought my umbrella." The wind had been gusting swiftly up until this point, and just then the heavens opened up and waters, reminiscent of the days of Noah's Ark, showered down upon me, which would have been fine if there weren't hurricane force winds and hail.

Just then I spotted two shepherds (yes there are real shepherds walking the streets of Addis Ababa), with their goats, running towards a pretty tall fence on top of a hill. "Why not," I thought to myself. So, I followed them and stood next to the fence sporting, by then, a broken umbrella, wearing khakis and a button down shirt, and carrying a backpack with a laptop computer. Next to me were two shepherds and about four goats. Twenty-first century meets fourth century B.C.

I couldn't help but wonder what they were thinking. I must have looked unusually odd and out of place.

There's a humorous story to brighten your day. I'm wet, but I'm laughing out loud (lol) sitting here grading papers.

Moral of the story--follow the shepherds, there will always be meat, greens, and a source of water :) hehe

[Attached is a picture of the aftermath.]

The Bus Tour Bonus

I almost forgot to mention--Saturday we had the opportunity to tour the
city on an Englishesk Double Decker Bus. As you can imagine from seeing
the picture that I included, we stuck out like a soar thumb... in a hand
model convention. I must say we had mixed reviews over the course of the 2 1/2 hour trip. Some pointed, some snapped pictures of us (I thought I was the tourist!), while others yelled various words and phrases in English (everything from you... you! to four letter expletives... I'm sure glad they're teaching them English! hehe). Others just pointed... some used the pointer finger and others just kept waving their middle finger at us. We just smiled and waved back... with our whole hand of course. It was pretty funny at times. The bus ride gave us an incredible opportunity to see the city from above. It's just not smart to whip out a digital camera in the market... unless you're selling it.... and with a price of your pride.One quick funny story - Gina heard her name being yelled out, which in the US wouldn't be so weird, but in Ethiopia... she's probably the only Gina within miles. So, she kept looking and to her surprise, she saw some of her Ethiopian VBS kids running after the bus. That happened several times. I saw one of my students as well, but he didn't run after the bus. He just waved... using his whole hand :) hehe.

The Final Days of Class

Friday marks the last day of my class A Survey of Bible Doctrine. [Attached is a picture of the class. There were two absent.] The class has went well. Some of them struggled with eternal security, but looking at Heb 10, 1 John 5:9-13, and passages from John's gospel, definitely helped solidify this doctrine in their minds. They had many questions about the warning passages in Hebrews, the branches and the Vine in John 15, Phil 2:13, Matt 7:15-23, Matt 24:1-14, etc., but I went passage by passage and did my best to explain these passages. We also talked about what eternal life means (never ending). As Dr. Howard Hendricks always says, if eternal life isn't eternal, we need to call it something else. Another important issue was the verb "save/deliver/rescue" (/swzw/) and the noun "salvation, deliverance" (/swteria/). It normally means rescued from enemies (cf. Ps 7:9-11), delivered from imminent death (cf. Matt 8:25; Acts 27:20; etc.), delivered from disease [to health] (cf. Mark 3:1-5), and delivered from sins (cf. Mt 1:21; Lk 7:48-50). Hence, when we see "saved" in the Bible we need to ask two questions: 1) Saved from what?; and 2) Saved to what? After it was all said and done, many of them changed their minds or already believed in the security of the believer.

This is the second day of Gina's third VBS. The numbers are a little lower than expected, but it is going well. The unexpectedly lower numbers have allowed her to use some of the extra gospel bracelets, which were made by many of you, at the Deborah House (a house for former street girls).

It's amazing how fast this six weeks has flown. We only have eight full days left!

Hearing the story for the first time.

Our VBS at Beza ended Friday July 4th. It was a joyous and a sad day at the same time. We were happy to have been able to minister to these kids, to share the Gospel with them but very sad to say goodbye. All the kids that attended VBS are very poor and many wore the same clothes all week, also more than 50% of them are HIV positive. We were so thankful to our Lord Jesus Christ for the opportunity he gave our team to minister to these kids. It was also a learning experience for us. By the end of the first day, the kids knew all of our names and by the end of our third day even though they didn't know a word in English they knew how to say "thank you" and "I love you."  Those are the words we heard everyday. All the kids treasured all the crafts we made with them that week. Even though many of them consisted of just coloring pages they were so grateful and happy to hold a crayon in their hands and color. But what amazed me (Gina) the most was their reaction to the Bible stories. All but maybe five had never heard about the miracles of Jesus; they were in awe when we told them about Jesus' miracles, His love, His grace and about His sacrifice on the cross for us. They were so attentive and took everything that we taught them into their hearts and were so eager daily to learn more and more. All the kids came from an Orthodox background and had many challenging questions about God. Many asked questions such as: "How is Jesus God and Holy Spirit?" and "If God knew that Adam and Even were going to eat of the fruit of the tree, then why did he put it there?" and "If God wanted to save us all why didn't he just do it?" (Needless to say Dr. Horrell, many of us were thankful for your notes) These are the questions we got asked by this group of kids. And may I add, that general age group was 8-12. It was a challenging week for us as you can see, but it was a blessing.
 
The last day of VBS we shared the story of the Gospel using the bracelets that were very kindly made by Terry and Jeanie Abla and others from Chase Oaks and Michael's mom. The children were so grateful for them, and what was the most memorable moment was to hear them retell the story of the Gospel through the bracelets. We give all honor and glory to God and thank Him for allowing us to minister to these kids.

Please pray for our third and last VBS this week, for we are expecting over 150 kids.

Better than Weight Watchers!

After four busy weeks in the country, our bodies are still acclimating to our dramatically varying daily schedules, the Mt. Everest like altitude, the ever-increasing smog, the food, and the water. On top of that, our group leader is quite a sports fanatic. Thus, we miss several meals per week for sporting events. With all of that said, I may just set a record for the most weight lost in a six week period (18lbs in 4 weeks), in Ethiopia, while recovering from injera poisoning (the national food... which has made everyone sick countless times [including Gina last night]... and which we will be partaking of tonight). Don't misunderstand this post, I'm laughing out loud (lol) while I post this. I'm elated over the unexpected weight loss and I count all of these experiences with joy... usually after the event, but joyous nonetheless. [The picture is our first in-country injera experience. Oh how green we were... or at least would become later that night... hehe.]

BTW - Happy Fourth of July!

The Children

Yesterday we had the opportunity to visit Selam Children's Village. It's an orphanage, but not just your average-run-of-the-mill children's home. It has a very unique twist. Several decades ago, a Christian couple, along with their daughter, had an innovative idea to create a self-sufficient children's village. They teach the children trades so that they can move from dependence to independence upon graduation. It is an incredible idea. They have a fully functioning farm, auto-mechanic shop, metal working area, bakery, green house, restaurant, and most importantly a technical school, where the kids learn to be self-sufficient. [PICTURE #1 - One of our group members, Julie (middle), and two girls from the village. Julie was adopted from this village, so it was a special time for the family.] WARNING!! [don't read the following line while eating--> One of the most amazing examples of innovative thinking is the fact that they take the manure from the dairy cows, use the solid for soil (to sell and to farm with) and the gas for cooking (Was that vague enough? hehe). Everything tastes a little peculiar, but they definitely save on money (just kidding... on the taste). [PICTURE #2 - One of the cows trying to lick Gina.]

Gina started another VBS Monday. This one has been more challenging than the first due to the fact that the kids only speak Amharic. They are almost all from the Orthodox church (and HIV +). So, many are coming to faith during the Bible story time. Pray that the translators will be clear and help with crowd control. [PICTURE #3 - The first night of the VBS.] A picture of the kids with the gospel bracelets is forthcoming.

My class is going well. The presentations last night were great. I was very encouraged. We start Soteriology (the doctrine of Salvation) tonight. These next two days are crucial for their future ministry.

BTW - We had power for 4 or 5 days straight (and water)!! It's off today, but we're learning to work around it.

A Relaxing Weekend

Off to the countryside!

Friday June 27th, we drove about an hour outside Addis Ababa and got a breath of fresh air (much needed) and got to see a little bit of what life is like outside the capital city. When we arrived at Babogaya we walked about a mile to a humongous fig tree. According to somebody (I'm not sure who told us this information) by this tree witch doctors gather around to sacrifice a cow and look at the intestines of the cow to "look" into the future. Afterwards, they have a small ceremony and eat the cow. I'm sure there are more details of this ceremony, but I don't remember them all. It is also a religious meeting place where they believe the community can meet with the spirits--they are very syncretistic. The tree is big enough for hundreds to gather under it.

On the way to the tree, we met cute, kind kids that walked with us the whole way. Even though they didn't speak English, they befriend us and walked with us. Some of the girls held my hand when we hiked up the cinder cone. They wanted to help me climb it. Needless to say, it was a work out but rewarding once we got to the top...at 4,000 feet everything you do is a work out, but I must say it was better than trying to climb a mountain in Addis Ababa at 8,000 feet. At the top of the cinder cone we were able to see the surrounding mountains and the city of Babogaya. It was beautiful! One of the pictures we included shows the crater lake that we got to relax around.

On another note, tomorrow we start our second VBS where we're expecting about 75+ kids who have been infected with HIV. We're all looking forward to ministering to these kids in anyway we can. Even though we're going to need a translator since they only speak Amharic, we are looking forward to see what God is going to do this week. Pray that our translators may be able to convey the message of the Gospel clearly and that language may not be a barrier in any area of our ministry with these kids. That's all for now...thank you all for your prayers and know that God is at work doing great things through us and in us.

Blessings,

Gina and Mike :)
--
Attached are four pictures: 1) A couple local kids that befriended us, helping Gina up the cinder cone; 2) The ginourmous tree we told you about; 3) Us in the ginormous tree; and 4) The crater lake we visited.

Eye Opener

Yesterday some of the girls and I (Gina) went to Mother Theresa's Orphanage and it was a sensory overload experience, seeing it on TV is different than being there. When we first walked in, all the kids that were playing came running to us and all they wanted  from us was a little attention, a hug, someone to play with them. The man that gave us the tour told us that they have over 100 kids and about 50 of them have some type of physical or mental disability. While there, we also got to see another compound where they have men and women that are currently under treatment for TB, Malaria, and other diseases. All the workers do their best to take care of the kids and the adults that are there. Though they are short of staff and don't necessarily have enough money to hire more people, it was encouraging to see how patient and loving they are towards the kids. What really shocked me while we were there was the smell in the compound where the adults who need medical treatment are treated. Also, when we went to see the infants we saw many that had skin diseases, had burns, were blind, or mentally disabled. I did everything I could not to cry when we saw them in their cribs with flies all over them. Because they can only pay so many employees, all of them are busy taking care of necessary tasks around the orphanage such as cleaning, cooking, etc. Seeing their suffering and smelling it, made me realize not only how blessed we are, but it also reminded me of heaven and how one day there will be no more suffering or pain of any kind. This was definitely an eye opener experience, but it was also very encouraging.
 
Women at Risk- This ministry is amazing! Today we went to help some of the women make cards. This is one of the many job skills that they are being taught to do for work instead of prostitution. We have been told that about 150,000 women are prostitutes in Addis Ababa...yeah, huge number. So what this ministry does is help women who want to get out of prostitution start a new life. They do a lot of group counseling, share the Gospel throughout the program, and help them find other jobs. None of the counselors working with these women have taken counseling classes, but they are the ones willing to help these women. Fortunately they have had professional counselors come and train them from all over the world. In the seven years of this program out of 250 only 10 of these women went back to prostitution, so as you can see it is a very successful program. Attached is a picture of us with some of the women.

Water & Electricity

Over the last 2 1/2 weeks, I have become very thankful for water (dirty and clean) and electricity... and of course candles and flashlights when the electricity is off. We were without water for several days, which would have been fine except for the fact that we discovered it after I (Michael) had just played full court basketball, which let me tell you... quite an experience at 8,000 ft. when you're out of shape. My lungs were not happy! I guess God wanted to teach me some humility :) I have included a picture of our first lack-of-electricity experience--cleaning the kitchen in the dark.

Class has been going well. The students seem to be getting a lot out of the discussions and the notes. Some of the guys have read the books multiple times already. They are hungry. We're going over the doctrine of the Holy Spirit & the world of angels today and tomorrow. Next week I'll be teaching the doctrine of salvation, which I believe is the most important area that we will cover. Pray that I teach clearly. Sunday I am leading a discussion, at the church that we have been helping out, on David and courage. We've been doing character studies (Jonathan & Friendship, Barnabas & encouragement, Joseph & faithfulness so far).

Gina went to one of Mother Teresa's homes yesterday. It was a sobering experience. She'll write more about that and about her time with Women At Risk today.

I'll update the blog again tomorrow before we leave the city for a couple days.

The Ethiopian Experience

We have officially been in the country for 10 days now. Ministries are
taking off and we are having a great time. The electricity and water
have been going off every other day. That has taken some getting used
to, but we're just going with the flow.

We normally leave the house at 8:30a and don't get back until almost
7:30 at night. Gina's first VBS ends today, but she has started working
with teenage girls that used to be homeless. She loves it.

Michael's class is going well. There are 16 enrolled. Some of them have
come as far as 500 km to take this class during the summer. It is a
challenge teaching theology. He finds teaching through the New Testament
much easier, but the guys seem to be enjoying it (and it's a good review
for him). A survey of bible doctrine will probably have more impact on
these guys than just one book of the New Testament. He has also been
meeting with some of the guys before class. He has heard some incredible
stories of men that are pastoring and have been persecuted by
Muslims/orthodox. Others have been shunned by their families for
converting to Christianity. It is amazing to see their faith.

Attached are three pictures. Two are of Michael's class and one is of
Gina and the girls that she has been working with.

June 17th

Yesterday was Michael's first day of class and Gina's first day of her
first VBS. She has a small group, but she absolutely loves the kids and
the small group gives her more one-on-one time. She has been amazed at
how well behaved the kids are. It's amazing how much deeper you can go
when the kids behave and want to learn. Michael's class went great last
night. The group has a thirst and hunger for the word of God and they
are all active in ministry. They asked great questions! The amount of
discussion was surprising. They had some tough questions. There are
about 16 in the class and we will include some pictures soon. Attached
are two pictures: 1) Gina playing a name game with a group of kids to
start out the VBS; and 2) Michael standing in front of the IEC
(International Evangelical Church) and ETC (Evangelical Theological
College) complex, where we both teach on Sunday and Michael teaches his
class M-F from 5p-7p (8a-10a central time).

Almost there...

We had a delay in D.C., to be more specific, a 12 hour delay. Once we made it to Washington, we had to wait about an hour for our luggage. Then we tried to look for the Ethiopian Airline's ticket counter. Went up an elevator and down another elevator walked around the airport to find out the ticket counter was closed. So here we are walking around the airport with 8 pieces of luggage and four carry ons. Given our options, spend the night at the airport or get a hotel, we started our search for a hotel. We called Holiday Inn and were very happy to get a room, but as soon as we got there they told us they were booked. So back to square one. Fortunately, the manager at Holiday Inn called Hampton Inn and got us a room. By the time we finally got our room, we were hungry and tired, so we decided to eat a bag of popcorn and go to bed. After all these obstacles, I am happy to tell you all that we fly out tonight from Washington DC and get to Ethiopia at 7pm their time on Tuesday, about 10am US time, which is the same day as previously scheduled just 12 hours later :) As you can tell our adventure has begun. We do thank God for taking care of us and providing us with a United gate agent that was willing to work with us and gave us the best option possible. We also got all our luggage :) (so far... lol)

That's all for now! We're excited to get there...we'll keep you all updated as much as we can.


Thanks for all your prayers,

Blessings!


Gina and Mike

PS: Gina is okay right now on beauty sleep.

And we're off...

June 8th is almost here! I can't believe how fast these last couple months have flown.

Before we leave for Ethiopia, we want you to know how much we appreciate your prayers and support for this trip. Your prayers and support will impact pastors and churches through the Evangelical Theological College, people from around the world at the International Evangelical Church, children at several churches through VBS (one group of AIDS victims), attention-deprived kids at the orphanages, at-risk teens at the Deborah house, and whoever else God sends our way. Your prayers and support will have an eternal impact.

BTW (by the way) - We still don't know how slow the internet will be and whether it will be easily accessible, but we will do our best to update the blog as soon and as often as possible so that you can see what's happening.

Until Ethiopia ... In Christ — Michael & Gina

Welcome!

We will be periodically updating this blog over the summer with pictures and information about what is happening. Feel free to leave comments and send us an email. (mdmakidon@verizon.net)

Getting ready ...

8 weeks and 1 day until Ethiopia!! We are excited. Gina has been planning VBS for two churches and I have been getting ready to teach Romans. Our group is also planning a sermon series and 2 different Adult Bible Fellowships. We will be taking over these responsibilities for several months. Attached are several photographs of the college and the churches. Gina will have some incredible opportunities to evangelize and disciple hundreds of kids. I will have the opportunity to train Ethiopian pastors who will be planting churches and pastoring in the near future (if not already).

International Evangelical Church – Where our group will be teaching/preaching and the ladies will be running a VBS with 200-400 kids. This is a great outreach opportunity.

Evangelical Theological College – This is the college where I will be teaching Romans.

BEZA Church – another one of the VBS sites

Mission Ethiopia 2008

(This is the prayer letter that we sent out.)
Dear Family and Friends,
As many of you know, Gina and I are traveling half way around the world this summer to Ethiopia to serve with SIM (Serving in Mission). We promised to send you more information and so let us tell you a little about our Ethiopian brothers and sisters and a little about our needs and how you can be involved.

Ethiopia has a population of 75 million people and 10% consider themselves Evangelicals. The church has many who are willing to plant and pastor new churches. Yet, they desperately need clear biblical training to help the church grow and survive on the tumultuous African continent. An African pastor I once knew likened the African church to a starving boy on the roadside. If someone stopped and offered him food, would he scrutinize it? No, he would devour every morsel! This is one of the greatest obstacles to growth amongst the African church. They desperately need and desire clear biblical training.

Shortly after we finish our regular teaching duties in June, Gina and I will depart to Ethiopia for 6 weeks. Please be praying for the following ministries that we will be involved in:

• Michael will be teaching pastors the book of Romans at the Evangelical Theological College.
  
• Gina will be teaching children and young women at two different churches. They are planning on having 200-400 children in one VBS alone.
• Both of us will be involved in discipleship and teaching at the International Evangelical Church.Our group will take over the preaching and adult bible fellowship ministries at this 1400+ person church for the summer due to the fact that they are without a pastor.
  

We are excited about what God is going to do this summer.We hope that you will support us with your prayers and if possible your financial support. If you are not able to give, we understand and covet your prayers. If you are able to support us financially to help us cover the $7,600 cost of this mission trip, please make a check out to SIM International and send it to:

SIM USA
PO Box 7900
Charlotte, NC 28241.

Please put #030224/Makidon on the memo line. You can also visit www.simusa.org (https://apps.easydraft.com/Payment/SIM/) to make a donation online. All contributions are tax deductible.

We can’t wait to share with you the great things that God is doing half way around the world amongst our Ethiopian brothers and sisters in Christ. Our prayer is that the church will be strengthened and consequently many more will believe Jesus’ words, “He who believes in Me, has eternal life” (John 6:47).

In Christ,