Is Nagesh transforming a church?

God is always working to bring his people closer to him. Sometimes, in the midst of struggle and despair, we blind ourselves to what he is doing all around us. Frequently, he'll instigate an action that even the “blind” must see. Fresh again, we praise him with renewed vigor, and know clearly he is in charge.

Our ministry has been difficult. Radical Islam, pervasive government corruption, and worst of all, constant conflict within the small town church we've partnered with, have made our road challenging. Another non-profit has started project at our extremely low-income church just months before we arrived back in Ethiopia in 2010. People's thoughts and hearts changed. The idea of our project – empowering and self-sustaining with self-sacrifice and serving – was no longer compelling. A church that had thrived with perhaps $100 a month total in tithing, all of a sudden had tens of thousands of American dollars at their disposal. So, they fought over the money, gossiped, and backbiting.

We tried to teach self-sufficiency and empowerment, but we found ourselves operating an orphanage by ourselves, with paid staff. This spring, we finally decided to close the orphanage. We stopped the funding. Today, they are running the orphanage with the remains of the money we'd already sent to Ethiopia. When the funds are finished, what will happen?

I don't know. But God does, and He may have given us a glimpse of hope that our teachings weren't in vain, while we have been on Sabbatical in the USA.

In June, a man named Negash said he was compelled by the Holy Spirit to feed these orphans for a week. He owns a restaurant. Each day, the boys walked to the restaurant and ate a full meal. The next week, another church member said that he knew he was supposed to also provide food for one week. We are seeing the seeds of transformation as their hearts are being moved to care for these orphans.

Food is almost 60% of the total house expense.

Is this local participation continuing in Ethiopia? We've seen they can do it. More importantly, they have seen they can do it – if they so choose.

Will they so choose? We ask for your prayers that they will care for the orphans, sacrificially serving our most Holy God. We know God calls us to serve Him. Please pray this church will be obedient, and do whatever it is He calls them to do, like Nagesh. God is most definitely in charge.