Happy Mother’s Day from Ethiopia

Mother’s are not good…they are great, amazing, incredible, and every other word that would describe the most precious thing in the world. Here in Ethiopia we have the privilege to work with some of the most courageous mothers in the world. Women like Meselu, who at just 25, was forced to move out on the street with her son. To provide for her son she started working in prostitution. She is now working with us, has a good job, and recently showed me her sons report card…2nd in his class of almost 50 children. I wish we could show you the pride on her face and tears in her eyes when she showed us his report card. This is just one of countless stories on what it means to be a mother here in Ethiopia, their courage is humbling and we are so thankful each one of them.

Here is a quick clip of a few of these women describing what it means to them to be a mother. So from all the women here in Ethiopia to my wife, mom, and friends back home, HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!

Happy Mother’s Day from Ethiopia

If you would like to support our work with mothers like Meselu, please click here. Because of your support we are able to help these women and the next generation of future leaders here in Ethiopia.

-Ian

Today is one of the largest sporting events in the world, the Super Bowl.  Over 100 million people will be watching the Super Bowl today while more than 100,000 descend on New Orleans to watch the game in person.  Also today, the largest sex trafficking incident in the US will be happening.  Every year at Super Bowl time 1,000’s (The 2010 Super Bowl saw an estimated 10,000 sex workers brought into Miami.) of women, and often-young girls, are brought into the town that Super Bowl is held for one reason, to be exploited for sex.

The United Nations estimates that 2.5 million people are trafficked annually. The U.S. State Department estimates an even higher number: about 12.3 million adults and children “in forced labor, bonded labor, and forced prostitution around the world.” It deprives people of their human rights and freedoms, it is a global health risk, and it fuels organized crime. Victims of trafficking are forced or coerced into labor or sexual exploitation. Sex trafficking is one of the most profitable forms of trafficking and involves many kinds of sexual exploitation, such as prostitution, pornography, bride trafficking, and the commercial sexual abuse of children. According to the United Nations, sex trafficking brings in an estimated $32 billion a year worldwide. In the U.S., sex trafficking brings in $9.5 billion annually.

We often think that these issues are only relative to the developing world and in places like Asia, Latin America, and Africa, but it’s alarming that the US has such a significant part in this.  The Department of Justice estimates that more than 250,000 American children are at risk for trafficking into the sex industry annually. The average age of girls who enter into street prostitution is between 12 and 14 years old.

We can hear these statistics, throw up our hands and feel overwhelmed and then just get back to those delicious Buffalo wings (Americans consume 100 million pounds of wings on Super Bowl Sunday), but I want you to use your voice and do something about this.  What if it was your little girl?  What if it was my little girl…MY little girl, there would be no hurdle to big, no circumstance to difficult to prevent me from doing everything I could to rescue my little girl.  God’s response… these are my children, My little girl and I’m calling YOU to do something about it.

“Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.” – Ephesians 5:11

Everyday, we see the realities of this here in Ethiopia.  Here in the capital of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, it’s estimated that over 150,000 women are involved in prostitution.  Some women work almost every night for as little as $.10/client and around 10 clients/night.  It’s not right, and it’s what continues to gives us such a passion to see this change.

Please pray today for the women and children that are being exploited, and then find a place or organization that is involved in stopping human trafficking where you can use your voice.

Today it’s estimated that there are over 160 million orphans in our world.  Here in Ethiopia, its home to about 5 million orphans, and what’s important is not the massive statistics but that each ONE of these children have been created in the image of God with purpose, a purpose that they may never realize unless we take away the faceless statistics and replace it with a name and a face.

In ancient Rome, many unwanted children faced what they called Exposing.  Exposing was done when a child was born malformed, with disability, or simply out of inconvenience.  These children were taken outside the city walls where they were defenseless, exposed to weather, animals, and left for dead.  This cruel practice was finally banned in 374AD, but before it was banned a group of people became known for rescuing and caring for these little ones.  This is how the early Church responded to not only a need but to what God has called us to.

Today, that need and calling is no different.  In the book of Isaiah we are called to “Defend the cause of the fatherless”, and we are invited to join God and stand for these little ones.  This isn’t a box we need to check off as Christians, but an honor and incredible privilege for us to be part of.

Orphan care is often thought of as only adoption, but its really only part of how we can respond.  You can sponsor a child, start an orphan care ministry at your church/community, visit them and come on a missions trip, Adopt or help in foster care, and much more.  There are so many opportunities we have today, to join God in His call to be a Father to the fatherless, to defend them, and we can respond just as the early Church did in Rome.

How will you respond?

For some reason the words “casual pursuit” hit me today. In reading Luke 5, we find Jesus calling His first disciples. The scene is set with Jesus standing by a lake sharing the word of God with people. While there he sees a few boats and some fishermen cleaning up after a day at work. Jesus then goes down to the water and jumps in the boat and asks one of the fishermen to push to boat out a little and then continued to teach people from the boat.

So was Jesus just looking for a different perspective to continue teaching? I’m not sure why the change in teaching places, but in verse 4 we see that when He was done speaking he asked Simon to head out into the deep water and go catch some fish. The story then goes on to tell the multitude of fish that were caught on a day when the fishermen spent day and night trying but caught nothing, until now!

It was after reading this story that the idea of “casual pursuit” hit me. Putting myself in the context of this story, I often find myself trying to hear from God while He is teaching from the shallow waters. As soon as He says, let’s head out into the deep I find myself much less willing. The result I see from this is a casual pursuit of my faith.

I don’t want to live a life in a casual pursuit, but I want to be willing to head into the deep waters. My two sons love to go swimming and while they are more than capable to play in the shallow end, they love it when dad takes them into the deep end. In the same way, our Father in Heaven sees a multitude in the shallow end where they can touch the bottom and live a safe life. Then there are those who are willing to step into the deep end with confidence that God is there with a tremendous blessing. It might be costly, but it’s worth it! Who wants to jump into the deep end with me!!

One of the main purposes for my trip to Ethiopia last month was to refine some of the partnerships that have been put in front of us.  We have been praying that as we move out to Ethiopia that we would be connected with great partners who share the same passion and commitment to serving the poor, orphan, and vulnerable.  God has not only answered those prayers but exceeded them!

A great example at the heart of our partnerships is one shared with Paul and the Philippians.  Paul used the word, koinonia,for his partnership with the Philippians. In English, it’s usually translated as “fellowship.” The Philippians loved Paul and believed in his mission, so through their faithful support they partnered—fellowshipped—with him to rescue others.

We are excited to announce in addition to our partnership with No Ordinary Love Ministries for our Orphans care ministry, we will be partnering with FashionABLE in creating sustainable business for woman in Ethiopia.  FashionABLE works with women who have been exploited due to the effects of poverty.  They are creating opportunity for these women and also creating awesome products.  The main product are beautiful scarf’s and with the purchase of a scarf you are providing jobs, and then the net profits are sent back to holistically rehabilitate more women in Ethiopia.

In Ethiopia, prostitution is often linked with deep levels of generational poverty and financial hopelessness. Lacking meaningful resources and a sense of hope, many women resort to prostitution as a means of supporting themselves and their families. These women are often desperate to leave the sex industry but remain trapped by a lack of opportunity and rehabilitative support.

We will be working with FashionAble in Ethiopia to bring our entrepreneurial, business, and design background to further develop the great work that is already underway.

Sometimes in life you have to take a stand.  There are a number of other examples of people who we revere for their courage in taking a stand, William Wallace, King Leonidas, Dietrich Bonheoffer were a few.  Then we have, Moses and David.

Moses was asking by God to enter the land of his birth, go and face the man he once called brother, and tell him that Pharaoh must let the Israelites go or else God will bring sever judgment upon him.

David, a young man whom while bringing food to his brother, looks at Goliath, and says, “Why is this uncircumcised philistine defying the armies of the living God.”

Another example would be Noah building the Ark.  As a side note, have you ever thought about how we teach our children these stories in Sunday school, but then as we get older they become more mythical as if we have a different god then the one who did these miracles.

You will be faced with taking a stand in life somewhere.  Where, when, and how is in God’s hands, but are you ready & willing to take a stand?

If you know Jesus, the fact that it’s Friday and Sunday is coming should bring you great joy.  If you don’t know Jesus, it’s Friday but Sunday is coming!

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

 “Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.  What is desired in a man is Steadfast Love” Proverbs 19:21-22.

This verse has never been more powerful in my life as I lead my family into an incredible journey of God’s call to Ethiopia.  As some of you know, I just got back from my fourth and final trip to Ethiopia prior to the trip when the whole family moves over.  God gave me a unique opportunity to make this trip with my father-in-law Mike Rider and was really a blessing to share this time together.

In preparation of the trip I was making many plans and scheduling a number of meetings so that we could make every second count.  The meetings ranged from local businessmen, ministry leaders, government officials, and everyone else in between.  The first day we landed I had an overwhelming moment of clarity and peace clashing with the overwhelming reality of bringing my family to Ethiopia.  I was confident that this was the place God has called us to, without a doubt, but at the same time my faith scale felt like it just got thrown into a whole new arena.  Everything that was familiar to me in the context of “home” was now transferred into a new perspective and trusting God looked much different.

Upon landing and fighting off the jet lag from over 20 hours of travel, again God really grabbed me and with back to back meetings lined up for our week I knew that if this week was going to be fruitful I needed to give God control and was reminded that “it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand”.  In looking back over the week in Ethiopia, I’m so thankful and God exceeded all expectations.  I will share more details in the weeks to come, but amazing things were put in motion this past trip and the opportunities God has placed before us are huge.

Please be praying for our family as we take some of the most significant steps of faith we have taken yet.  We are filled with joy as we prepare to move over as a family.  Our hearts are also filled with the beautiful people of Ethiopia and the hope and love that we are excited to share with them.