Before we start this update we want you to know that we are asking God to keep each of you safe, healthy and happy and we pray God’s blessings for you and your families. We miss all of you but especially our family we left behind. There is a large void in our daily communication with them and still looking for ways to e-mail or even talk on the phone. I know God will make a way. It is amazing to see God opening doors and bring people into our lives to help. We know we are in God’s will because He is making this process so much easier for us.

We arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on April 27th and were greeted by a driver who took us to the Norwegian Lutheran Mission compound in Addis to spend a couple of days getting supplies needed for our household.  Arrangements were made by Ketil Fuglestad whom Dan met in Arba Minch just one month ago while on his way to Jinka. Ketil and Dan hit it off immediately. In conversation Ketil found out that Dan is a builder and come to find out the Mekane Yesus Church is in need of a new church and someone to oversea the building of it. The church they are worshiping in now holds 400 people and 600+ additional people sit outside the building each Sunday to worship. Ketil is truly a man of God who has lived in Ethiopia for the past 30 years with his wife Brit. Ketil reminds me of Johnny Appleseed, he and his wife have lived in several areas outside Addis planting hundred and thousands of trees for the people here, from fruit trees to the trees used to make scaffolding that are used to build building here. (OSA would not approve). He has asked Dan to help build this church with them. Dan as agreed to help and the excavating has started. The Arba Minch University has asked to allow their students to use this church as a class project for the different trades. This will be a great outreach and will free Dan up to visit me in Jinka until the project is finished.

We are adjusting to the culture very quickly and picking up the language from just living here. While in Arba Minch we have had no electricity and water most of the time. The water is turned on for 45 minutes at 7 o’clock in the morning and 7 o’clock at night. This gives me time to hand wash our clothes in the morning and take a cold shower at night which is refreshing most nights. Were so happy we don’t have to carry water from down the hill in Gerri cans like 80% of the people here. Everyday I go to the market and get food for the day, no leftovers from the day before. At 5 o’clock in the afternoon you can walk down the hill and get fresh fish from the fishermen and for 2 birr (about 20 cents) the young men will filet the fish for you. Most nights I have cooked dinner on a kerosene burner we eat dinner by candle light, I find it very romantic and this way we can’t see the bugs that are sharing the house with us. Last night after dinner we sat in our house by candle light waiting for the water to come. We were talking and snacking on roasted barley being entertained by a large bug crawling around an old tuna can with our candle in it. I have learned to roast coffee beans on a fire outside, and roast raw peanuts for our snack. Arba Minch has a couple of internet cafés but either they are so crowded you can’t get in or they have no network no electricity or right in the middle of the message the power gets cut off so we try again the following day. The walk in town is good for me, I am walking about 3-6 miles each day and meeting so many nice people and lots and lots of children who yell, you, you, you, take hold of your hand and walk with you.


Last week we took a nine hour bus ride from Arba Minch to Jinka (no animals in the bus on this trip) where we are setting up a compound called Sokia’s House of Rescue. We will be working with Pastor Seid from the Full Gospel Church. Pastor Seid is also a huge blessing to us, he has been looking for a house for us to rent and contacting the elders from the nearby tribes discussing the ongoing practice of throwing away babies/children whom are called Mingi children. These children are thrown into the bushes to be eaten by hyenas, placed on an ant hill to be killed by ants, thrown into the water to drowned etc. because of tradition or culture. For example if a babies top teeth come in before the bottom, a woman gets pregnant without permission, if a mother gives birth to twins one will be killed, bad crops, unwanted baby etc these are all reason to label a child as Mingi. We visited with the church elders from several tribes in the lower Omo Valley, (the Banna, Mursi, Hamer, and Karo) with Pastor Seid. The elders were very excited to hear that there will be a place in Jinka where they can either contact us or bring the babies to us. While we were in Banna, we were told of a 6-7 month old Mingi baby that the mother is hiding so the neighbors don’t find it and kill it, the tribe is cursed until the baby is found and killed. The government has passed a law stating it is against the law to kill the Mingi babies and the good new is one tribe has slowly changed their ways. So we will be going to Addis as soon as possible to get this process of our license started and return and give this mother a place to take her child.

While in Banna we met a young Hamer man who is getting ready to be married. This boy will take part of the jumping of the bull’s ceremony soon. This is a right of passage into manhood for all young Hamer and Banna boys. Fifteen to 30 bulls are lined up side by side, each boy must leap down the line of bulls jumping from back to back. If they fall, they’re whipped and teased by women. If they succeed, they must turn around and complete the task three more times. During the ceremony young female relatives of the boys beg to be whipped; the deeper their scars, the more love they show for their boy. We have attached pictures of Debbie with a Banna boy and a couple pictures of the market. We only got to stay in Jinka a few days to gather the information we needed to finish the proposal and take to Addis for our license. Dan will be living in Arba Minch working with the church and I (Debbie) will live in Jinka getting our house ready to receive the children just as soon as we receive our license. The house in Jinka Pastor Seid found for us has water and electricity in the house and it is more reliable than what we have in Arba Minch. This will be such a huge blessing.

On May 14th we will be in Addis Ababa to submit our proposal and apply for our license for “Sokia’s House of Rescue”. We have only heard positive comments from the government, elders, the local people and missionaries working in Ethiopia. Everyone we have talked to knows about the Mingi children and all agree the children need to be rescued and taken to a safe place to grow up. We are asking you to pray with us for God’s favor and that the proposal we submit in Addis is accepted and a license is granted to us in a timely manner.

We want to thank all of you for your prayers on our behalf. Please continue to pray for God’s will to be done. We love you and miss all of you and if you want to visit, please, please come ahead, we will always have room in our house for you and would welcome the company.

God bless,
Dan and Debbie
 

Gary Gentry