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Jesus said, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.” Mathew 19:14

These beautiful words of Jesus are experienced by Food for the Hungry volunteers as they step off the plane and onto the hard tarmac in Sucre, Bolivia. As they look up to the upper level of the airport, they can see the eyes and sweet faces of hundreds of sponsored children who can’t wait to see them, hug them, and get to know them! It can be an overwhelming and emotional experience for volunteers - but it’s also the reason they’ve come. Just ask Nathan Deterding.

 “A major part of my going to Bolivia was to meet our sponsored child. It was central to my reason to go,” Nathan said. “I really wanted to meet him and make that connection.” But, Nathan had no assurance that he would get to meet Efraim in March of 2016. He knew that Food for the Hungry was going to try to set up his meeting Efraim but that they couldn’t guarantee it. The days and months leading up to his trip left him feeling down and a little skeptical.

The night before flying out, he rolled his ankle and sprained it badly. With just 10 hours before he was supposed to leave, Nathan looked at his new set of crutches, and asked himself,

“Is this God telling me not to go?”

“I was upset that I probably wouldn’t see my sponsored child,” he said. “I could barely walk, and I wasn’t feeling connected to the group. They had been meeting for months but I was living in Colorado at the time and didn’t even know who was on the team.”

It wasn’t until 2 a.m. that Nathan decided that he was going on the trip. “Even if it meant that I just stayed in my hotel room and prayed for the team,” he said, “it would be worth it.”

And he was right! It would be worth it. God would affirm Nathan’s decision in a way he never could have expected.

“When we got to the airport, it really hit me.” Nathan explained, “We had landed and exited on the tarmac and looked up and saw all these kids on the upper level looking down, waving at us and they just couldn’t wait to get close to us. It was at that minute that it became real. I realized I wasn’t just here for my one sponsored child, we were here to see and support all of those kids.”

Within a few minutes of picking up their luggage something phenomenal happened.

“This woman, who literally come up to about my belly button, kept pointing at me saying ‘Nethen, Nethan.’ I didn’t even realize that she was saying my name,” he recounted. “I finally made the connection and in broken Spanish said, ‘Yes, my name is Nathan.’  She turned around, grabbed a kid out of the many children there, and said ‘This is Efraim!’  I thought, that’s cool. Thanks for introducing us!”

Nathan didn’t even realize that this was his sponsored child for a few seconds. First, the situation was not at all how he was told he would be introduced to his sponsored child (if it happened at all), and second he didn’t realize until then that he had been mispronouncing “Efraim” for months.  

“Then I really looked at that little boy and realized who it was! I had been pronouncing his name wrong but could clearly recognize his face! It took me a moment to catch my breath and realize, ‘This is my Ephraim!’” Nathan exclaimed. “It was unbelievable that God met me right there at the airport,” Nathan said, “just minutes after getting off the plane!”

The next day Nathan had another chance to see Efraim, as well as to meet his family in the traditional setting. He gave Efraim’s mother a basket of food, and then was able to take Efraim to play soccer. “The whole experience was just amazing,” he said. “At the end of our time together, he was clinging to me and made me promise that I would come back and see him again. My trip to Bolivia this year is to fulfill that promise to him”

Nathan’s perspective is totally different after meeting Efraim, talking to him, seeing where he lives, and spending time with him.

“For me, it hard now to even imagine that I considered not going. I can’t imagine what it would have been like to miss out on that experience. What would have happened if I hadn’t gotten on that airplane?” Nathan asks aloud.

Luckily, he will never know. He listened to God’s calming voice, followed it, and had the experience of a lifetime.

Child Sponsorship through Food for the Hungry is an absolute gift, to those sponsored and to those sponsoring. The knowledge that you can profoundly bless a child, family and community through a simple monthly donation of $38 is powerful. Visit MCC Food for the Hungry Child Sponsorship page to learn more or talk with Jennifer Ward this Sunday, she will have a table set up in the foyer.  

He looks more like a construction worker than a business owner; more like a hard-working rancher than probably anything else.

But make no mistake; when he smiles, it is warm, and rich, and genuine.  And he has a gentleness and a humility about him that make him undeniably likable, even across the barriers of language.

Pastor Epheson Erballo was born into a family of Christ-followers, in the Ethiopian village of Wolyta.  I had the special privilege to meet with this dear brother on Wednesday, while I was here in Awassa.  He travelled here to take care of some business, and especially to make himself available to me.

Epheson is the fourth of six children.  He has three brothers and two sisters.  Although he has believed in Christ for about as long as he can remember, he was given a special desire from the Lord around age 15.  At that time, he sensed a burden to minister to others.  

He began to share the gospel readily with friends, and anyone else.  As people came to Christ, he began to disciple them.  Within a short time, he was leading Bible studies, and the number of those in his care grew.  Soon, he found himself leading a church.  He would shepherd and pastor this group of believers for 22 years.  In 2009, his congregation was officially organized as a church, and he was ordained.  

He continued to pastor there until 2013.  It was then that the Lord moved him and his family to Turmi, in the hopes of church planting and reaching a poor, desperate people there.  

The work in Turmi is growing, but it is not without colossal challenges.  The region is a desert, and food sources are scarce.  Epheson and his family (with four children) have to work hard just to survive.  And it is the same with everyone there.  You cannot simply go and grab something from the market.  Food has to travel just to get to them.

And if the physical challenges are great, the spiritual challenges are even greater. 

The tribal people there are very connected.  The community sticks together, and is led by chiefs.  And their beliefs are animistic - not so much a formal religion, but a system of worship and fear of spirits and gods.  If a member of the community professes faith and begins to follow Jesus Christ, then they are threatened by their family and friends.  If this does not dissuade them, then they are often beaten.  Still, the gospel is setting captives free, and there is now a growing church among the Turmi, where Epheson and his family love and shepherd them.

This is not an easy life, but it is the life of great reward.

When you ask Epheson about his personality, and the kinds of things that he likes to do, he says, “I’m naturally curious; learning and teaching are who I am.”

Meeting Epheson, I do not doubt this.  Nor do I doubt that he has learned many things in his life, and is probably capable of doing nearly anything asked of him.

Please continue to pray for our dear brother, and for all of his family and ministry.  We will be sharing more information and prayer requests in the future.

And praise our strong Savior together with us, that I got to connect with Epheson during this trip, and that we have the distinct privilege to be able to partner with this faithful, humble man.

Visit our Path Three Missions page for information on how MCC supports Pastor Erballo in Ethiopia.

There are many throughout the developing world in need of the most basic necessities of life; safe water, affordable energy and dependable food—things we take for granted every day. Experience has proven over and over that the best help for those in need is to directly involve them in finding solutions to the problems they face (II Thessalonians 3:10-12). As Christians, we also know the importance of involving the strong hand of the Lord in all that we endeavor (Psalms 127:1).

This is essentially where the idea of Business as Mission (BAM) was born. That is, to establish Christ-centered businesses that are sustainably designed to help those in need help themselves while bringing the saving Word of God.

This past summer I started the path to BAM with several of my neighbors who are believers attending Forest Meadow Baptist Church.

They recently established World Light Africa, a BAM that grew out of a relationship with a Kenyan runner who trained in Albuquerque.

In June, I joined the BAM team when I traveled to Kenya and Uganda to conduct a preliminary survey of water issues.  The BAM approach targets the very high prices that rural people in Africa pay for energy and water. What the needy lack is the capital to purchase improved technologies that lessen the cost of these basic services.  World Light Africa provides new technology to someone in need which is repaid with the savings realized by the new technology.

One example uses simple solar powered lights which can easily be repaid in the matter of a few months, requiring only a portion of the savings from no longer needing to buy kerosene. When the light is paid off they can get a water filter, which they can pay off with their savings on wood which is no longer needed to boil the water.

Similar ideas are being developed to support small cottage industries; in particular, small scale agriculture. Here we combine training on soil management, with construction of small water catchments and drip irrigation to significantly improve farm yields (and reduce incidence of total crop failure). This provides an income to repay the capital improvements, improves the lives of the family and puts money into the local economy.

The goal is to establish World Light Africa as a sustainable business, meeting the needs of the needy while modeling Christian ethics and morals through the day-to-day conduct of the company. This is a very bright light in a region known for pervasive corruption that is deeply engrained in their culture.

World Light Africa has two full time employees in Kenya and Uganda that are managing a handful of projects. Several communities have been targeted for testing our energy and water technology upgrade program in the coming year. We are also planning construction and testing of a small-scale agriculture project.

We believe God has big plans for the needy in West Africa who are hungry for God’s Word. We value your prayers in the coming year as we pursue God’s leading.

Contact Vince Tidwell to learn more about BAM or find out how you can get involved today!

For our family, the focus of Christmas was Christmas Eve.  Yes, we shopped for presents, listened to Christmas music, put up a Christmas tree, looked forward to posole and tamales Christmas Eve, spent time with Joan’s family in Albuquerque or mine in Kansas, and opened presents Christmas morning. But, from the time our children were small, we always looked forward to a Christmas Eve church service followed by a family time. 

That time started with reading “Twas the Night Before Christmas” (with each member rubbing the fuzzy surface of Santa’s clothes), then several children’s books built around Jesus’ birth.  Next, I would read about His birth from the Bible and we would have a short time of prayer. The kids would then go off to bed while Joan and I finished wrapping presents. 

As our children became adults and we began adding grandchildren, we continued meeting at our house for Christmas and the Christmas Eve service followed by the family time (without changes – including the mandatory rubbing of Santa’s clothes).

Then the Lord sent Joan and me to Africa and we missed the tradition for 6 years.  In the U.S. the meeting place moved to our daughter’s home since she had children and our son was not yet married.  But, other than that, Christmas Eve was the same.

In Nigeria, things were different. The months leading up to Christmas were marked by an increased rate of armed robberies. And there were no Christmas Eve services because it was too dangerous to be out after dark. So Christian families gathered in their homes early. There was little outward evidence of Christmas and, because of unreliable phone service, the likelihood that we could communicate with our children in the U.S. was slim to none.  But we had God’s Word, knew His abiding presence, and had experienced His utter faithfulness, and they were more than enough.

Now that Joan and I are back in the U.S., we still meet at our daughter’s home as they did when we were gone.  And now that we have grown grandchildren (as well as an infant grandson), the tradition still holds, always ending with Scripture.

The time in Nigeria was a real blessing to us in many ways.  One of them was in moving more of the Point of Christmas more from our heads to our hearts.  No matter the tradition of the culture where one is living, there are things that are firm and unchangeable. 

Particularly that “God so loved the world that He sent His one and only Son..”  By itself, that fact is an absolute wonder!  And He did it for a purpose “that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16). The accounts of His birth carry evidence that Jesus met all the requirements for the long awaited Savior of the world; the only One who could reconcile us to God as we put our faith in Him.

At the end of the day, our confidence and comfort are in Him and Him alone.  What a great privilege we have to be able to celebrate His birth openly and without fear!

May the reality of His presence fill you with His peace and joy this Christmas and always.

The first time I saw him, I was drawn to him.  

Though I had only been in this country for a few hours, and had no experience with its customs, even I could readily see his Spirit-borne purpose.  His demeanor was easy and joyful.  He was earnest and peaceful at worship, and even more so with everyone that he met. 

From the first time that I saw him, I can honestly say that I thanked the Lord for him.

That was two years ago.

Since then, Orano has been in all three of the groups that I have taught.  He has served me as an interpreter in many of those class days. 

And I am grateful, in God’s providence, that a friendship has grown between us.  

I spoke with him for a while before class this morning. Rather casually, I asked him how his evening was, and what he had done last night.  

“Well, I went to teach the Kingdom curriculum with a family here in Awassa last night, and then I went to preach in a church.”

I was stunned.  

You see, we are in class from 9 to 5 each day this week. This is a significant commitment for the students, especially since they had homework Monday night - to create an outline of the entire book of Galatians for Tuesday morning; and then they had a 10-minute presentation of an assigned passage due today (Thursday).

But in addition to these things, Orano is spending each night this week, 6:30 to 8:00 p.m., teaching the curriculum that he helped to write, to a pastor and his family of six.

Then, last night, he also went to a church here in town, from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m., where he had been invited to come and share a message.

Most of us go home at the end of the day pretty tired, having spent the day studying and wrestling together. 

He leaves from our teaching site - where he’s usually also been translating back-and-forth all day - and his ministry day is really just getting going.

The best part of it all?  He was joyful again this morning, and had I not specifically asked, I would not have known anything of these labors.  

In the end, I was humbled to think of the way that many of these students are willingly making sacrifices, just like Orano.  And I’m supremely grateful for the daily and weekly sacrifices that are made by many of you; to tirelessly serve your families, to serve the Lord at work, and to seek the Lord in your daily lives.  

The grace of God does not simply make us driven, bitter-hard workers.  The grace of God changes our soul, so that our work becomes a source and a chance for our joy.

Oh yeah. And did I mention that he did a really nice job on his presentation this morning?

In the comment section tell us which relationships you are grateful for, that the Lord has provided in His providence!