Ethiopia, Two Years In...

Two years ago today we arrived in the country of Ethiopia. At times it has seems short, at other moments long. Frustrations have occurred while exuberant joy has taken place. Moments of questions, tears, laughter and exhaustion have been sprinkled in throughout the last twenty-four months with many more to go. We have learned a great deal these last two years and we still have a great more to learn. We've re-wired electrical issues and fixed leaks, stood in long lines, cooked meals from scratch, been stared at, faced water and power issues, broken down on the side of the road, learned to determine if the solution to a problem was a bigger issue than the initial problem, had our phones stolen, helped plant a church,  and have vomited more in the last two years than in the previous ten combined, among many many other things. We have no idea if this journey will last another five years or 50 with the possibility that in 48 years I will be sharing (on whatever social outlet is popular at that time) how excited we are to be celebrating our 50th year in Ethiopia. I simply do not know what tomorrow will bring. BUT, I do know this. Throughout the last two years (and many years before that) and until the day we are gone from this earth, God has always and will always provide and watch over us. Simply put: grace. Day after day God has always shown His love and mercy in our lives, something we are incredibly undeserving of. He has always provided and the lessons He has taught us the last two years are beyond comprehension. He has simply always been there.

As we look back on these two years, we are appreciative of all the prayers and support that each one of you have been to our lives and ministry. We miss our family and friends back home terribly at times, but your love has always been felt even here. As we reflect on two years, I want to leave you with a journal entry I wrote two years ago during our flight out of Raleigh. The verse shared still holds true today just as it was the day it was written so many years ago in David's time...

August 14, 2010
Nearly two weeks has past since I last spent time writing. I suppose this would be the time to write since we have been busy preparing for our big move to Addis Ababa Ethiopia. I often wanted to take time to write but our long list of things to do stood in the way. As we speak we are on a plane from Raleigh to Washington DC. It is 5:42 pm and Jackson is asleep in the seat next to his wonderful mommy. Amanda and I are tired but overall we really did not feel overly stressed. We paced ourselves well and worked hard. Today was a day of bittersweet goodbyes with family and friends. Last night we said goodbye to Amanda’s mom and David and today my parents, my sister Melissa, the Staubs and the May family all went to the airport to see us off. It was hard saying goodbye but we are excited about what is in store before us. I remember many times writing about being unsure what God was doing. Today as we sit here on this plane I am confident that this is what He wants for us right now. I don’t know what lies ahead, I don’t know how the financies will come but I do know that we will and must trust God. As one of the Psalms says: “Some trust in chariots…some trust in horses…but we will trust in the Lord our God” Well….here we go, crazy as it may seem. There is a big world out there and we are about to see some of it. Praying for grace and strength and hoping and trusting that God will take care of us. Hoping that years later as Jackson reads this he looks at his time in Ethiopia with joy. We pray everyday that he will love Jesus…we pray everyday that we can be the example to show him that...