Just in Time for Christmas...

Adoption Fubndraiser

Suggested Donation, $20 for each beautiful necklace

Operation: Christmas Boxes 2013

It's that wonderful, amazing and gift-giving time of year again!  Bethel Baptist Church of Ethiopia is gearing up for our 3rd annual Operation Christmas Boxes.  This is a wonderful opportunity for you, your family, your Sunday school class or life group to represent Christ here in Ethiopia.  

Due to the extremely high costs of shipping, we are encouraging those would like to be participate to make a financial donation to this year's OCB project here at Bethel.  For a small, flat rate USPS box, the cost is now at $60 to have some under 20lbs shipped to Ethiopia!  We want your investment to go into touching lives and hearts, not shipping costs.

Financial Donations can be made through:

Craig Dyson

PO Box 191

Springfield, MO  65801

In the memo, be sure to include "Dyson: OCB Christmas 2013"

Donations can also be made online at:

http://bbfimissions.com/

Simply: 

•click on the "Give" button in the right hand corner of this page

•click on "Give Now" in the Give to Individual Missionaries box

•Find "Craig Dyson" in the drop down menu

•You will see a page load with our family picture.  In the top left corner of that screen will be a "donate" button.  If you have never donated online through the missions office before, this will prompt you to set up an account.  Don't worry, your information will not be sold to any third parties :)  This allows the BBFI missions office to keep an accurate record and mail out any forms you may need for tax purposes for your donation.

Operation Christmas Boxes can still be mailed to us here in Ethiopia at:

Craig Dyson

PO Box 30194

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

We pray that the Lord will use this ministry to help further His abounding grace and mercy to the people that we have been called to minister to.

School Praise!

Here is Jackson being silly with his class. He loves school very much and tells us all about his friends when he gets home. And in case you were wondering about the colored shirts, when you start at Bingham Academy you are assigned to a team for the remainder of your time there. In January they have Field Days, basically the Olympics for Bingham, and you will represent your team. All three are named after missionaries: Peter Cameron Scott, William Carey and Hudson Taylor....Go Team Scott!

We are also excited to let you know that all of Jackson's school tuition has been raised! That is a huge praise and we want to specifically thank the following:

Gilead Baptist Church of Allen Park, MI

Grace Baptist Church of St. Charles, MO

Mid-Way Baptist Church of Raleigh, NC
Noble Hill Baptist Church of Willard, MO
Seminole Baptist Temple of Springfield, MO
Nathan and Liz Boon
Don and Joyce Dyson
Patricia Jackson
Ron and Anita Linton
David and Sheri Rhodes

These are the churches and individuals that we specifically know gave towards Jackson's tuition and we thank you so much for your help! Our next big prayer request will focus on schooling next year. It's our desire for Ermias to attend Bingham Academy next year and with his tuition added we will need to raise $10,000. We are praying that we can add some new supporting church next year on furlough, however the cost will still be very high. One of the options is for Amanda to teach at Bingham which would help lower the cost, but would also be very time consuming. Please pray for wisdom as we look toward next year!

Thank you again! Jackson and Ermias are both doing great is school and both love it!

July•August 2013 Update

We are so thankful for all the faithful prayers and support that allow us to serve in Ethiopia.

Our family is incredibly humbled to be used in HIS amazing plan!

First Day of School...

JZ started KG 1 on Tuesday. He was very excited but has been crying when we drop him off :( The way he is when we drop him off with his friends, that was the last thing we expected him to do when going to school. He loves it though and is very excited to tell us all about it when we pick him up. The drive each morning is about 45 minutes and we have to get ahead of the traffic early so we leave around 6:45. That means 5:30 wake up and early to bed for the whole family. The adjustment has went well however.

Three Years...

It is hard to believe but tomorrow will be three year since we first arrived in Ethiopia. A lot of laughter and a lot of tears mixed in with frustration and joy. Some setbacks and a whole lot of growth has taken place and through this whole roller coaster journey God has been faithful. Today I want to share with you what I wrote in my journal on August 14, 2010. Thank you for all your support, God is doing great things and we are just along for the ride. I couldn't have done any of this without my precious Amanda and are soon to be kindergardener Jackson! :)

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 want 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, sister, Staubs family and 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 finances 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. 

August 14, 2010

Jackson's School Update...

Rainy season typically is a slower time here, but this rainy season has been anything but that. Bethel just finished her first VBS and it went fantastic! We have been very busy with the medical trip and VBS plus a slower internet brings challenges in keeping everyone updated. :)

We wanted to let you that we are over half way to Jackson's school tuition! As of today you have helped us collect $4,221 dollars out of the $6,915 needed! Praise the Lord! Also, $3,000 of that is a one time fee so next year we will not have to pay that. We are praying that during next years furlough we can visit and add at least five new churches to help with the rising cost here as well as the school bill.

We are also grateful that our home church, Mid-Way Baptist Church in Raleigh NC raise $921 for JZ's school during their recent VBS. So grateful for all of those children that gave!

Continue to pray for the work here, Eric and Amanda will also be arriving back in a little over two weeks and in about six weeks the rainy season will be finished! No more mud! :)

Thank you for all the prayers and support! God is good!

May•June 2013 Update Letter

Medical Team...

Here is the medical team with the staff from Wudassie Diagnostic Center. Maybe next time you can be in the picture :)

With Jesus!!!

It is with great sadness as we let you know that Hanna passed away Friday morning, June 21. We rejoice that Hanna is healed and in the presence of God Almighty. Please pray for her husband Boo  and two small children, Desta (4) and Teddy (2) in the days and weeks to come. We are so thankful for God's ultimate healing of Hanna! We rejoice that just two years ago Hanna was gloriously saved and on January 1, 2012 she was the first person every baptized at Bethel. Below is the picture of her baptism day along with Seble who both had went through our membership class and became the first members of Bethel. Hanna is no longer in pain and we can't even begin to imagine how joyous it must be for her now. As much as we will miss our precious sister in Christ we are thankful that she is with Jesus!

Quick Update...

The medical trip is finished and it was bittersweet seeing it come to an end. Overall it was a fantastic trip and an even better team to work with. Our upcoming newsletter will give a little more detail of the trip...

Our VBS trip is coming soon with a college student coming June 30th and a group from Antioch Bible Baptist Church near Kansas City coming July 3rd. The VBS week will be July 8-12th...

We now have almost half of Jackson's tuition raised! Thank you for giving and please pray that we can raise the remainder of it soon. As we are also preparing for our next furlough next Spring, we are praying to raise additional support that will help with this new expense....

While on the back burner, we are raising money for a second vehicle. We are looking to raise anywhere from $30,000-40,000 which is a good amount for a reasonable and reliable vehicle here. With the amount of work continuing to increase and Jackson's school starting we are praying that God will provide...

Thank you for you support and prayers!

Medical Team...

Here is the medical team before church on Sunday plus a few kids from the church :) Today they will be going to Korah, which is one the of the worst areas of the city. Please continue to pray for the team!

School Days...

Melkam Fasika!

Melkam Fasika everyone! Tomorrow is Easter here in Ethiopia so the country is digging in for a big celebration...

Continue to pray for Hanna, she continues to fight and we are trusting God with the results...

Eric, Amanda and the kids left for furlough on Wednesday. Please pray for them as they visit family and share with churches all the work God is doing here. We are grateful to be working with Eric and Amanda. We are strong supporters of team missions and are blessed to be apart of it...

In less then a month we will be hosting our first ever medical missions trip. Please be praying for this exciting opportunity...

Below is a picture at a kindergarden we visited this last week in the town of Fitche. During recess this little boy fell asleep in his class room :) 

Here in the next week or so we will be sending out a special prayer letter to update you on Jackson's school tuition. Have a great weekend! 

Throw Back Thursday...

In 2008 Eric, myself and Dwayne took our second trip to Ethiopia. A year later Eric and his family moved here, us in 2010 and Dwayne and his family this past January. Hard to believe this picture was five years ago....

Five Men...

" And people who do not know the Lord ask why in the world we waste our lives as missionaries. They forget that they too are expending their lives... and when the bubble has burst they will have nothing of eternal significance to show for the years they have wasted." - Nate Saint 

Every time I read or watch something about Nate Saint, Jim Elliot, Ed McCully, Pete Fleming and Roger Youderian, I get tears in my eyes. To listen to people such as missionary Frank Drown breakdown in tears 50+ years later retelling the story of leading the search party to find the missing men is heartbreaking. All five of these men were young, married and many with small children. Would they say today that it was worth it? 

You bet. 

Living for everything this world has to offer? 

What a waste.

 57 years latter, they still are impacting the world for the cause of Christ...

Prayer...

This is an update from Hanna's sister we received on Facebook.

"Hello everyone, I hope all is well. My sister Hanna is still in the hospital fighting for her life. The doctors have said that there isn't anything they can do for her other than keeping her pain under control through pain killers. So with that said, Hanna needs all your prayers right now more than ever. So please please keep her in your prayers and ask the Lord to heal her. Send her your love. Thank you all for your prayers :)"

Please be in prayer for Hanna...

Update on Hanna...

Many of you know that Hanna has been dealing with some health issues. About 2 1/2 weeks ago we found out that Hanna is battling stomach cancer. Right now Hanna is in Canada seeking treatment and she has just started Chemotherapy. Please keep Hanna in your prayers that God would give her strength and peace through this battle. Hanna is a precious and wonderful friend of not just ours, but anyone who knows her. She is a huge blessing to Bethel and is cherished and loved by everyone. This picture was taken just several months ago after we all took the kids to the park for the day :)

 We are praying for a miracle, but most importantly we are praying that God would be glorified through this. He has a purpose and we are praying that Hanna will continue to trust Him completely. Thank you for praying on behalf on Hanna, I know it means a lot to her.

Throw Back Thursday...

One of the first pictures taken after we arrived in Ethiopia in August of 2010. It is crazy to think that this is pretty much all Jackson knows. I hope and pray that he will grow up with a grateful heart for being able to experience this... We are very busy working on the new church building as painting needs to be done, work needs to be finished, and a variety of workers need to be found. We don't know many of the workers names so Eric and I call them the plumbing guy, counter top guy, hat guy, tile guy, guy who does nothing and wants to get paid guy.

Enjoy Throw Back Thursday! It is 12:30 a.m. and bedtime calls! Although if I was in the States right now I would go get a shake from Steak-n-Shake. Wow, that sounds really good right now. You would be amazed at how often we all sit around and talk about what restaurants we would be eating at if we were in America :)

March & April Update

Prayer...

Hanna, our neighbor and close friend (seen here after her baptism) has been having some health issues the last several month. Last Saturday she flew back to Canada with her children to find a solution to her health issues. Please pray for Hanna as God continues to work in her life and that His perfect plan will be done. We love Hanna and her family very much and are so grateful they are in our lives! The picture below is one of my favorites: Jackson with Hanna's children and two of his best buddies,  Desta and Teddy.

We have been very busy the last two weeks as we are frantically trying to finish everything in the new building for our first service this Sunday. Also, Mary Herman who is a missionary teacher has been here teaching a course on Methods of Bible Teaching. The class continues this week and has been very well received.

We are still needing some to help with Jackson's tuition. If that is something you can help with we would really appreciate it! Jackson can't wait for the first day of school!

Have a great week!

The Next Step...

It is 10:41 p.m. here in Addis and we are exhausted. Even the dogs are tired and they really didn't do anything today. Last week the lease ran out on our current building and today was our final service. This afternoon we all worked hard to load everything up and take it to our house and Eric & Amanda's house. This afternoon we found out that a location we have been looking at for the church was finalized so we now have somewhere to go. We are excited but tired! Please pray for us in the next several days as we move into a new (and bigger) building and set up. Exciting days ahead for Bethel!

thankful.

We have been thinking lately how thankful we are for the friends the Lord has blessed us with and blessed Jackson with.  thankful.

                                                          Kiiya, Sifaana, Jackson & Anna

The Important (And not so important) thoughts from the week...

The last few weeks have been very busy here. Here's a quick version....

...Last Saturday we had our first marriage conference at Bethel. We had twenty-six in attendance which was fantastic. The material we used was call What Did You Expect? by Paul Tripp. We are very familiar with Tripp and would recommend this study to anyone...

I turned 35 last Saturday. I guess that is all I really can say about that. Can't believe it, creeping closer to  40 :) Michael Jordan turned 50 on Sunday. Not that we celebrate our birthdays together or anything, but it was worth mentioning. I just realized that until my dad's birthday in June, he is 70 and I am 35. With the large amount of wisdom my dad has, I hope I can learn even a portion of what he has in his 70 years...

Many of you are dealing with winter storms. Now, I will tell you that I do miss the winter and the cold weather, so I am not trying to mock you. But...the weather here is about as beautiful as it can get temps in the mid to upper 70's and at night down in the mid 50's. The Sun is intense because of our close location to the equator, so it feels hotter and you can burn easy, but it still feels great. Three months out of the year we do deal with a large amount of rain which causes everything to be a big giant muddy mess, so it all balances out...

Friday night we had our Friday Family Fun Night at Bethel. We watched The Lorax and everyone brought snacks. It was a nice time to get together as a church family...

We are still trying to figure out what to do about a church building. The building we have been looking at is nice but we are hesitant because of the owner. The price has changed a couple of times and we just don't feel completely comfortable with him. Please pray! Three weeks ago we had sixteen children (9-12 years old) and one teacher in a room that was about 8x8. Standing room only and I mean that literally :)

Lastly, we are still trying to raise the needed funds for Jackson's school. Can you help with this? The amount we are trying to raise is $6,915 with $3,000 of that being a one time new student fee. Jackson is so very excited about going to school, which is bitter sweet for us. On Tuesday March 5th we have an appointment at the school so they can visit with Jackson. If you can help us raise this needed amount we would be so grateful!

Enjoy your weekend. Enjoy the snow. Throw a snow ball for us :)

January Update...

Here is our latest update. Thank you for you prayers and encouragement as we remember Ava. God has placed so may people in our lives that have impacted us in so many ways...Sunday was Bethel's first communion service and it went really well, there was a real strong unity...Pray as we are looking for a possible bigger building to meet at. We met someone today about a perfect location but the price is a bit higher then we feel the church should take on. Please pray for wisdom as we continue to look. That's it...have a great day! Enjoy the weather you are having wherever you are. It is sunny and around 80 here but I sure miss the cold! 

Five Years Later...

On A Saturday night in September 2007, Amanda and I became emerged into one of  the happiest moments of our lives. We were having a baby. I remember it like it was yesterday and we sat in our hotel room in St Louis, there because of a missions conference. I still remember us sitting there with tears running down our faces... A few short months later our lives would be forever changed, as we faced the saddest moment of our lives. It is hard to believe that it has been five years on Friday since our beloved Ava came into this world only to leave for a greater place. Five years which at times has felt like yesterday and other times it has felt like an eternity ago. During the early weeks of losing Ava, there were moments that we didn't feel we would make it through another week let alone five years. Yet, God has show His grace to us and through the valleys and the hilltops He has been there. He has taught us a great deal the last five years, and has brought a great deal of growth into our lives. As much as I miss our sweet Ava I would not change anything, because of our precious Jackson being brought into our family through Ava's death. Every time I look into his sparkling blue eyes I am reminded of his big sister who God used to allow him to be our son. God's plans are indeed a mystery at times, but His ways are truly best. It is not always easy in the here and now, but it is best.

As we celebrate Ava's 5th birthday I am grateful for a God who has shown his faithfulness to us even when we lacked faith. I am grateful for a precious 3 1/2 year old who I believe God is going to use greater than we can ever dream of. And I am grateful to share my life with a wife who God has grown so much in the last five years. Very few women have faced the heartache of loosing a child and the emotional journey of going through an adoption, and she has done so with grace. I am very proud of her.

As we think of Ava, I leave with a letter that I wrote to her on her 1st birthday. Each year in my journal I write a letter to her and while I am fully aware that there is very little Biblical foundation for this, I still write it just for my own personal joy. I look back on each letter and see and remember everything about Ava and everything God has done to bring us to where we are now.

January 25, 2009

Dearest Ava,

Today is your first birthday and your mom and I miss you very much. I know that you do not want us to be sad but it is really hard with you not here. How was your birthday in Heaven? I am sure that is was very special and could not even be described. We are doing well I suppose. Some days are harder than others but the Lord’s grace gets us through. I really don’t know what happens up in Heaven yet  I am so excited for you to tell me. Have you got to see your great grandparents yet? I sure hope so. Your grandma says that she hopes your great grandma Norfleet is taking care of you. I hope so to because she is a special lady. Your great Uncle Dale just went to be with you last week, and I hope you have had the chance to meet him, because he is a wonderful man. Anyway, I don’t want to ramble on and on but there is so much to tell you. I know that you would not want to leave but we miss you so much here on earth. But I am glad you don’t have to worry about this old place. Heaven is so much sweeter! When your mom and I cry it is because we miss you, not because of anything you did. We love you so much and am so proud of you! You’re the best daughter a dad could ask for. Well, that is it for now I suppose. We love you very much and look forward to seeing you real soon. Please give your great grandma a kiss for me.

Love always,

Your daddy 

Time for some "new" springs...

There it is. "The Spring of death" as I call it. Ok, maybe not that drastic but you get the point. Today when getting a tire fixed (a frequent problem) I saw the spring had broke. So, here we go looking again for some springs. The last two times we have had to replace them we were forced to get used ones because there were no new ones in country. Obviously these used springs are used for a reason so thus we are about to replace our third set. Will you please pray that we could find some new ones available which will hopefully last us a lot longer?

Happy Sunday...

We are seven hours ahead of those on  EST so as many of you are either sound asleep or getting ready for bed, we are starting our day. Tomorrow Eric will be speaking on part two of a short series on The Lord's Supper and next week we will be having our first communion. We hope that you have a fantastic Sunday as many of you prepare to head to church. If you don't go, then here is my question: why? Don't use the excuse that churches are full of hypocrites, because I can assure you that they are. No church is perfect, no person is perfect. If you are searching for answers in your life, I can promise you that Jesus does have the answers. I can also promise you that there is a church out there with a bunch of other imperfect people trying to find what true joy is all about. So...if you don't have a church home, I would encourage you to get up, get the family ready and find one! It will change your life!

Every year I set goals for my life for the new year and this year one of the more simple goals (along with growing a mullet) is to blog at least once a week. I am working toward that, and will try to blog not only about work here but also maybe about stuff that has nothing to do with work: Life. Family. How great the 80's were. You get the picture.

Praying for each one of you right now and praying that God would teach all of us through HIS sufficient Word, what we need to learn!

Very Special Christmas...

This year our church spent Christmas gathering up gifts for a local orphanage. To celebrate the Ethiopian Christmas (January 7th) we went to the orphanage the day before and handed out the gifts. Each child received a new pillow with pillow case, a blanket, a bag full of goodies, and each one of our church families "adopted" a child to buy gifts specifically for. Many of our people said it was one of the greatest Christmas' they have every had. Thanks so much for those of you who gave financially or sent a box of supplies. Several made the bags and pillow cases as well. The picture above is our church family with all of the children at the orphanage. Its moments like this that makes living in Ethiopia so special.