Over
the last few months, I have been preaching through the book of Colossians. It
has had great application for our church here in Ethiopia. The Orthodox church
emphasizes the importance of a priest, saint worship, and is full of rituals
and works. Showing the people from the Bible that Christ is God and is able to
save a person based on His work has been a major part of our teaching. Please
continue to pray as we go verse by verse through this book with the people of Bethel.
We know it is His word alone that can save those who are still in darkness.
On
March 4th, we baptized two more individuals at our church! The first was an
Ethiopian man that had received Christ and was being discipled by our
missionaries before our family arrived. He followed in baptism as some of his
orthodox family watched. We pray that God used Dawit’s act of obedience as a
witness to his family who are not believers. Praise the Lord for our fourth
family to join the membership of Bethel. I also baptized that day Kayla. She had received Christ and had been asking
about following in believer’s baptism. It was my joy that day to baptize my
daughter and a gracious gift of God to see it. God is doing a work here in
Ethiopia and we ask for your continued prayers as people respond to His Word.
Children’s
Schooling
When
we arrived to Ethiopia in 2009, we had not yet been exposed to the fact of how
needy this country is in the area of education. Schools in Ethiopia struggle
with high numbers and often inadequate facilities. We had prayed from the
beginning that God would provide a school for Kayla and Aaron. Remarkably, He
allowed us to arrive at the right time so that they could be enrolled in
Bingham Academy. Bingham is a missionary school that has been around since the
50’s and is known for a Christian education. Today, many are not able to get
into this school as it is at maximum capacity. Amanda and I believe that this
school is the best option right now for our family. Not only have our kids enjoyed
a good education, but they have experienced Godly influences and had the
blessing of making many friends.
With
schools being few here in Ethiopia, the price of Bingham has also continued to
rise. When we first enrolled the children in Bingham we had a “sister mission”
status. That meant we received a 25% discount on our school bill. We were
notified last year that this status would be phased out fully in the near
future. Adding to this, the school is requiring a special fee for next year
alone.
After discussing this issue with our sending Pastor, we asked his permission to share this need with our prayer partners and churches. We are asking you first of all to pray that God would give us wisdom and patience for this situation. This is an important issue to our family that also effects our ministry. We are also asking you to pray about financially considering a one time gift to this need. This gift would be used for the 2012/13 school year for Kayla and Aaron and can be marked “Shadle’s School”. Your specific prayers are appreciated as we trust the Lord in all of these matters.
After discussing this issue with our sending Pastor, we asked his permission to share this need with our prayer partners and churches. We are asking you first of all to pray that God would give us wisdom and patience for this situation. This is an important issue to our family that also effects our ministry. We are also asking you to pray about financially considering a one time gift to this need. This gift would be used for the 2012/13 school year for Kayla and Aaron and can be marked “Shadle’s School”. Your specific prayers are appreciated as we trust the Lord in all of these matters.