Re-entry

Greetings..STATESIDE! That's right, we've arrived home, safe and sound! This exciting chapter of our lives has come to an end but we look forward to sharing our stories with you all very soon! Our last two weeks in Ethiopia were spent with the Charlotte Lady Eagles team. I have to say it was the highlight of my time there, having my been able to share Ethiopia with my friends! To see the events that took place, you can view the photos by our tour photographer, Dave Johnson, at this site: http://web.mac.com/david_johnson/www.silentimages.info/Charlotte_Eagles.html
Forgive me for not writing more at the moment...lots to catch up with! Stay tuned though, for more stories and pictures!
Thanks for your prayers and support! Continue to pray for us as we re-adjust to our lives back home and process all that we've experienced in Ethiopia.
Blessings,
Sunshine (for Sarah and Ali)

AMAZING time in Langano

(Sunny's email to home)
Hey there! Sorry I couldn't write sooner! Difficulties with internet and busy schedule since we've been back in Addis. But I'm here safe and sound!
Langano was an AMAZING time! we had 26 ethiopian girls come...about 20 were from the Addis Eagles team and the rest were the coaches we've been working with! it was great to have them all together and to have our Eagles team working with us to encourage the ministry and relationships we've established! One girl came to know the Lord...in a dramatic, lifechanging way! not just for her, but for all of us who were there to experience it! Can't wait to share more!
The Charlotte team played the Ethiopian National team yesterday and won 3-2!!!! it was amazing! tomorrow we are invited to the US embassador (in ethiopia) house for lunch!
The team leaves monday night. we leave wed, so we have a lot of loose ends to tie up before we go!
last minute change of plans for my trip home...sarah, me and one of our other friends who came with the Eagles have decided to spend a few extra days in Germany on our stopover...our friend, CC, has family there and we will be staying with them. Sarah and I thought it would be a good time to transition and debrief before jumping right in to life in the US! hope you weren't planning a surprise visit at the charlotte airport?!!!! just kdding! but we will be getting back on the 21st now. i'm sure i'll be able to check email while i'm there, so write if you want!
How is everyone back home?
Can't wait to be able to talk with you on the phone!!!!

Love you!
Sunny

Charlotte Lady Eagles in Ethiopia

Click here to see pictures of the Charlotte Lady Eagles on their tour to Ethiopia:
http://web.mac.com/david_johnson/www.silentimages.info/Charlotte_Eagles.html

Addis Women’s Coaches

There have now been two meetings with the female coaches in Addis. Their ages range from 17 to 30 something.. Some are assistant coaches and some have up to four teams they are coaching! Some have had training in being a coach and some have had none. But what they all have is a position to impact lives of the youth in Ethiopia for the Kingdom of God ! They hold authority over these kids’ lives as a coach- for an outlet to have fun as a kid in the midst of a difficult country to grow up in…as a role model to follow a Godly lifestyle of pouring out love and Truth when all around are Satanic forces…as a mother-figure to those who no longer have a mom due to many illnesses running rampant, including HIV-AIDS…as a daughter of the most High King to show that women, in the midst of being oppressed, can have the assurance and confidence of a warrior in God’s Kingdom to usher many through the gates of freedom!

This is the truth we desire to impart to these beautiful women! Please join us in prayer as the Holy Spirit delivers this message to their hearts! Already, we have seen the Holy Spirit’s work in this…last week during one of our fasting and prayer times with our fellowship group, we prayed about the vision to encourage other fellowship groups all throughout Addis. As our Ethiopian sisters were sharing and praying, they got so excited and inspired that they now want to spread these fellowship groups all throughout Ethiopia ! I thank God for the vision and desires He gives us and that His plans for our lives are greater than we can imagine!

Please pray for these women and our last month together with them! In a couple weeks we will be going to Langano with them and our Charlotte Lady Eagles team!

A True Hero

Genet, as you are very familiar with by now, has been struggling with many attacks against the enemy. I've written earlier about her family persecuting her for believing in Jesus...well she also has been hit by many physical problems. For the last year she has had many kidney infections and gastric problems. She has been at death's door a couple times and she said her family just leaves her there to die. But the Lord has great plans for her life and is victorious over the enemy! He has saved her from death more times than we know and continues to give her the strength she needs everyday!
For the past three weeks, Sarah and I and some others have been helping her get to the bottom of her physical issues, which we found is not an easy process in Ethiopia! We took her to a kidney specialist because she has had a run of kidney infections for the past year and was complaining of all the symptoms once again. The kidney specialist gave her valium because he thought it was a mental issue as well as to deal with the pain of a muscle tear in her back. After two weeks of valium, she did not feel better, but got worse...feeling extremely tired and "out of it!" (None of us knew until after the two weeks of taking valium, that that was the medicine she was taking!) So, we quickly told her to stop taking the medicine and we sought a second opinion! Her kidneys and blood were tested and when the results came back they showed she was completely and astoundingly healthy! I have to say, I was wondering if the nurse accidentally switched the patients' tests around because Genet was acting way too sick to be so healthy!! When Sarah called to share this exciting, but somewhat confusing, news with Genet she told us she immediately felt the Lord bring healing all through her body like an electric wave! She was so excited and filled with energy and joy! I wish you could've seen her share this story with us!! So, now she is being treated for a muscle injury only! Praise God!
She recently coached two of her teams, a U-17 and U-15 boys, to the championship title in their league! We watched both of her games and celebrated with them afterwards! It is simply amazing to see how these boys respect and honor Genet, as one of the few female coaches in Addis! The Lord has honored her with her faithfulness to Him as she shares her life with her "children!" She loves her teams so much and talks about them all the time, telling us story after story of their lives being changed!
Continue to pray for Genet as she daily battles against the "powers of this dark age" for the kingdom of God! She is a true hero and we are so blessed to be a part of her life and learn from her!

Thank you for your prayers!
Blessings,
Sunshine

The God of Miracles!

*"Royalty is my identity.
Servant hood is my assignment.
Intimacy with God is my life source.
So, before God, I'm an intimate.
Before people, I'm a servant.
Before the powers of hell, I'm a ruler,
with no tolerance for their influence."*
~ Bill Johnson

Many people have asked me to share specific stories of what God is doing here. I just wrote a friend of one story and I would love to share it with you. I believe it describes our life here very well as we have found our best "ministry" opportunities have been the ones we could never had planned.


"Sunny was sick one day and so I took her to the clinic. I call it the "Dollar Clinic" because most procedures cost an American dollar and you feel that is the quality of service you receive. The people are nice though being as they are Ethiopian. :) As we were sitting waiting for her results, an older gentleman with a cane walked in front of us and sat beside us. He had experienced a stroke that affected the left side of his body. It was obvious that he had a very difficult time walking and his left hand would not uncurl from it's debilitated position. We started talking and discovered he was a Believer! Tedessa, our brother in Christ, had a stroke 6 months before. As
he described the struggles on the past few months, he praised Jesus for His faithfulness and care. "I could never have made it without my Jesus!" he told us.

As we listened to his story, I just cried and cried. What beautiful, unmovable faith this man had in spite of his difficult circumstances! As the Holy Spirit moved us in compassion, we asked him if we could pray for him to be healed. He was SO grateful and welcomed our prayers. As Sunshine prayed (because I was such a crying mess no words would come out) the Spirit came in such a beautiful way to the little outside waiting room of the "Dollar Clinic." During the prayer, I opened my eyes and looked at what had been a very useless left hand. Before our eyes, the fingers of his left hand stretched out and his hand became a functioning limb! The look on his face was incredible! As he watched his hand move and change, his eyes became bigger and bigger. After Sunshine said, "amen," the three of us sat there in awe of God's great Love for His children. Tedessa just kept thanking us and thanking Jesus.

Moments later, his unbelieving brother came to help him through some of his impending procedures. Our friend immediately started witnessing to his brother, telling him of the Great Love of God for him and how the he could never know greater love than the Love that flows from God and the Body of Christ. It was a humbling, amazing moment."

The Jesus that healed the nameless man with the withered hand in Matthew 12:9-14 was pleased to heal Tedessa with the "withered hand!" My God is still the God of miracles!

Sarah

As you know and have been praying, today was the scheduled day for the initial meeting with the female coaches in Addis. We (Sarah and I) showed up to the office 10 minutes early to prepare and pray for the meeting...of course we were the first to show. We waited and prayed...and waited some more! To be honest, I had some doubt that anyone was going to show! But finally, one by one they showed up and we had 11 total with a few that couldn't make it! Praise the Lord! We encouraged them, as women who hold a very special role in their country...to be a leader, a role model and a life encourager for their teams. We encouraged them to join in fellowship with each other to be a support and encouragement for one another. Pray with us that they will take this opportunity and develop a life-encourager fellowship group. Sarah and I have joined in with a few of the coaches who have modeled this fellowship group and it has been a blessing for all involved!
I will share one short story of the blessings of this group...
One day, Sarah, Ali, Genet, and I were on our way to a church service on a Friday night. We were approached by a beggar girl, who proceeded to walk with us and continued asking us for money and telling us that she had no parents or home. We found her name to be Sosena and asked her if she wanted to come with us to the church service. She said she wanted to and she helped us find the correct taxi. We enjoyed the service...some more than others because it was all in Amharic, unknowingly!! But I'm sure that was the Lord's plan because after the service, Genet was able to talk with Sosena and share the gospel with her! On our way back home, as we were waiting for the taxi to pick us up, Sosena said she wanted to pray to receive Christ as her savior!! So, right there and then, we prayed with her and she confessed her sins and asked Jesus to cleanse her and be her Lord! It was the sweetest moment I've experienced thus far! Genet invited her to come to the coaches fellowship so that we could spend time with her and pray with her. So she came, and brought her friend (Mekedes) with her who was also led to the Lord at this fellowship time! Now, one of the coaches, Jerusalem, has taken the two girls under her care and has set up meeting times twice a week to teach them about Jesus and pray for them! Amen!

Thank you for your prayers and encouragement!

Sunshine

"Wow! We're really in Africa!"

Feb. 11-15th the three of us headed south to Lake Langano. We joined a vision team from the US who were here to visit Sports Friends ministry and to see what the Lord has been doing here in Ethiopia. It was a 4 hour drive south of the city. The scenery was beautiful- I had several moments where I thought to myself, "Wow! I'm really in Africa!" Sometimes here in Addis, the capital, I get so familiar with my surroundings- tall buildings, restaurants, traffic, etc.- that I almost forget forget I'm on a different continent! But as we headed south, the scenery changed dramatically. We passed fields and fields of the typical African trees- ones with the trunks and branches bending and twisting with the tops flattened out. We also spotted hundreds of termite mountains...yes, mountains! Some reached as tall as 6 feet or more! We made several stops along the way...no, not to eat or use the bathroom, but for herds of goats, donkeys, and cattle to cross the road! Down country, they live a life of farming- they live off the land and depend on their animals for survival. The children learn at an early age- I saw some as young as 8, I would guess, herding his sheep across the plains! Some have to travel as far as four hours by foot, maybe more, to the nearest source of water. They trek that several times a week to gather water for their home and to feed their animals! It's a lifestyle I can't even begin to imagine!
While at Lake Langano- the new campsite for Sports Friends to hold conferences for leaders and camps for youth teams- there were two projects we were involved in. One was a sports ministry leadership course for sports ministers all across Ethiopia. 32 coaches were present, representing 14 denominations. our Ethiopian staff said these sports ministry conferences are the only gatherings with many denominations present to be unified and peaceful!
The other project was to visit churches planted through sports ministers to encourage and pray for them.
There was story after story of the miraculous ways the Lord has used sports ministry to change lives of the people of Ethiopia! One such story goes like this...A man named Gemetchu, a converted Muslim, was introduced to sports ministry and desired to use it to reach his all-Muslim community. His house is on the same property as the mosque and the Islam school, a very aggressive teaching style of Jihad. Gemetchu was heavily persecuted for his faith by the Muslim community- one time he was attacked by 300 students at once, attempting to take his life by stoning him. The Lord protected him and spared his life, miraculously! I couldn't imagine escaping from 300 people- clearly supernatural intervention! He and others began to pray that the school and mosque would be torn down. Soon after, a fight broke out between two students who ended up killing each other. The school officials attempted to cover it up and keep it a secret. But the government found them out and shut the school down! Their prayers were answered- Praise God! I look forward to hearing how the Lord will shut down the mosque!
We heard many testimonies similar to this and how the Lord used these sports ministers to connect with their neighbors to share the love and hope of Jesus Christ! Many Muslims are coming to Christ- lives are being changed, even whole communities! But we also heard many who have shared in the sufferings of Christ through persecution- something most of us have not experienced. It was a privilege and an honor to see and partake of the Holy Spirit's work throughout Ethiopia!
Back in Addis now, we just completed the short course of Amharic language school! We had class every morning for the past month. It was actually a really enjoyable time for all of us! We learned a lot in a just a short time...not only the language but cultural information as well! We hope this will enhance our relationships with the people we will be working with!
We will now be focusing all of our time on connecting with the women coaches around Addis who have been through Sports Friends training. We will be meeting with them to encourage and support them in their coaching, sports ministry with their teams, and their spiritual lives. * Please pray for us as we will be doing a lot of ground work to connect with these women. Pray for wisdom, discernment, and quick relationships so that we can best encourage them where they need it.
Ali will continue to play with the Addis Eagles and connect with the girls there. We are working closely with two of the Christians on the team...Genet and Aselevich...we are encouraging and supporting them to reach out to their teammates. They are a bit frustrated with the outcome for Bible study...please pray for wisdom and creativity for a different way to connect with their teammates.
Pray for Sarah as she has been struggling a bit with prolonged stomach issues! It's nothing major but very annoying and not all that comfortable!
Thanks for all your prayers and support! We love you all!

Blessings,
Sunshine (for Ali and Sarah)

"The Sweetest Welcome"

Greetings to our families and friends from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia! We apologize for keeping you in suspense in our arrival and first week in Ethiopia...internet speed and connection have been testing our patience! We're actually not even able to visit our blog site, but I sent this update back home to have it posted for us!

We arrived on the 14th of January after a smooth series of flights across the world! In addis, we were welcomed by Berhanu (sports Friends staff), Facil (our coach), and four players from the women's team! We were warmly welcomed with a bouquet of roses for each of us accompanied with many hugs, kisses and beautiful smiles!

I, Sunny, have been so happy to be back- it has been such a sweet reunion with my friends and the culture here! I have thoroughly enjoyed showing off Ethiopia to Sarah and Ali! I think they have quickly fallen in love with the people...a culture of sweet and gentle-spirited people! They truly live their lives on the premise of relationships and putting others before themselves and their work.

We have all come to realize this creates a slower pace of life! We’re still adjusting, so we are enjoying this change in pace!

It is day 9 now for us and we are still figuring out our schedule and exactly what thing will look like. Meanwhile we have been enjoying our time together, exploring the city of Addis! We have also met many other missionaries from around the world that stay on the SIM compound and have enjoyed their fellowship!

WE have had several practices with the women's team, Addis Ababa Eagles, and have quickly developed a love for each of them. We had our first game and tied the best team in the league! It lifted our spirits! Ali had her debut in Ethiopian professional soccer and contributed to the tie!

The altitude is over 8000 ft. so our lungs and bodies are wondering why they are spent after only 5 minutes of jogging!? The well-known phrase, "slow and steady wins the race" can be used in many different contexts here in Ethiopia!!

For those of you who know Sarah, she is thriving in this place as she easily relates to a warm, hospitable, loving, kind, affectionate people!

I think I can speak for the three of us that a highlight so far has been spending time with Genet. Genet is my friend who came to know Jesus through my time here in 2004. She was a player on the Eagles and now is an assistant coach for them. It has been so encouraging and amazing to hear her growth over the past 4 years! She has a fire and a passion for people to know the saving grace of Jesus that permeates her whole life! She is a true evangelist and seeks after people to know the love she has experienced! Genet is 21 years old! She coaches 6 teams, over 150 kids! She has led at least 25 of them to Jesus and meets with them weekly to study and pray! She tells me her father has legs that are sick and needs to be massaged. As she massages his legs, she prays for his salvation. This is the same man who handed her over to demon spirits at birth and kicked her out of the house when she confessed her conversion to Christianity! As I reflect on Genet's life and the people of Ethiopia these two verses come alive.

"We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace ad truth." John 1:14

"...and my people will be filled with my bounty, declares the Lord." Jer. 31:14

Thank you for your prayers and support! Continue to pray for us as we adjust and for the hearts of those we minister to be drawn to the love and grace of Jesus.

Blessings,

Sunshine for Ali and Sarah

The Spirit of Travel

"Unusual travel suggestions are dancing lessons from God."- Kurt Vonnegut

(PTL for the interweb or I would have no good quote to start this last state-side blog with. :)

So we are dancing huh? I love dancing! Travel, dancing...this is destined to be a stunner of a blog.

I have come into contact with people over the last year and half (totaling my entire missionary career) who seem to think that we do this because we love to travel and see the world. I (along with Alison & Sunshine) would like to dispell that horrible, horrible myth. Tonight, we are the Myth Busters. *(adendum: we DO love to travel, don't get me wrong. It just isn't reason numero uno)

Why we are traveling to East Africa, Ethiopia to be exact:

• To be tools in the Loving & Mighty Hand of the God of the Universe.


• To love a group of women whose culture says they aren't worth as much as their counterparts.


• To demonstrate to a group of beautiful Ethiopian young ladies that God has a destiny, a beautiful story and journey for them in life that is just for them.


• To show them that the Holy Spirit is not the wimpy 3rd part of the Trinity but rather the Gift of Empowerment, Power and tangible Love in our lives that should overflow in us and pour out to others.


• To display an amazing thing: that God truly does use the foolish things of this world (the Game of Soccer) to confound the wise. Soccer is a key to the door of people's lives so Jesus can open the door of people's hearts.


• To lead them to a place where they see that Jesus is calling them to be Warriors for Himself armed with Truth, Love, Healing, Freedom and every beautiful weapon in the Lord's Arsenal.

We aren't going to hang out and see the sights, showers won't always be easy to come by, it certainly will not smell like a paradise. But praise God! Wherever He has called us is a Paradise because He is in us, He goes before us and paves the way. Anywhere we can go with God is an amazing place!!!

Be blessed to know that God is using YOU in our lives as He paves our way with His Presence and the prayers of His Children. He is already moving mightily and we are beyond thrilled to be able to share with you!

Godspeed!

Sarah (for all the sojourners)