A Vague Update on Unrest in Ethiopia

I haven’t known how to express what is going on back in Ethiopia, here’s a write up the Crisis Management Team sent out, thanks Mark and Debbie for writing it.

The country of Ethiopia has been heralded as a one of the shining stars of economic development in Africa, enabled by longterm stability.  However, for the past year, there has been civil unrest that at times have resulted in bloodshed.  The SIM Ethiopia team has been making hard decisions in the midst of this, taking seriously the dual responsibilities of safety of those in the SIM family, as well as the duties we have accepted as carriers of the eternal gospel.  Several downcountry SIM stations have evacuated and have been unable to continue their ministries in the accustomed manner.  The Ethiopian government has called a State of Emergency to deal with the crisis.  Please pray for God’s people to rise up as peacemakers, for His people to be protected, and for vision and courage to see the ministry opportunities that arise from the situation.  Pray too for the leadership of SIM Ethiopia and SIM International in making choices that allow gospel engagement without unnecessary risk.  Pray too for peace, and for His righteousness to shine. He is still our good, good Father, and we are thankful for his watchful care for us.  We also are thankful for our Ethiopian brothers and sisters, who exercised a nationwide three week fasting and prayer event two months ago, and again are calling for another week of it.  Please pray with them and us during this time.

So, here we are, trusting God has a beautiful plan, thankful to be here and not displaced in the capital, Addis Ababa, but with many thoughts for our friends and community in Ethiopia. I feel I haven’t quite gotten a handle on our new life yet (we’ve traveled, moved recently-all the travels and the move have been great). 

Thanks for patiently loving us, even when we don’t know which end is up. Jon continues work for SIM and is excited to be planning a conference in the early winter in our local area.