News from Shoan and Aynalem Zeleke
3048 E. Sierra St. •
Phoenix, AZ 85028
Shoangizaw@yahoo.com
602-403-9531
July 2006
Dear friends,
While in Northern California, I heard a
street preacher telling a story: A pig and a hen were walking together and heard
someone ask for a donation of ham and eggs. The pig noticed the benevolent hen
was ready to give and he said, “It would only cost you a few eggs, Mrs. Hen,
but for me to give, it would cost my life!”
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About two years ago
in Ethiopia, I was introduced to a young woman radically converted from Islam.
Nuria had been married, but her husband divorced her because of her faith in
Jesus. She was “under the gun” daily to deny Jesus. One day she actually had a
gun put in her mouth, by her father who was screaming at her to come back to
Islam! His wife yelled at him to pull the trigger, but he could not. Nuria
passed out! Finding no support in her town, she fled to the large capital city
of Addis Ababa with her little daughter, in hope of finding Christians.
When
Aynalem and I were in Addis Ababa last time, we were glad to see Nuria again.
Talking to her was quite an experience. She is a vibrant Christian lady,
brightly shining for the Lord. Aynalem and Nuria spent hours together with
Nuria testifying of the marvelous grace of Jesus. Though life in the big city
is difficult, she told Aynalem that His grace is sufficient for her and her
daughter. She has joined a church choir so that she would be able to sing of
His matchless grace and praise Him.
Her relatives beg her to return to
Islam, tempting her with large sums of money, but she remains faithful to her
Savior. This year, she has led five people to the Lord, including her cousin
and was trying to help them find a church where they could be discipled. This
was a challenge since she does not own a vehicle. Nuria is working with us part
time. She also has the responsibility of taking care of her daughter as a
single parent with no child support. Please pray for Nuria and her cute daughter,
Yabets. |
At about the same
time I was introduced to Nuria in Addis Ababa, I met a brother by the name of
Abdul Aziz. He has a remarkable testimony of how he came to know the Lord. We
supported him while he was witnessing. Recently, he went through an
adverse circumstance that left him weakened in the faith. He didn’t last long with his family, as they
were demanding of him to follow his old ways. Now, he is back to Jesus with
repentance and hopefully when we see him, we will know what exactly is happening
in his life. Please pray for Abdul Aziz. This young man needs The Body for
spiritual, emotional, and physical support. It is not easy for a young unbeliever to become a Christian. |
We
then flew to the eastern part of Ethiopia to hold a conference for a week. In
one of our meetings, we spoke to a group of church leaders of the importance of
prayer and fasting as an integral part of church life. When asked by the
disciples why they were not able to help a demon possessed young man, Jesus
made a firm statement concerning prayer and fasting. Taking the message to
heart, they were challenged to put it into practice. A pastor wrote to us who
put into practice prayer and fasting for a church building. The Lord answered
by providing a building and their attendance tripled, resulting with members of non-christian religions in
the neighborhood being receptive to the Gospel of Jesus. The same pastor, in
his second letter to us, shared a couple of victories that contributed to the
growth and edification of their church as whole. |
Girma, a missionary we have been supporting
since last year, has led 12 non-believers to Jesus and started a church with those
converts, even though they are located in a demonic stronghold. That’s what we
want to see! Planting churches in unreached areas. We can’t wait to see all
this. We were able to support him, because of your partnership in one way or
another. Thank you.
Our target date to
return to Ethiopia is August 16. We would appreciate your prayers for traveling
mercies and for the conferences that will be held. We thank you for all your
encouragement and support for the great needs that exist in Ethiopia. We look
forward to giving you a favorable report upon our return.
May God bless you
abundantly.
In the service of our
Lord,
Shoan and Aynalem
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