I wish I could say that Ethiopia is a Christian nation now.
However, Addis Ababa (the capital of Ethiopia) has many mosques that resound
their daily call for worship at 5:00 a.m. Muslim women wearing black veils
covering their faces walk the streets as if they were in an Islamic country.
I believe God had a purpose for allowing Ethiopia to hear
the Gospel from His own Apostle, Phillip. Ethiopia is a land of promise. Many
countries in Africa are looking to Ethiopia to spread the Gospel to the
unreached regions of Africa. Despite the fact that Christians are out-numbered
by Muslims in Ethiopia, thousands of Muslims are coming to the knowledge of
Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. As the Church faces this challenge, it
is rigorously preaching the Gospel in an unprecedented manner, even though
economically, the Church is no match to the petrol-dollars being poured into
Ethiopia by Arab nations.
Islamic converts do pay a high price. The moment they
confess Christ, they are cut-off from family and friends. Converts find it
overwhelming to remain Christians. Over night, the basic necessities of life
become hardships. One convert told me he would pray the sun would not go down
before he found a place to lay his head for the night. Because this is a daily
burden, many converts return to their family and to Islam. A study revealed
that out of a hundred Islamic converts, seventy return to Islam within a year
because of the hardships they face. These statistics were very disheartening,
so my wife and I prayed how we might help solve this problem.
“The
City of God” was the answer to our prayer. With the help of God, we
managed to begin this work that is coordinated with local churches. Thousands
come to Jesus every day in Ethiopia, however, very little is done making
disciples. The City of God assists new Muslim converts through Christian
love and support with basic needs such as food, shelter, and love, until they
are established in the faith. The City of God is in two cities by
the funds made available to us through your support. The City of God provides
the new believer with discipleship training, Christian material, and worship
times for about six months. Someone said that Christianity in Africa is a mile
wide and an inch deep. That statement used to bother me until I discovered that
it is true. The late Dr. Murphy, my teacher in seminary, made that same
statement in his book, Spiritual Warfare.
Now, we can do something about it—with your assistance.
One hundred seventy pastors, evangelists, and elders from
four denominations attended our leadership training seminars. Fifty-six pages
of discipleship material was handed to all that attended. The discipleship
material consisted of ways to evangelize and Bible lessons for over six months.
We believe that all believers should take this training. The local church
should participate with new believers. The task of discipleship won’t be
effective if left to the pastor or evangelist alone, everyone needs to get
involved. As the word about the seminar spread, many churches desired to get
involved. We believe this is to be our primary contribution to the churches in
Ethiopia.
In Addis Ababa children roam the streets asking for coins
for bread. Most of these children are orphans or
suffer from extreme poverty. By the help of God, we received a donation to
begin a home for these homeless children. We call it, “House Of Hope.” We now
have six children living in House Of Hope. We thank the Lord for
the family that made this project possible.
The City of God and the
House Of Hope are two projects that need your prayers and financial
support.
In the eastern part of Ethiopia, Dire Dawa, a famous city,
was hit with a flash flood at 2:00 a.m. that took hundreds of lives. When we
arrived in Dire Dawa, we met survivors; one was a Christian brother, an Islamic
convert who lost his wife, son and sister. Our hotel maid said that she managed
to escape death by climbing on her husband’s shoulders until daylight when she
discovered that her neighbors and their houses had been swept away. What would
you say to a man who lost his wife and six children? He was a gentle soul
trying to explain to us all that had happened. As he spoke he collapsed from
the agony of it all. We carried him to our hotel room and waited until he
recovered.
After meeting immediate needs of the families, we joined
with the local Church on a five-day evangelistic conference. The hearts of the
people were open and as the Psalmist said in Psalm 78:34, “When he slew them, then they sought him: and they returned and
inquired early after God.” Many were saved, healed and delivered from
demons. Revival broke out in that part of the city and the young people refused
to go home. They remained in the Church worshipping the Lord the whole night.
The Lord had prepared and visited His people during those five days.
During worship, in Western Ethiopia near Jimma, Muslims had
burned Churches and killed Christians. It was not reported on TV or radio
however, eyewitnesses made their way to the capital city to report the incident
to Church officials. It was verified through overseas radio that 135 people
lost their lives. Upon our return home, we were contacted by friends who saw
the gruesome pictures on the Internet. Persecution by Muslims is becoming more
and more aggressive in Ethiopia. Our ministry to equip the saints for spiritual
warfare is needed to combat the spirit of antichrist. Discipleship is essential
at this stage of Ethiopia’s Church history.
Our goal is to return to Ethiopia within six months
to continue equipping the saints in discipleship training. There is much work
to be done in Ethiopia, but the laborers are few. Please pray for the Lord to
release His laborers into this Harvest field. Please pray for us and pray for
Ethiopia. And, please pray for what your role should be as our partners. May
the Lord bless you.
In His Service,
Shoan and Aynalem Zeleke
