It is shocking to me that it is already late August.
Through all the busyness of the summer season, through all of it ... God has been there!
I've been listening to this song the past week or so: "Through All of It" by Colton Dixon...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91KliTa1ksY
I'm so thankful that through the best and worst of times, on the mountaintops and in the valleys, in the extraordinary and ordinary, God remains with us. We are able to walk with Him and know Him.
The "summer season" here in Ethiopia was very busy. And it's not done yet. We are about ready to shift into the new school year, but have one major event to go.
But, I wanted to share some highlights from the past months here. God again has been with us "through all of it."
At EvaSUE, we've had three big national events so far and one big mission team launched and returned to Addis. God has helped us!
Our first event came in June. Our National Staff Meeting was held in Bishoftu. Our over 100 EvaSUE staff gathered for one week of debriefing and training, fellowship and prayer.
Most of the year, our staff team is spread out in the regions. So it was great to see everyone and to reflect on the past school year. Our reports from all regions in just a few months alone had over 1000 responses to the good news of Jesus and almost 20,000 people who had heard the gospel around the country. What God has been able to do through this staff and through the students they represent is amazing and I think God is preparing us together to do even more! May God give us courage, unity, wisdom, and impact.
We also introduced the main book of the Bible we will be studying this coming year, the book of Jeremiah. And we talked about the major points we will make at our national and regional events. Our overall theme is: Faithful Servants of the Kingdom. We will study the book of Jeremiah and how he called the people of God to faithfulness. Are we being faithful to God? Or unfaithful? What does that look like at this time in history? Our main teaching points are and will be that God calls us to
1. stay consecrated
2. to return to God (repent)
3. to wait /hope in Him. (And this waiting is an active waiting. While we wait for Him, we work for Him. We lift Him up and the hope that He gives.)
This theme and major points have been prayed over for months and we feel is what God wants us to say to students now. May God give us all courage to represent Him well and to stay faithful to Him!
Our next event was the National Mission Summit in July. Over 500 student mission mobilizer leaders gathered for our one week of training. This week was so impactful as we talked talked about the book of Jeremiah and our call to faithfulness and what that means for us to reach people for Jesus Christ. We heard mission statistics and students took different seminars. I had several teams I was part of for the week and several responsibilities. Our art and creative team, the sport team, the testimony (story) collection team all did outstanding work! I enjoyed giving a three day seminar on Culture and Mission. It was exhausting but fantastic week. I believe God will water these seeds in the year ahead!
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| Mass Sport |
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| Creative Art Displays |
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| some of my amazing creative team |
We also had a mission trip team with EvaSUE travel for three weeks into the southern part of Ethiopia after our National Mission Summit. They had an amazing trip. We thank God for their safety and all they were able to do!
We have one more major event happening in one week and it's our biggest national event for EvaSUE - our National Leadership Summit, Aug 28-Sept 2. Please pray for us as we host between 800-1000 student leaders for a week of training and equipping. May God move through the week and light us up for the new school year ahead!
Here in Ethiopia, the season will shift in the coming weeks. It will move from rain to sun. Most schools will start back in late September and early October, some of the international schools have already kicked off a new school year. A new year for Ethiopia, 2016, will start in mid September.
Through all of it, may we hold onto God and trust Him and represent Him well! He goes with us!
Thank you so much for your partnership and prayers for the work here! God has done so much!
Though times globally have not been easy and here in Ethiopia there continues to be instability and high inflation, through all of it, God remains God and He goes with us!
May we trust Him, stay faithful to Him and serve Him well!
"This is the covenant I will make with them, I will put my law within them, I will write it on their hearts; they will be my people I will be their God." - Jeremiah 31:33
May God bless you as the summer ends and a new school year and fall season begins!
If you'd like to give to work here, you can so through this link:
www.globaloutreach.org/giving/missionary-details/holly-garrett
Thank you again and blessings from here!
Through all of it, all of life, God stays with us! May we stay with Him and honor Him in all!
