As I sit here writing this note to you I am suffering from the results of jet lag. Fifty one hours without a bed, missed flights, walking around in terminals, loading and unloading luggage have brought me to the place of bodily surrender to the effects of a long flight from Ethiopia. The older I get the more I wonder “is this worth it?” Suddenly I’m pulled back to the people, their needs and potential. Jet lag is a small price to pay for the blessings that have come our way as we interact with our Ethiopian brothers and sisters. We have just returned from a little taste of heaven.

The Gedeo people are 800,000 strong. 57% of them are followers of Christ. 250,000 of the 57%, or approximately 36,000 families live in the area where IAP is privileged to work. These people are serious about their walk with Christ. They are serious about the Great Commission. They are serious about their worship. They are serious about prayer. How refreshing. They are spiritually rich and materially poor. The land they live on produces some of the best coffee in the world, yet they are exploited and remain as some of the world’s poorest. God has given them a vision to raise some of these people out of poverty and He has given us the privilege to come alongside and help through the giving of micro-loans.

One of the elders who is part of the oversight of over 400 churches put it this way about our partnership.

“We thank God for giving you to us as brothers. The saving power of Jesus Christ came to us from Americans.  We are redeemed now and for the second time God is sending Americans, this time to help us with economic development. We pray good things will come from our partnership. Our land is good and the fruits of this land are good. However we don’t have the knowledge and capacity to make it beneficial to our people. Your network is very important. Give it to us and we will be able to destroy poverty in our area.”

They don’t want or need a hand out, just some help to get them started. And because of this economic lift His Kingdom will multiply throughout the earth.

Thanks for your part in sharing time, talent and treasure to see the dream become a reality. Are the struggles and efforts worth it? You better believe it!! Goodbye jet lag it was good to get to know you.