Hearing the call “to go" to Ethiopia and answering it are two quite different things. Yet, we believed that one could not happen without the other. And that belief would cause change in our life.
The call to Ethiopia caused our family to experience a dramatic change in lifestyle and our way of thinking.
We were surrounded by a wonderful family and many friends, living in a small community, teaching school and enjoying the comfort of a regular pay cheque. Leaving this for a life of the unknown was the call and challenge that Christ had placed on us. I suppose people thought we were absurd in our way of thinking but when God gets a hold of your heart He tends to make the foolish things wise. This is the uniqueness of God. The call He had put on us was so strong, and the need to "go and preach the Gospel” was never in question. We knew we wanted His way to be our way.
Five of our eight children had now either completed or were involved with undergraduate studies. This left us with our 3 younger teenagers, Bethany, Matthew and Patricia, who had decided they wanted to travel with us to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Looking back, God’s hand had to be upon them. They, along with us, were willing to leave their home and friends to accept the challenge of uprooting themselves and going where the unknown awaited us. Yet, they handled it with such grace. His Grace.
As the time drew near to leave, we were flooded with feelings of guilt and abandonment. Many had tried to convince us it was like an unforgiveable sin to leave my mother and siblings, yet we knew we had to press on and answer the call! The journey began and “the arrival” would soon take place.
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