About the Trip

Hello everyone,

This is the cumulative blog for the Ethiopia I Team with the Village Church. Hopefully you found your way here because you know of someone on the team. At some point, whoever you know on the team will post something on this blog, so keep checking back to see what he/she has to say. And for everyone's benefit, I'll use this post as a way to just get you up to date on what this team is doing:

Eleven men and women from the Village Church (www.thevillagechurch.net) will be heading to Lake Langano, Ethiopia from April 21st-May3rd. We will be working with Shane and Allyson Smith, missionaries from the Village, as they run various ministries through SIM International. Allyson will be utilizing our 6 medical professionals to help out with the clinic that services a wide are of Ethiopia. The closest hospital is a 4 hour car ride, so if it's not a deathly emergency, they go to the SIM clinic. Shane will be taking the other 5 team members and will work on the compound, doing all sorts of odd jobs like painting, wiring, setting up solar panels (maybe), and building a library. But more than just that, we are will be going to support the work of the Smiths as they have been called to be long term missionaries in Africa. Hopefully, the calling that is on the hearts of some of the members on our team might be made clear through this trip, and that they would know that the Lord is calling them to move overseas. Then again, maybe he solidifies in some of our hearts that we are missionaries right here in Dallas, so this is where we are to stay. In any case, my prayer is that each individual on this trip is not seeing this as a one time deal, but rather it is a way to shape and form our lives to not be individual acts of mission trips but that our lives be lives totally on mission.

To go on this trip, each one of us will have to go through a round of at least 7 shots (Hep A, Hep B, Typhoid, Tetanus, MMR, Adult Polio, Yellow Fever, and maybe rabies). We will also be going through the missional living handbook produced by the Village. And we are each responsible for raising $2500 for the team. Lastly, we will be doing some cultural adjusting for Ethiopia. So there's a lot ahead of us in preparation for our departure. Please continue to pray for us as this is all for nothing if not for the Glory of the Lord. And please continue to support your friends and family on this team with encouragement and anything else that God might lay on your heart.

We love you and thank you and look forward to sharing our stories with you as we continue on in this life.

Peace and Grace,

Paul G

Team Leader