Karen Salmon - Ethiopia |
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Prayer Letter May 2008
Dear friends,
Let me begin by apologising for yet another late newsletter! Life just seems to rush on past and I have found it very difficult lately to sit and write an update to you. One major reason for the delay has been the intensive surgery God has been doing on my character; it’s been a challenging time emotionally. Thank you so much for your prayerful support and your faithful encouragements by email and post.
HIV work at Mekelle Youth Centre continues to keep us busy. The older boys and girls from the Anti AIDS club continue to mature and are showing lots of initiative in running their own outreach programmes on Saturdays and using sports as a means of reaching young people with ‘abstinence until marriage’, and ‘wait’ messages. The Bible study groups for youth centre girls (13-14 and 15 years +) are going well on Saturday afternoons. Also, Jon is pushing ahead with the idea of forming a Boys Bible Club, so pray for doors to open for him. The study he does with our male staff is going well. Continue to ask God to mature the girls and guys in their understanding and knowledge of Him. Also, for Rufael and me as we lead the HIV work and for the many now involved in teaching their peers.
Our Girls' Anti AIDS Club members continue their community service on Friday mornings at the Boarding School for Blind children to play games during their break time. The children love these times and have a good laugh competing and having fun, then receiving a banana for break. The BBC recently did a radio feature on this work! Please continue to pray for us as we work with the blind children in games (7-15s) and Bible studies (16+) that God would encourage and bless them with His love.
In late December we had a wonderful graduation for the first rural schoolteachers and pupils in Faith-Based HIV/AIDS Awareness at Romenat, west of Mekelle. Then we held another graduation last month at May Mekden north of Mekelle for Anti AIDS Club leaders and teachers. The graduations have been a lot of fun with our gymnastics and music groups and our Anti AIDS Clubs dramas. Currently we are in the middle of teaching yet another group of teachers and students this time at Debre Genet a rather remote village south of Mekelle. We teach every Tuesday and Thursday during the morning break time. Jon has been giving leadership training in these rural schools and our sports coach, Estefanos, does football training too. We would love others to join us in the work here. Please continue to ask God to send us Computer, English and Sports teachers/programme leaders.
We have been working alongside Heiwan, a church intern, since January. The first stage of training has gone well with Heiwan working alongside us at the youth centre, rural school and prison. Now we have begun the second stage by working with Heiwan at her church to teach an HIV/AIDS Awareness course to Christian university students. Please pray as we build relationship there; we also want to teach the young Sunday school age children before moving on to stage three when Heiwan will teach new groups there herself with only limited support and supervision from us.
The Living Positively prison group for those living with HIV continues to grow. We now have two Muslim members and I am so grateful for the Islamic training I received at All Nations Christian College, so I can better explain the Bible and teaching on God in a way that is acceptable and understood by them.
Three groups of students have now graduated from the courses I was teaching at St. Frumentius Orthodox Seminary. They graduated in HIV/AIDS Awareness, Teaching Methodology and Christian Counselling. On Monday mornings I’m now teaching a Bible Study on Joseph’s life at the Orthodox orphanage for girls near the Seminary. They really are great girls and it’s so good to have the opportunity to study the Bible with them, teach memory verses and sing! Do pray for us as we get to know each other better that God would build strong relationships and speak to them from His Word.
Our drought seems to have ended with a week of very good rain. Despite this electricity and water cuts remain a usual feature of this time of year. Finally, world fuel and grain price increases have impacted the local economy and are making it really difficult for people in Ethiopia. Cooking oil is now three times to price it was in September. I can economise by cutting out luxury items and treats, but I fear the poor can only economise by cutting out a meal a day. Do pray for the poor here especially as the drought will also impact food availability.
This comes with much love in Christ,
Karen