Hi, everyone! We are here safely in Addis Ababa! The landscape and the people are beautiful and we are so blessed to walk outside our hotel to a spectacular view of the mountains. Thank y’all for lifting us up in prayer, and please continue to do so throughout the week. Today was a wonderful day, but one moment stuck out to me the most. As we were en route to the Project Mercy orphanage, one van got stuck in the mud, so we all got out to push the van. Without much success, we decided to walk the remaining distance to the Project Mercy church. Of course, this was not what I was expecting. The shoes I wore to the church did not agree with the mud, so the walk to the church was quite challenging. As I was walking (and trying not to faceplant into the mud) I started to think about Jesus’ sermon on the mount. Many people came to hear Jesus teach, but he challenged his audience to follow him on a journey that probably wouldn’t be pleasant. Few were faithful enough to follow him up the tough terrain of the mountain. In the same way, our team shuffled through sticky, nasty mud because we knew the call and wanted to fulfill it. It was amazing to see the willingness of our team and to hear no complaints about walking through the mud, and it definitely made me realize that though our faith walks with Jesus are never easy, they are always worth it and are full of blessings.
Thank you for your prayers, and continue to lift us up as we travel to our next destinations tomorrow. Sorry that we haven’t posted much — wireless internet is very limited at our hotel.
In Christ,
Toni Doss