Ethiopia Updates – January 2023

Introduction

Psalms 103:2 “Praise the Lord, my soul; forget not all his benefits.” God’s word tells us that we need to tell our souls to give thanks. Psalm 136:3 tells us that one of the reasons we praise God is His mercy: “Give thanks to the Lord of lords, for his mercy endures forever.”

God’s word tells us that thanksgiving is a way to glorify God and reveal God’s salvation to us. Psalm 50:23 says, “Those who sacrifice thank offerings honor me, and to the blameless I will show my salvation.”

Thanksgiving is not only what we do when we feel it, but it is a way of life that we teach our souls based on a decision or a choice. We are so grateful to God for what He has done last year. 2022 has been a tough year for us as Unite Africa Ethiopia team in terms of direct attack and adversity from the enemy against our leaders, churches and members, but despite that, the Lord has grown the influence of our ministry significantly right around the world.

I would like to thank all of our courageous Leaders and their support teams for the great job they have all done last year and I pray that may God would give you strength and equip you for the huge plans God has ahead for you and your churches.

1. Amazing Mission Outreaches.

We have had great mission outreach events last year. And it has brought a huge impact in those cities and towns.

a. Wolayita Sodo Town

As Unite 4 Africa team we were so excited for the Mission out -reach in Wolaiyita Sodo. We, as a team and oneness, we preached the powerful Gospel of Jesus Christ and every heart heard the truth.

It was an amazing experience to see a sea of faces listening to every word. There were hundreds of thousands of people heard the Gospel and were many salvations, celebrations and healings.

We also ministered to all the leaders and ministers of the churches in Wolayita Sod and its surroundings. The ministers got equipped and encouraged to do the work of never like before. God is an awesome God!

Pastors’ conference in Wolayita Sodo town.

b. Arbaminch Town

Our Mission out-reach in Arbaminch town, Ethiopia was mind blowing. The conservative estimates were 200,000 people gathered to hear the Gospel. Many hundreds came forward for salvations and healings.

Words seem to be inadequate to describe what we have just experienced. God truly awesome, faithful and deep loving. We are so thankful for an incredible team and to serve together such an amazing God. Thank you all for your prayers and contributions in to the kingdom of God.

May God bless you abundantly for your commitments and faithfulness.

Amazing people in Arbaminch city.

2. Christmas celebration with Orphans and Vulnerable Children.

Christmas is many things for many people. Many of us view this time of year as a time of Joy and peace. However, for the past many years; our orphans’ vulnerable children had not been experiencing the joy of the holiday season for many years in past. Because; they were neglected & abandoned and there were no one with them who would have shown them love and care.

But we thank God for the opportunity that He has given us to serve these little children among us. Every year in Christmas season; we organize an event of celebration, fun time, prayer and singing. We also provide them various kinds of gifts, meals, soft drinks and candies. The children really love it and longing the event every year with great enthusiasm.

We did the same thing in this past Ethiopian Christmas holy day in our school Wonjishowa. My wife Addiskidan organized and conducted this event together with our local leaders. The joy, the smile and the laughter shown on the faces of those children was amazing and impressive.

As I said many times most of the children in our villages have never received any gift in their lives. So, when they received gift, they got shocked and became nervous. And they praised God and realized that God has given them the greatest gift ever His Son Jesus Christ to save us. I take this opportunity to thank my wife and all our partners who supported us in this program. May God bless you abundantly.

Ethiopian Christmas Celebration in Wonjishawa

3. Youth Development Training in Adama /Nazareth/ town

We as Unite 4 Africa team, our ministry is not limited in church compound only. We go out and bring an impact as God directs us and open doors to minister in every sphere of lives.

Last month one of our Master trainers Kalu organized a students’ forum & workshop in Adama/ Nazareth/ town. 469 middle & high school students from more than three private and other schools participated in this forum & workshop for one week.

The theme and focus of this forum & workshop were to help them to understand the meaning of “Excellence in Life” and “Character Development”. Kalu was so excited and thankful to God because he has got many feedbacks from Muslim and other non – believer students that their lives got challenged and their heart become more open to the Gospel.

Currently, Kalu is doing a close follow up with those students and started a discipleship journey of life with them. Praise God.

Students attending the forum and the workshop in Adama/ Nazareth/

4. Conclusion, Praise & Prayer Requests

The followings are praises and prayer request items to pray about with us: –

• Thank God for all our Leadership development and DMM Trainers who are laboring to train others in various regions of the country for their commitment and dedication to equip and train other leaders.
• Pray for our young leaders that God would continue to raise, equip and grow them to be the leaders of this young generation.
• Pray for the fruits of all our programs and projects in our ministries as Jesus Promised us to bear more fruits even lasting fruits.
• Pray for the new year plan that may God would continue guide, lead and equip us to do His will in all the nations that we working as it is heaven.

Samson Weldemariam /Pst/
Africa & Ethiopia director of U4A