Ethiopia Updates – September 2023

1. Advancing on the Path of Success

Hellen Getenet was born and grown up in a small town called Wonjishowa, Ethiopia. She lost her dad when she was an infant and her mother has been suffering with HIV – AIDS infection. As a result of that Hellen had been living in a deep poverty and life had been becoming miserable for her.

Our God is good and He led Dr. Okongo to this town and he obeyed to go together with Unite4Africa Ethiopia team. And we started this project of rehabilitating and supporting orphans and vulnerable children in that town. And we started supporting Hellen when she was 4 years old.

Left to right: Hellen, Dr. Okongo & Abeba

Since then, we have been supporting Hellen by sponsoring in her education, providing her school supplies, clothing, food, health care and some other self-sustainable empowerment like goats and spiritual support as well.

Hellen’s Graduation Day 

Just few weeks ago Hellen graduated from college with a degree of Business Administration in Adama town. I attended her graduation ceremony by representing Dr. Okongo and Unite4Africa and thanked God and prayed for Hellen for her next life journey. I was overwhelmed by the goodness of God to see how God used Dr. Okongo and our ministry Unite 4 Africa to help those vulnerable children like Hellen to transform their lives and their future.

Hellen on her part said that no words can express how much she is thankful to God for sending Dr. Okongo and Unite 4 Africa ministry in her early childhood to transform her life completely. She added that; if not Unite 4 Africa’s intervention in her life she could have not been alive today or she may lead a miserable life. Praise God!

2. The impact of out Goat/Animal/ Project

Emati Kassahun Chala is one of our goats’ project beneficiaries who are from the village called Dibibisa, sub district of Adama. Last year May 2022, a School of Prayer team led by Dr. Okongo came to Ethiopia and became a witness and gave out goats to our orphans. Emati was one of them and she received a goat and fortunately her goat was pregnant and gave birth to twins within a week’s time.

Almost a year ago Dr. Okongo gave goat to Emati

God blessed her goats and currently they multiplied to seven and another two are pregnant again. She sold some of them and bought food, clothes, school supplies and school uniforms. Now, she is 8 years old and grade 2 student. She, her care taker and the community are so excited and praise God for her and are amazed at how God is faithful and blesses His children.

Emati & her goats

3. Disciple -Makers National Summit

We had a very successful Disciple Makers National Summit in the beginning this month of August. 28 of our key Disciple Makers across Ethiopia gathered together for three days. we discussed on the Summit: –

a. The importance of Coaching & follow up in Leadership Development
b. Leadership Multiplication in Jesus’s way
c. The importance of Small Disciple – Making groups in Multiplication and
d. Partner Raising

Prayer & Tine of Discussion

Dr. Okongo also shared from scripture the very important points on Mentoring and Coaching through Zoom based on Jesus’s life and ministry of Disciple Making. The participants have been refreshed and renewed by the Jesus’s way of Disciple Making and recommit themselves to this vision to accelerate the Disciple – Making movements in their respective regions and districts and also they got convinced to focus on working Leadership Multiplication like Jesus did in order to make sure the movement continues.

Dr. Okongo encouraged & shared scriptures with our leaders through Zoom

 

4. Praise and Prayer items

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

• Praise God for the Disciple Making Movement /DMM/ as it continues in the country.
• Praise God for the impact of our Goat/ Animal/ Project and for the transformation of many lives through our ministry Unite 4 Africa.
• Pray for our Disciple – Making Movements and programs that God would grant us strength to make disciples and develop more local leaders for the work.
• Continue to pray for our projects that God would continue transform the lives of our communities like He did in the life of Hellen.

Samson Weldemariam /Pst/
Africa & Ethiopia director of U4A