Last Week

Well we have had a great and exciting week here in Addis Ababa. God has really saved the best for last! We spent this last week in two different prisons, a few hours outside of the city. At each prison we were were able to share a drama, testimony and preaching. It was truly amazing to see how God is moving in these people. The people are very eager to hear the word of God and to spend time in worship.

The last prison that we went to was in a town called Ambo. Here there were about 2000 prisoners held. Some for short periods of time and others for life. The first day that we walked into the church inside the prison you could immediately sense the presence of God. The worship was amazing. We did our program and preached on the love of God. After the service about 6 people gave their lives to God and another dozen rededicated their lives. it was so great! After we prayed for these people we asked if anyone needed prayer. The response was overwhelming. Almost everyone in the room (about 500) raised their hands. We began to pray for these people and the presence of God began to minister to each one. It was impossible for us to truly minister to these people because of the number of people as well as the language barriers, but the holy spirit that was in the room reached every single person. It was amazing to see the reverence for God that was in that room.

Needless to say we were very excited to return the next day to see what God had planned. And again it was an amazing day. In the first service we again did our program and preached on Discipleship, we were able to take time again to pray for those who needed, Gods presence was so strong! The worship was indescribable. After some time a prisoner got up at the front and began to share with us how he could not understand why we had come, why we would take time to speak to the prisoners. He said that he began to pray about it and ask God. He then began to give each one of us a word from God, things that were so personal for each one of us. The service ran over an our and a half late, but none of us wanted to leave. We left for about an hour lunch break and returned for the second service. Again the worship was so amazing. I took a moment to look around at the faces of the prisoners as we worshiped. The joy that was on thier face was overwhelming- you could truly see the joy of the Lord pouring out of each one- in prison.

One thing that we all realized is that it was us that went to minister to these prisoners- but being in that place and receiving from these prisoners, they were ministering to us. God was in that place- stronger than i had ever felt before. It was an experience that we all will never forget.

We will be flying from Addis Ababa back to Germany early on Monday morning. Please pray for safe travels and a smooth transition back into the Western Culture.

Thank You and God Bless!

Week 9

Well it has been a busy past few weeks. We only have one week left here in Ethiopia, but these last few weeks seem to be the busiest. We have now completed the sports field, painted the lines on the concrete and hung the basket ball nets. The kids from the school as well as the neighborhood are really enjoying to have a place to play. We spent a week working with Youth for Christ. It was a great opportunity for us to put out teaching skills to practice and to be able to share what we learned through out the lecture phase of the school. There were about 15 students in the class as well as about 25 in the English class. We also did some dramas, testimony and played some games with the kids.

Teaching English at Youth for Christ

Hanging out with the kids

Playing games in the courtyard

Listening to a teaching

Week 8

At the end of last week we spent one afternoon in a Prison about 1 hour from the city. Here we had a chance to do a drama, share a testimony, and preach to about 60 people. Three people gave their lives to God! It was a great opportunity.

On Saturday we prepared hamburgers and had a barbecue to feed about 70 street kids. It was a really great day of hanging out and playing games with the kids. We were able to use the sports field as our base, it was great to have the space and somewhere to play for the kids. We were able to share a drama with the kids and do a short testimony. The kids here are so full of life, it is amazing how a simple hamburger and a few games can really impact them.

This next week we will be spending in the Prisons. We will be traveling a few hours everyday. At the prisons we will be doing dramas, sharing testimonies and preaching twice a day. This will be a great chance for us to share Gods word and heart with the people.

Please pray for us this next and finally week here in Ethiopia. Pray for safe travels, and please pray for those who we are sharing Gods word with- that there can be healings in peoples lives.

God Bless!

Week 7

Well we have made it through another week of building the sports field. We are almost complete the whole project. Thank you to all of those who donated to help us complete this project, you have been such a blessing to these kids here. We only have about one day left to paint the lines on the field and to place the goals and then we are finished. We are anxiously looking forward to the day that we can play a few games with the kids are the school, maybe sometime next week.

Please continue to pray for us and God Bless!


Jetzt haben wir wieder eine Woche am Bau des Sportfeldes geschafft. Wir haben das Projekt fast abgeschlossen. Vielen Dank an alle, die mit ihrem Geld geholfen haben, dass wir dieses Projekt durchführen können – ihr seid so ein Segen für die Kids hier. Wir brauchen nur noch einen Tag, um die Markierungen auf das Sportfeld zu zeichnen und die Tore anzubringen und dann sind wir fertig. Wir freuen uns schon darauf, ein paar Spiele mit den Schulkindern spielen zu können... vielleicht nächste Woche.

Bitte betet weiter für uns und Gott segne euch!

Mixing concrete...

...by hand

One layer

Another layer

Almost finished

Week Six - Do you want to get involved?

As you know we have been working on a sports field for a school in a poorer area of the city, over the past two weeks. The kids in this area have no safe, or applicable space to play. We are near completing this project but are low on funds. As we prepared the budget months ago back in Germany we were quoted 3500 Euro to complete the field. God was very faithful and the funds were raised with support from various contacts of the YWAM Hurlach Base.

Now that the project is under way the cost to complete it is more that what was projected, due to the increased cost of materials and equipment rentals over the past few weeks. These are expenses that we could not have prepared for.

WIth that said we would like to give you and opportunity to get involved with this project for these kids. God has provided for this project so far and we believe that He will continue to do so. We now need to raise about 1000 euros over this next week in order to complete the sports field, so we are asking for your help!

Please pray for us over this time for provision and safety as we work. If you would like to give your financial support for this project you can make a donation to the following account.

Bank: Ev. Kreditgenossenschaft Kassel e.G.
Name: JmeM Hurlach e.V.
Bank#: 52060410
Account: 5330050
Regarding: DTS-Ethiopia-Sportsfield

For those from Canada or USA please contact
Christine Kabut by email to make arangements
sckabut@shaw.ca


Wie ihr bereits wisst, arbeiten wir gerade an einem Sportfeld fuer eine Schule in einem armen Bezirk von Addis Abeba. Die Kids haben keinen Ort, an dem sie spielen koennen. Wir sind bald mit dem Projekt fertig, aber es fehlt immer noch Geld dafuer. Als wir vor einigen Monat das Projekt in Deutschland vorbreitet haben und ein Budget aufstellten, kamen wir auf einen Preis von 3500 Euro um das Projekt zu vervollstaendigen. All die Spenden haben wir von verschiedenen Kontakten von JmeM Hurlach bekommen. Waehrend wir nun an dem Projekt arbeiten, haben wir festgestellt dass das Geld nicht ausreicht. Die Materialkosten sind angestiegen sowohl auch die Kosten fuer das ausleihen von Maschinen, das alles konnten wir nicht voraus sehen.

Wir bitten euch hiermit euch in das Projekt zu involvieren. Gott hat bis jetzt fuer das Projekt gesorgt und wir glauben, das er das auch weiterhin tun wird. Wir brauchen noch ca. 1000 Euro im Laufe der naechsten Woche und wir bitten um eure Hilfe.

Bitte betet fuer uns, waehrend wir das Projekt vervollstaendigen und wenn ihr uns finanziell unterstuetzen moechtet, dann koennt ihr das Geld auf folgendes Konto ueberweisen:

Evangelische Kreditgenossenschaft Kassel e.G.
Kontoinhaber: JmeM Hurlach e.V.
Kontonummer: 5330050
Bankleitzahl: 52060410
Verwendungszweck: DTS-Ethiopia-Sportsfield

Es gibt auch die Moeglichkeit eine Spendenbescheinigung zu bekommen.

Goal Posts

All the boys carrying 50kilo bags of cement...

... and now covered in cement

Ready for cement

Kids program Friday night

Week 5

Well this week we have been working on building a sports feild for a school in the city of Addis Ababa. Mostly it is alot of digging and hauling dirt right now. We are building a wall around the out side as a foundation for the feild. When we are done the kids will be able to play soccer, volleyball and basketball. Right now they only have a gravel yard to play in which is not level of suitable for air filled balls.

Although this week has been alot of hard work it is alot of fun to work together and also to see how excited the kids are to have some where to play. When the kids are on their lunch break they come out and take over our work for us. It is nice to see that they want to be a part of the work that is taking place, and it is a great break for us to;) The whole project should take three weeks, but we are hoping to get done a little but earlier.

Please continue to pray for protection as we work and also for everything to go as planned.
God Bless!


Diese Woche haben wir hauptsächlich an einem Sportfeld für eine Schule in Addis Abeba gearbeitet. Im Moment heißt das vor allem Erde schaufeln und wegbringen. Wir bauen eine Wand um das Feld um es zu verstärken. Wenn wir fertig sind werden die Kids hier Fußball, Volleyball und Basketball spielen können. Bisher haben sie nur einen Schotterplatz, der nicht für luftgefüllte Bälle geeignet ist.

Obwohl es diese Woche viel schwere Arbeit gab macht es uns viel Spaß zusammen zu arbeiten und auch zu sehen, wie begeistert die Kinder sind, dass sie bald hier spielen können. Wenn die Kids ihre Mittagspause haben kommen sie raus und nehmen uns die Arbeit ab. Es ist schön zu sehen, dass sie ein Teil der Arbeit sein wollen, und es schafft uns auch eine nette Pause. ;) Das ganze Projekt sollte drei Wochen dauen, aber wir hoffen es etwas früher abschließen zu können.

Bitte betet weiterhin für Schutz bei der Arbeit und dass alles wie geplant läuft.
Gott segne euch!

The land for the sports field

Signing the contract before we begin construction

Breaking Ground...

All of the kids coming to relieve us of our work...

After three days of work...

Week Four

This past week we spent in Awassa- a city about 5 hours from Addis. The drive out there was very interesting, we were able to get a little bit more of an idea of what it looks like to live in the country side. We saw many huts made of mud and straw along the road and, it is hard to imagine what it would be like to live this way, with no running water or electricity. We also saw some more African animals along the way like camels, very large birds, a hienna(??) and some others. Along the way our vehicle overheated and we were forced to pull over on the side of the highway. Here we were in the middle of no where, but yet we still managed to attract a crowd. After about five minutes there were about fifteen people standing around us, just watching what we were doing. I have no idea how they knew that we were there, i am sure they must radio each other or something because people come were walking in from out of no where. It was quite funny.

After a long hot drive we finally arrived in Awassa. Here we were staying with a Missionary family with Helimission. This is a Mission organization that flies people in and out of very remote areas by helicoptor. This is where we spent the week helping the family out with some practical work on the property. They live right on lake Awassa, it was absolutely beautiful there, and much hotter then the city. It was a great week to work together and to so some practical work.

We were given a few opportunities to minister this week as well. We ran two friday night youth group services and one sunday church service, a moms group one morning and finally an early morning time with a High School of over 1000 teens. In each of these services we did a drama, shared testimonies, and did some preaching. It was really great to meet some new friends and to be apart of some ministries with in Awassa.

Before we left the city to return to Addis Ababa we went on some tour boat to see some hippos. Although we are not able to get too close we did get to see about 6 hippos and have a nice relaxing boat ride on Lake Awassa. On the way home we were able to stop at a place called Sabana Resort. Here there was a beautiful beach, great food, and breath taking landscape. We stayed here for the afternoon relaxing, swimming and soaking up some sun. It was a great treat after a week of hard work!

This next week will be a practical week as well where we will be building a sports field along side a school yard. It will be some hard but rewarding work.

Please remember to pray for our time here! God bless!


Die letzte Woche verbrachten wir in Awassa, einer Stadt ungefähr 5 Stunden von Addis entfernt. Die Fahrt dorthin war sehr interessant und wir bekamen einen besseren Eindruck davon, wie es ist auf dem Land zu leben. Wir sahen viele Hütten aus Schlamm und Stroh entlang der Straße; es ist schwer sich vorzustellen, wie es wäre so zu leben, ohne fließendes Wasser oder Strom. Auf dem Weg sahen wir noch mehr afrikanische Tiere, z.B. Kamele, sehr große Vögel, eine Hyäne und einige andere. Während der Fahrt wurde der Motor zu heiß und wir waren gezwungen, an der Schnellstraße anzuhalten. Hier waren wir mitten im Nirgendwo aber schafften es trotzdem, eine Menschenmenge anzuziehen. Nach ungefähr fünf Minuten standen ca. 15 Menschen um uns herum und beobachteten einfach, was wir taten. Ich habe keine Ahnung wie sie wussten dass wir da waren. Ich bin mir sicher dass sie sich zufunkten oder so, denn Leute kamen aus dem Nichts. Es war ziemlich lustig.

Nach einer langer heißen Fahrt kamen wir endlich in Awassa an. Hier wohnten wir bei einer Missionarsfamilie der Helimission. Das ist eine Missionsorganisation, die Menschen mit dem Hubschrauber in und aus schwer erreichbaren Gebieten fliegt. Wir verbrachten die Woche damit, der Familie mit praktischer Arbeit auf ihrem Ggrundstück zu helfen. Sie wohnen direkt am See von Awassa. Es war absolut schön hier und viel heißer als in der Stadt. Es war eine großartige Woche, zusammen praktisch zu arbeiten.

Wir hatten während der Woche auch einige Möglichkeiten, geistlich zu dienen. Wir organisierten zwei Freitagabend-Jugendgruppengottesdienste und einen Gemeindegottesdienst am Sonntag, eine Gruppe für Mütter an einem Morgen und noch eine sehr frühe Morgenandacht in einer Schule mit über 1000 Teenagern. In jedem dieser Gottesdienste zeigten wir ein Theaterstück, erzählten unsere Zeugnisse und predigten. Es war toll, neue Freundschaften zu knüpfen und bei einigen Diensten in Awassa mitzumachen.

Bevor wir die Stadt wieder Richtung Addis Abeba verließen, machten wir eine Bootstour um ein paar Nilpferde zu sehen. Obwohl wir nicht sehr nah heran konnten sahen wir ungefähr 6 Nilpferde und genossen die gemütliche Bootsfahrt auf dem See von Awassa. Auf dem Heimweg konnten wir an einem Ort namens Sabana Resort halten. Hier gab es einen wunderschönen Strand, tolles Essen und eine atemberaubende Umgebung. Wir verbrachten den Nachmittag mit Entspannen, Schwimmen und Sonne tanken. Es war ein tolles Geschenk nach einer Woche harter Arbeit.

Nächste Woche wird wieder eine praktische Woche, in der wir an einem Sportfeld bei einer Schule arbeiten werden. Es wird schwere aber lohnenswerte Arbeit sein.

Denkt daran, für uns hier zu beten! Gott segne euch!

Team picture in Awassa

Drama, testimony and preaching at a Junior and Senior High School in Awassa

Team Picture with Missionaries of Helimission in Awassa

Beautiful Sunset over Lake Awassa

A poor Hyena after killed by four crazy hyena hunters

Week Three

This past week was a little bit laid back for us. Now that the holidays are over we can pick up the pace a little bit and really get to work here. We spent a few days at Hope Enterprise again this week. It was nice to go back there and see some familiar faces. We are getting to know a few people now, and they are getting to know us as well.

On Friday - Jan 8th we will be leaving Addis Ababa and traveling six hours to the city of Awasa. Here we will be working for one week with a missionary family to help build a home. This will be a new experience for all of us, but i think that we are all excited about it. We hear that we will be living near a lake which Hippo's live and also that there are monkey's living there too. It will be great to see a little bit more of Ethiopia and the African life.

Please pray for our travels there and back and also for the ministry that we will be a part of there. God Bless!


Die letzte Woche war eher entspannt für uns. Jetzt, wo die Feiertage vorbei sind, können wir das Tempo wieder etwas anziehen und richtig was anpacken. Wir verbrachten diese Woche wieder ein paar Tage bei Hope Enterprise. Es war schön, wieder dort hinzugehen und bekannte Gesichter zu sehen. Wir lernen schon einige Leute kennen, und sie lernen uns auch kennen.

Am Freitag, dem 8. Januar, werden wir Addis Abeba verlassen und sechs Stunden in die Stadt Awasa reisen. Dort werden wir eine Woche mit einer Missionarsfamilie arbeiten und dabei helfen, ein Haus zu bauen. Das wird eine neue Erfahrung für uns alle sein, aber ich glaube wir freuen uns alle darauf. Wir haben gehört, dass wir in der Nähe eines Sees mit Nilpferden wohnen werden, und dass dort auch Affen leben. Es wird toll sein, noch ein bißchen mehr von Äthiopien und dem Leben in Afrika zu sehen.

Bitte betet für unsere Reisen dorthin und zurück und auch für die Arbeit, an der wir uns dort beteiligen. Gott segne euch!

New Years Eve

New Years Eve

Working at hope enterprise

Preaching to those at Hope enterprise before they eat

Girls night in