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!