A Bright Shining Day

What a beautiful day in Ethiopia – this morning the sun was shining for the 1st time in a while, as we are in the middle of the rainy season.  We spent the morning in productive meetings with leaders from the denomination of our World Orphans partner churches, the largest Christian denomination in Ethiopia.

Later in the day we visited a unique ministry of a local Ethiopian church that empowers/equips and employs over 120 HIV positive women making jewelry and coffee to sell to both local and international buyers.  They not only provide them with jobs to feed them and their children, but also help restore them to community when they have been ostracized and shunned by even their own families.  Most importantly they are introduced to what the love of Jesus Christ is all about and hope not only for today, but for eternity.    This was a bright shining example of what the local church can do to reach out and make a difference in the lives of people in their community in practical ways while sharing the good news of true eternal hope.

Let your light shine before men that they might see your good works and praise your father in heaven. – Matthew 5:16

The apostle Peter wrote about this same hope these women are experiencing in 1 Peter 1:3-12 – read it today.