August 2004

Dear Friends,

It is with joy and appreciation that I write to you this month. Rachel and I have completed ten years of service in Ethiopia, and we continue to serve with our Ethiopian colleagues with the same joy we experienced in our first year. Together, all of us thank you for your prayers and financial support through the years. You make our presence and work in Ethiopia possible.

Much of this newsletter is devoted to giving you a brief family update to let you know about some of the things that are taking place in our lives. Our work continues, and it is important for the life and mission of the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus, but there have been some requests asking us about our lives in Ethiopia. For those of you wishing to know more about the details of our labors, I promise to write soon with an update on the specifics.

As a family, we are celebrating Brian’s graduation from Rift Valley Academy in Kenya and seek your continued prayers as he begins his college studies at Geneva College in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, this fall. He is currently enrolled in their business/aviation program and states that his goal is to become a mission pilot.

Amira attended high school at the German School in Addis Ababa this past spring, learning German and attending classes taught in German; however, she also seeks your prayers as she plans to leave us this year to attend high school at Kingswood College in South Africa. We are thankful for the courage and determination she is showing to meet her goal of graduating in a couple of years. It will take a lot of work to catch up and keep up with her workload since most of her classes at the German School will not transfer.

Thomas and Lydia will continue their studies in Addis Ababa. Thomas will enter the ninth grade and Lydia will begin in the sixth grade. There is another student in the family as well. Rachel is now taking classes to complete a degree in human resource management while continuing her work in the Bethel Synod’s office as administrative assistant to Mr. Solomon Nega and picking up the responsibility of overseeing the two clinics of the Eastern Gambela Bethel Synod.

My work with Gidada Bible School and the Majangir community development/church planting project continues but with a few changes. The major change involves my relocation to Addis Ababa. The 18-month separation from my family ended in December 2003. I needed to come home and be a part of the family again, and the Western Wollega Bethel Synod agreed with my decision. I continue to work with the projects in Dembi Dollo in areas of planning and funding. My most recent trip (June 2004) to visit the project sites in Dembi Dollo showed that the process is working and the projects are in good hands.

The move to Addis Ababa does not mean that I have left the classroom. While I am not able to teach at Gidada Bible School, I am teaching at the Mekane Yesus Theological Seminary (MYTS) in Addis Ababa. I fill in gaps in the Biblical Studies Department teaching Old Testament subjects. Last spring, while teaching a course on the Psalms, I was also able to complete my Th.M. degree in biblical studies through Columbia Theological Seminary. My thesis involved a study of Job and Oromo youth, so MYTS has asked me to teach a course on Job beginning in September.

Work in Dembi Dollo: Gidada Bible School completed courses for first-year students (25 males and one female) in the two-year certificate program in June. These students will return in September to begin their second year of study. The need for new leaders increases every year as new congregations are planted. Gidada Bible School can be supported financially in a couple of ways. The annual budget for meeting the yearly running cost can be supported through contributions to the Outreach Foundation designated for Gidada Bible School. There is also an endowment fund established with the Presbyterian Foundation, the proceeds of which help three schools in Dembi Dollo, Ethiopia: Bethel Evangelical Secondary School, Brihane Yesus Elementary School, and Gidada Bible School. Contributions to the endowment fund can be made in any amount to Presbyterian Foundation, 200 East Twelfth St., Jeffersonville, IN 47130. A note should be made that gifts are for account No. 51094021.

God bless all of you in your service to Christ.

Michael Weller

The 2004 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 51