March 2006
Greetings from the Wellers in Ethiopia,
I am sorry that I (Michael) have not been updating you very often
this year, but my assignment with Ethiopian Evangelical Church
Mekane Yesus and the Bethel Synods has been changed. I no longer
live with the Majangir people, so I don’t have stories to
share about life in the field.
Last December I completed six-months of serving the Bethel Synods
office as an interim coordinator. I learned much about the programs
and projects in the five Bethel Synods—health and education
ministries, water projects, and evangelism outreach to new people
groups continue in all five synods with the support of Christian
friends from the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
Though I do not live with the Majangir people any longer, I keep
up with their progress. They have faced challenges when other
people groups move close to their settlement, but have sought
to make friends of their neighbors. Their agricultural expansion
of cultivated land has continued, education has continued, and
they continue to learn about the Christian life.
Gidada Bible School is having a great year with a first-year
class of 32 students, including three female students. The students
are dedicated to serving Christ in their local communities and
appreciate this opportunity for theological training. Presbyterians
from Ohio and Pennsylvania funded and then sent two work teams
to help with the construction of a new women's dormitory at GBS.
With the help of Mike and Janelle McCarty, new PC(USA) missionaries
in Dembi Dollo, the teams were able to accomplish a lot of the
construction work. Western Wollega Bethel Synod appreciates the
terrific work of the teams. Thank you.
The Berhani Yesus and Bethel Evangelical Secondary Schools have
increased their student bodies, making the hiring of new teachers
necessary as they seek to maintain the kind of quality of education
for which they are well known. This is a big challenge, and we
appreciate the support of prayer and financial contributions of
our PC(USA) partners. A special thanks goes to First Presbyterian
Church Bristol, as well as, the dedicated members of the Ethiopian
Education Endowment Fund Committee.
My recent task has been setting up an office in Addis Ababa to
help coordinate the evangelism work of the five Bethel Synods
in western and southwest Ethiopia. The first major project is
the Rural Literacy Program we will establish in 2006 through the
support of the Outreach Foundation and Mr. Alex Booth. I have
met with three of the five Synods so far, and I will soon meet
with East and West Gambella Bethel Synod leadership to bring these
synods on board.
Each synod will begin providing basic educational opportunities
for people in three remote areas. Teaching people to read and
write and understand some basic math will make a big difference
in their lives by opening the doors for learning and change. It
will also open the door for people to read the Bible in their
own language. This will serve to introduce people to Christ and
to enable those who are already Christian to mature in their faith
and understanding of the good news of Jesus Christ.
Rachel is especially busy with the Gambella Bethel Synod clinics.
She has made two trips since December and started to get some
people trained as nurses and lab techs at schools in Addis Ababa.
It is exciting for me to see her enthusiasm as she moves from
that obscure category of “missionary in the home”
to missionary who is not home so often, but doing great work for
the people in Gambella.
I will be going to Gambella this month to visit and get an up-to-date
picture of how I might assist these two young synods with management
concerns. Rachel and I both envision a time when we will be able
to return to fieldwork full time, and it seems that the Gambella
synods might be where God is leading us. It will be a couple of
years before that would be possible.
We are scheduled for home assignment beginning in the middle
of June 2006 and lasting through the end of December. If the interest
is there, I will extend through February 2007 to speak in congregations.
Rachel and the kids will need to return to Ethiopia at the end
of December in order to be prepared for the beginning of second
semester.
As I look back over this four-year term and all the transitions
I’ve made—from community development and church planting
with the Majanger people, to adjunct teacher of Old Testament
wisdom literature at the Mekane Yesus Seminary, to coordinator
of the Bethel Synods office, and and finally to facilitator of
the new Evangelism Coordination Office for the Bethel Synods while
also serving as volunteer interim pastor for the International
Lutheran Church in Addis Ababa—I hold the benediction found
in Hebrews 13:20-21 very close:
Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead
our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood
of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that
you may do his will, working in you that which is pleasing in
his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and
ever. Amen.
Grace and peace be with you all,
Michael and Rachel Weller
The 2006 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p.
330 |
