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June 1999
Dear Friends,
Greetings from Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, where we
are spending the rainy summer months this year. Michael and I,
along with our two oldest, Brian and Amira, took a six-week course
to improve our abilities in speaking the Oromo language. It was
a good course, giving us understanding of the construction of
the language and the tools with which to practice correct word
usage on our own.
Back in Dembi Dollo, Gidada Bible School (GBS) has closed for
the rainy season. The eighteen students have now returned to their
families and communities for a year of field work after which
they will have one last year of studies in order to receive a
certificate. In keeping with the holistic goal of teaching, GBS
provided instruction in some practical subjects, such as beekeeping,
raising small vegetable gardens, and food preparation as well
as the usual theology and Bible courses. The goal of the school
continues to be to train men and women who can lead the church
as well as their communities. There were no women in the course
this year, but presbyteries
are being encouraged to consider this for the course that begins
in September.
The new library at the school is almost completed. A dedication
of the building is being planned for October 1999. Though we have
a good start on filling the shelves, many more books are still
needed. When the library is completed, we will have more classroom
space, which we plan to use for short training courses for elders
and leaders of local congregations.
The theological education by extension program is strong. Michael
leads a group of fifteen men and women studying a diploma-level
program. Because it is assumed that the students have full- or
part-time employment the course is extended over five years. Michael's
students completed their first year of study just last month.
The Western Wollega Bethel Synod (WWBS) has six new areas of
outreach. Michael has been working with one of these, a community
of people known as Majong. They are a small group of about 25
households who have come from an area southeast of Dembi Dollo
and have settled nearby. Since they are traditionally a hunter/gatherer
people and are unable to find enough food in the usual manner,
the WWBS, using Presbyterian Hunger Program funds, has begun a
project integrating development with discipleship. A man from
the Oromo community has been selected to provide training in agricultural
methods, animal care, beekeeping, and pottery work. He also gives
Bible instruction and is a key person in discipleship of the new
church. Keep Mitiku Zewede in your prayers.
As health advisor for the WWBS, Rachel has been giving most
of her attention to the new rural clinic started last October.
We have had three big immunization drives in cooperation with
the local government. More than a thousand women and children
participated. We hope to start some programs to get the communities
more involved in their own health in the coming year. Pray for
the planning and carrying out of the different ideas that have
been tossed around.
Our children have, for the first time ever, completed an uninterrupted
year of school. Cindy Miller, a volunteer, kept them going while
Mom got started in her new position and Dad kept on with his work.
Recently, Cindy and the kids and Rachel enjoyed an almost-end-of-the-year
home-school get together with other missionary children and their
parents from around Ethiopia. This four-day field trip included
hiking a volcanic cone, at what seemed like 80 degree slopes,
and an evening of spotlighting hyenas—we were lucky to see
several that came close enough to get great camera shots (if only
the film hadn't been spoiled). We are going to keep them all at
home the coming school year, too, since Cindy will still be in
Dembi with her husband, Bart Hisgen, who teaches English at the
elementary school. Pray for another successful year starting in
September.
To end this letter we have some news we have been wanting to
share for more than a year. We have finally gotten a car! We almost
had one in May 1998, but while it was in transport from Japan
it got caught in the border dispute between Ethiopia and Eritrea.
When it became evident that the car would never be seen on Ethiopian
soil, the folks at the Worldwide Ministries Division came up with
more money to buy another one. The Landcruiser hardtop arrived
just in time for our vacation in the Rift Valley of Ethiopia.
(That's another five-page letter. A great time!) The money, though
it came through the WMD, actually came from several churches and
individuals. Some of it was borrowed. You can contribute to that
by getting in touch with Bill Young in the international evangelism
office of the Worldwide Ministries Division of the PC(USA).
Continue to pray for peace in the Horn of Africa and Ethiopia,
which is experiencing another famine due to drought and war. Though
the problems are great, we know that it is the Father who cares
for each of us and tends lovingly to his Church. Your prayerful
support sustains us.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Michael and Rachel Weller
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