Advent and Christmas 2004

Dear Friends and Family,

“Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy.” That was two thousand years ago. Today, we say “merry Christmas” or “happy holidays.” As it was then so it is now: the world is in great turmoil and people desperately need to hear some good news. In Ethiopia, part of that good news is being heard. After many years of overt opposition from the previous government, Christians are enjoying religious freedom and sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with friends and neighbors, with people near and people far away. The churches are growing here. It is an exciting time in many ways.

In many other ways it is also a difficult time. Some of the difficulties are not new, with the economy still one of the poorest in the world and the persistence of drought in some parts of the country. Since our return in May after a four-year absence, the many new buildings and the improved roads are very visible, yet in many places infrastructure is still inadequate and public services are stretched thin. People’s lives are shorter than they should be due to the prevalence of many preventable diseases. Urbanization takes its personal toll on people as they flock to the city looking for work or aid.

In the fall semester at the Seminary, we have had the opportunity to team teach a class with the Reverend Endreas Essay, one of our friends and colleagues with whom we worked in South West Bethel Synod. With three teachers, the class in evangelism and discipleship has been a great example of partnership! We have our own experiences, skills, and knowledge to bring to the class. Rev. Endreas has his own, plus an ability to speak from within the culture in a way we will never have. Even more, he has a great heart for evangelism, which we are sure is felt by the students. We learned much even as we taught.

In the Graduate School John has taught a course on the “missionary movement,” an overview of missions from biblical, historical, cultural, and strategic perspectives. Anne has taught a survey course in Western church history. While being new teachers at this level, we pray that our students have been stimulated and challenged in new thinking and broader perspectives.

While our semesters end at the end of December with a January “break,” we do not anticipate much of a break for ourselves as yet. Next semester we will be teaching a new course at the Graduate School on “gospel and culture,” while working to develop and write the new missiology program, course descriptions, and syllabuses at the same time we look for available teachers and resources persons to build a strong offering for August 2005. Evangelical churches here in Ethiopia are already sending missionaries to unreached peoples within Ethiopia as well as reaching out to neighboring countries and south Asia. So there is a “what’s taking you so long?!” expectation as we are seeking to develop something helpful in this Ethiopian context.

We continue to look for the chance to get down to Mizan Teferi to greet friends and colleagues. We also hope, having so arranged our teaching schedule with the Graduate School next term, to be able to get down for several weeks to teach at the Charles Haspels Bible School in the first half of next year. CHBS reopened in October with 72 students! There are 32 students in the first year course and 40 in the newly offered second-year course. With classrooms built for 25 and 15 students, they have had to be quite creative. An old workshop has been converted into a classroom and first-year students get to squeeze into the larger of the original classrooms. We are not sure where everyone is sleeping. Please remember the Reverend Yohannes Sherab, Ato Haile, and the Reverend Banti Firrissa. Banti retired from Western Wollege Bethel Synod, where he taught at the Gidada Bible School, and has agreed to come help out in South West Bethel. They all are carrying a heavy load with occasional help from short-term teachers.

As we just celebrated Thanksgiving with a number of American friends here and have enjoyed this first Sunday of Advent, we share with you our gratitude to God for your prayers, support, and love. May God’s peace, love, and hope fill you and many others through you in this special season of the year.

Anne & John Wheeler-Waddell
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

The 2005 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 330