Greetings from Addis Ababa

by | Jun 27, 2020 | Mission in Africa

What every international traveler wants to avoid happened to me–I left the US on January 4. 2020 sick with the flu!  Consequently, I spent my first four days in Addis Ababa in bed with a fever.  I also lost my voice the day I arrived and for several days could only croak and whisper–not ideal when teaching a class!

Missionaries asking for prayers for “health and safety” may sound routine, but it’s a real need!  Just today I read that the coronavirus expected to soon invade countries like Zambia and Ethiopia because so many Chinese workers travel here regularly.  After landing here in Lusaka, I was literally surrounded by Chinese people wearing face masks as I went through immigration.  Many thanks to all who continue to pray for me these coming weeks.

Below are some brief snapshots of my first month in Africa.  Please read on.
Here is the 7-story Ethiopian Graduate School of Theology (EGST) where I taught an intensive class and lived in a guesthouse apartment on the 5th floor.   Marilyn and I worked here as missionaries from 2010-2014 when I served as Lecturer in Systematic Theology and also Academic Dean.  She joined me for the second half of our three weeks here and enjoyed reconnecting with many friends and colleagues.
My “Pastoral Theology and Leadership” intensive class at EGST met 9:00am-12:00pm, Monday-Friday.  My nine students are in the MA in Biblical and Theological Studies program. Most are mid-career pastors and church leaders; several have been pastoring for 20+ years.  Hearing their stories of how God has been at work in their lives is always a highlight of teaching here.  On our last day of class they gave me a beautiful Ethiopian painting and offered earnest prayers for me.  What a special group!
This flyer for my two “Introduction to Coaching” Workshops on Saturday, January 11, was prepared by my friends in the Ethiopia Coaching Network who co-sponsored them. (See below for more on this exciting group.)  Each had about 25 attending, which is a significant increase over the 15 or so who attended each session in 2019.

I brought a box of books on coaching with me this trip. All were sold out by the end of the 5pm workshop!
Each workshop squeezed 25-28 into a classroom.  Chairs from another room were brought in to accommodate the crowd.
The following Saturday, Jan 18, I offered an in-depth, four-hour Coaching Workshop.
I was amazed that 36 people showed up!  It was hard to squeeze them all into the group photo!The audience represented a wide variety of younger leaders from NGO’s and Christian ministries across Addis Ababa, including the two largest evangelical denominations, Youth for Christ, and Compassion International (plus many other groups whose names you would not recognize).

I was very encouraged by how many participants wrote in their evaluation forms that they planned to begin using the basic coaching skills they learned and practiced right away within their families, workplaces and churches.  This was a real answer to my prayers!
Part of the workshop was a 20 minute coaching demonstration.

Another “door-opening” answer to prayer was that around 18 participants asked for more coaching training.  Some want to actually earn a professional coaching credential with the International Coach Federation (ICF).  Such deep interest in training was a complete surprise to me!  I plan to begin this training later in 2020.

God really opened a new and unexpected door into making greater impact with young Christian leaders!
More Coaching Opportunities!

The Ethiopian Coaching Network is the fruit of my 2019 “Introduction to Coaching” workshops in Addis. They all have highly responsible “day jobs”– World Vision, Ethiopia Bible League,  university teacher,  architect.

But their unifying passion is transforming how Ethiopian churches nurture their youth through coaching!  After seven months of many email conversations since last June, I met with them several times in person. It was a true joy to get to know such remarkable individuals!

Rev. Tilaye, Director of the International Mission Society of the EECMY (one of the two largest Protestant denominations, with over 10 million members) has the vision to move his denomination from receiving missionaries to sending missionaries. 

In just the last few years, the EECMY has sent 17 missionaries to Somalia, Mail, Sudan, Pakistan and many other Muslim majority countries.  By 2025, his goal is to be sending 30 missionaries;  by 2030, he hopes to be sending 50 missionaries!  What a privilege for me to begin coaching a leader creating a new African mission sending agency from the ground up!
The Neighbor Love Movement Team is a dynamic new NGO focused on bringing the call to “love your neighbor” to the ethnic and religious conflicts so prevalent these days in Ethiopia.

Thanks to a $25,000 grant from the US Embassy and another $11,000 grant from the EU Peace Commission, they are sharing practical ways to follow the biblical calling to “love your neighbor” in universities all across Ethiopia. What a joy to be coaching such passionate Christians who are bringing the peace of Christ to Ethiopia every day!

 

Our colleagues at the Ethiopian Graduate School of Theology invited Marilyn and me to lunch and presented us with a beautiful, handmade Ethiopian tablecloth. It was a joy to spent time with these dear friends of many years!

I continue to coach Dr. Seblewengel (first person on the left) who was just appointed Academic Dean at EGST, the largest Protestant graduate school in the nation.  She is a pathbreaking female theologian for Ethiopia and beyond!  What an honor to work with her!

Thanks for joining this whirlwind tour of my three weeks in Addis Ababa in January, 2020!
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