Addis- Team Two

on the eve of the second team arriving here in addis.
i can’t believe that i get to do this whole trip all over again.
it will be interesting to see how things go this time around. the schedule is pretty much the same, but obviously with different people there will be a different feel.

i can’t wait to see what God has in store for this team.
it will be fun to watch the week progress-

so until then, i’m just going to hang out here with alli and anna, rehash stories from the past, and make new ones for the next time.

*hasler

Reflections on Addis 2

tonite the first team to addis departed back for dc.
i cannot believe that this trip is already over.

it is impossible to recap all that has happened in a week, but needless to say, it has been a powerful experience.

today, we attended the church services at beza and had lunch at the guest house. dr. betta addressed the group and deposited some great vision and wisdom into the team. we then came back to the guest house where we are staying and had our final debrief. it was a powerful time of sharing all that God had done in each of our lives.
we ended with some scripture and the singing of the song ’solution.’ this was really the final testament that we proclaimed… the fact that there are a lot of problems here- a lot of poverty- a lot of disease… and nothing that we can really do will ultimately change or solve any of the situations- but God is truly the solution.

that was a really great way to send the team back- full of confidence in the victory of Christ. i hope and pray that that thought and knowledge would help them in their assimilation back to the u.s.

so now it’s a few days rest, until the second team comes on saturday morning- then it starts all over again.

*hasler

First Reflections on Addis

i’m so very overly tired at the moment, but i wanted to take a minute or two to give an update here about the trip.

well, it’s amazing, how about that for a start…
to be honest, i have been so grateful for the fact that i haven’t been able to get online. it has allowed me to be very present here in the moment and lead this team as diligently as possible.

this is a tough trip to lead, because first of all, we are in a city- so there is still a lot of running around. there are also a lot of complexities in the work we are doing, as it varies along a wide spectrum. finally, the project we are working with is also fairly new- so there are a lot of challenges in finding the right rhythm for us to jump in. but with all of that said, we are doing a lot of quality work and blessing this community with as much manpower as we can muster.

above and beyond any of the work we are doing however, is the fact that we have the ability to share our lives with some amazing people- both the leadership at beza and the people we are serving on the mountain.

finally, God has been very present in all of our work and down time as we meet together as a team. we have given and received a lot of encouragement over the past few days- through worship, prayer, prophecy and testimony. it is truly amazing what a little time out of your normal daily life will do to your spiritual awareness.
and i thank God for all that He has spoken and done in our group of 21-

i wish i could write and elaborate more… i will try to do so in the coming days.

*hasler

On to Ethiopia

what a week it has been.
i had a ton of work to catch up on in preparation for the trip, coming back from the day trip down to knoxville- and really it was only a half day, since we spent four hours talking about berlin- i don’t have the time or energy to write about all of that, but let’s just say that we will have a season of prayer and discernment over the next few months.

so now it’s on to ethiopia. in just over five hours i will meet the first team at ebz and head out to dulles to catch our flight. despite some last minute stress, i have a pretty good peace and calm about it all. i guess that is because, all planning aside, really i began to see a real calling and anointing on the trip. our time of prayer at the last meeting before our fundraiser really solidified that.

during that prayer time, one of our prayer leaders talked about the promise to abraham and how she ‘thought’ that it might just trickle down to us- this was a great motivation, but didn’t seem overly significant at the time.  however, about 20 minutes later when we actually began to pray, God led me to galatians 3:5-9, and of course it all came together- don’t you just love when God confirms something immediately…

the verse states:
I ask you again, does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among you because you obey the law? Of course not! It is because you believe the message you heard about Christ.

In the same way, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” The real children of Abraham, then, are those who put their faith in God.

What’s more, the Scriptures looked forward to this time when God would declare the Gentiles to be righteous because of their faith. God proclaimed this good news to Abraham long ago when he said, “All nations will be blessed through you.” So all who put their faith in Christ share the same blessing Abraham received because of his faith.

and this has served as a new foundation for the trip ever since-
what a promise, and what a calling…  i can’t wait to see all that He does with and through our teams.

i look forward to posting more once we get settled-  we’ll see how much internet i’ll be able to get there, so stay tuned.

*hasler

The Berlin Project

had a wonderful day here in knoxville (despite the flight delay, ugh, delta) with mike edwards and brian kagan. our official meeting to brainstorm the potential to work in berlin is tomorrow at ebz, but today the three of us spent hanging out here checking out a model of urban outreach called cafe 4 and the square room.
it was really cool to see the facility that includes a fully functioning cafe, restaurant, and music venue- not to mention an artist’s apartment and live in fellows program.

the project is missional in reaching downtown knoxville, and the mantra is ‘hospitality.’ we had a wonderful visit and some great food and coffee. it was a good time to not only see one model of what an urban, multi-functional facility could look like- it was just good times hanging with mike and brian. these are both solid guys- and i enjoyed just being around these guys, swapping stories, and learning from their experiences.
now, i’m really looking forward to ideating tomorrow! oh, and i’m leaving for ethiopia in two days… haha.

*hasler

Knoxville

off to knoxville, tn…
going to meet up with some guys from berlin to look at a city outreach program. this is all in prep for a meeting we have at ncc on thursday to talk about a future in berlin… nothing concrete at the moment, just dreaming and praying…

yes this is crazy to be doing a few days before ethiopia, but hey, that’s how i roll. this is a lot of fun-

*hasler

Nouwen

just finished reading a book on christian leadership by henry nouwen called ‘in the name of jesus.’

the last chapter talked about the need for theological training among our christian leaders. he comments that many of the leaders in the church today are pseudo psychologists- merely helping people cope with the ills of life and a fallen world. he states that what we really need are people who are trained and can help people understand the broader spectrum of the universe and eternity- God’s kingdom.

i thought that this was a really great reminder- the book has served me well as i prepare to lead almost 40 people to ethiopia.

*hasler