God’s blessings continue to pour forth as well as do challenges and opportunities for ACTS Ministry.

If you have read any of the newsletters over the last several months, you are aware that the country of Ethiopia has faced severe turmoil. The uprising and violence of two years ago lead to the appointment of a new prime minister. Much optimism accompanied the inauguration of this new Christian leader and after a brief time of unrest, the country settled into a period of embracing his plans to release political prisoners and to restore the culture of a true democracy. The country’s first female president was installed and about half of the legislative body are now women. Unfortunately, members of the deposed ruling tribe began a quest to undermine the new government by fomenting unrest between tribes throughout the country which had coexisted side-by-side in peace for decades.

This recent history affected ACTS in a number of ways. First, every time that a trip by the Cornells along with others was planned, new outbreaks of violence occurred and the plans had to be cancelled. Second, and more seriously, the warring between tribes included the areas around the largest school, the Woja School. Safety concerns resulted in the closing of the school for a couple of weeks last fall and some of the children’s parents suffered property losses. Three teachers were forced to flee their dwellings as they belonged to a tribe different from the one that controlled their village. On the positive side, however, the employees and other associates of ACTS are delighted in the leader God has chosen as the new prime minister. His plans and direction for the country fill them with hope.

Through all of this turmoil, the work of ACTS with the children in the schools and with projects to benefit the whole community continue. The Woja well which provides accessible clean water for the surrounding area continues to be a blessing for many. It is difficult, if not impossible, to measure the impact on health and sickness issues that the clean water has made, but it is easy to see the school yard gardens which are providing fresh produce for the lunch program.

The building project continues to move along. While the two guest rooms are not yet complete, the gathering room has already been put to use. A parents’ meeting was held in it prior to the annual children’s educational field trip to a nearby lake. Another meeting was held in the building to introduce the idea of adult education with classes commencing shortly. We remember when the well was first completed and we were asked if it was only for use by the small Christian community. We responded that all were welcome and have made it clear that the same is true for the adult education program. Beyond simply helping individuals to improve themselves, ACTS knows that the more direct interaction that we have with the people in the community, the greater the chance to share the Gospel. We want to increase the opportunities for parents to ask more about who this Jesus is that their kids come home singing about.

Mentioned above is the field trip taken by the kids. This kind of an outing exposes the kids to things (as simple as a lake) that they have not seen before. It is an annual day trip that is much anticipated. Pictures of the outing are included in this update.

Across from the Woja School, the foundation has been laid for a church building to house the new church that ACTS was instrumental in planting. ACTS government NGO is for community development work and not religious activities. ACTS cannot be directly involved with the direct financing or construction of the church. Instead, ACTS helps in other ways. For example, the onsite Woja School administrator happens to also be a church planter. The income he receives for his job with ACTS helps sustain his family while he engages in church planting and preaching activities. This has directly led to the growth of God’s Kingdom.

The newest ACTS school, a simple mud hut, is in its second year of operation. ACTS has just received a proposal for $105,000, for the construction of a permanent four room school building. This will allow expansion beyond the thirty children who currently attend. Over the past year, ACTS has been part of a team that constructed a road to the sight of this school allowing a broader reach to the community with educational offerings so expansion is necessary.

Back in Fresno, California, the Cornells home church, Trinity Community Church of Clovis, is featuring ACTS as its focus Mission Organization in February. Not only does this serve to increase ACTS awareness among this church family, but increases the volume of prayers coming its way.

In an exciting turn of events, it appears that Woudineh (Woudy), ACTS in-country director, will be able to obtain a visa to make a visit later this year. Traveling with his wife who works for World Bank will facilitate this happening and it appears that August will be the best timing for them. When he comes, ACTS will have an event to facilitate you all meeting with and hearing from him. We believe that you will be delighted to hear from this man of God who is so vital to ACTS’ mission.

To those of you who continue to support ACTS through prayer and finances, we say thank you, thank you, thank you.

For those who have previously supported ACTS and are not current donors, we simply thank you for your past support and encourage you to become engaged with ACTS work again. Remember, all financial support goes directly to the work on the ground in Ethiopia. All time and travel costs expended by those involved in the US serving God in this ministry are given on a voluntary basis. There are no salaries or administrative overhead meaning that your dollars truly go towards efforts to introduce the name of Jesus to the unreached.