Update about the current situation in the Woja village of Ethiopia. Tesfaye (pastor and school administrator in Woja) called and informed ACTS that schools in the Woja area were closed on March 4 because of what happened the evening before. The same issue is recurring of Mesqan-Mareko tribal tension which erupted again as they are trying to finish chasing the remnants of the Mesqan related people from the Mareko. That night they burned houses and killed one lady from a household related to the Mesqan tribe. These houses are not far from ACTS school. It was the neighbor’s house to Deneke’s (one of ACTS’ guards at the school), The village has used Deneke’s home in the past for worship. They were targeting Bedru who was the community leader who has helped ACTS many times with government relations in the past. Bedru has stayed because his wife was Mareko. Bedru tried to fight back all night as he was armed also. He survived but lost one of his family members in the fight. Several were wounded. The area is surrounded by Federal police and no one is allowed to get close. Hence, we do not have any pictures. Everyone is told to stay at home. Tesfaye was supposed to come to Adama for a church meeting and he could not. The situation just gets worse without any warning signs. It is traumatizing to our children, their families and the area as a whole. Let’s continue to pray specifically for the community and the little ones.

The Cornells’ current plans to travel to Ethiopia are canceled.

For more detailed information about the area and the unrest, see A Brief Video about ACTS’ work in Ethiopia prepared by Pastor Woudy’s daughter.