The new school year has begun and 244 students are enrolled. This month we will be measuring the children for their new uniforms.
Since the creation of the new Central Regional State under which ACTS operates, there have been several visits by the concerned government officials. They include the three signatories of our project agreement with the government (Women & Children Affairs Bureau, Education Bureau, and Finance and Economic Development). The school gets occasional and surprise monitory visits from representatives of each of these bureaus to see if ACTS is operating according to the agreement including proper use of resources. ACTS was rated among the top ten in the whole region for following the criteria and awarded a certificate of acknowledgement. We are so happy with the dedicated and diligent efforts of all involved.
The children are again receiving the meal a day that was not available to them over the summer when school was on recess. This will provide immediate benefits to those suffering from malnutrition from not having adequate food for weeks on end.
The teachers report that the kids are truly enjoying the playground equipment which was installed last year. These, along with singing, are favorite activities (remember that the songs are not secular, but praise songs).
The solar project has also been beneficial in many ways. To take full advantage of the abundant sunshine, however, we have found that additional storage capacity is needed. The amount of cooking that can be undertaken is limited because of the need to acquire more batteries. Our in-country team is exploring the best options.
Things in the surrounding area and even in the larger cities, remain unstable and dangerous. Many who fought in the civil war have formed gangs. A primary activity of these gangs is kidnapping. It is difficult to imagine the corruption that is involved, but these gangs often bribe bank employees to identify which customers have balances in their bank accounts. Those who do become targets for the criminals. What follows is either a ransom gets paid or a murder takes place.
This is all scary stuff, but praise the Lord, the school remains a safe place and the food supply and other assets remain untouched.
Included in this update is a letter (below) we received in response to our inquiring about Woudy and his family. You may remember that he is our ACTS director in Ethiopia. He has worked for ACTS for well over ten years, more as a partner than as an employee. As you will tell from his letter, which he gave us permission to share, he is truly a man after God’s own heart. His work alongside us has been a blessing. He believes in ACTS ministry and won’t take much financially from us. But he knows that the ACTS family has prayed for him and for his work and his safety. We hope that you are encouraged by his letter knowing that you have supported him and the wonderful work that he does.
“Thank you so much for your concern and for asking about my personal ministry activities. I truly feel blessed for the opportunities God has given me to serve Him in various ways.
The ACTS ministry has always felt like a way for me to ‘give back’ in gratitude for the immense grace God showed me during my childhood. Growing up in a rural village with no access to education — the key that unlocks so many doors in life — shaped me deeply. Every time I see the children in Woja, I see my own story reflected in them, as if looking back five decades. It’s not only a ministry opportunity for me but also a continual reminder to give thanks to God for His provision and protection.
Many have encouraged me to share my story, and recently I began doing so on Evangelical TV. My journey is a testimony to God’s grace — a story that goes from rural to urban, from darkness to light, from poverty to abundance, from a small village to the global stage. Even now, as I travel and fly between continents, I look out of the airplane windows, see the footprints of the Creator, and find myself singing Isaiah 40:28. This is more than an understanding of God’s greatness; it’s an experience that I feel deeply within me — a privilege and a calling to serve Him and His people.
Like Moses, I have never considered myself naturally gifted or extroverted enough for the work before me. Yet I have seen lives blessed, strengthened, and even released from the bondage of evil through the ministries God has entrusted to me. This has always been a sign to me that God chooses to work beyond my weaknesses to accomplish His purposes. The opportunities for education, teaching, and ministry in theological schools and churches — along with the positive feedback from students and congregations — have been continual encouragements to keep serving by His grace.
God has also blessed me with a wonderful wife and family, and I recognize my responsibility not only to serve the church but also to care for them. My calling now seems to be expanding to include the diaspora as well. Through ministry in France and an online presence reaching various countries, I am seeing how God may be opening doors for both local and global service.
The seven years we have spent in France have been a season of both ministry and learning. It has taught me how to balance family and church, local and abroad. It has also been a time of study and writing. This past summer, for example, I taught a course on Galatians to both BA and MA students in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital and spoke at a three-day teaching conference in Dire Dawa, Ethiopia — my very first place of employment 30 years ago, where I served as an elder and Bible study leader while working as an accountant for a government organization. I also published an Amharic book on Galatians entitled The Israel of God (Gal. 6:16). The lack of standard textbooks in Amharic, along with the experience of teaching for the first time using my own book as a textbook, has given me added inspiration to write more. Many have been urging me to write more books, and I also sense that this is another gift God has given me to bless the Ethiopian church.”
Thank you for your continued support and prayers. ACTS influence reaches far beyond the school yard to make Jesus name known to the ends of the earth.