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Where Is The Great Chasm?

Where Is The Great Chasm?

Ahead of our trip, I spent time researching the Horn of Africa and mentally preparing myself for what I thought would be an unimaginable experience. After all, this is often described as the epicenter of global poverty. I had built a dramatic chasm in my mind between my life in America and the reality waiting on the other side of the world. The only comfort was being able to experience this with my son Scott (a true world-changer) and through the support of many friends and family.

Holy Buckets! This was a common expression of a dear friend who loved to visit and serve the people of Ethiopia, and a fitting first statement as we stepped outside the airport. Boots on the ground quickly showed me I wasn’t in Montana anymore. The air carried new smells, the streets hummed with unfamiliar sounds, and my eyes drank in constant motion. Yet the vast divide I had imagined hasn’t fully materialized. Addis Ababa feels surprisingly modern in many ways. Cell phones glow in faces where you’d least expect them, even amid pockets of visible hardship.

Christianity here runs deep and vibrant. Ethiopians carry their faith with visible pride. The gospel has been proclaimed in this land nearly 7x longer than the United States has existed as a nation. These are not distant strangers — they are our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Kindness flows freely in this sea of people. The roads are pure Wild West chaos — a swirling mix of vehicles, pedestrians, animals, and sheer human energy — yet somehow the system works. Families remain the heartbeat of daily life. Unskilled entrepreneurs hustle creatively to provide for their loved ones. At the same time, I’ve seen how broken families and poor parental decisions leave children bearing the heaviest burdens. Government support is often either obstructive or simply absent. As an American, that part feels uncomfortably familiar.

However I know the chasm is real. I see it most clearly through the eyes of the children we’ve come to serve and the visit we made to the government orphanage. It was also on full display as we visited some family of a couple of the elevate orphan kids that live in a mud hut near one of the largest city dumps. It must be even more overwhelming outside the capital and in the corners of the city we didn’t see.

Even so, Jesus gives us a common foundation that bridges every divide. Because of Him, we are called to love one another wherever we go. And because of Him, we are not so different after all.

~ Barrett
The Cost of Progress

The Cost of Progress

When I travel somewhere new, I don’t like carrying expectations into a place. If you expect nothing, nothing can disappoint you, and everything just gets to be experienced. But if I’m honest, I did carry an image of Ethiopia in my head before I arrived— rusted, cramped, neglected.

My first look told a different story. Green medians splitting the paved boulevards in half. Arranged flowers and perfectly placed trees to decorate. Cellphones, tall buildings, jumbo screens.

What you don’t see is who used to live beneath it.

The corrugated tin roofs patched with scraps are still there — you just have to look past the fences, or drive to the outskirts to find them. On Wednesday, we visited Tariku’s home. His family lives in a mud hut smaller than my hotel room. He got evicted the following day.

In the past year, Ethiopia has poured resources into government infrastructure and urban expansion under what’s called the Addis Ababa Corridor Development Project — an effort to establish Ethiopia as a major trade and logistics gateway for East Africa.

But progress, I’m learning, always has an address. On Sunday, we drove out to where a neighborhood used to stand. In place of homes were machines that sat digging into the earth. I asked Jerry, one of the psychologists at Bring Love In, how she felt about the redevelopment. She said it was good for Ethiopia’s future — but hard, right now, on the people living through it. Her response feels both true and devastating.

I think progress and pain move as a pair. I reflect on my own life; the seasons I couldn’t make sense of while I was in them. I see clearly now where God was moving through the hardship. When I listened to the little orphans at Bring Love In share their stories, I couldn’t help but cry. I felt heartbroken — a similar heaviness I felt about the displacement of people losing what little they had. I am still processing, and keep on reminding myself that He has a plan through it all, even if we can’t see it yet.

I came to Ethiopia carrying one image and left with another. One of unfinished stories and a God who doesn’t waste what’s broken.

– Kenzie

WHO YOU SAY I AM

WHO YOU SAY I AM

In preparation for this trip, our team got together once a month for a team meeting. During these meetings we would go over logistics, study the word, and get the run down on preparations that needed to be finished. Our team heard multiple times about two new houses of kids who had recently been adopted by Bring Love In. As our trip was getting closer, I was counting down the days, but also trying to prepare my heart for what I was going to experience and for what God wanted to do in my life and my team. As soon as I stepped off the plane I was filled with many emotions, excitement, joy, sadness, weariness, but also mainly anticipation for getting to meet all these kids!

This group of teenage girls were such a joy to be around this week! They would ask questions, give hugs, make us gifts, say “I love you, see you tomorrow!”, and always wanted to be around us! These girls completely changed my perspective on the word “strong.” This past week I was able to hear personal stories of what life was like for these girls before Bring Love In and before they were told about the love that Jesus has for each and every one of them. I heard stories of abandonment, running away, struggling to make money, feeling forsaken, forgotten….:alone.

These young girls were telling their stories with tears streaming down their faces. In that moment I came to the realization that I have no clue what it means to actually be strong. THESE girls have painfully had to experience what it means to be forced to be strong.

2 Corinthians 12:9-10 is a verse that I hold near and dear to my heart, and that has helped me through many different seasons in my life. It states “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.  That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” I can think of many different times in my life where I have clung to the last line of these verses with what felt like very little strength. “For when I am weak then I am strong.”

Throughout this week the Lord has so kindly brought each of these girls and their stories into my life to truly teach me what it means to be strong. In each of these stories I heard about the daily lives these girls had to live (before Bring Love In) and the horrors that persisted. In each of these stories I also heard how God provided for them, equipping them, and strengthening them, which taught me a whole new meaning and understanding to the word STRONG. When I think of the word STRONG, I know see the faces of so many beautiful girls who have fought and have fought hard. I see the faces of girls who have been redeemed, chosen, loved unconditionally, and all that flows out of them is pure joy. Joy that cannot be taken away because Jesus has captivated their lives and their hearts. Taking them from a life of hardship, turmoil, darkness, and bringing them into a life of light, joy, and love, surrounded by so many amazing people who have loved them as Jesus would at Bring Love In.

In a VBS lesson this week, I had the honor to teach these girls about who we are in Christ and how that can never be taken away from them. I was able to remind them that they are chosen, loved, HIS, God’s child’s, worthy, and not forgotten. It truly felt like a gift getting to remind them of how truly special they are, to God, the JRNY team, their friends, sisters, aunties, moms, etc.

We were able to sing the song “Who you Say I Am” all together with children ages two and half to adult. All together we were declaring

“Who the Son sees free, is free indeed, I am a child of God, yes I am.


As I think about heading back home to Montana here very soon, where things are comfortable for us and easy. My prayer is to remember the names and faces of each one of these beautiful girls, the stories of redemption that they hold, and this new definition of strength. I am at a loss of words for how this group of incredible girls and Bring Love In has changed my heart. I pray that every person who experienced God’s love this week would be able to declare that they are a Child of God who is set free. I now have a new understanding of what it means to be strong but also what it looks like to truly be apart of God’s kingdom with people back home in Montana but also with amazing people in Addis Ababa.

Thank you Jesus for Bring Love In and the AMAZING work that they have so faithfully followed Jesus in doing.

Until next time!!!

– Mariah
To Just Be

To Just Be

The Western world is built on hustle—on doing. But I just can’t help thinking about how Jesus modeled a different way, and sadly, it took being on the other side of the world for me to even begin to grasp that. Jesus taught his disciples how to be. This means stopping the grind, the hustle, and the need to “fix” everything, and simply enjoying someone’s presence. I described this briefly during one of our early morning team devotional times, stating that I think deep, meaningful acts of service rely on intentionality. That means taking the time to send that text, noticing that person in the corner, or even just giving a genuine smile to a stranger.

The reason I say this is because the true impact of service is making someone feel seen, loved, and known. The only way to do that well is to put down our phones and sit with that person. There truly is no better example of this than Jesus—a man who pushed past the people who already thought they were important, focusing instead on the ones our Father knew needed to understand how deeply valuable they are.

This hit me as soon as I landed. I even remember telling Mariah at our first breakfast how much I love their long coffee ceremony because it takes time, and you do it with everyone talking around you. There is no rush, no urgency—just simple but potent connection. This is the exact feeling I would describe when walking into Bring Love for the first time. Those kids greeted us at the door with such joy, and all they wanted to do was simply talk and play with me.

I think the issue with our Western world is that sometimes we forget the joy of being around people isn’t about trying to find all the answers. It can just be to sit there and cherish the fact that you get to be near somebody you enjoy. Now that is the real, raw gift of community. Now that is true belonging.

So, when I head back to the States, my goal is to be better at just sitting and being, rather than constantly having to be on the go. I want to be a Mary in a Martha world—with Mary knowing what the most important thing in the world was. That is to know Jesus and make him known!

– Capri

Hospitality

Hospitality

The first day we got to Ethiopia we went to a traditional dinner. A stranger walked up to me and the team (the manager of the restaurant) he hugged everyone of us, even though it was the first time ever seeing seven out of nine people on the team. The shock of how kind that man was stunned me the same day everyone in the restaurant treated us as family. We sat in the front row, and everyone said hi. The first day at Bring Love In, it was the same. Hugs and kisses from all the Littles and sweet conversations and hugs with the teens. After just meeting them when you walk in the doors you get a good morning and a hug. When you come to their house they greet you with a warm welcome and a warm cup of coffee made in front of you right then. The hospitality is amazing and not expected of Americans. Tomorrow we have to say goodbye. I’m not ready for this day because of the amazing relationships and people I have met on this trip. This experience is a present in and around itself. I want to come back and build stronger relationships with these kids. I love them dearly and will never forget these relationships I have with them.


-Parker

Walls and Gates

Walls and Gates

Addis Ababa, July 2018

Addis is a bustling hub of Ethiopian life. Everywhere you look there are people, animals, cars, and trucks going about their daily lives in an indescribable harmony that becomes oddly comforting after soaking it all in for a third year. What I’m struck by this trip as we go about our travels are the walls, and the gates. Houses, huts and businesses are stacked side by side and back to back separated by a wall, and a gate. Everywhere.

I look and wonder. Wonder why all the walls and gates? To keep things in? To keep things out? To indicate ownership, to define boundaries, for privacy? Yes, I realize, all the above.

The families of Bring Love In (BLI) live in houses behind walls and gates in the neighborhoods around BLI headquarters. This creates a sense of family independence while, at the same time, proximity (walking distance) to allow the incredible staff at BLI to do their critical work helping the kids and families thrive. And, thrive they do. It’s inspiring, humbling, and evidence of God’s hand is everywhere.

But, I wonder what God thinks about all these walls and gates? I suppose that depends on what they protect, what they keep in and what they let out.

Back home, someone on our team shared they wanted to feel the God they feel when they’re in Ethiopia. At the time I thought it was a nice thing to say, but, really, isn’t the God in Ethiopia the same God in America? The answer is yes. But, He has a lot more competition for our time in Bozeman than here. We’re very busy people with deadlines, calendars, bills to pay and Jones’s to keep up with; not all bad of course, unless all that stuff gets in the way of our relationship with Him. I suppose that’s where walls come in.

Lord, build walls in my life to keep the busyness, competition and desire for more away from my heart as I long to know you the way these families know you.

We are here with these kids for two short weeks. But in that time with intermittent electricity and dial-up speed some-of-time Internet, you feel many of the distractions of life back home slip away. You rejoice when there are a few drops of lukewarm water in the morning shower. In fact, it’s praise time that you get a shower! But, what fills that void left by the absence of TV, smart phones, pets and Facebook are relationships. Relationships with the people around you, the families you spend time with, and, most importantly, God. There is a difference between how I experience God here and how I do back home. But, I realize now that He’s been the same all along, it’s me who’s different. It is, at the same time, wonderful and a bit sad. I need a few gates to open and close.

Lord, I pray that you will close the gates to distractions and things that keep me from knowing and following You in a more meaningful and intimate way and, to open the gates to meaningful relationships that really matter with family, friends and You.

So, what’s my plan? It’s simple but difficult; prayer and choices. Prayer for strong walls and well-oiled gates that I open and close as the God I experience here in Ethiopia desires me to do back home.

Here we go.

– Chuck

Arriving

Arriving

After hours and hours (and then a couple more hours) of travel, our team is on the final stretch today, flying from Dubai to Addis Ababa. Friends old and new await us there, and we are expectant of twelve very full days.
Our team is made up of third, second, and first-timers. High school age to middle age.  Married couples, friends, an entire family. While this trip is certainly about the ways we will spend our time and energy serving alongside our friends at Bring Love In, as well as several other Ethiopian ministries (more on that to come), it is also a journey that joins our group together in an unforgettable experience. No one goes to Ethiopia and returns home the same person. Some have unexpected disruptions to their lifestyle after returning home. Some see every person they meet a bit differently. Some experience a slow-burning shift in perspective that takes years to germinate. Toss in a healthy disenchantment with consumerism. All are changed.
The ripple effect of decisions is felt clearly on trips like these. One couple’s wild calling from God and their subsequent decision to follow it are what created Bring Love In. Other ministries all over the city, in Ethiopia, and around the world have similar stories. Chains of life-altering events are created when people decide to do something good. It’s true that bad decisions can have equal effect on the world around us. But we’ve probably read enough bad news for the day, right?
When people are able to take even a small portion of their time and energy, focus it away from self-interest and towards a need they find in the world around them, the Kingdom of God breaks through.

We’ve just left a country where many children are neglected, abused, abandoned, and simply not cared for. In every state in the union, the foster care system takes on more kids every day. In Montana particularly, the need has grown exponentially in the last decade. Today, we’ll arrive in a country with millions of orphans and its own great needs, but also some of the closest family bonds and welcoming people that you will encounter in this world. The lesson is the same everywhere: family bonds hold societies together.

By looking out for children – truly caring for them – wherever we are, we prove with our actions that we want to see God’s Kingdom here on earth.

Look for a pond, so to speak, where you can throw in even just a pebble. Your act of kindness and mercy is a simple, small (and yes, let’s be real, sometimes costly) decision that will ripple through someone’s life.

– Logan

Holy Language

Holy Language

It permeates the Ethiopian air. God’s presence that is like the visible smog that lays over Addis. Of course it would in a country where a biblical story is more than legend, but history. A country where King Solomon’s blood courses through the citizen’s veins. I learned this yesterday on the hour ride home from Ishy (our driver, history buff, and friend). As we passed guard huts of corrugated metal next to acres of hand farmed land intermixed with towers of unfinished cement block building frames. Yet, the reason I believe there is such a palpable spirituality is from the national language.

Amharic is nothing like I have ever heard; where English is a jumble of Latin, Germanic and hashtags. Amharic is beautiful. With the ebb and flow of back of the throat rolls, delightful inflections of tone and melodic tsks that a scolding mother in a musical would make; I find myself wanting to not just learn the language, but breath it in. However, don’t let me trick you to think this language is overtly simple. Because part of its angelic qualities are its complexities. I sought the best teacher I could to help me learn. A ten-year old girl named Bamlak.

During our lesson of animals where the kids thought of the English names for creatures like: dog, cat, mouse, giraffe and lion. They then had to come to the board and write the word in Amharic. Bamlak was too intrigued with thinking of more animals to list than writing her own ideas in her journal. So I cut her a deal. She had to write all the words in English and I would write them in Amharic. Though this strategy only half worked we did get to the word lion. Which in Amharic is ānibesa. Pronounced ah muh say. She would model what the first letter in Amharic looked like. I would fail to write it correctly. She would laugh. I would laugh. She would show me again. Then I would get close, and she would say it’s okay knowing full well it was definitely not okay. Yet in unpacking the four separate letters of ānibesa, I realized that here before me is a language that was heard by the people of the Bible. These sounds spoken all around us are holy from its history and godly from its usage in song and prayer. And even though God’s glory washes over me from the language of Amharic. My feelings can can only be expressed in English.

A line emerged from John Steinbeck’s East of Eden (the only book I brought on this trip) “He lived in a world shining and fresh as unexpected as Eden on the sixth day.” Addis may never smell or look as Eden did, but it certainly feels that way.

– Carl

More than a drop in the ocean

More than a drop in the ocean

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord.”

– Colossians 3:23

In the words of Chuck, “What we are doing is only a small drop in a large ocean” so why are we doing this? There is so much more that can be done here to help those in need, yet we are only doing one thing. But what gives me hope in this is that I know we may only be making a small impact, but by helping these children, they can grow up to be who they want to be. Enguday can grow up to be a doctor and help so many people around her, while Seble can help fight for people’s rights as she is a lawyer. These children’s dreams are no different than mine or any other young adults. Heck, they will have a more demanding and time consuming career than I will. I have hope in myself that I can become what I want to be, but for the wrong reasons. The Bring Love In kids know that they can grow up to be whatever they want because God is guiding them. They do not worry about the finances of college, rather, they put their hope in God and know that he will provide. They know that they can become doctors, lawyers, pilots or teachers because they have faith. A ten year old told me here that he is going to be a pilot because God has told him to be one, and I don’t think anything is going to stop him from doing that.

The dreams that these kids have and how we have impacted them was truly apparent when said our goodbyes on Friday. Seeing the younger kids again was so amazing. They hosted a ceremony for us, which was filled with cookies, coffee, thank you cards, pictures, and lots of hugs and kisses. In many cards I received they would say, “don’t forget me, ok.” I know that I will never forget the memories with them, and I hope that they will never forget those memories as well. Saying goodbye to the children was both hard and also a proud moment.
On Saturday, we visited a couple lakes as well as hike/walked around one of them. It took us around two hours and was like no other hike I’ve ever been on. Cactus filled the sides of the trails and we spent a bit of the time crouched over, walking through thick brush. A few of us tasted the cactus plant and it was quite sweet, surprisingly.

On Sunday we attended church, went to our new favorite place, “Cupcakes Delight”, then packed, relaxed, got one more macchiato (so we don’t forget how great Ethiopian coffee is), and headed to the airport. We are currently sitting in the Germany airport, reflecting on all the things we are thankful for:

  • Flushing toilet paper
  • Clean air
  • Time to decompress
  • Safe tap water
  • Internet
  • Food
  • Anti-itch cream
  • Fruit
  • Clean streets
  • Ice
  • Common language
  • Being closer to home

Even though there were some political demonstrations going on in Addis, we all felt safe with our host and drivers.

I am very ready to be home, but I know I will truly miss it here. The impact that the people, children, and our team has had on me will never be forgotten and has definitely changed my life.

See you back in the States!

– Josie