Dear Brother & Sister,

     Psalm 145 is such an appropriate introduction for this specific report: "...Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable... The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love....The Lord is faithful in all his words, and gracious in all his deeds....The Lord is near to all who call upon him, to all who call upon him in truth..."

His Faithfulness in all things:

      First, let me relate about my own missionary Support situation of this fiscal year by the end of September. Though somewhat short of C$5,500, this deficit was wiped out by transferring about C$6,000 from my Ministry Account into my Support. I share this joy not just from a financial statement ending in black and not in red, but also as a sign of our Lord thatl he still wants the missionary on the field. However, we are out in Ethiopia not simply to meet our yearly Support requirement so to have a place to live, food to eat, medical and dental care, and a return ticket to our host country... Here brings in my second praise item. Our faithful heavenly Father has also brought in enough supplies for our ministry. And in this case of ACM (Abyssinia Camping Ministry), even in this early developing stage, we have a variety of expenses in monthly land rental, 3 workers to be salaried, horses to feed, Genesis Clubs to run, gas for our vehicles...  The Lord has again led us through without debt!

     How about the KIA diesel 4-wheel-drive small truck? What a gift from the Lord! Now almost finished with 2 row of metal seats being installed on its 2.45 metres deck floor and a frame that can be extended to 2-metre high. It is truly multi-purpose --- capable of carrying 14 kids in the back, and transporting sand, bricks, cement, long timbers and metal pipes, then with its full extention on be transformed into a carrier of 2 horses or up to 3 cattle... Then the parts of KIA are generally cheaper than most other 4-W-Drive vehicles. It blended well with our principle to be always practical and economical. Soon our KIA will be out of the garage and we highly anticipate it to be a blessing like our yellow VW Pickup during the past 3 years. Let me furnish you a bit about our cute 8x3 sq.m. yellow metal house. It costs us only around 16,079 Birrs including the foundation. That is US$1,870.00  I wish you could see how the boys and girls were enjoying their future cabins, though still empty without the 3-decker bunker beds.

Our 2 Genesis Clubs are rolling on!

     When the leader of Genesis club A (on Sat morning), brother Dawit and his partner sister Meron, were through with their time of committment, I asked them to write some reflection as follows: "The camp has created a friendly atmosphere among the children, since it was a sensitive age, in terms of gender differences. I believe the camp has helped the kids develop improved self-image and better relations with each other.    The fact that the children were of small number made the communication process easier. And the children could openly ask questions and receive satisfactory answers.

This was their first formal introduction to the gospel. The children were attentive to the message. They were interested enough to request for continuation of the program. This shows that the program had a very good impact on them. I trust that this whole camp experience will help direct their future decisions to follow Christ."

    Let me highlight something during our Bible time focusing on Genesis. Even at this tender age of around 10 to 12, they demonstrated a keen moral sense. For instance,

they recognized the sin of Sodom (homosexuality) and unanimously said that to sleep with another man's wife was gross offence and  thus Joseph was far better off to spend many years in prison than to yield to the temptation and  to enjoy riches and  physical freedom. We also observed that our scriptures reading and discussion time should be short and lively, covering no more than 2 chapters. With about 95% of the kids in the 2 clubs being from Orthodox background, how thankful we are that their parents have not raised any objection so far. To avoid unnecessary suspicion, we stick to the Bible  with no other supplementary books. Our low-key approach is working and we steer away from hard preaching and quick repentance as suggested by some. I recalled a missionary vet, who came to Ethiopia during the socialist era, offering a piece of good advice a few years back:" ...keep the whole camping thing low-key, don't even sing the songs prevalent in the Pentae (i.e. a common name for the Protestant) churches..." Yes, those choruses we chose, such as 'Thy word have I hid' (Ps 119-11) with a lovely oriental tune, 'Jesus loves me this I know', 'Everybody ought to know'...,  have been so well liked by our boys and girls that they often requested to sing over and over again!

      Outdoor activities? We are witnessing their picking up the skill in badminton, volley ball, archery, horse-back riding... Hiking is such a favorite for city kids. And Oh, how they enjoyed swimming even in a small pond along a stream. Cold and not-so-clean water had made us to discontinue that activity. But, last Sat, we took them to Ghion Hotel for a hearty swim in a pool fed by warm spring water. Mingling with these playful little ones for about 3 hours in the pool, I did something that I had never expected to do as a missionary -- in teaching boys and girls how to float and  kick. And I got sun-burnt but not them.  Among our colleagues the picture of an economical warm-up kid pool has since emerged. If we look to our own resources, will ACM ever be able to afford a pool, even a small one like 12x5 metres? But when we look up to our God, is anything too hard for him?

Praise Him for a timely gift for the Abyssinia Camp!

      About 2 months ago the SIM International Office had asked what were the immediate needs of ACM. We told them that land contracting was the most urgent one since without land there would be no camping ministry. About 10 days ago news came that the International Office has channeled US$46,000 for ACM, i.e. 391,000 Birrs. Taking 10% off for 2 SIM offices, the lawyer and land surveyer fees, plus 4% paid to the city government for land transaction, we have only about 328,000 Birrs for actual land contracting.  If 1 sq. metre will cost 35 Birrs, we can cover about 9,000 sq. metres, thus still 3000 sq. metres short of our goal targeting 12,000 sq. metres.  Please pray  faithfully for this entire procedure of securing a small site for ACM that God will direct us step by step to its completion. Ask our heavenly Father to make up all the differences. If God touches your heart to contribute for land, simply forward it to any SIM Office designating  to Abyssinia Camping Ministry under this Project #: ET92769

Finally, let me tell you that this land contracting will definitely lead ACM into a new stage for its step by step development.  We are looking forward for the day, when the Addis Ababa City government will grant ACM with gladness and favor, a total free land leasing whether 12,000 sq. metres and beyond!