Update from Matt....

Ethiopia is much like I remembered, yet it is amazing to see through
the eyes of someone here for the first time. I have heard over and
again from our team how beautiful the people are. They are struck by
the beautiful eyes of our friends, as well as their “million dollar
smiles.” Still, it is not until several days pass that we are able to
begin to see why God has brought us here.
Our first day here we got to see the new class of women. Immediately
it reminded me of when Nikki and Christy were here and went house to
house. The women are at about the same stage in the program. The
counseling is helping them to make sense of their stories and they are
beginning to believe that there is hope available. As we walked in we
saw that they had moved the salon to a bigger room where there was
more lighting. In the corner was a photo of the first graduating
class. I wonder how many photos God will allow us to put on the wall.
A few hours later the seventh grade arrived. As they walked in our
team was so excited. We don’t know their language, so we spoke
through the universal language of superballs and soccer. It took
several day, but just yesterday Kyle said that the kids are running to
greet him instead of the other way around.
This team is a gift. They will spend some time writing what they have
seen so far, but I want to thank you right now for your prayers and
support. It has been a great trip already, and we are not finished
yet.