Good News!

Our Impact Team is preparing for their November trip and we are incredibly excited, with full confidence in how God will work through this team ~ far beyond what we can imagine and far greater than we will ever know! I’m excited for their time in Ethiopia, knowing in faith that the team will witness and uphold the continuation of God’s blessings and favor upon Hosanna, Ethiopia and upon Hosanna! Kingdom Expansion ministries as these communities - in faith - partner together for His glory.

And it really is The Good News….

The model for transformation of a community and for any person is the perfect model that God gave us. We are transformed by His Word.

So this year we’re gifting our Sponsored Children with Bibles in their Amharic language; picture Bibles for the younger children and standard Bibles for the older ones. God’s Word made known. For there are no material objects we can give them that will sustain change in their lives, only their knowing and receiving of Christ will accomplish this.

Our beautiful Sponsored Children will receive greater access to God’s truth, God’s promises, God’s word eternal ~ to God.

For The Good News *is* the Kingdom of God.

“So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ.”  [Romans 10:17 NLT]

In presenting the Bibles and spending time together loving these beautiful children and receiving their love in return, the 'joined together' community of faith will be doers of the Word, sharing the Gospel by living its truth. The team will provide engaging Children's Ministry of Worship and planned activities, and most importantly personal connection and prayerful blessings as affirmations of how special they are as children of God.

“For the word of God is living and active”  [Hebrews 4:12a ESV]

HOW CAN I HELP?

So often Sponsor Families ask what they can give or send along with our teams to their Sponsored Child. Your love for these children and continued generosity is truly a reflection of Christ – thank you for all of these kind offers!  

PRAY:
The most important support you can give to the 2014 Impact Team and the children/people they minister to are your prayers. We become part of ‘the team’, part of the Body, part of Christ’s discipleship through our prayerful support. Simply loving and lifting others ~ there are no geographical boundaries around the love of Jesus that we’re so blessed to share. Please know that while a small team is actually traveling to Ethiopia, their love and blessings are the ‘face’ and ‘heart’ from all Sponsor Families to our children.

WRITE:
Share some of your time and write to your child. This is so encouraging to them and it keeps you connected.
http://www.hopechest.org/community/hosanna/write-your-child/

“But whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.”  [1 John 2:5-6 ESV]

DONATE:
For those of you who are led to provide financial support, your contributions are greatly appreciated and will be used in two ways:
1. To offset the purchase of the Bibles. (Because of the lead time required for purchasing Bibles, payment was allocated up-front, in advance of reaching out to Sponsor Families.)
2. Help pay for specific additional needs such as food or medical supplies as we go into some of the children's homes to give prayer support. (They receive these needed items from the regular monthly sponsor donations, but we are seeking out additional provisions as we will love and support Sponsored Families with multiple children.)
At this point your financial contributions will be received into the fund used for general expenses.

The link to contribute is: https://secure3.convio.net/chc/site/Donation2?df_id=1420&1420.donation=form1

** Select "Trip Payments - One Time Gift"

** Enter this code in the NOTES field:  ET141003T
   The cutoff date for Sponsor contributions to this year's trip is Friday, 17-October.

The Children's Ministry is one component of God’s plan for this trip. We'll share more of God’s leading and vision for the rest of the November Impact Trip in upcoming blog posts soon to follow.

For now, please join us in this time of incredible excitement, prayer and expectancy for all that God will accomplish through the team of amazing servants that Hosanna! is sending to our sister-community in Hosanna, Ethiopia. A team that will share The Good News and place Bibles in the hands of these sweet children….

May the children be richly, profoundly and abundantly blessed with every joy and promise of The Word of God. May they learn His Truth, love His Truth, and live His Truth all the days of their lives.

“The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever."  [Isaiah 40:8 NLT]

If you have any questions please e-mail:
Marybeth Rolfe
Sponsorship Coordinator 
Ethiopia Advocate - Kingdom Expansion 
hosannatohosanna@gmail.com

Pray Without Ceasing [1 Thes 5:17]

As the Impact Team begins preparation for our Fall 2014 Mission Trip, we pray. 

     God’s grandeur plan….  

          for the people of Hosanna, Ethiopia

               for the Hosanna-to-Hosanna ministry

                    for this team and this Impact Trip 

We invite you to prayerfully consider.... **We invite you to join us.**

A few simple questions…. Is this your time to go? Is this part of your journey ~ with Him? Are you wanting to grow in your walk with Christ, open to serving God’s purpose, willing to surrender your ‘self’ ~ for Him? When you consider the possibility of traveling and giving as a member of the Ethiopia Impact Team, does your heart answer ‘maybe’ or even ‘someday’?

Pray into those promptings for God’s perfect guidance. Maybe your ‘maybe’ is *yes*, perhaps your ‘someday’ is *now*…. Listen and receive.

“Let me hear Your lovingkindness in the morning; For I trust in You; Teach me the way in which I should walk; For to You I lift up my soul.”  [Psalm 143:8]

Trust and believe.

Participating on the Ethiopia Impact Team is simply (and amazingly!) bringing His Kingdom to others; being the love of Christ to people who enthusiastically embrace your outreach and give boundless love and joy in return. Your *yes* becomes God’s answers to prayers as He transforms you and touches lives, continuing the momentum of His ministry. 

The 2014 Ethiopia Impact Trip remains open until September 5th for additional applicants. 

Dates:         November 1 – 10, 2014

Cost:           $2,500  

Apply at:     http://www.hosannalc.org/impact/global/trips/ 

Vision for the Trip:

Children

• Our main focus is to love our sponsored children; continuing to build and lift them in relationship and trust in their walk with Christ. *Our continued and consistent presence in their lives is incredibly important to this affect.*  We will be the hands and feet and hugs and kisses from their sponsor families. 


• In partnership with our in-country HopeChest Staff, we’ll assess needs of the children and the Care Point in order to establish vision for future trips.  

• For the first time, we’ll complete home visits with many of our sponsored children and their families. God is calling us to bring them home-ministry of prayer, encouragement, and personal connection.

• We’ll visit the site that will become our second sponsored Care Point, praying blessings and favor for the Pastors, the Church, and the Kingdom partnership that is developing.

“When he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all.”  [Acts 20:36]

Women

• We will worship together and encourage the women who were rescued from the streets. They remain steadfast in their walk with Christ and continue to grow in their understanding of the depth, breadth, and heights of His love for them.

• Our hope is to again go into the women’s prison and be a glimmer of Jesus' light and love for the ~52 women there, speaking truth into their lives as God leads.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  [Phil 4:6-7]

Leaders

• God’s transformation of the city of Hosanna, Ethiopia engages civic and religious leaders. We’ll continue to encourage and promote this building of community and grow in our connectedness as we are led – with the Mayor, the Police Department, and Heads of Seminary. God has gifted these leaders and blessed their vocations. As they are partnering together and serving Him, incredible progress is occurring.

“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”  [Luke 11:9]

God’s glory will be known as we continue to offer our ‘yes’ to His calling and guidance; as we lift up His prayers in Christ. We go forth with great expectancy that amazing progress will be realized in God’s grandeur plans for His people. For God who is faithful will answer these prayers ~ “immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.” [Ephesians 3:20]  

     As we pray....

          

          without ceasing....

In Christ,

~ Jodi 

on behalf of Impact Team 2014