Our interaction with the Ethiopian Jewish community may have been the most impacting part of the trip for me. Many of you know that I have long had heart for God's chosen people and the Messianic community. In Ethiopia, the Jewish people face difficult lives, full of discrimination as they wait to return to their Promised Land. We sat on the wooden benches of a tin roof and dirt floor synagogue, full of men and women who have yet to know the salvation of their Messiah. We were able to be involved in distributing aid to the Jewish people who are living in poverty as they wait to make aliyah and return to Israel. And we also had the beautiful privilege to worship with Jewish believers in Yeshua. As we worshipped, I was hit with the realization of where I was and what an honor to be worshipping with these brothers and sisters as the one new man ( Ephesians 2). We joined this believing community for the Biblical feast of Shavuot (Pentecost), to celebrate God's giving of His Word and the Holy Spirit. This was an anointed time! After a powerful word, preached by Jahi (the leader of Gateways' first year program) the Holy Spirit came and we saw people receive salvation, physical healing and deliverance from demonic oppression. God delights in meeting His children during His appointed times. And how pleasant it is when brothers dwell together in unity. We worshipped with them in English, Amharic and Hebrew and danced both Israeli and African dances. This Messianic congregation is on fire for the Lord, but it has come at a great cost. During our celebration in an open air compound, rocks began to fly over the wall and into the compound - hitting our team and the congregation members. This Jewish community on the outskirts of Addis Ababa is about 60,000 people and only a few hundred are believers in Jesus as the Messiah. The rock-throwers were infuriated with these precious believers, accusing them of witchcraft in the community, because of their faith in Christ. What started as several angry men, quickly turned into a riot. Signs and banners for the gathering were torn down, and the windshields of the cars belonging to the believers were smashed. Nobody was seriously injured, but it gives perspective of what these people go through everyday for the sake of following Jesus. We were also able to bless them by doing practical service in the compound where their congregation meets - gardening, cleaning, and electrical work. For many years, the believers in this community have stayed underground to forgo this kind of persecution, but we stand with them in their recent choice to openly worship Yeshua as the Messiah and shine like a city on a hill. Please join me in lifting up this community and the believers in it to the Lord.
Traditional Jewish dancing with the Messianic congregation on the feast of Shavuot
Our team with some of the congregational leaders in their compound on work day
0 comments:
Post a Comment