Zeway Mission Trip 2010

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Two years ago, God led a small, unqualified group of individuals to say “yes” to stand in the gap for orphans living on their own and raising their siblings in Zeway, Ethiopia. Since then, many of you have heard the heartbreaking (and at the same time uplifting) stories of these orphans. Many of you have given generously to support them, and for that we are very grateful. 

During Grace’s first trip to Zeway last May, God clearly showed us this was not the Zeway Project but the Zeway Partnership.  We were broken visiting these children who had suffered greatly and continued to face immense hardship.  We were inspired to watch the Food for the Hungry (FH) staff serve these children tirelessly as the hands and feet of Christ.  We were blessed to see community and church leaders rise up to care for orphans in response to us simply showing up and raising awareness of the orphans in their community.  Most of all, we saw God leading Grace and the city of Austin to partner with FH and the local Zeway Evangelical Fellowship of Churches to address the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of the Zeway orphans.

Many of you were blessed to meet Dawit, who leads the FH staff in Zeway, and hear about the impact being made on the Zeway orphans through the partnership.  Grace’s outreach pastor, Tom Sanchez, and his brother, Steve Sanchez, just returned from Zeway where Steve, a grief and loss counselor, led the FH social workers in a week-long training so they are better equipped to help these children.

This July, our group of five – (left to right) Matt Kouri, John Patterson, Dawn Patterson, Rachael Moise and Heather Bauer – will travel to Zeway in continuation of this partnership.  Like last summer, our primary goal is to visit orphans in their homes (James 1:27).  We will also continue our relationship with the local church leaders with whom we are partnering to serve orphans and in so doing evangelize the heavily Muslim area. We will explore ways the Stephen Ministry, through John’s experience and leadership as a Stephen’s Minister, might serve the Zeway social workers and orphans.  Rachael, a member at Austin Stone, is completing her masters in social work at UT and will help continue to serve the FH Zeway social workers as they serve the Zeway orphans.

First and foremost, we request your prayers for these children.  They have lost both their mother and father – many witnessing their deaths first hand.  Pray that they would turn to our Lord for hope, that God would use the partnership to be the hands and feet of Christ, drawing these children to their Heavenly Father. 

Second, please pray for our team as we travel to Ethiopia, and for our families that remain at home.

Lastly, we ask that you continue to partner with us by donating funds to support this trip.  Our team of 5 must raise approximately $15,000 to travel to Zeway in July (any funds raised greater than this amount will be used to directly support the orphans in Zeway).  You can make an online donation at the top of this page.  You can also send a check payable to Grace Covenant Church, 9508 Jollyville Rd, Suite 200, Austin, TX 78759.  Please indicate “Zeway 2010 Mission Trip” in the memo line.  

Thank you for your continued support of the Zeway Partnership.  If you would like to know more, call or email us!  You can also meet the sweet faces of these children and read ongoing updates on our blog.

Matt Kouri • Dawn Patterson • John Patterson • Heather Bauer • Rachael Moise