Yay!

We are SO excited to welcome Kaity to our team going to Ethiopia this year!! We are now up to 6 teachers! Such a blessing to get to reach a bigger group of kids this summer. If you have a Facebook please send her an encouraging message and keep her in your prayers as well. We will be meeting with Tyrone and Alma tomorrow night and will explain the trip in more detail with her and let them all get to know each other a bit. Super excited!! :) Please remember to keep us all in your thoughts and prayers as well as those we will come in contact with all throughout our trip. God Bless!

Philippians 4:4

Not much news

There's not a lot to tell today. Due to spring break I won't get to meet up with Joanie until sometime in April to work on the t-shirts. I am in the process of writing a donation letter discussing our trip last year and what we plan to do this year. I am posting it here and will send out physical copies during the next couple of weeks. Hopefully I will have some real news in April. I am trying to set up a meeting to share our story from last year after worship services next month. Joanie is helping me with that and maybe get definite dates here pretty soon. That's about all there is to tell for this month.
Here is a copy of the letter that will be sent out.

Dear friends and family,

Last year I was blessed with the opportunity to go to Gambella, Ethiopia to host the first ever Vacation Bible School. We primarily worked with South Sudanese  refugees, however Ethiopian children came as well. The topic was creation because the children were not taught the bible and we felt in order to build, we needed to start at the beginning. There were four of us ladies: Joanie, Rusty, Alma, and  myself who taught grades 1^st - 4^th . We had about 100 children signed up, however, we had about 100 extra children come each day asking to be let in. We allowed a few extra children, however, due to lack of supplies and teachers we were not able to include all the children. Amazingly, all the kids would stay and listen and participate from outside the classrooms. They too learned the lessons and songs and some children would stay after the VBS and ask questions about what we taught. We had men from the preaching school who interpreted for us. These men were taught by the missionary who invited us, Tyrone Myhnier. We worked closely with these men and developed friendships that still last today. The church had no children when we came and now has about 50,  who come  regularly. In addition to that, more adults have come and there have been  many baptisms. We went, not just to teach the children, but to reach out to their parents as well (Matthew 21.15-16). The Lord blessed the work more than we could even imagine. This year, we are again blessed with the opportunity to return to Gambella and host another VBS. We  have another volunteer, Bryce, to go and teach with us. We hope to get a couple more teachers so we can have enough classrooms for all the kids interested in attending. The topic will range multiple Bible stories: David and Goliath, Daniel and the Lion’s Den, Noah and the Ark, Abraham and Isaac, Hannah, and Joseph and his Coat of Colors. The VBS will be one week and then work with the congregation there to help it strengthen and grow. The trip costs $4,000 total, however, I am in need of $3,000 since I have already  received $1,000. I have a blog at www.heart4ethiopia2013.blogspot.com where you can go to stay up- to- date on our progress. If you would like to make a donation,  you can go to my blog and donate via PayPal or debit/credit card. You can also donate via check and send  it to my home address. This is a work that has greatly impacted  my life and helped  me grow in faith and knowledge as a Christian. These people starve for knowledge about God and His Word. I have developed a love for these people and these wonderful children. I pray it is again God's will to use me to further His kingdom. But in order to do this work I need your help. Any monetary donations, prayers, or encouraging words are greatly needed and deeply appreciated.

In Christ,

Karisa Holland