Thursday, October 30, 2008

Team Fellowships and Team Building

On Sunday, Oct. 19 the team and some family members ventured out to an authentic Ethiopian restaurant for lunch. It was definitely an eye-opening experience and all ate in true Ethiopian style, right hand only and no utensils!!









Diane and husband
Patience, Dottie, and Ingrid


Dottie and Dawn-Marie
Dawn-Marie, Doug and Michelle













Dawn-Marie and Michelle

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Laying the Foundation - Pre-Mission Planning September 2008


This historic trip is the first for First Baptist Atlanta (FBA). This inaugural team to Ethiopia will establish an essential relationship between FBA, the Ethiopian government and Source of Light Ministries (SOL).

Ingrid, Ambassador Casa and Tsdali

Team leader Ingrid Forbes traveled to Addis Ababa in September 2008 to meet with Ethiopia's Ambassador Casa, Chief Minister Tadessa, and Minister of Health, Dr. Kebede. In a five day work week, Ingrid and missionary Haile and his wife Tsdali Tafera spent the time engaging these


officials in the vision of providing medical care for Ethiopia's poorest by allowing mission teams from FBA to make two trips annually. With God's provisions, SOL will build a multi-purpose building in Dukem, Ethiopia (40 miles outside Addis Ababa) to house SOL Ethiopia, dorm rooms for teams of up to 20 people, a printing operation and bible study area. Of course, the clinic will be the largest part of this multi-purpose building...and once operational, the locals who are so poverty sticken, health care is not even a consideration, will be made available.


State Minister Tadesse Haile, suggested working at the Dukem Health Clinic in order to begin the process of building relationships with the
community.
State Minister Tadesse Haile and missionary Haile Tefera. Below -Tsdali and Ingrid get to capture the historic meeting.










Haile and Tsdali gave a tour of the foundation for the Source of Light clinic. Since September 2008, new construction is well underway and plans to complete the project within the next 12 months will be the focus of prayers for the entire team and SOL staff in Ethiopia.

Team Preparations - Meetings, Shots, Packing

Dr. St. Clair from WellBeings stopped by on October 19, to provide needed shots for the team.





Director of Short Term Missions at FBA, Fred Jones, chats with Dr. St. Clair to make sure that Sarnaa gets ALL his shots!













Sarnaa before....





and after!!! Now that didn't really hurt did it?





























Dr. St. Clair consults with Dottie and





gives Dr. Posey his Flu and Yellow Fever shots.





The shots that were suggested include Yellow Fever, Flu, Polio, Typhoid, Manengicocol, Tetanus and Hepititis A and B. Not only were the shots painful physically, but financially as well.





Monday, October 27, 2008

Itinerary - December 5-14, 2008





Dukem Health Clinic

Prayer Request & Itinerary
December 5 - 14, 2008




December 5

6:00 p.m. Leave Atlanta bound to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia via Frankfurt.

Judges 18:6 “Go in peace,” … “For the presence of the Lord will be with you along the way.”


December 6
8:30 p.m. Arrive in Addis Ababa’s Bole airport. Spend the night in Addis Ababa.

Isaiah 42:7 You will open the eyes of the blind. You will free the captives from prison, releasing those who sit in dark dungeon.



Sunday, December 7

Worship Service – Sarnaa speaking in church service.
1:00 p.m. Travel to Nazret, Ethiopia and check –in at the Adama German Hotel. After hotel check in and instructions the team will travel to the Dukem Health Clinic to meet the staff for a meal, team building and unpacking supplies.
7:00 p.m. - First showing of The Jesus Film courtesy of Campus Crusade for Christ

Ephesians 3:20 Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.


This Acacia tree that marks Dukem's city limits.








Monday, December 8

8:30 am-5:30 pm - First day of work at the Dukem Health Clinic
7:00 p.m. Dinner and team debrief.










Col. 1: 6 This same Good News that came to you is going out all over the world. It is bearing fruit everywhere by changing lives, just as it changed your lives from the day you first heard and understood the truth about God's wonderful grace.


Nurse Annis Anesa Ahlee
Chief Manager of Dukem Health Clinic



Tuesday, December 9
8:30 am-5:30 pm - Work at the Dukem Health Clinic
7:00 pm - Second showing of The Jesus Film courtesy of Campus Crusade for Christ.
Matthew 9:35 Jesus traveled through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the Good News about the kingdom, and healing all kinds of diseases and sicknesses.




Wednesday, December 10

8:30 am-5:30 pm - Work at the Dukem Health Clinic
7:00 p.m. Team dinner and a movie – quiet evening in to rest and recharge.




Acts 4:12 Only Jesus has the power to save! His name is the only one in all the world that can save anyone.



The Pharmacy at the clinic



Thursday, December 11

8:30 am-5:30 pm - Work at the Dukem Health Clinic
7:00 pm - Third showing of The Jesus Film courtesy of Campus Crusade for Christ.

Psalm 40:16 But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who love your salvation always say, "The LORD be exalted!"


Friday, December 12

8:30 am-12:30 pm Work at the Dukem Health Clinic.
1:00 p.m. Good-byes, depart from the clinic, and travel to Addis Ababa.
3:00-7:00 pm Hotel check-in, sight seeing and dinner in Addis Ababa.

Deuteronomy 2:7 The Lord your God has blessed you in everything your hands have done. He watched over you when you traveled through that huge desert.

Saturday, December 13

Kaldis - Ethiopia's version of Starbucks...just better java.


Children's Ministry Day
9:30 a.m. Children’s ministry in Addis Ababa - Nefas Selk, Mekane Yesus Church, Addis Ababa


Show The Jesus Film courtesy of Campus Crusade for Christ










Lunch and sight seeing in Addis Ababa
10:30 pm Flight leaves Addis Ababa to return to Atlanta via Frankfurt.


Ezra 3:11 With praise and thanksgiving they sang to the LORD: "He is good; his love to Israel endures forever." And all the people gave a great shout of praise to the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid.


December 14
4:30 p.m. Arrive Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport

Luke 1:45 Blessed is he who has believed that what the LORD has said to him will be accomplished.

Meet the Medical Mission Team from First Baptist Church Atlanta

Sarnaa Archie - Discipleship Pastor




















Patience Eka, RN



























Michelle Crews




My husband is Tesdell "Ted" Crews and we have been married for 8 years May 26th. We were high school sweethearts from Columbia, Maryland. We are blessed to have two children, Tesdell Jacob "TJ" who is three and Olivia , who will be two on Nov. 21st. We live in Duluth, Georgia and I am an RN (Nurse) in Labor & Delivery at Northside Hospital. I have known Jesus Christ as my savior since I was five years old, accepting him at my home church in Columbia, MD, First Baptist Church of Guilford. I have a Bachelor's of Arts in French from Spelman College and earned my nursing degree from Carolinas College of Health Sciences in Charlotte, North Carolina. I began my nursing career at Charlotte medical center.






Diane Dennis-Stephens, MPH



I work as a health scientist for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). I live in Stone Mountain with my husband of 4.5 years. Although I love to travel and have been a few places on this side of the Atlantic Ocean, this is my first time to Africa and my first time on a mission trip. I am looking forward to using my public health skills and sharing my testimony with the Ethiopian people. I am so excited about the journey and all that God has in store for me. I am grateful and blessed by the support I have received from my wonderful husband and family


Mission scripture - Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."






Dottie Eleazer






















Ingrid Forbes

In September 2008 I went to Ethiopia prior to the trip with the team in December. As the team's leader, I had to meet with Ethiopia's government officials to estsblish the agreement for services that the team would provide during the December mission. I also got the great joy of visiting the children in Nefas Selk, at the Mekane Yesus Church. The team will visit this church on December 13 to spend time ministering to the children and showing them the Jesus Film.


I am a Jamaican by birth and nationality, and I am grateful to God for finally sending me to Africa to serve on a short term mission team. I am confident that God will show Himself ever so faithful and will accomplish more than I could ever ask or think.





Geraldine Senior

I am a Christian who loves God very much. I have a son whom I also love very much. God has blessed me by allowing me to work in the medical field for 15 years as I have cared for elderly patients. I have also volunteered in numerous shelters and I currently serve as a Sunday morning greeter at First Baptist Church Atlanta.

My favorite scripture is - Matthew 7:7 "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you."




Zebrinia Gregg, RN
















Dawn-Marie Headley, RN


























Chika Oraka, RNP

My name is Chika Oraka. I was born in a small village of Nnewi in Nigeria – a country in eastern Africa. I am the oldest of thirteen children. My parents were Mr. and Mrs. Unachukwu. My mother died in 1962 at the age of 35 and my father remarried in 1964. My husband, Emeka and I got married on April 12, 1969. We have four children and five grandchildren. I came to know Christ in April 1975. I arrived in the United States in August of 1975, settled in Chicago, and attended Moody Church where I was baptized by pastor Weisby.

We moved to a little town called Ishpeming, Michigan in the Upper Peninsula, where we lived for twelve years. We then moved to Atlanta in 1991 and joined First Baptist Church in 1994. I have been a member of the choir since 1994. Also, I enjoy sewing, running, and making the best ox tail stew you’ve ever tasted! I’m so thankful for Charles Stanley’s teaching. His ministry has been instrumental in my spiritual growth. Now, I am a nurse practitioner and very glad to serve the Lord with all my heart and nursing talents on this medical mission to Ethiopia.




Dr. Doug Posey



























































Cheryl Honeycutt

Facts and Points of Interest










Ethiopia



Background:
Unique among African countries, the ancient Ethiopian monarchy maintained its freedom from colonial rule with the exception of the 1936-41 Italian occupation during World War II. In 1974, a military junta, the Derg, deposed Emperor Haile SELASSIE (who had ruled since 1930) and established a socialist state. Torn by bloody coups, uprisings, wide-scale drought, and massive refugee problems, the regime was finally toppled in 1991 by a coalition of rebel forces, the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). A constitution was adopted in 1994, and Ethiopia's first multiparty elections were held in 1995. A border war with Eritrea late in the 1990s ended with a peace treaty in December 2000. The Eritrea-Ethiopia Border Commission in November 2007 remotely demarcated the border by geographical coordinates, but final demarcation of the boundary on the ground is currently on hold because of Ethiopian objections to an international commission's finding requiring it to surrender territory considered sensitive to Ethiopia.


Location: Eastern Africa, west of Somalia

Climate: tropical monsoon with wide topographic-induced variation


Natural hazards:
geologically active Great Rift Valley susceptible to earthquakes, volcanic eruptions; frequent droughts


Environment - current issues:
deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; water shortages in some areas from water-intensive farming and poor management

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea

Geography note:
landlocked - entire coastline along the Red Sea was lost with the de jure independence of Eritrea on 24 May 1993; the Blue Nile, the chief headstream of the Nile by water volume, rises in T'ana Hayk (Lake Tana) in northwest Ethiopia; three major crops are believed to have originated in Ethiopia: coffee, grain sorghum, and castor bean

People
Population:
82,544,840 note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2008 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 46% (male 18,922,334/female 19,017,593) 15-64 years: 51.4% (male 20,749,002/female 21,656,509) 65 years and over: 2.7% (male 947,323/female 1,252,077) (2008 est.)
Median age:
total: 16.9 years male: 16.6 years female: 17.2 years (2008 est.)
Population growth rate:
3.212% (2008 est.)
Birth rate:
43.97 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Death rate:
11.83 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)


Net migration rate:
NA note: repatriation of Ethiopian refugees residing in Sudan is expected to continue for several years; some Sudanese, Somali, and Eritrean refugees, who fled to Ethiopia from the fighting or famine in their own countries, continue to return to their homes (2008 est.)


Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2008 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 82.64 deaths/1,000 live births male: 94.08 deaths/1,000 live births female: 70.87 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 54.99 years male: 52.54 years female: 57.51 years (2008 est.)
Total fertility rate:
6.17 children born/woman (2008 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
4.4% (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
1.5 million (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
120,000 (2003 est.)


Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk: high food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A and E, and typhoid fever vectorborne diseases: malaria respiratory disease: meningococcal meningitis animal contact disease: rabies water contact disease: schistosomiasis (2008)


Nationality:
noun: Ethiopian(s) adjective: Ethiopian

Ethnic groups:
Oromo 32.1%, Amara 30.1%, Tigraway 6.2%, Somalie 5.9%, Guragie 4.3%, Sidama 3.5%, Welaita 2.4%, other 15.4% (1994 census)

Religions:
Christian 60.8% (Orthodox 50.6%, Protestant 10.2%), Muslim 32.8%, traditional 4.6%, other 1.8% (1994 census)

Languages:
Amarigna (Amharic) 32.7%, Oromigna (Oromo) 31.6%, Tigrigna 6.1%, Somaligna (Somali) 6%, Guaragigna 3.5%, Sidamigna 3.5%, Hadiyigna 1.7%, other 14.8%, English (major foreign language taught in schools) (1994 census)

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 42.7% male: 50.3% female: 35.1% (2003 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
total: 8 years male: 8 years female: 7 years (2007)
Education expenditures:
6% of GDP (2006)

Government:
conventional long form: Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia conventional short form: Ethiopia local long form: Ityop'iya Federalawi Demokrasiyawi Ripeblik local short form: Ityop'iya former: Abyssinia, Italian East Africa abbreviation: FDRE

Government type:
federal republic

Capital:
name: Addis Ababa geographic coordinates: 9 02 N, 38 42 E time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Administrative divisions:
9 ethnically based states (kililoch, singular - kilil) and 2 self-governing administrations* (astedaderoch, singular - astedader); Adis Abeba* (Addis Ababa), Afar, Amara (Amhara), Binshangul Gumuz, Dire Dawa*, Gambela Hizboch (Gambela Peoples), Hareri Hizb (Harari People), Oromiya (Oromia), Sumale (Somali), Tigray, Ye Debub Biheroch Bihereseboch na Hizboch (Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples)

Independence:
oldest independent country in Africa and one of the oldest in the world - at least 2,000 years

National holiday:
National Day (defeat of MENGISTU regime), 28 May (1991)


Constitution:
ratified 8 December 1994, effective 22 August 1995

Executive branch:
chief of state: President GIRMA Woldegiorgis (since 8 October 2001) head of government: Prime Minister MELES Zenawi (since August 1995) cabinet: Council of Ministers as provided for in the December 1994 constitution; ministers are selected by the prime minister and approved by the House of People's Representatives elections: president elected by the House of People's Representatives for a six-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 9 October 2007 (next to be held in October 2013); prime minister designated by the party in power following legislative elections election results: GIRMA Woldegiorgis elected president; percent of vote by the House of People's Representatives - 79%

Legislative branch:
bicameral Parliament consists of the House of Federation (or upper chamber responsible for interpreting the constitution and federal-regional issues) (108 seats; members are chosen by state assemblies to serve five-year terms) and the House of People's Representatives (or lower chamber responsible for passing legislation) (547 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote from single-member districts to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 15 May 2005 (next to be held in 2010) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats by party - EPRDF 327, CUD 109, UEDF 52, SPDP 23, OFDM 11, BGPDUF 8, ANDP 8, independent 1, others 6, undeclared 2 note: some seats still remain vacant as detained opposition MPs did not take their seats

Political pressure groups and leaders:
Ethiopian People's Patriotic Front or EPPF; Ogaden National Liberation Front or ONLF; Oromo Liberation Front or OLF [DAOUD Ibsa]


Flag description:
three equal horizontal bands of green (top), yellow, and red with a yellow pentagram and single yellow rays emanating from the angles between the points on a light blue disk centered on the three bands; Ethiopia is the oldest independent country in Africa, and the three main colors of her flag were so often adopted by other African countries upon independence that they became known as the pan-African colors

Economy - overview:
Ethiopia's poverty-stricken economy is based on agriculture, accounting for almost half of GDP, 60% of exports, and 80% of total employment. The agricultural sector suffers from frequent drought and poor cultivation practices. Coffee is critical to the Ethiopian economy with exports of some $350 million in 2006, but historically low prices have seen many farmers switching to qat to supplement income. The war with Eritrea in 1998-2000 and recurrent drought have buffeted the economy, in particular coffee production. In November 2001, Ethiopia qualified for debt relief from the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative, and in December 2005 the IMF voted to forgive Ethiopia's debt to the body. Under Ethiopia's constitution, the state owns all land and provides long-term leases to the tenants; the system continues to hamper growth in the industrial sector as entrepreneurs are unable to use land as collateral for loans. Drought struck again late in 2002, leading to a 3.3% decline in GDP in 2003. Normal weather patterns helped agricultural and GDP growth recover during 2004-07.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$56.05 billion (2007 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate):
$19.43 billion (2007 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
11.1% (2007 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):
$700 (2007 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 47% industry: 13.2% services: 39.8% (2007 est.)
Labor force:
27.27 million (1999)
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 80% industry: 8% services: 12% (1985)




Population below poverty line:
38.7% (FY05/06 est.)


Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 3.9% highest 10%: 25.5% (2000)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
30 (2000)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
17.2% (2007 est.)

Agriculture - products:
cereals, pulses, coffee, oilseed, cotton, sugarcane, potatoes, qat, cut flowers; hides, cattle, sheep, goats; fish


Industries:
food processing, beverages, textiles, leather, chemicals, metals processing, cement

Exports - commodities:
coffee, qat, gold, leather products, live animals, oilseeds

Exchange rates:
birr per US dollar - 9.96


Communications: Telephones - main lines in use:
880,100 (2007)
Telephones - mobile cellular:
1.208 million (2007)
Telephone system:
general assessment: inadequate telephone system; the number of fixed lines and mobile telephones is increasing from a very small base; combined fixed and mobile-cellular teledensity is only about 2 per 100 persons domestic: open-wire; microwave radio relay; radio communication in the HF, VHF, and UHF frequencies; 2 domestic satellites provide the national trunk service international: country code - 251; open-wire to Sudan and Djibouti; microwave radio relay to Kenya and Djibouti; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 2 Pacific Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 8, FM 0, shortwave 1 (2001)
Television broadcast stations:
1 (plus 24 repeaters) (2001)
Internet country code:
.et

Transportation
Airports:
84 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 15 over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 69 over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 11 914 to 1,523 m: 29 under 914 m: 21 (2007)
Railways:
total: 699 km (Ethiopian segment of the Addis Ababa-Djibouti railroad) narrow gauge: 699 km 1.000-m gauge note: railway under joint control of Djibouti and Ethiopia but remains largely inoperable (2006)
Roadways:
total: 36,469 km paved: 6,980 km unpaved: 29,489 km (2004)

Ports and terminals:
Ethiopia is landlocked and uses ports of Djibouti in Djibouti and Berbera in Somalia