Ethiopia. 5 days. Fun.

That's the bottom line. We're heading to Ethiopia on Monday. WOW! The group is made up of primarily the interns from Southeast Christian Church. My wife and I will be joining them, along with Holly from LIA. We'll be staying in Addis Ababa, the capital, and will be visiting several sites in and around the city. We'll have opportunities to work with the local church leaders -- in a support and encouragement role. I'm excited to see the work that the Lord is doing there. I have heard amazing things and can't wait to see it first hand.

I'm also looking forward to the changes we'll see in our group. I know that this trip will be a strong reminder / wake up call. We live comfortable lives. Even the poor in America are considered wealthy in most of the world.

I wake up every day in my climate controlled house. I walk down my carpeted stairs and walk into a kitchen filled with a ridiculous amount of food. I drive my car (which costs me more per month that the average Ethiopian makes in a year) into work. I make more money there in one hour than much of the world makes in one month. In my job I help people deal with their "crises" which seem silly when compared with starvation, desolate poverty, and epidemic disease.

I can go on. But the point is this: I am too comfortable and have taken my blessings for granted. I expect that the things we see and the people we meet will change our perspectives for a lifetime.

Please continue to pray for us. For safety and health, of course, but also that God would speak clearly to us and through us.