November Update

Kevin & Erica Kipfer SERVING IN ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA

N o v e m b e r Ki p f e r U p d a t e We have arrived! We can’t express how much we appreciate your prayers and words of encouragement that have helped bring us to this place! After many months of preparation and anticipation, we finally arrived on the ground in Addis Ababa on the evening of October 27. The previous 27 hours had been a blend of waiting 3 hours for our Ft. Wayne flight to take off, rushing frantically through Detroit airport to get our next connection, carrying way-too-big carry-ons, sleeping in Amsterdam on reclining chairs, sitting in the plane in Sudan, and finally, arriving in Addis Ababa to be greeted by Gary and Peggy Ifft, who have helped tremendously in our transition. Since our arrival, no day is quite like the other. We’ve experienced the Ethiopian culture through a wedding, coffee ceremonies, language lessons, and dinners with new friends that include plenty of wonderful traditional food like injera, tibs, wot and the like. Just like with any move, we have shopped for things for our home, got internet setup, began orienting ourselves in the city, etc. To get all this accomplished, we’ve had to utilize a number of different modes of transportation: horse drawn carts called gares, taxis, mini-buses, city buses, and plenty of walking. Even in the midst of all this, we’re slowly settling and Addis is feeling a bit more like home. (we even have a post office box so feel free to send us mail :)

Left to Right: Lydia, Ruth, Moses, Joseph, Deborah, Daniel and Hanna pose with their new toys they just inflated.

Home of Hope LSM currently has one Home of Hope for orphans in Addis. Eshetu and Tsion parent seven beautiful children who have been orphaned due to the AIDS crisis. We have had the opportunity to see them at their home and hear them recite Bible verses and pray. It has been great to have these kids as friends at church as they seek us out to say hello and give us plenty of smiles and hugs.

Laying the groundwork

You might be surprised to know...

Much of our time so far has been spent “getting settled;” however, we have been able to start laying some groundwork for the future Home of Hope for girls. We have had the opportunity to meet with three different organizations working in Addis Ababa with the population of girls and women that we hope to work with. Each organization’s work is slightly different yet with a similar purpose and mission—to rescue women from exploitation, restore hope through Christ, and equip them for a new life. Each organization has been very helpful and supportive. We hope to learn from and connect further with these organizations as we move forward. An Ethiopian counselor that we met who has over 13 years of experience working with exploited women encouraged us, “God did not call you to this work based on what you can do alone, but on His own power and capacity to work through you!”

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We are more often cold than hot. A box of Cheerios costs as much as a steak dinner (both about $5). The current year in Ethiopia is 2002 Ethiopian time starts at 6am, meaning when our watch says 10am, Ethiopians will call it 4:00. When walking on the city sidewalk, we commonly have to dodge donkeys, sheep, and goats (and what they leave behind) We can read this: It says, “Full Moon Café.” This café is very close to our home so we stop by there often!

Kevin’s Email: [email protected] Erica’s Email: [email protected] Blog: kevinanderica.blogspot.com Field Address: PO Box 16245, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Closing thoughts Prayer Cards—Hopefully most of you have received a prayer card through the mail or in person. If not, please contact April Isch at [email protected] and she’ll get one sent to you. • Weekly Prayer Updates—To receive prayer requests more often, just reply to this email with ‘prayer update’ in the subject line and we’ll add you to that email list. • Financial Support— You can donate to our work by visiting www.loving-shepherd.org and clicking the ‘Donate’ tab. Note your gift for ‘Ethiopia Projects’. Or visit our blog for a printable form.

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Praises and Prayers • THANK YOU ALL WHO PRAYED FOR OUR TRAV-

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ELS AND TRANSITION TO ETHIOPIA!!! God has been faithful in answering those prayers. Pray that we can be incarnational as we adapt to this new culture Pray for the relationships that we are establishing with those we are ministering with and ministering to Pray for connections with other ministries that will help in establishing the Home of Hope for girls Pray for the current Home of Hope; Eshetu, Tsion and all the children.

Left: Our first glimpse of the African sun from the airplane. Right: Kevin helps Ruth blow up her punch ball. These horse-drawn carts, “garees,” are commonly seen on our road.

At a coffee ceremony. The coffee beans have been roasted and ground and now are brewing in the decorative pot over hot coals until the host determines the coffee is ready.

A coffee break during one of our busy errandrunning days. We are seated next to Genet (Paulos’s wife), our taxi driver, and Paulos (in the red shirt—our “right-handman”).