Aschalew (ahh-shaw-low), a native Ethiopian, is husband to Ruth and father to a four-year-old boy, Fikir. They live in Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia. He holds a degree in Sociology and Social Administration from Addis Ababa University and studied in both Germany and Chile to complete a Masters degree in Regional Development Planning and Management. He has worked for both World Vision International (developing holistic ministries and programs) and local non-profits where he enabled thirty local churches to start successful and influential ministries aimed at serving orphans and vulnerable children.

Aschalew says he joined Kidmia because he was “encouraged and stimulated by its vision of bringing holistic and sustainable transformation in the lives of orphans and vulnerable children, families and communities.” This, he says, fell in line beautifully with his own God-given passion, a passion stirred in him by James 1:27, ”Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress.”

As Aschalew describes, “According to Matthew 25:31-43, the standard of judgment on the last day will be the way we treat the poor who are living among us today, especially orphans. Have we fed, clothed, and cared for them, recognizing Jesus in them? We put vast amounts of money into church and office buildings, the latest sound and video systems, sophisticated office equipment, and we put a very small portion of our resources into caring for those who are the least among us. Let us put our Christian faith into action by taking care of orphaned and vulnerable children, who are at the center of God’s heart and agenda.”

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So on July 5 Sally Baer, a key volunteer for Kidmia in Ethiopia, took Caleb, Suzanne, and I to Kidmia for the day. Along the way we stopped to buy two pregnant sheep for the campus which would provide a future stream of revenue through the sale of offspring. Did I mention the sheep sat in the back seat with me for the final ninety minute drive to Gunchire!?!? That was a first time experience for me. All in all, we were able to buy six sheep, one hundred chickens (enough to feed the children breakfast daily), and some books and music. And we got to involve some of our friends back in Dallas at Watermark Community Church by providing them with the opportunity to contribute the funds used to buy everything we bought for Kidmia. In addition, my mother-in-law sewed a doll for each girl at Kidmia and provided a match box car for each boy, and my older son and daughter used their savings to buy soccer balls for the kids.

Along the way to Gunchire, we had lunch with Tesfaye, the director of the Kidmia campus in Gunchire, and Amha, the accountant for Kidmia in Addis. It was fun to get to know the local leadership of Kidmia, and I was very encouraged by their passion for the children at Kidmia and its mission to provide loving homes for the children. After lunch, we got to Kidmia which instantaneously led to a game of soccer with most of the twenty-something kids at Kidmia. This was followed by playing with cars and dolls and throwing the kids in the air (until my back got sore). We had a blast playing for three hours, and I was humbly reminded these children are the same as my four children, except they don’t have a loving mother and father yet. I was reminded of God’s unfailing love for orphans and my calling as a follower of Christ to care for the orphans.

While at Kidmia, the leaders of the local evangelical church came by for a visit, so we got to encourage them as they live in an area that is about 90% Muslim. And as always, these believers were also an encouragement for us. They visit Kidmia often to pray for and encourage the kids. I look forward to spending more time with them and the local church on my next visit to Kidmia.

If you will be visiting Ethiopia in the future and are looking for a way to get more involved with caring for orphans, I encourage you to make a visit to Kidmia. There are folks in Addis who would be happy to bring you to Kidmia for a day or two, and I can assure you it will be an encouragement for you, the children, and Kidmia’s staff. You can also bring things for the kids. Just be sure to ask what they current needs are, so you bring the right stuff. Even if you can’t make it to Kidmia, someone in Addis can make sure the gift gets to Gunchire. Also, if you are looking for a way to help provide for the physical needs of orphans, Kidmia is a great ministry to steward some of your financial resources through.

Beau

1. What was the most challenging truth you’ve considered this week?

I actually had to include three answers, as I got challenged so many times!  (1) Me sitting in my prosperity and not fully pursuing Isaiah 58 is counter to what God’s vision is for His world and His people.  Page 13 said “Is this pleasing God?  Is this His vision of what His world should look like?”  (2) I need to stop telling myself I am in any way frugal, moderate, etc in my stewardship.  I spend more on a date night with my wife than what many (millions…probably billions…) in this world earn in a year.  I really do mock Proverbs 30:8-9 (“Give me neither poverty nor riches!  Give me just enough to satisfy my needs.  For if I grow rich, I am deny you.”).  (3) I am incredibly self-centered.  I don’t want to engage with others if it is in anyway inconvenient.  Very similar to what my pastor shared in service today about focus on me, my family, and others that I like…but nothing beyond that.

2.  Consider whether material wealth has paralyzed you in the past.  What step can you take to ensure your wealth won’t block your compassion?

First, continue experimenting with giving away all excess in 2009.  Second, need to continue to shine a light on my lifestyle which reduces the “excess” noted in point one.  The current is so strong in Dallas, so it makes it so easy for me to miss the mark here.  I need to keep pressing here and be challenged by those who love me.  Third, I need to have more exposure to poverty.  I need to be intentional about not avoiding poverty…as my typical day doesn’t naturally cross much poverty.

3.  Consider whether you’ve been living as an individualist – too busy to look to the interests of others.  What can you do to live with the interests of others as a priority in your life?

I love the quote on page 27 which really convicted me in my sin – “My ‘take care of myself’ attitude has isolated me…my individualism wins out over Jesus’ love for the poor, breeding my neglect of others.  I’ve slowly and subtly accepted the lie that helping myself [and my family] first is wise, justified, and just good sense.”  I think I am purposeful about combating these world problems with my excess but only after I lavishly spend on myself and family first.  My luxuries (schools, clothes, spacious house, vacations, etc) are more important to me than the basic needs (minimal food, shelter, and clothing) of others.  It is sick.  If the basic needs of others were important to me, I would not give out of an excess that is calculated after I spoil myself rotten.  I think one solution for me is to think of ways to be a sacrificial giver where I sacrifice (using term sacrifice loosely) in a tangible way with the specific goal of giving to meet a specific need.  For instance, begin skipping a couple meals a week in order to free up funds for giving.  Or changing the venue for date nights to something cheaper.  I love Francis Chan’s quote in a recent sermon when folks say they can’t give quite as much because they are saving for an emergency…and Chan says “Oh, I get it, you are saving for an emergency, and you don’t consider little girls in brothels of people starving to death an emergency.  What you really mean is you are saving for an emergency in your life.”

4.  How can you develop a heart for the needs of this world, not allowing yourself to become numb by all the stories?

(1) Keep exposing myself to injustice and specific needs.  (2) Pick something and go deep.  Make it personal.  For example, the stuff with Stephanie and Jennifer with Pure Hearts in Thailand.  Similar in looking for something where I live.  (3) Invest in people, so I am more emotionally linked in and increase my burden.  Do this both internationally (by keeping up through one person) and locally.

5.  How can you make sure that your love for the poor is rooted in the love of Christ, not guilt or obligation?

(1) I need to be in the Word daily.  There is simply no other substitute for this in my life.  When I spend deep time in the Word, I am transformed more into Christ…and I can quickly be untransformed when I am not in the Word!  (2) Prayer and meditation…especially when doing this through the Word.  (3) Check my heart when I am frustrated, angry, or discouraged in my service of others.  Likely leads to confession…

6.  Sit down with your budget and evaluate whether there are luxuries you’ve been classifying as needs.  Consider whether your finances are as God would have them, and where they might need tweaking.

I mentioned this above.  I think there is lots of tweaking, and I am convinced more tweaking is necessary than I see…as the current is so strong that I am numb to the real delineation between needs and luxuries.  I think the nucleus of any discussion on stewardship is home and savings.  On the home front, my wife and I have discussed over the past year that we are committed to more kids to fill the home, or moving.  On savings, I think I have a reasonable list of things to save for (which I have already largely saved for), though I could be very wrong about the reasonableness of my list.  Given I think I have the right list and have saved, I am trying to give all excess in 2009.  So far so good, but I still have six months to get very greedy, insecure, etc and start saving more!

7.  Pray through Isaiah 58 several times, asking God to use it to change your heart.  Discuss with others what inspires you in this passage.

Okay, so I have spent some time on this, but I really need to spend some extended time in this before providing a full answer.  Here are my initial notes.  (1) End of verse 7 really hit me where Isaiah references the previous sections about whether to feed the hungry, provide the wanderer shelter, and clothe the naked…and then says “not to turn away from your own flesh and blood.”  Ouch.  As I mentioned earlier, I have a different stand of needs for me and my family…but Isaiah (really God) calls these hungry, homeless, and naked my flesh and blood. I intend to noodle more on the verse and unpack.  (2) Verse two mentioned “seeking Him daily” which I think I am guilty of not doing consistently in the way prescribed in Scripture.  (3) Verse three “in the day of your fast, you seek your own pleasure.” GUILTY.  (4) Overall, the passage reminds me of Matthew 10:39 and the concept of finding life by giving it all up.  (5) I am the Israelites in this passage – seeking God incompletely due to my love for comfort, safety, and tidiness.

When I spoke with Sally about the vision for what they would be doing in Africa, she described the work as threefold.  1) To support the Gladney Adoption Center by providing training to the caretakers in the foster homes (hygiene, classroom structure, etc.), 2) Organize updates for the families that are adopting from Gladney’s foster homes, and 3) Help both Gladney and Kidmia by providing hospitality for missionaries, preparing for the work to be done by missionaries, and helping with fundraising for Kidmia.

Tom will be gathering supplies for the mission team that will be arriving soon after the Baer’s get settled in Ethiopia.  They will be building playgrounds at the foster homes and at Kidmia.  In the first month or two, they will also be interviewing and hiring a new Director of Kidmia.  One of the greatest challenges they will face is to educate the community about adoption.  Currently, adoption is viewed as slavery by most in Ethiopia and many other parts of Africa. Their desire is to build relationships within the community and instill the Biblical view of adoption in the hearts of individuals.

There are great challenges that lie ahead for Tom and his family.  The language barrier is a more obvious struggle.  They hope to find a language instructor as soon as they can.  Sally has learned that being “present” is of great importance in building into any other life.  There are many distractions to take our focus away.  On a more personal level, Sophie’s biological mom is in Ethiopia.  Tom and Sally are struggling with the decision to invite her into their family’s life or not.

Kidmia has a wonderful vision and mission for helping the orphans and families in Ethiopia.  Many of the necessary steps to make things happen are being put in place by the Baer’s.  This is no small feat.  So, what can we do from the US?  Sally asked that each of us not take prayer lightly.  Often times, we overlook prayer because we think they are receiving enough prayer or that it isn’t physically helping them.  She has personally witnessed how the prayers of others can triumph over the challenges we face. There are also ways you can help through the overflow of God’s provision in your life.  Kidmia has several different ways you can give financially.  Check out the donation section of the website for more information.

joyfully blogging,

tori rubinson

For my first blog, I get to highlight God’s work through Sally Baer and her family. Sally and her husband Tom will soon be moving their family to Ethiopia to begin their mission work for Kidmia. I hope you are encouraged, as I am, by the Baer’s story.

Sally describes her family’s journey as one of loss brought together by God. They have all experienced great loss in their lives through an abusive marriage ending in divorce and leaving a child with no father and through a plane crash taking away a wife and a mother. Tom and Sally met years after these tragic events and quickly recognized God’s sovereignty in their meeting. God brought Tom and Sally together with great plans in mind. Sally’s passion for mission work quickly rubbed off on Tom when she took him to Haiti for a mission trip. Their heart for adoption began when they married and cross-adopted their daughter Emily and son Wilson and in 2003 adopted Andy from Kazakhstan. These five were living the “American Dream” with successful careers and living in a beautiful five-bedroom house sitting on large acreage. This all changed, over night, when Tom came home from work and told Sally he knew they needed to be in full time ministry. That night, they prayed for God to lead them and declared they would be obedient, no matter what. The next day, they began the process of getting rid of all their belongings and started training to be missionaries.

The Baer family headed to Kentucky for Tom and Sally to attend seminary. While there, they attempted to adopt a boy from Guatemala. He died at five weeks old and they decided to forgo adoption for a while. They went through times of frustration with the uncertainty of their path. Tom was advised to take a pastoral position to make sure mission work was where he belonged. They landed at a church in Lake Ontario and Tom quickly realized he was not made for a desk job, but he needed to fulfill his obligation to the church. While there, they decided to adopt a little girl, Sophie, from Ethiopia through The Gladney Adoption Center. When Sally went to pick up Sophie, she had an overwhelming feeling she would be back in Ethiopia for an extended period of time. Tom was given the opportunity to go over to Ethiopia and had the same realization that their family was being called to live and work in Ethiopia.

This family, with a passion for mission work, specifically for Ethiopia and adoption, was eventually connected with Kidmia. We can learn so much through the Baer’s story, but God’s sovereign hand at work stands out the most to me. On May 6, Tom and Sally are taking their family and moving to Ethiopia with only 13 plastic bins carrying all their belongings. Please pray for their safety as they travel and for the hearts of those in Ethiopia to be significantly impacted through their efforts.

joyfully blogging,
tori rubinson

In late January, early February I was able to see the work of Kidmia with my own eyes.  Words can’t describe what a sanctuary the grounds of Kidmia are for the children residing there.  Much of my time during the trip was spent talking to pastors, government officials, and the locals.  I was blown away with the amount of support and hope Ethiopian people have for the vision of Kidmia.  I have lots of stories to tell from my trip, but lets wait for a later time.

Right now, I’d like to tell you how this blog is going to work.  I have identified a few people who have a common passion to see Gods hand move with Kidmia and the orphan crisis in Ethiopia.  They have agreed to volunteer their time to research, interview, and report about thought provoking topics concerning the journey of Kidmia.  These laborers may live next door to you, or on the other side of the world.  Wherever they are, they have a common goal to make you feel like you are in the trenches.  Giving praise during progress, and concern during difficulties, they will give you the stuff needed to pray for this journey.

With that said, I ask you to pray in response to every blog.  Why?  Because we should anticipate the evil one to try to play havoc with this mission.  I can’t imagine that Satan gets fired up when children are placed into loving families, and with that said, lets keep his dirty paws off of this and pray, pray, pray.

Walking this journey with you,
Matt Brost