CHRISTMAS IN NOVEMBER?

WHAT AN AMAZING GIFT!

Thirty two years ago Grace and Bill, young zealous missionaries in their 2nd year in remote southern Ethiopia, were between the anvil and the hammer of ruthless, dominating Marxist-Leninist government…all for the sake of the gospel

Bill had heard that church leaders were put in prison in a community called Molicha located on a distant mountain. In anger and some sense of justice, Bill determined to visit them, pray and seek release of these church leaders who were beaten, tortured and incarcerated for their faith. That is all that Bill remembered.

On a recent trip, Bill heard from a young man, Berhanu, who was a young boy in Molicha at that time and now a church leader leading 241 churches in the district. He stated to Bill that the Molicha Church has waited 32 years to celebrate what transpired shortly after Bill left that dark, rainy day.

Now, for the rest of the story

On Sunday, November 19, 2017, after much preparation, the Molicha local church invited Bill and his guests, John and Deb Tornfelt, to come. They arrived to witness hundreds of people inside and hundreds outside the church singing with great jubilation with a welcome only deserved by a king. With a welcome banner on the front of the church, the sustained cadence of clapping began until they were seated.

The leading elder, with tears of joy, began to tell what had happened after Bill had left and that Bill knew nothing of all these years. (I had no clue of any of this.)

The elder and former prisoner said ” We were charged by young Communist cadres flexing their Marxist-Leninist ideology and intimidating us with AK-47 weapons for worshiping a white man’s religion instead of the ideology they were propagating. After beating us, they threw us in prison ridiculing and cursing us. We had heard the guards say “No white guy has ever been in here and will ever come here, especially a capitalist”.

Then one day this young white man showed up tired, covered in mud and soaked by rain using a walking stick to navigate the slippery mountainous terrain. He did nothing but lifted his arms and prayed out loud to God Almighty for His grace and our release. He then left going down the mountain. We have not seen Bill until today!

What Bill did not know was that the vicious guards were shocked and speechless by Bill’s presence after holding us prisoner for nineteen days. When the guards looked at us, they saw us as dressed in white, like angels. They were so ashamed of what they had done and released all of us after Bill had left. We have waited 32 years for Bill to come back to us to celebrate what God has done…setting the captives free through the power of prayer and a brave demonstration of love.”

The celebration went on for four hours with intense worship in singing, dancing, testimonies of those elders who were incarcerated for their faith as well as a drama put on by the young people,…a message passed on to the next generation! John said “It was the fastest four hours of worship that he has ever participated in!”

The elders had made some candles out of bees’ wax shaped as a 3 and 2. As the congregation clapped and sang they invited Bill to come forward and light the two candles celebrating and acknowledging the act of God’s deliverance and testimony to HIS saving power. Praise be to the One who sets the captives free!

We may never know what God has done through us until we get to Glory. Sometimes, we get a glimpse of this as I did that Sunday in November in Molicha, southern Ethiopia. Thank you Lord, for this Christmas gift!

THE MOLICHA CHURCH LEADERS WHO WERE IMPRISONED FOR THEIR FAITH

Our warmest Christmas greetings to you!

That Christmas gift, this past November, will never be forgotten, for it points us to what happen on that first Christmas night; a Savior, a Deliverer, a King, yes, a baby was born to set the captives free! That is what motivated us, Bill and Grace, to take that message of the gospel to Ethiopia and that we proclaim and live out today. We want to thank you for the gift that you are to us. You have prayed for us and given of yourselves and your resources to be involved to reaching people in hard places with the greatest gift of all, The Lord Jesus Christ!

After the new year, we will update you on our family, spread out on three continents, as we anticipate getting photos from each of them this Christmas.

Joy to the World

BILL AND GRACE

 

THE MOLICHA CHURCH LEADERS WHO WERE IMPRISONED FOR THEIR FAITH

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our warmest Christmas greetings to you!

That Christmas gift, this past November, will never be forgotten, for it points us to what happen on that first Christmas night; a Savior, a Deliverer, a King, yes, a baby was born to set the captives free! That is what motivated us, Bill and Grace, to take that message of the gospel to Ethiopia and that we proclaim and live out today. We want to thank you for the gift that you are to us. You have prayed for us and given of yourselves and your resources to be involved to reaching people in hard places with the greatest gift of all, The Lord Jesus Christ!

After the new year, we will update you on our family, spread out on three continents, as we anticipate getting photos from each of them this Christmas.

Joy to the World

BILL AND GRACE