The call to prayer here in Addis Ababa sounded very early this morning, waking me up. Muslim and Orthodox alike went to prayer. And they’ll be called again throughout the day to offer prayers.

Not being accustomed to the call, I woke up in a state of confusion. What was this noise? Is something wrong? Should I be running? And, where am I?

It was all a metaphor for opening new countries…confusion often reigns. One of our sayings around Children’s HopeChest is "flexibility is your friend, expectations are your enemy."

I expected to have Simon’s video camera. But it was confiscated by the Ministry of Information and we’re trying to get it back before we visit our first orphanage.

The orphanage I expected to visit today turns out to already have a sponsoring organization in the U.S. committed to caring for the kids. Hmmm. Not what I expected, but okay, we’ll go with it and be flexible.

Today, flexibility must be my good, good friend.

We’ll see how things turn out with the camera, and hopefully find another site for our potential sponosring churches to connect to. This is all part of the adventure of opening a new country. Some of you may wonder how that process unfolds and how we come to pick one country or partner over another.

In the next few posts, I’ll drop in some information about the partnership criteria we use, and how they specifically apply to Ethiopia. For now, I would ask that you pray…constantly!…for me and the team. If you want to really get into it. Pray a 6am, 9am, noon, 3pm, and 6pm each day for our team. The prayer requests are simple…

Pray for SAFETY…for our team…our hosts, guides, drivers, and translators…and for the children.

Pray for INCREASE…for the mission of Children’s HopeChest…for the number of people whose lives are transformed.

With those blessings from God, all else will fall into place. Thanks for joining me on an unexpectedly confusing and flexible start to this new journey in Ethiopia. Keep praying!