What a fascinating time we’ve experience here in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It’s not every day you get the chance to meet with The Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, His Holiness Abune Paulos. My Doctoral group from George Fox University had this privilege this morning as we spend the morning at the headquarters of the Patriarch. We viewed ancient historical documents and artifacts of the church in his private museum. You can see me there on the left in my very bright gold tie.

You may not know it, but Ethiopia has the distinct title of being the 3rd most ancient lineage of Christian heritage dating all the way back to King Solomon and the Ethiopian Queen of Sheba. We had the privilege of hearing from Dr. Ralph Lee, Assistant Professor at Holy Trinity College here in Addis Ababa and expert in Syriac and Ethiopic Christianity from England. I’m thankful to George Fox for providing these kind of rich experiences in the midst of my education.

Tomorrow, we will visit one of Children’s HopeChest’s projects, Kind Hearts Orphanage, led by our dear friend, Karen Wistrom, who will be travelling with a group to Ethiopia in two months. Of course, this will be exciting for me because my Doctoral group will see what we do on the ground first hand and have time to interact with these amazing kids. Our incredible staff picked us up at the airport first things this morning and it was a delight for me to see Tesfa, Fikra, Misikir, and Yefrut, as they spend the day with us.

Then we will head to Mekele to be part of studies with the Ethiopian church. So many rich opportunities and great relationships – my heart is full. Many blessings to all of you as you go about your day. Remember the great opportunities we all have to be involved in the work of God’s Kingdom no matter where we are in the world and no matter what we are doing.