Albertine

This is a video of a woman by the name of Brooke Fraser and her visit to Rwanda.

I love the lyrics and think it speaks a great truth when it says

"Now that I have seen, I am responsible, Faith without deeds is dead".

I have a responsibility, God has given this to me....I have seen the struggle of people around the world...now I'm responsible to GO and tell them about Jesus and tell others about what I've seen. Enjoy the video...it's pretty powerful.

"Albertine"

I am sitting stillI think of Angelique

Her mothers voice over me

And the bullets in the wall where it fell silent

And on a thousandth hill, I think of Albertine

there in her eyes what I don't see with my own

Rwanda

Now that I have seen, I am responsible

Faith without deeds is dead

Now that I have held you in my own arms, I cannot let go till you are

I am on a plane across a distant sea

But I carry you in me

and the dust on, the dust on, the dust on my feet

Rwanda

I will tell the world, I will tell them where I've been

I will keep my word

I will tell them Albertine

I am on a stage, a thousand eyes on me

I will tell them, Albertine

I will tell them, Albertine

The Red Light District

The same day we flew to Hosanna & Angancha we went into the Red Light District of Addis Ababa. This is such a dark and sad place. During the day this is the market place...at night, the little doors that were closed during the day are now occupied by young ladies, waiting in front of them for business to come along. As we walked through the streets I felt a heaviness that was overwhelming and saw things I wish I never saw.

Pat started International Crisis Aid (ICA) and one of his ministries is rescuing young ladies out of the Red Light District. He takes them to a home where they can get an education, learn a trade and no longer turn to prostitution for a living. They are also exposed to the Gospel. Many have come to Christ and desire to use their trade in the Red Light District so they can minister to the young ladies and potentially rescue them just like someone rescued them!

So, as we were driving through the streets that night a young lady yelled out Pat's name...he saw her and got out of the car immediately. After talking with her for some time, he gets back in the car and fills us in on this young lady. Her name is Tigist (We called her Tigist 1). She is 16 years old and was rescued a while back but because she got into an argument with one of the girls in the house, she ran away. In that time, she has a little boy. At this time, she has agreed to meet with us the following morning and go to another rescue shelter.

We continue on down the street and Pat is just itching to get out of the car and start walking these streets. So, we all climbed out of the car into an alley. It's dark but for some reason I wasn't scared- God gave me a peace and a sense of urgency to keep looking...I very much felt protected by Him. We continue on following Pat's lead...He just walks and follows the Holy Spirit's lead. We passed a few young ladies along the way and then Pat was lead to another young lady, also named Tigist (Tigist 2) she says she's 25 but we believe she may be younger. As I stand there and watch, Pat begins to tell her that this is not what God had intended for her life. He has better plan for her. He loves her so much that he sent these Americans into the streets to find her and tell her just how much He loves her. He wants to give her a better life. He then tells her about the rescue shelter and we make arrangements to meet her the next morning to take her to visit the shelter as well. I was overwhelmed by what I witnessed. I began weeping and praying for every single woman that was enslaved by such a horrible trade.

The next morning, we went back to meet the ladies, praying that they really would show up. You see, they've already had men come into their lives once before telling them about the most wonderful life they could have if they would come work for him. It takes a HUGE amount of trust on their part to listen to another man and go with him considering the last time they did that they were sold into prostitution.

I'm happy to report that Tigist 1 decided to stay in the shelter and continue to get her education and hopefully start a new life for her and her little boy.

Unfortunately, Tigist 2 asked that we give her 2 months and she'll come back. She said she had younger brothers to take care of and debts to pay. They offered to pay her debts but she just didn't want to stay. The shelter exchanged phone numbers with her and they were not going to give up on her.

Below are the pictures from the morning when we went to get the girls.

This is Pat & Mekonnen leading us

through the Red Light District

Tigist 2 and Ashely

This is where Tigist lives

and works.

Tigist 2 leaving the Red Light District

to come with us and visit the

Shelter.

This is Pat and Mekonnen with

Tigist 1 talking about her

option to come back to

the shelter she left a year ago.

Tigist 1 and her baby boy

She is 16 years old.

Isn't he a cutie!!!

Please keep these ladies and the many that still need rescuing, physically and spiritually, in your prayers. Keep Pat, ICA and the Ethiopian team that do this for a living in your prayers as well. Pray for wisdom, protection and guidance as they minister to these women.

Leavin' on a Prop Plane...Oh wait...that's now how that song goes!

Our first day out and about we took a prop plane to test out the landing strip that was made in the airfield. The view was amazing. It was a nice 45 minute flight and we could see little huts the whole way. When we got close to the airfield we could see people running out of their huts and toward the airfield. By the time we landed we had hundreds of people there to greet us. It was very surreal to me....I was like a modern day Jim Elliot flight (not as dangerous though). It was quite unbeleivable to me, an experience I'll never forget.

.

Ashley our team leader and I boarding the plane

Some of the locals that planned things for us

A view from above...how beautiful

The welcoming committee :-) Many came

to see the plane and the people it carried.

Some cuties

From the airfield we went to visit the Hospital in Hosanna. There were lots of people there ready to see American doctors. The conditions of the hospital was unlike anything I've seen. We all had a good laugh when the surgeon asked us to take our shoes off and put the sterile, wooden, hospital clogs on to enter the surgery room...I think you'll chuckle too when you see the pics!

.

Hospital Clogs we had to wear when entering

the "sterile" surgical area

A Hospital Room with approximately

12 patients in it...this was not rare.

Operating Room

After we visited Hosanna Hospital we went to the medical clinic in Angancha to check things out and figure out the work flow of the clinic. This clinic was located in the midst of sheer beauty...every direction was absolutely breath taking (I'll post pictures of the clinic in another post).

We hopped back on the plane and went back to Addis Ababa...we made it back safely...it was such a fun flight and day!

Washington D.C. Here I Come!!!

I had the great pleasure of an overnight stay in Washington, D.C. on my way to Ethiopia (Thanks Ethiopian Airlines for changing my connecting flight time so I could see Our Nation's Capital). I have a dear friend Angela and her amazing boyfriend, Christian that took time to walk with me (very slowly, I might add) around D.C. It was such a beautiful place and I was thrilled to finally see it. We ended the evening with some delicious BB-Q and Sweet tea, Mmmm-mmm!

I met up with our team leader, Ashley, that evening and we hopped on the plane the next morning for our 16 hour flight to Ethiopia (one stop in Rome for refueling... at night, boo, hoo)

I know the Lord has called me to go, but that doesn't stop the enemy from trying to stop me from going. The morning before I was supposed to leave for Ethiopia, I woke up and both knees were unbelievably swollen. They were very stiff and I could barely walk. Thankfully, it wasn't too late for me to go to the Walk-in clinic where I work. The doc came in and ended up draining fluid off of my right knee. He then had both knees ace wrapped and perscribed some anti-inflammatories. I spent the rest of the day laying on the couch with my knees propped up and iced when I should have been packing. Now, this isn't the first time the enemy has tried to do this. In college I was going on a Summer Project with Campus Crusade for Christ and I tore my ACL three days before I was supposed to leave and in India my right knee swelled up and it was very hard to walk or function, for that matter, in the type of setting we were in with lots of walking and lifting going on. I now know my weak areas and we'll have to start praying against these attacks in the future.

Hebrews 12:11-13 (New International Version)

11No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
12Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. 13"Make level paths for your feet," so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.

The Beginning....

It all began March of 2007 on a plane from Yantai, China to Beijing when the Lord clearly told me that He would take me many places and to just be ready. Since then, I've been following His lead and boy has He taken me all over the World. China-March 2007, India-January 2008 & most recently, Ethiopia- October 2008.

The Lord has blessed me with very generous family, friends, colleagues and even strangers that are willing to give their financial and prayer support. The Lord used them to send me and all together we were able to be His hands and feet to the people of Ethiopia. I realize that each person plays a major role in reaching the Nations for the Lord. Some are senders and pray-ers and others are go-ers...I'm humbled that I've been able to be a go-er the past year and a half and I thank you, my senders and pray-ers, for partnering with me on these trips. What a huges blessing it has been!

I hope you enjoy this Journal I've created of my experiences in Ethiopia.

Many Blessings & Thanks,

Alecia Shannon