First off, we would like to apologize for not getting this out to you sooner. The reason we hadn’t sent it was because every time we’d start to write something, a new piece of important information would be added which would change the whole newsletter! So, we are sorry, but it was really for the best. Otherwise, you would be getting around 10 newsletters in the past 2 weeks! Although the verse above in the red lettering was in last month’s newsletter, we felt it was also quite appropriate for this month’s newsletter! I, Rachel, had mentioned how while on his trip to the Hamer region, Argaw found that nine of the expectant mothers had already given birth. I said that all of the babies had died; however, I was mistaken. only eight of the babies had died, while one of the babies was saved and taken to an orphanage that is located in the Hamer region. So, praise the Lord for the one precious little life that was saved! It is still a tragedy that the others have died, but we trust that our Heavenly Father is taking better care of them than anyone on earth ever could anyways. So, here, you can see why this verse is so meaningful for this month’s newsletter as well. The Lord gave, but the Lord has also taken away.

Although we feel like we’ve lost eight babies, we have some very exciting news! We found out the other night that there are ten more children who are between the ages of 4 and 5 years old who were to be abandoned by their mothers; however, the mothers of these children have taken a chance with their own lives and have saved their children! They have been cast out of their tribes with their babies, but felt that this was a better way to live than to kill their own children. As of now, they are struggling to survive in the town, which is far from their tribes, but they don’t really belong there either. So, it is a major difficulty for them. With this being our latest update about abandoned children (and mothers) from that region, we have been praying over and thinking about what we could do to help. Right now, we live in a large house all by ourselves. We rented this house specifically for the purpose of taking in some abandoned children. We were expecting to hire people to be caretakers for the children. As all of you know, we have had a difficult time trying to find people to help. This brings us to our next opportunity!!!

As stated before, we have been praying and thinking about what we can do. We have come up with a plan. We would like to offer these women to come here and live with us so that they can be the mothers God intended for them to be to their own children. We would take care of them all and make sure they get enough food, clothing and love. For Argaw and I, this has been an answered prayer, as we’ve had trouble finding right-hearted people to help out with the Children’s Home. We will still have to hire another woman or two for the cooking and possibly because there may not be many mothers who want to come here. However, that is much easier than finding four caregivers to care for children who are not their own. One thing Argaw realized while he was visiting the Hamer people was that most of them have never even heard about Jesus. We would love to share the gospel with these women and tell them the truths that most of us have known since we were babes! This also will be such a ministry to the Hamer people. We had been thinking about different ways we could not only minister to the children from Hamer, but to the rest of the tribe as well. They need to know Jesus! So, this is one way of getting our “foot in the door”, except they’d be bringing their feet into our door! Through Christ’s love, we can hopefully be a light to them and, in turn, they can be a light to their own tribe in the future.

One of the key people behind all this information is the Chief Administrator of the Hamer Woreda. Woreda means district. His name is Emnet, which means “faith”. When children, adults or even animals have been ordered to be cast out and killed, they are called Mingis. Emnet is from the Hamer tribe and he was a Mingi that was saved, by the grace of God! This is his story...

First of all, we ought to tell you some of the reasons one would become a Mingi. One of the reasons, as you all know, is that a mother was not married before she got pregnant with a baby, therefore the baby would be a Mingi. Another reason is if a child should fall and chip a tooth, they become a Mingi. Also, if their top teeth grow in before their bottom teeth, they become a Mingi. The last one we’ll mention is that if your mother was nursing you while she conceived another child, both you and your unborn sibling become Mingis! There are so many more ridiculous reasons one could become a Mingi, but there isn’t enough space to write all of them. We will tell you, though, that 30% of the Hamer children are born as or become Mingis.

When Emnet was 3 or 4 years old, he tripped and fell, which caused one of his front teeth to break. Therefore, he became a Mingi. So, his parents were told to kill their son. However, Emnet’s father loved him too much, so he hid him for 4 years in a bush instead. However, after 4 years, the tribe found out that Emnet was still alive, so they ordered his father to kill him. He still wouldn’t do it, though. Because Emnet’s father was rich, no one really wanted to threaten his life for not being obedient to the cultural ritual. But, the pressure was still intense. In fact, it was too intense for his father to handle any longer. So, Emnet was taken to one of his father’s friend’s house for about 6 months. However, the people around this friend’s home found out that he was Mingi and wanted to kill him. During this entire time, Emnet had no idea why his life was being threatened. He went from place to place, and he always tried to go back to his tribe, but they threatened to kill him every time. And, because his father wouldn’t kill him, anyone had the right to do it. Emnet started going to a government school, which was in town. Therefore, no one knew about him and he was safe. He was educated about harmful practices and realized that his culture was not the norm and that the superstitions that came along with it were false. But, he still loved his tribe and wanted to help them. Finally, when Emnet was 16 years old, he went back to his tribe, performed a cleansing ceremony and was rid of his “Mingi” status. After getting his high school diploma, Emnet went to teacher-training school and taught for three years. After that, he got involved in politics, which has brought him to where he is now: Chief Administrator of the Hamer Woreda.

Emnet is very interested in the work we are doing and is excited that we are wanting to help his people. He has given us suggestions as far as how we can help to change the evil practices of this tribe. He has been very helpful and very encouraging to us in providing information and suggesting ideas that we hadn’t thought of before.

   We know that so many of you have lifted our family up in prayer during this last month especially...thank you! We have felt  your prayers. We also know that many of you have either given financially and/or of your time in prayer for the children’s home and we are forever grateful! May God bless you!!!