Challenge
Ethiopia 2006 - Ballinderry Parish Church
Members of Ballinderry Parish Church
pictured at Belfast City Airport on Sunday 6th
August as they begin their journey to Ethiopia. L to R:
(back row) Canon Ernest Harris, Ray Harris, Valerie
Ellis - Crosslinks, Heather Tuft, Sandra Livingstone,
Mona Thomas and Paul Hendron. (front row) Michael
Hendron, Jill Hendron, Jenna Boyd, Melinda Steele,
Susanna Tuft, Rae Gamble and Kenny Clements
From Sunday 6th to Saturday 26th
August, a team from Ballinderry Parish Church spent 3 weeks
working in Mekelle, Northern Ethiopia under the leadership of
their Crosslinks mission partner Karen Salmon. The Challenge
Ethiopia 2006 team was led by Valerie Ellis of Crosslinks and
the thirteen Ballinderry members were the Rev Canon Ernest
Harris, Ray Harris, Heather Tuft, Sandra Livingstone, Mona
Thomas, Paul Hendron, Michael Hendron, Jill Hendron, Jenna Boyd,
Melinda Steele, Susanna Tuft, Rae Gamble and Kenny Clements
The team were involved in taking a holiday Bible Club at
Operation Rescue in Mekelle. After a 20-minute walk to the
Centre each day the children came running to meet them and shake
hands. During the morning they told the children Bible Stories,
taught them memory verses, sang choruses did craft and games and
really enjoyed themselves as the children responded so lovingly
to them. The team were so glad that they had crammed their
baggage to over flowing with pencils, stickers, balloons and all
the things we take for granted but are absolute luxuries to
Ethiopian Children.
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The Rev Canon Ernest Harris pictured with some of
the children at the Mekelle youth centre.
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Ray Harris and Sandra Livingstone pictured with
some of the children at the Holiday Bible Club at
Operation Rescue in Mekelle.
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In the afternoon the team divided into small groups and each
person was taken to work at the place best suited to their
gifts. One of the places they visited was a school for blind
children; conditions there were horrific. The team supplied the
paint and brushes and some of them supervised senior boys from
the Rescue Centre whom they employed to do the painting - that
brought much joy to everyone. Some other members of the team
cleaned up, talked, taught and played with the children. They
were also able to buy new mattresses for all the bunk beds in
the school.
The team also helped at a Mother Theresa Centre for HIV
orphans where they changed nappies, nursed, cuddled and played
with the toddlers. They prayed silently for these children many
of whom were HIV positive themselves. Team leader Karen Salmon
was very hopeful that the staff would copy their simple ways of
playing with the youngsters.
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Susanna Tuft is pictured being greeted by some of
the children in the street at Mekelle.
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Melinda Steele pictured at the school for the
blind in Mekelle with one of the blind children
dressed in new clothes supplied by the Ballinderry
team.
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Michael Hendron pictured playing football with
children from Operation Rescue in Mekelle.
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The orphanage where they had initially been scheduled to do
the bulk of their work was still not quite completed so there
were no children in residence. Help was needed in two specific
areas - one was to build a swing set which had been donated and
the other was to make a large garden in the centre of the
building where the swing set would be placed. It was certainly
not a gardener�s dream world either in conditions or materials
but God had provided someone on the team who loved gardening and
was able to guide others in what to do. The team hope that the
dead looking plants they had to work with are still alive. They
were also fortunate that three very able males members of the
team knew exactly how to erect the swing set.
Perhaps the most precious gift the Ballinderry team brought
was 300 copies of John�s Gospel in Amharic language, which they
had obtained from Everyhome Crusade in Belfast. They gave a
copy to every child at the Operation Rescue and the remainder to
people with whom they had made contact including those who
served their food and cleaned their rooms. Some were also given
to people who had attended an English language class for HIV
orphans to the Orthodox Priests at the Rock Hewn Churches which
they had the privilege of visiting. Ray Harris, wife of the Rev
Canon Ernest Harris says that one of her lasting memories is of
the elderly priest who was so glad to get his own copy of God�s
word that he just stopped talking to them, sat down and
immediately began to read aloud to us. Ray says that she is so
grateful to our Heavenly Father for allowing them to make this
trip and prays that the seed which was sown will grow and many
will come to know Jesus as their Lord and Saviour as they read
the Gospel of John in Amharic. She asks that others will pray
with the team for the children at the Rescue Centre who had told
them that they had crossed over to God�s side. She also asks
that people will pray for Karen Salmon who does such an amazing
work in Mekelle and concluded by saying that they were very
privileged to have her as their link missionary.
