Honegger Sept 2020

“Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand” (Proverbs 19:21).

It is not unusual for people to make plans that eventually change, but the extent of interruptions to daily life this year is exceptional, as I am sure you have experienced. What I expected to be a three-month-long visit to assist students at the Rafiki Village in Ethiopia has turned into a 6-months-and-counting missionary term living and learning through lockdown! Since my plans to start graduate school this fall were disrupted, the Rafiki Home Office asked me to stay on full-time in Ethiopia. Though it is not what I had planned, I have seen how the Lord brought me back to Africa for such a time as this, and I am grateful to be here.

Me with the girls of Bethlehem cottage.

Since the Ethiopian government closed schools at the end of March, my days have been full of all sorts of activities with the fifty-two resident children.

I taught science classes to students in grades four through six, and have helped grade seven and eight students learn to type, research, and create projects highlighting what they have learned. There has also been plenty of time for fun: teaching new games, organizing scavenger hunts, and guiding students as they pursue interests such as computer programming and video editing.

Spelling “Rafiki” as part of a scavenger hunt challenge.

One project I enjoyed facilitating was an Android app created by Nahom, a grade eight student. He has been teaching himself different coding languages including Java and is full of ideas for different apps. He recently completed a program that has pictures of each resident child along with a bit of information about them. This will be a helpful and convenient way for new missionaries to learn each child’s name.

Nahom also taught a class on the basics of Android Studio (the software used to create apps), hoping to spark other students’ interests in coding.

Screenshots from the Rafiki Residents app Nahom made.

It has also been a joy to participate in evening devotions with each cottage, and lead some of our Sunday worship services since we have not been able to attend church outside the Village. We have been studying 1 John in the Rafiki Bible Study and are practicing walking in the light together as brothers and sisters in Christ. Would you join with me in praising God for this opportunity to invest in the lives of fifty-two of His precious children?

Please also pray:

• I will be able to extend my visa when government offices open again sometime in mid-September.

• The provision of additional funds now that I will be staying in Ethiopia until next spring.

• All of us at the Village to continue growing in godliness as we follow Jesus in our daily lives

While our circumstances are unpredictable, I pray you will rest in the truth that God is our refuge, and that you will “in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths” (Proverbs 3:6).