Note from blog admin: Due to technical difficulties, this post had been delayed 2 weeks. I’m very sorry for the delay and am hoping blog.com will be cooperative in preventing that sort of delay in the future. Thank you.

Here a brief summary of this weekend past in Soddo:

- SATURDAY:  We rescued a 15 day old premature boy who arrived cold and neglected.  He was septic and so very fragile.  After starting treatment immediately,  it was obvious that he needed intensive care.   I kangarood  him after his warm bath, fed him with a dropper every hour - when I showered, I layed him on a  warm water bottle - then back to kangarooing;   Later that evening, he stopped breathing when I tried to feed him again.  After running to Dr Ruth’s  house, he  suddenly gasped for air and we ran to the ER where she and her fiance sucked as much fluid as they could and started giving him oxygen as well!  He was
admitted for the night and I moved into a private room with him in one of the wards.  Throughout the night, I fed him every 2 hours, he actually showed
improvement the next morning, but deteriorated late morning - another interruption in his breathing and a second resuscitation .   Dr Ruth and her team did  everything possible to treat his very infected body, but it was to late.   He went to be with Lord early SUNDAY night.  We are preparing his burial for today!

- The very first guard whom we employed here in Soddo (Ababe) about 3 and a half years ago, was killed in a motor cycle accident last night.   We are preparing  his burial here in Soddo where his family and friends live.

- Our Nurse (Sister Amarech’s) nephew was hit by a banana truck on Saturday, he is in critical condition in Addis Hospital and we were told that his leg was  severed.

- I was just informed that we are in the process of rescuing a 6-day old premature girl - I am on my way to the hospital now to meet with the adoption team and  to check on her medical test results…….. after which we will get Surafel’s death certificate, take care of his burial and then return to care for this little new
baby.

- I am sharing this with you as Karmyn & Benjamin are completing short tests for they school work - Harry is in the Eye Clinic, training ‘his proteges’ - it feels as  though we are all on ’stand by’ for this week, a little unsure of expectations, since we are starting off with such intensities around us.   We have a compound  meeting scheduled for later this evening where we need to make decisions about the long list of interested short termers who are applying to come serve here  in the Hospital!   MUCH to happen before we reach this moment - in a way, it feels as though this meeting is a week away……

- On a happier note:  We are also preparing for my Mother’s first visit here with us in Ethiopia - we are going to Addis on Friday to meet her at the airport and  then bring her to Soddo so she can share life with us for about 2 weeks.

THANK YOU to everyone for your constant and consistent prayers - we are ever thankful for your hearts and hands in our lives!   May His abiding love and grace, be your encouragement this week!

Blessings, Bowers family

Dear Friends,

CCC and CWF-families have made the 4th large FOOD DISTRIBUTION process possible this year!

Henok registered the EL SHADDAI PROJECT (earlier this year, where we partner with a local church and trust worthy church leaders) who then on their part, partnered with 5 sister churches in the area.   Together, they decide who to invite to the next food distribution project.   Last week, the numbers soared from the initial 55, then 75, then 88 to this week’s  200 !   It was an overwhelming moment when Henok and I, together with CCC-staff and my children, entered the Church compound, to find 200 very sad and poor people waiting desperately, yet patiently on the grass.

We prayed over them, ministered hope and trust in the Lord, but in a way, I felt as though the Lord was going to multiply the few fish and loaves of bread, because we did not have enough food……… Henok and I just looked at each other and when he asked me with tears in his eyes: “how are we going to continue doing this?” - my shaky, confident whisper was simply that we are to trust the Lord !   This is truly a new moment - in a place of complete trust, since we have now used most of the funds which we received for the FOOD4KIDS project.

The consistent THANK YOU - people touching their hearts and kneeling down low to express their relief for the next few days, were sincere - honest and so very humbling for us - yet, the reality of not knowing if we can provide a constant flow of support and help, leaves a hollow space in the core of our being - this feeding program is an act of faith which we started because of the tremendous impact of the repeated famines in this land.  The compassionate outpour of so many donors hearts, are fuel in our hearts and hands to run out and help!

We would like to see much more than people being fed - people here need healing, they need medical attention and spiritual attention, which they do receive through these pastors and helpers who know each and everyone coming through the gates. They have mastered a well organized process of every person registering, thumb prints in ink and bags being filled, then moving on to where Karmyn & Benjamin placed the fortified milk and a t-shirt in everyone’s bag before they exit at the gate.  The local kabele (police) have expressed their appreciation to CCC and CWA for the aid which we bring into people’s hands!

Personally, I love this process of being able to help the poorest of the poor - the deserted and rejected, because they are being recognized as a valuable people in their own culture.  Their own people’s spiritual leaders have an opportunity to minister hope and love to them - they are invited to come and receive - the church gets to unite in the effort to help the poor - there are so many more layers to simply handing out food here - the Lord is opening up a beautiful opportunity of ministry to us!  To act as His Hands and Feet, is a most humbling moment for all of us!

THANK YOU to everyone who seed into this ministry!   May your storehouses be filled and overflow with the Love of the Lord and all His resources for each one of you!   We are now seeing the bottom of the barrel/container as we have been able to also give the t-shirts and rice which came from the container with donations earlier this year. If anyone wants to get involved/partake in this opportunity, please send your donations to:

CHRISTIAN WORLD FOUNDATION
Louis Fawcett
Director of Development
4424 Erskine St
COLUMBIA, SC 29206

Blessings,
Stephne

Many of you may have received an email from us that looks like the following:

HELP………….

Hello,
I’m sorry for this odd request because it might get to you too urgent but it’s because of the situation of things right now, I’m stuck in London with family right now, i came down here on vacation , i was robbed, worse of it is that bags, cash and cards and my cell phone were stolen at GUN POINT, it’s such a crazy experience for me, i need help flying back home, the authorities are not being 100% supportive but the good thing is i still have my passport but don’t have enough money to get my flight ticket back home and l need to clear the hotel bills here , please i need you to loan me some money, will refund you as soon as I’m back home, i promise.Get back to me ASAP let me know what to do next.

Our email account was taken over and this mail sent.  It made things very frustrating.  No one is in London and we don’t need you to send money. Thank you all for your concern as indicated by all of the calls.  We are changing our email address so please don’t send email using the yahoo account.

If you have not received our new email address, just send a comment back on this blog and we will email you the new one.

Thank you so much

Harry & Steph

Here’s a visual report of the Food-4-Kids famine relief project.

3 Years in Soddo, Ethiopia

You are invited to THANK the Lord, family & friends – with us,  for  our 3rd- year celebration in Soddo, Ethiopia!   As we enter the 4^th year with great anticipation, we are dedicated to the call, since the Lord has not released us yet to depart from Soddo!   We dare to look back and see the Father’s faithfulness in powerful moments!   We cannot complete His call without your financial faithfulness and support!   THANK YOU so!

Harry feels that the Eye Clinic Staff is not ready to be independent  and/or trained well enough yet.   Steph desires to complete the projects (MITTIN Production Center) and to have a little bit more training time for the Children’s Home Staff and  its Operational Efforts!

In order for us to fulfill the initial call to help build infrastructure here in Ethiopia, we have committed to another year - may we please ask that you prayerfully consider supporting us financially for this additional year?

THANK YOU for your sacrifice in supporting us financially – especially in spite of the current economic challenges.   We value your dedication and appreciate your faith in giving when you may be struggling as well!  Our prayers are that your storehouses will overflow as a result of your faith and the Father’s abiding gracious heart!   May your faith seed produce much fruit in His Kingdom!

With love,

Harry, Steph, Karmyn, Benjamin, Maria and Selah!

Prayer Requests:

Praise:

-Him for faithfulness!

-Providing in our Spiritual, Emotional, and Physical need!

Repent:

-Of our human insecurities when He expands our vision and hearts daily to see HIS Kingdom

Ask:

-That you prayerfully consider supporting us financially for another year, please!

You:

-Yourselves! We plead with the Father to fill your storehouses to the brim!

Food

Production

Center:

PLEASE rejoice with us! The Ethiopian Government has just informed us that they approved CCCE’s application for re-registration! Praise the Lord! We are ready!! With Approval Document in hand, guaranteeing that CHILDREN’s CROSS CONNECTION in ETHIOPIA has received the STAMP of APPROVAL from the Government, we are off to the Architechts and Contractors to ask for bids to break ground for the FOOD PRODUCTION CENTER where “Mittin” will be produced!

For now, we have been quite content producing our wonder product against malnutrition and starvation in our Soddo Orphanage and Lapa beside the house, but it is time for us to get this production center established in a more formal setting!

THANK YOU to so many of you who have been faithful in encouragement, financial and emotional support for this exciting endeavour! Soon and very soon, we hope to inform you of the breaking of the ground…….!

PLEASE pray with us for:

- Favor with the government to secure the already (verbal) promised land in a good location;

- Favor with the final stage of securing a building price – since cement became very expensive                during the past few months, we need to seek new bids.

- We need to include a secure fence, an additional expense.

- Financial Blessing to make sure that we can also build a little house for MARIA on this                           property, so that she can oversee the compound with two guards;

- Financial Support to build a wall around the compound to provide safety for the staff and the               mission;

- Future Financial Support for a Truck to bring raw product from the farmers, then distribute the          product to purchasers;

Keep an eye on this blog for the follow ups…….! THANK YOU for being a vital part of this project with us!

SEPTEMBER 2009
Warm greetings in the Precious Name of the Father! We returned from our annual US-visit 2 weeks ago and are now waiting on the MMI EYE TEAM to arrive! This will be our 3rd year of hosting a dedicated group of Opthalmologists and Helpers to come to Soddo Christian Hospital where they will perform Cataract Surgeries for 2 weeks. We will report to you after their visit of how it went.
THANK YOU: To everyone who welcomed us with such open and loving arms and hearts! We constantly stand in awe of the Father’s grace as we are reminded of this powerful network of love which we have in the USA from family, friends and those we like to refer to as out WEBSITE FRIENDS! We have had a full schedule and did not get to spend the time with some which we desired to, but then again, it was wonderful to just exchange hugs – we still ‘feed’ off of those today and will continue for a while……!
OBSERVATION: We had a strong awareness of the Lord’s placing a network of His people in position for a greater purpose! So many people whom we listened to, shared how the Lord has opened up opportunities to them which they never considered in the past, that there is a stronger draw towards the THINGS OF THE KINGDOM which matters! We saw a sifting, a setting apart of dedicated hearts and hands of those who desire so much more in the Father’s World! We returned with such encouragement to know that we can be a small part of this new force of grace!
HOME: We returned to a happy Selah & Maria - a wonderful housesitter who took care of both – as well as a little newborn from a nearby village! We started preparing for the visiting EYE TEAM immediately – to the children’s joy, who have been enjoying lighter school days – this will continue for another 2 weeks……!
ORPHANAGES: We are fighting a computer virus which infiltrated every device in all three orphanages and have been trying everything to clear it, but so far uncessfull, which means that my administration work load suddenly increased for the purpose of communication. Just after our arrival, we rescued a 20-day old boy who deteriorated fast within the first week and we had to admit him to the hospital where a stomach blockage was diagnosed and he had to have surgery yesterday – after a week long OR-preparation, because we was so weak! Now, we are breathing with great ease, since his procedure went so well and he is recovering beautifully!
MITTIN: I am waiting on my friend, Henok to make his re-entry after a visit to the USA, so that we can finalize legalities to get the FOOD PRODUCTION CENTER off the ground. In the meantime, we are producing, selling and working on making this venture are self sufficient as possible! Our heart is to break ground before the end of this year, so the water has to change into wine before that happens, but with the Lord, anything is possible!
LIFE: Back in the poverty and desperation of a nation and its children, takes a moment’s adjustment, so we have by now learned to breathe with ease until the rhythm sets in! The Lord’s grace and mercy is evident in every day and we continue to rejoice in all that He expose us to so that we can see Him more clearly! There are talks of yet another famine in the southern regions due to late rains – of course we are concerned, but it is also evident that the Lord is taking care of some of the needs, because we get to bless some very poor families who do not have anything to clothe their children with, or send them to bed with full tummies! Do you remember the container which was sent to us in June of this year, well, the content from this container has been such a blessing already and we cannot even see the ‘dent’ in the items which we have been able to share! The Lord keeps on refilling it!!!
PRAYER REQUESTS:
- A successful MMI-EYE TEAM visit with many people being able to afford the surgery and eye care which the team desire to bless the nation with!
- A harmonious interaction with MMI and its direction of where to go from here after the EYE CLINIC has been established now and the next step, would be to get Government Agreement of Accreddidation for Training which Harry has been busy with for 3 enthusiastic young Ethiopians. The possibilities of building an EYE Hospital also needs to be clarified.
- The Lost Children of Ethiopia: We need wisdom on how to take care of more than the 500 families who receive care from CCCE and CWA in country. Of course it feels as though it is just not enough, since we have daily requests from the poorest of the poor! Heart breaking!
- We have had consistent warfare regarding the Orphans and Half-Orphans Adoption Program. Please just stand with us that the Father’s Heart and His Will shall allow the truth to manifest on behalf of the children of this nation!
- PERSONAL: For the Lord’s continued impartation of discernment in our daily decisions to the many demands before us! For His protection and safety of our marriage, children and family!

THANK YOU for you ungoing love and support! We stand in awe of His goodness in a world desperate for His return!
With love,
Harry, Steph, Karmyn and Benjamin