Sites on the way to Awasa

A few weeks ago our kids had spring break. We went outside of the bustling city of Addis for a long weekend to a town called Awasa. The town was about a five-hour drive south from where we normally are. Awasa is in a lush, green part of Ethiopia. It is located on a large lake. The drive was beautiful. We saw many herds of cattle and goats with young shepherds tending them – often five- or six-year-olds who were much smaller than the animals they cared for. I also saw a couple of herds of camels. I have seen individual camels in my life, but never a whole heard. They looked so majestic with their long graceful legs, all standing together. Read the rest of this entry »

Follow-up on the difficult facial tumor cases

It’s two months after their tumor resections and facial reconstructions. Most of the swelling is gone now. Abebe has a little bit of a facial nerve palsy (the nerve was stretched either during surgery or with the swelling post-op). This is improving, however, and he is expected to have a symmetric smile in no time. Kasahun has a little extra skin from where he lost that big tumor. That can be fixed easily. We praise God for the good outcomes of these difficult cases. So many things could have gone wrong during the surgeries and their post-operative course.

To view the “before” photos, follow this link: http://uk.cure.org/2012/01/bernards-difficult-surgical-cases-this-week-please-pray/

The faithful love of the LORD never ends! His mercies never cease.  Lamentations 3:22

Mohammed

Abebe

Kasahun

Bitew

Moedian

We wish everyone a happy Easter as we celebrate Jesus’ victory over death on our behalf. We are humbled as we remember that Jesus suffered and died to bring us to the Father. Ethiopians always have to be different than the rest of the world – they celebrate Easter next Sunday. Today was Palm Sunday for them, where we remember Jesus coming into Jerusalem the week of Passover, before His death and resurrection. The Bible explains how people hailed Him as King as He rode into Jerusalem, so there were parades around town today with palm branches being waved and enthusiastic singing. Many people wore palm branches tied around their foreheads to commemorate the event. Read the rest of this entry »

This little baby girl had surgery this week to correct a congenital dislocation of her hip. She was born with one of her hips out of the hip socket. If this isn’t corrected she won’t be able to walk.

Read the rest of this entry »