4th Quarter Issue
Oct - Dec 2001

 
Let Us Seize The Moment
And Proclaim The Good News

Dear Partners & Friends,

I cannot adequately express what I felt when I heard the news of the terrorism in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.  It has been very painful to see thousands of innocent lives being destroyed.  Though I do not have the slightest doubt of God's love and goodness, I still do not understand why innocent lives perish and evil seems to prevail.  I am sure God always has very good reasons when he allows suffering in human lives.  Though it is not of this magnitude, human suffering is very common in every part of the world.  This summer I was in the Middle East to minister to hurting and suffering Ethiopians who have been uprooted from their homeland due to war, brutal oppression and abject poverty.  Life for many of them has been very harsh and cruel.  Thousands of young Ethiopian women are laboring as maids in many Arab countries for 16 to 18 hours a day in order to  draw a $100 monthly salary.  Many have been raped and 
 

 . abused by their masters.  Their misery has no end.  It was a painful experience for me to hear and see the suffering and hardship of these young Ethiopian women.  In spit of all their suffering and misery, I saw a spiritual hunger and openness for the gospel.  Though I cannot change or minimize their physical tragedy, I was so happy to reach out to them with the Gospel of Christ than can make a difference in their spiritual lives.  I was humbled to see that God chose us to be His instruments to reach out to one of the most hurting people of the world.

The evangelistic trip that I make every year is the highlight of my ministry.  This year my trip took me into three countries - Lebanon, Republic of Yemen and Jordan.  I know many of you were praying for my safety and for a great harvest.  Yes, the Lord has answered your prayers.  On July 15, 2001, I flew to Beirut, Lebanon where there are about 30,000 Ethiopians who call themselves the "most suffering people of the world."  There was an incredible openness to the gospel and I saw some make first-time commitments to Christ.  On my last day there I baptized 62 new converts.

continued ...
20 Years In The Ministry
and Still Going Strong
  Since 1982, ethiopian Outreach Ministry has been ministering to hundreds of thousands of Ethiopians around the world, proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ and encouraging believers.

In June of 2002, Ethiopian Outreach Ministry plans to celebrate its 20th anniversary serving the Lord among Ethiopians.  This will be a time of reflecting back, sharing with friends and partners of the ministry the many great things the Lord has done through the years, sharing our visions with one another and praying for God's guidance as we celebrate in thanksgiving for the goodness of the Lord.

As we come to the end of our twenty years of service, it is exciting to watch the launching of our daily radio broadcast.  Almost all the moves made in the past nineteen years of this ministry were based on faith.  The radio ministry is also a step of faith, trusting God for all financial and material resources needed to do the work.

You may ask why radio?  Here are a few answers to the questions.

  • Radio is the most effective, safe, easily accessible and reliable means of communication in most developing nations and in countries where Christianity is not permitted.
  • The radio broadcast easily reaches over 25 millions of Ethiopians in Ethiopia, neighboring countries (Sudan, Kenya, Somalia and Djibouti)  and the Islamic countries in the Middle East (Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Lebanon, Jordan)
  • Our Mirror of Life Bible Study publications, books and other resources are shared with the millions of Ethiopians over the air-waves in audio format.
  • The prison population in Ethiopia (the highest in the country's history) is being reached through the radio
  • Provinces in Ethiopia that are difficult to evangelize due to Islamic opposition are reached safely through our evangelistic messages.

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    15.700 and 15.715 MHz
    Short Wave

 Let us share with you what the vice president of Operations of High Adventure Ministries, the broadcasting organization that carries our programs recently wrote.
 
"I was amazed at the clarity and strength of the signal...I heard brother Melese in Addis Ababa, Nazareth and Assela.  On my last day in Ethiopian, I was standing with my host Mekuria outside a restaurant in Addis.  We tuned in his program coming from Seychelles (Mr. Mekuria works for another Christian broadcaster) and it was OK, but then we tuned in Melese, and you should have seen his face... he was VERY excited to hear how good the signal is.
...In addition, he was clearly moved at hearing Melese's voice (he has a deep respect for Melese and he feels that many in Ethiopia also feel the same).

I cannot tell you how pleased I was to know that your program is going in there so powerfully.  It is even more important now as I see strong evidence of rapidly increasing Muslim control there. In addition, the unemployment there must be 50-60% and hundreds of thousands just sit around every day with nothing to do - every day.  I was told now the Muslims are paying young men to become Muslims (approximately 1.5 years of salary for the average person.

Everything I saw seemed to say that we are on the right track.  I want you to be assured that your efforts will be well appreciated there."

Don McLaughlin
Vice President of Operations
High Adventure Ministries

Pastor Kassa of the Ethiopian church in Yemen e-mailed us after he found our daily broadcast in his town Sana'a.
 

"...Dear brother Melese,  We are so happy and grateful to you that we are able to tune in to 'Yenigat Kokeb Dimts' the daily radio broadcast.  We were not sure if the signal can reach here but when we hear your voice loud and clear, we said 'God is still able!'  Thank you very much for broadcasting daily.  As you know, it is very difficult to get sound Biblical teaching like yours specially here in Yemen.  Your daily broadcast is now changing that.  Many will be able to listen.  Continue the good work of preaching the gospel, teaching and equipping the believers for the Kingdom of God.
How Can You Help?
     As the Lord leads you, please consider taking part in this unique opportunity of sharing the love of God with millions of Ethiopians seven days a week, 365 days a year.

     Just imagine yourself sharing the gospel with thousands of Ethiopians and leading them to Christ.  Can you see yourself encouraging believers persecuted for their faith?  Or ministering to people struggling in life and giving them the hope of Christ?  That is exactly what is happening through the radio program even now as you read this.  Through your financial support of our radio ministry, you can help this major ministry of EOM.

     You can also help in organizing friends and fellow believers from your church to sponsor programs for a month, a quarter or even a year.

     You may send your tax deductible contribution by check or money order payable to EOM.  You can also call EOM's office and make your contribution using your VISA, Mastercard or American Express card.

$50 - One day programming
$350 - One week programming
$1,520 - One month programming
$4,650 - one-quarter of a year programming
$18,250 - One year programming

 
Still Determined to Make a Difference
God's servants 
continue to bless EOM...
A second computer needed to upgrade the old ones in our office was donated by a dear friend and long time partner of the ministry, Dick Naylor.  Dick's contribution extends from giving his expertise managing EOM's Website, regularly supporting financially, praying diligently for various areas of the ministry's needs and regularly encouraging laborers.

Dick and his wife Glenda indeed are the backbone (however Dick feels he is just one bone in that backbone) of this ministry.  We are forever grateful to them for their dedication to make a difference for Jesus among millions of Ethiopians through Ethiopian Outreach Ministry. We thank God for the obedient heart that is always ready to serve the Almighty.  May the Lord bless our friends for their recent gift of a computer system that enables EOM to be more effective in the outreach effort.


We are still waiting for your reply...
Due to the large volume of our printed materials produced through out the year, we desperately need a folding machine that is reliable, efficient and durable.  It will also help us save a lot of God’s money by doing the job in our own office. The cost of this machine is $3,995.  A third of this amount is already donated.  We need only $2995.  When you consider this project, remember the difference you can make in the process of producing life changing gospel messages that are circulated worldwide.		 Other Needs That You May Consider...
For the Radio and Cassette Ministry:
Two Studio Microphones - $299/each
One Studio Microphone  - $659
Studio Sound Mixer - $455
Digital audio recorder - $627
CD-RW discs (Quantity: 200@ $1.95 = $390)
Professional Cassette Recorder - $449
Recording studio accessories - $450

When you send your gifts to one or more of the projects listed here, please designate your gifts accordingly on the 'Memo'  or 'Used for' line of your check or money order.  We will make sure your gift is used specifically to the project you selected.  Make the check or money orders payable to EOM.  Thank you.

Christmas, 
the special season of giving and sharing is two months away.  Please consider the items listed above and to the left as a Christmas Gift.

 
 
VOLUNTEERS ARE NEEDED - If you can spare a few hours a week or every other week to help us in the office with tape duplication, labeling, copying, stapling, etc., please contact our office by calling (717) 846-2041 or e-mail us at eomusa@aol.com. PRAYER WARRIORS: Call our office to enlist for the spiritual warfare.  Many need your prayers. Where ever you are, call or e-mail to take prayer requests that we receive from Ethiopian brothers and sisters all over the world.

 
Let Us Seize the Moment (Continued...)
Then I flew to the Republic of Yemen where there are 20,000 Ethiopians.  There I was honored to preach and teach in several services over a 7 day period.  Again, there were large crowds numbering in the hundreds at each meeting.  It was truly the thrill of a lifetime for me to see how God's Spirit moves powerfully among these people who have so little.  Their hunger for the preaching and teaching of God's Word was overwhelming.  It has been an incredible summer of ministry for me personally!  It was very exciting, as well as exhausting, to minister to hurting Ethiopians in that part of the world.  Lastly, I flew to Amman, Jordan where there are about 1000 Ethiopians.  This was new territory for me.  The church has just started.  Again, the response here was so encouraging.  It was a very humbling and exciting experience to hear testimonies from various people as to how their lives have been touched and blessed by EOM.  This year the topic that the Holy Spirit brought to my heart to teach these people was on "Knowing and Doing the Will of God."  This was a very relevant topic for many of them.  Due to different living conditions, many of them are making wrong decisions.

As you can readily see, the fruit of my evangelistic trip was astounding.  Some new souls committed their lives to the Lord, ad hundreds of new and old Christians received encouragement and comfort.  There is no greater joy than to see these suffering people turning to Christ and finding Him to be their Savior.  This was possible because many of you stood behind us through your continuous prayers and financial support, and we deeply sense that we are not laboring alone in these most difficult areas.  May the Lord bless your lives and homes.

        Ethiopian 
                  Dinner 
                          Banquet

Reminder


Saturday, Oct. 20, 2001
 Come at your leisure between
 12:00 noon and 6:00 p.m.
Where?
At Salunga Mennonite Missions
Fellowship Hall, Salunga, PA. 
 (Please call 717-846-2041 or e-mail at  eomusa@aol.com for directions and to RSVP  by October 19, 2001)

The Meal has no charge,
but we ask that you consider making
a free will contribution to EOM.