Kevin & Erica Kipfer

SERVING IN ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA

NovemberKipfer Update

We can’t express how much we appreciate your prayersand words of encouragement that have helped bring us tothis place! After many months of preparation and antici- pation, we finally arrived on the ground in Addis Ababaon the evening of October 27. The previous 27 hours had been a blend of waiting 3 hours for our Ft. Wayne flight totake off, rushing frantically through Detroit airport to getour next connection, carrying way-too-big carry-ons,sleeping in Amsterdam on reclining chairs, sitting in the plane in Sudan, and finally, arriving in Addis Ababa to begreeted by Gary and Peggy Ifft, who have helped tremen-dously in our transition.Since our arrival, no day is quite like the other. We’veexperienced the Ethiopian culture through a wedding, cof-fee ceremonies, language lessons, and dinners with newfriends that include plenty of wonderful traditional foodlike injera, tibs, wot and the like. Just like with any move,we have shopped for things for our home, got internet set-up, began orienting ourselves in the city, etc. To get allthis accomplished, we’ve had to utilize a number of differ-ent modes of transportation: horse drawn carts called

ga-res

, taxis, mini-buses, city buses, and plenty of walking.Even in the midst of all this, we’re slowly settling and Ad-dis is feeling a bit more like home. (we even have a postoffice box so feel free to send us mail :)

Left to Right: Lydia, Ruth, Moses, Joseph, Deborah, Daniel and Hanna pose with their new toys they just inflated.

We have arrived!You might be surprised to know...

It says, “Full MoonCafé.” This café isvery close to our home so we stop bythere often!

LSM currently has one Home of Hope for orphans in Ad-dis. Eshetu and Tsion parent seven beautiful children whohave been orphaned due to the AIDS crisis. We have hadthe opportunity to see them at their home and hear themrecite Bible verses and pray. It has been great to have thesekids as friends at church as they seek us out to say hello andgive us plenty of smiles and hugs.

Laying the groundwork

Much of our time so far has been spent “getting settled;”however, we have been able to start laying some ground-work for the future Home of Hope for girls. We have hadthe opportunity to meet with three different organizationsworking in Addis Ababa with the population of girls andwomen that we hope to work with. Each organization’swork is slightly different yet with a similar purpose andmission—to rescue women from exploitation, restorehope through Christ, and equip them for a new life. Eachorganization has been very helpful and supportive. Wehope to learn from and connect further with these organi-zations as we move forward. An Ethiopian counselor that we met who has over 13 years of experience workingwith exploited women encouraged us, “God did not callyou to this work based on what you can do alone, but onHis own power and capacity to work through you!”

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We are more often cold than hot.

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A box of Cheerios costs as much as a steak dinner (both about $5).

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The current year in Ethiopia is 2002

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Ethiopian time starts at 6am, meaning when our watchsays 10am, Ethiopians will call it 4:00.

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When walking on the city sidewalk, we commonlyhave to dodge donkeys, sheep, and goats (and whatthey leave behind)

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We can read this:

Kevin’s Email: kevin@loving-shepherd.org Erica’s Email: erica@loving-shepherd.orgBlog: kevinanderica.blogspot.comField Address: PO Box 16245, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia