God Directs

Proverbs 16:9

“ In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.”

Dear friends,

We all try so hard to put our plans together so that we can relax as everything we planned falls into place just like we knew it would.

WRONG!!  I am not saying that planning is a bad thing, just that if we depend on our plans because we are so good at making them, we lose site that it is God who is in control and establishes our steps.

As most of you know I started a library building project for Gambella, Ethiopia with my brother Ed a number of years ago.  We collected books, drew up building plans, ordered the building frame work…. Since these plans started, I got married to Don, my brother Ed went to his heavenly home. Then Covid hit and once again changed our plans, you know that for a fact for it changed your plans too.

At the end of August, I thought I was smart and had all the plans in place to build the library in 5 short weeks.  Tickets were bought and the team headed to Ethiopia.  Three of us stayed in Addis to buy and have the needed supplies trucked to Gambella.  The truck with the building frames was to leave Addis and arrive in Gambella around the same time as the team.  WRONG.  Due to a number of misunderstandings, rain, and trouble in the country…. The building frame only arrived at the end of the second week and what we had planned to bolt together had to be welded.

This is where God took over and I was happy to step aside.  While waiting for all the needed materials, Don was able to rebuild a welder that was needed to put the building together.  Don and the team also took a rejected cement mixer and gave it new live.  Both the welder and the cement mixer were needed for us to move forward once everything arrived.

Our team started to leave at the end of week two, just as the supplies arrived.  We had all planned to be gone by Oct. 3 but God had other plans.

Don and Adam are staying on for another 5 weeks leaving November 8^th.  Pray that this will give them the time they need to finish as they work alongside a local team of men.

Bob Kraft was scheduled to come home after the 5 weeks so Don decided that I should fly home with Bob and take care of things here in the USA. (Like writing this letter, I could not do much more than write a few emails with the internet we had in Gambella.)

I will fly back to Ethiopia on October 14^th and continue the work with Don and Adam until November 8^th, when we will return to the USA together.  I then hope to take another team out in the Spring of 2022, to shelf the books and train someone there on how to take care of the library.  These are my plans but we will have to wait and see how God directs our steps.

Thanks for prayers and support. I will try and show you our story in pictures below. Leah

Adam breaking ground

What do we do with all this metal???

The donkey bringing in the rebar.

Starting to put the pieces together

Raising the columns and rafters

Getting everything to line up.

Don and Adam on top of the world. All the work was done off of landders.

Perlins going up.

Tin going up.

Tin finished.

I would like you to meet Dewitt our taxi driver in Addis Ababa. He not only helped us do all our running around and shopping in Addis when Don, Bob and I first arrived. But also came to Bob and my rescue when we had to spend an extra night in Addis waiting for the results of our covid test. The extra day turned out to be a blessing for many. We spent the night with a new friend who was packing getting ready to close up his house and leave Ethiopia. Bob and I got to help sort and clean things getting them ready for a yard sale. We meet lots of the family of God. Dewitt then got us back to the airport in time to catch our flight the next day. I love to sit back and relax and see what God has in store as He directs our steps.

Dinner was delivered one night. It was a wonderful tasting fish. I served it with rice and vegatables.

Balloon fun with my friends.

Covid testing in Gambella.

Don and Leah beside the library the day Leah headed back to the USA. Stay tuned and when possible more things with the posted.

One last picture, the books have arrived in Gambella and are awaiting the finished library building. For those who would like to join us shelving the books I am planning another trip sometime in the Spring to do just that.

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