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Michael and Rachel WellerPO Box 1111 Addis Ababa Ethiopia Email: Michael and Rachel Weller August 29, 2008 - Letter from Rachel and Michael Weller Dear Friends, Every week or so I sit down to write a letter to all of you. I usually know what I want to say, but don’t know exactly how to construct the letter so it reads easily, says everything I want to say and doesn’t bore you with too many details. As I take the time to put the right words in the right place, the details of our lives and work change, so I end up having to write the whole thing all over again. So now, for about the millionth time, I am writing to tell you what is going on in our lives and in the church in Ethiopia. So many things have changed since I last wrote. The biggest news of change is about our own situation. After a review of our family situation and my work situation, and then a conversation with our ‘matrix’ (bosses) at PCUSA, we all concluded that it makes sense for Michael and me to temporarily terminate service to Ethiopia. I can’t tell you how simple and complex this decision has been for us to contemplate and now begin to carry out because there are so many factors involved. This summer we took our two middle children, Amira and Thomas, to the States to begin their post-high school lives. They are both in the process of discerning their options for pursuing their interests and callings. Our youngest daughter, Lydia, will be starting grade 10 in a couple weeks. And our oldest son, Brian, got married in June and is finishing up the last year of his college program. It is frustrating to be so far away as they are all making major decisions. In addition, it has become evident that in order to get the official documentation and permission to do the work I’ve been doing in Ethiopia, I need a Masters’ degree. So, we decided that we should temporarily terminate service to Ethiopia and will return to the States in December. Our plan is to stay in the States for three years while I finish up a degree (I have a diploma in nursing) and study for a Masters in International Public Health. My dream is to be accepted into the program at Johns Hopkins University. We would like to find a place to live for three years so that we don’t have to up-root Lydia in her last years of high school. I am very grateful that she has been understanding of our decisions and is reacting with maturity even though it means she will be leaving Rift Valley Academy where she has made a lot of good friends. Michael will be looking for something to occupy his time that fits his skills and interests, as well. He is willing to go wherever I decide is the best place to get the education I need. We appreciate your prayers as we turn our lives inside out, once again. Even though we will be leaving Ethiopia – temporarily – the work of the church and the partnerships we have been a part of will continue. For those of you who have developed partnerships in Ethiopia primarily through contact with us, be assured that we will be happy to continue to facilitate your work in mission as much as we can from wherever we will be in the States. We would like to encourage you to continue to support any projects you might be associated with in Ethiopia and feel free to contact us (our email addresses will not change) with questions. PCUSA will appoint a new Regional Liaison to take Michael’s place when the right person is found, so there will be an on-the-ground contact as well. I am excited to be leaving behind a group of dedicated and enthusiastic new graduates of various medical professions to pursue the opening and development of the three clinics in the Gambella region. On Monday I attended the graduation ceremonies of the five students we have funded and one additional man who has been funded through a private contact. All six of them are committed to working in the two Anuak clinics, Gilo Bethel Clinic and Pokwo Clinic. Three of them are nurses, two are lab techs, and the lone young lady is a pharmacist. In May, one young Nuer man completed nursing studies and has already moved to Adura and begun work there. I am hoping I can get out there to see him in action at least once before I leave. (Do you think I can tolerate a three-hour walk?) During the graduation celebration, each of the six had a chance to tell how they came to this place in their lives. God has clearly been present in the process all along the way – through the revolution of twenty years ago, through the massacre of four years ago, through the different educational plans of the Ethiopian government, and through personal and family events that have changed or reinforced the decisions of these young people to bring them to this point. Pray for Mene, Okello, Omod, Agwa, Okoth, Rebeka, and Pel Peter as they re-open the clinics and put into practice the things they have learned. We are getting ready to purchase a Land Cruiser for the East Gambella Bethel Synods health work! Several months ago a large donation from an individual in one of our supporting churches was received to help with the purchase of a vehicle. It was not quite enough for the whole purchase price but, added to what had already been sent by several churches and individuals, we are now ready to begin the ordering process! I am hopeful that a new Land Cruiser will be driving down to Gambella sometime in the next six months. Thanks to all of you for your prayers and all your donations – of every size – so that we can anticipate a good re-start to the medical work in Gambella. To see some pictures of the graduation celebration you can go to my Picasa Web Album on the internet. http://picasaweb.google.com/wellerachel/GraduationEGBSMedicalStudents?authkey=gN85PrZg-9U The re-opening of the three Mekane Yesus clinics is an event being enthusiastically anticipated by so many. Not only are the people of the communities eager for the service, government officials are hopeful that the new clinics will help to alleviate some of their burden in providing health care in remote areas. Even though Michael and I will be gone from Ethiopia for a time, we will remain in touch with our friends and colleagues in Ethiopia and will be happy to facilitate continued partnerships between you and them as much as we can within the framework of our new situation. There continue to be many financial needs for the clinics including such things as education for more staff, renovation costs, as well as some costs for the main running budgets of the clinics. If you are interested in supporting the clinics financially, let me know so I can discuss the best way to go about doing that with you. At the risk of making this letter too long I will say something about Michael. First of all, I am looking forward to spending most of the next several months living with him most of the time, again! Because of our plans to temporarily terminate service here, some of his travel plans have been cancelled and because Lydia will be in school in Kenya I will be able to travel in country with him. Next week, a couple days after Lydia goes to Kenya, we will fly to Gambella with Sharon Curry, a volunteer teacher who is going to teach English in the elementary school in Dembi Dollo. We will be met at the Gambella airport by someone from Dembi and will drive two or three hours up the escarpment to Dembi. Besides introducing Sharon to the synod and school leaders, Michael will also be meeting with the synod leaders to talk about our (PCUSA’s) role in continuing partnership with that synod (Western Wollega Bethel Synod). I will spend a lot of time visiting with old friends J. In Gambella Michael will offer a short course on stewardship that the two synods there have requested of him. We will be there on Ethiopian New Year’s day, so will join in those celebrations, too. In September Michael will be traveling to Kenya to work with the Presbyterian Church of Southern Sudan. He is also trying again to arrange a trip to Khartoum in November to meet with the Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church. He tried all last year and was never able to get the proper documentation for his trip. As we have been telling our partners here about our plans to leave, we have received such warm expressions of thanks for our service with them over the past fourteen years. Many people have expressed sadness that we will be gone, but they have embraced us with love and understanding that God has called us to a different place for now. Our absence will not diminish our commitment to the people and the work of the Mekane Yesus Church and we ask that it will not diminish your commitment, either. Continue to pray for them as they do pray for you. And continue to support them with the resources God has blessed you with as well. In God’s service, Rachel & Michael Weller March 6, 2008 - Prayer Letter from Gambella Dear Friends, After several thwarted plans and attempts to go to Gambella I finally arrived here nearly two weeks ago. As always, it is a very rewarding, but hot (105 degrees yesterday afternoon) visit. I arrived on the same plane as five women from 1st Presbyterian Church, Spokane WA who came to run a clinic for some orphans who the East Gambella Bethel Synod supports through two different programs. It was nice to have the company. Their visit had a rough beginning when some local government officials got involved and a misunderstanding about the intent of the visit ensued. The process of straightening it all out proved to be a good time of cross-cultural stretching and learning. Gilo Gora, the synod development director, showed his faith as he led us in handling the problem with grace and prayer. In the end the team ran a clinic in which they did health evaluations of most of the 78 orphans who are supported through a home-based care program as well as an onsite orphanage. The home-based care children are supported by an international agency, Partners in Africa, by a child sponsorship program. One of the visitors had a joyful meeting with her sponsored child for the first time. As I look forward to the not-so-distant future, when the three clinics will be re-opened, I realized that there are some issues of management that need to be addressed with the leadership of the two synods. Because they are fairly young synods (less than 10 years old) and because of the limited education opportunities in the Gambella area, there are gaps in the management practices, that could hinder the good operation of the clinics. So I arranged to meet with the East Gambella Bethel Synod staff during this visit to begin the process of making improvements. We had a very good and frank discussion about practical ways of implementing better practices. I held up to them the idea of being donor-friendly but not donor-driven. Keep the young leaders: Adak Ojullu, Omod Omulu, Rev. Gilo Gora, and Owar Ojha in your prayers. Pray that frustration will not overwhelm them and that they will see the fruit of their faithful labors. On the other side of town at the West Gambella Bethel Synod in Nuland – where the community is mostly Nuer – I had a chance to talk with Rev. Matthew Doleak, the president of the synod. He talked about the hunger being experienced by the people of remote areas of Gambella region. (EGBS is also worried about the problem.) A sever flood at the end of the rainy season destroyed much of the nearly ready harvest. After planting again heavy rains damaged new seedlings, and now locusts are eating up the little bit planted near rivers during the dry season. The people are already facing hunger. Matthew told me “We don’t want to watch our people starve.” So they have begun a drive to off-set the cost of grain available from the highlands. (Opportunity had hiked the prices to double the regulated value until the government recently stepped in.) On Sunday I worshipped with the Anyuaa congregation beside the place I am staying. The crowd was smaller than usual. Many people have gone to Akado, sometimes called Pokwo, for a “Spiritual Conference”. Spiritual Conferences, something like an old-fashioned revival meeting in America, are held all over Ethiopia during the dry season, when travel is easier. The Spokane group and I went to Pokwo to see the clinic last week and discovered an unusually neat and decorated village. They were preparing for the Conference. We heard that three thousand people will be there this weekend to join together to hear the Word of God and pray and to identify with each other as Christians. This weekend I hope to go to a similar conference in Majangir area. When I get back to Addis in a week or so, I’ll try to upload photos. Look for another email soon. The connection here is much too slow. While I’ve been here, Michael’s been in Mettu attending the Illubabor Bethel Synod Convention – an event that occurs every three or four years. He traveled with a group from Shenandoah Presbytery in VA which has been working in partnership with IBS for about 20 years. Over the weekend the group met to reevaluate and have signed an agreement to continue in partnership. We had a brief reunion as Michael arrived here yesterday to be picked up by a vehicle today to go to Dembi Dollo. He was asked to be a mediator in a dispute at the synod high school, BESS. Please pray for wisdom and guidance as he helps each side to work together to bring glory to God as they prepare young minds to serve Him. Thomas and Amira are keeping the house running in Addis. And of course, Brian is busy with work and school in PA. Brian’s fiancée, Sheila, in Arkansas is in her last semester of college. Pray that she will finish strong as she has wedding plans on her mind as well. Thanks for praying. Rachel Wellers November Prayer Letter - November 3, 3007 - 
Gambella Dream Machine!3 November 2007 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Dear Friends, I’ve just returned from another one week visit to Gambella. I have never been to Gambella that I didn’t return home tired, glad to see my family (what’s left of them here), looking forward to a cool night’s sleep, and basking in the satisfying joy of doing what is Right. The intention of my visit this time was threefold. To have conversations with the leadership there about the progress of the clinic work. To see some of the CHE projects. To continue to build relationships, trust, and understanding. The first “fold” partially happened. I was able to meet with the West Gambella (Nuer) Bethel Synod leadership who reported two pieces of good news. Pel Peter has just finished his diploma nursing studies and is returning to Gambella to begin work. (Simon, who is studying lab technology, will finish next year.) And the government has told the synod officials that they will facilitate the process to get the long-lost clinic license renewed. This is especially good news, since, in order to re-new a license the clinic must be inspected and in order to be inspected, there has to be more than walls and a roof – which is all we have right now. (One of those vicious bureaucratic circles so common in governments.) It will take a bit of time, because we do have to go through a police & court process to document where the original license is. It burned in the office it had been kept in many, many years ago. As soon as all that is organized we will set to work purchasing equipment in Addis Ababa. I wonder if we can be running properly by February. It would be nice. Other things have to be done, too. We need a clean water supply and an energy source, perhaps solar, and we need a fence around the compound. I wasn’t able to meet with the East Gambella (Anuaa) Bethel Synod leadership because of several meetings that took precedence. The Anuaa students have one more year before they finish. The end is in sight and we have a lot of work to do. I hope to spend time in the coming year sprucing up the Pokwo and Gilo clinics. The Pokwo clinic is now in need of some repairs after the severe weather in the mountains this rainy season. The floods were much higher than most people had ever seen before. It could be the highest water level in 50 years or more. We are thankful, though that there was no major damage to the building even though the water came just over the porch. Ahema, our faithful clinic manager at Pokwo, was in Gambella while I was there. He told me that many people were displaced and that the floods have destroyed the corn crop that was just about ready to harvest. He was thankful that none of the expected water-borne diseases has shown up. We are also in serious need of a vehicle. I have hesitated to put that in this message, because I really don’t like to do fund-raising, but this is becoming an urgent need. We have talked and talked about the cheapest way to get one, but, unfortunately, the one we need is probably the most expensive. A Toyota Land Cruiser Hardtop costs around $75,000 US – yes, three zeros. Toyota is the most reliable vehicle available, and the hard top is all enclosed making it good for carrying passengers and lots of stuff. I wonder if I could put you all up to a car fund drive.[See file link above - Gambella Dream Machine] I’m supposed to be encouraging our supporters to increase their support for us and other PCUSA missionaries, but frankly, right now, I need a car. I’ve attached a picture of what we are hoping to buy. The clinic project is one that will involve a lot of money. My mind has discussed with me, over and over again, about the value and reality of a “poor” church engaging in such a financially ambitious project. There are those who believe the church should be getting out of all such institutional projects. And there are compelling arguments on that side. But what I know to be true is that the people in the places where these three clinics are have very poor access to any other health care – they are hours or days away from the nearest clinic, which may or may not have staff or medicine. I know that God has been guiding and encouraging me to pursue this project. And I know that He has resources for it. So I am counting on you all to be praying about your own responsibility to Him in this, and I am confident it will be done and God will be glorified. The second “fold” was very encouraging to see. I went by bus with Ariet, who works with the EGBS women, to see the Community Health Evangelism (CHE) project in Abobo, run by Akwata. I could write a novel about that trip, but instead I will direct you to my web photo album. Click on this link to see the photos I’ve posted there. http://picasaweb.google.com/wellerachel/AboboCHEVisit. The CHE program is exactly how I’ve always thought “evangelism” ought to work in situations such as the one we’re in. (I suspect it could even work in some of your communities, with a little variation!) In less than six months there are already tangible life-changing results. It is impressive what God does with lives that are open and ready to receive what He has to offer. The third “fold” is, in my opinion, what our main objective in mission ought to be. It is also the part I enjoy the most. Spending the day with Ariet and Akwata in Abobo was part of the relationship building. Eating baked fish that Akwata had prepared for our lunch, we talked about marriage and children, and home-making. You know, we have more similarities than differences. I don’t have to deal with my husbands other wife, but Akwata worries just as much as I do about how to balance the children’s educational needs with their emotional needs. She worries that she’s away from them too much as spends time in the community. Her son wouldn’t eat the fish. He rather have meat. Sometimes, she said, he goes to bed hungry rather than eat something he doesn’t want. Sometimes my kids go to bed hungry, too. Casual conversations with the church leaders during work breaks brought new insights. I spent an hour or so visiting with Pastor Okwai, the first ordained Anuaa pastor. One day I’ll write out his story of faithfulness and commitment. Interestingly, both he and Akwata told me that their introduction to Jesus Christ came about because someone needed health care and went to Pokwo Clinic where they heard the Good News for the first time. We discussed some of the problems marriage in the church. In Gambella the biggest issue is polygamy, while in the States unfaithfulness & divorce are big issues. I often wonder if any of you have a job as enjoyable as mine. Sitting around talking and calling it work! OK, it’s not always like that, but I do enjoy the times when it is. I also enjoy this time of reflecting and appreciate you’re willingness to be involved in both the work and the reflections. Good to talk with you all. Rachel |