He's the GOD of this city.

January 19
hello dear family & friends. it has been quite a while since my last update, but i will try to keep the words to a minimum.
what a busy several weeks it has been.

I successfully finished my first semester teaching and it was absolutely wonderful. The kids and I had a blast celebrating Christmas and it was really nice to have a week of fellowshipping and enjoying this special season together. Although the sunny warm weather wasn’t exactly conducive to the Christmas mood.
But the Christmas spirit was easy for me to catch when I arrived back home for a two-week vacation. It was so wonderful to be home with my family and see so many people who mean so much to me. It was refreshing to hear all that God is doing back home and to share all that He is and has been doing in my life. Of course those two weeks flew by and I headed off for the second part of my break to England. I was able to spend time with great friends, seeing the beautiful sights of England.
And then, before I knew it, I was back home in Ethiopia. And quite happy to see the sunshine again. The semester has gotten off to a great start and I am so glad to be back with my kids. I have two new kids in my class and they are both adjusting well.
Today is the Orthodox holiday Timket, celebrating the baptism of Jesus. It’s a beautiful celebration going on all across the city, I just posted some pictures so be sure to check it out.

This morning, I expected to be woken by the music and celebration of timket, but instead I was awoken by quite different sights and sounds. A large multi-story building across the street from our compound was on fire and the streets were filled with horrified onlookers. The building housed many local businesses and the community was overwhelmed and unprepared to handle this type of crisis. There were only a few people inside the building, but those few did jump from the building and it was a very difficult thing for onlookers to experience and process. Please join me in praying for the families of those who died in the fire and for the neighborhood as they recover from this traumatic event. It is so hard to see the people go through something like this.
God knows.

So full of joy. So thankful for your love, prayers and encouragement.
This is one very blessed and happy girl.
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