Blessed to Bless These Precious Seniors! Ascent’s Fine Journey in Ethiopia

We are following along on the trip with our executive Dave Reed and his wife Sherri’s travels to ROTOM Ethiopia with their Church, Ascent in Monument, CO. Follow along and be blessed.

Our friends and mission team from the The Ascent Church worshipped together over the weekend with our Ethiopian brothers and sisters this past Sunday morning. They also enjoyed the Lord’s Supper and prayed over the nearly 300 children of the church. During their service the church body sent prayers and greetings from Ethiopia to our prayer partners and churches in Europe and America. Glory be to God!!

Midweek, the team will be visiting seniors and making a powerful visitation impact dropping off necessary and awaited items such as mattresses, blankets and other necessities. We are kindly asking each one of you to please pray for the impact on the seniors (in Jesus’ name) as they distribute provisions and gifts from each of their sponsors.

Mid-week Senior Visits-
During the final couple of days of the trip, we preached the Word, and prayed over two church plants our partner church has started in the city. Seeing the work of our brothers and sisters and their bold commitments to take back their city for the Lord were inspiring. It was a blessing to get to pray alongside this force for God’s Kingdom in Africa!

On Thursday, members of the team got to witness the Holy Spirit lead three formerly Orthodox individuals to pray to accept Jesus as their savior (Rom 10:9) and begin their walks with Him.

They were also blessed to see some of the work of Compassion International.  Large food shipments were received, helping their church support the numerous families who are in need and also needing to see Jesus “In Action” during this time of economic and food supply distress and worldwide hunger crisis. Praise be to God!!

The day concluded by having dinner with the church’s elder board. Sharing dinner, we strengthened our relationships, reconfirming our brotherly love and shared commitments to praying for and stirring up one another to love and good works.


Conclusion for the End of Trip-
We had a great last day in Ethiopia! Windamoo, a long time friend of the Ascent church’s mission teams and former Compassion mission director, invited us to stop by his farm on our way out of town for a “snack” to bless us. In Ethiopian fashion, the “snack” was a delicious multi-course serving with coffee, Indira bread, meat, and fruit! It was a blessing to relax and play games with him and his family in their home.

We stopped at Bekelu’s bakery shop to give our blessings, prayers, and enjoy some cake from our sweet sister. (See what I did there?)  She pastors every day and is an inspiration to many in her church and community, A force for God’s Kingdom!

Before dinner and then the airport, we capped the day by seeing some of the fruits God is pouring out through His ministries with a visit to Safe Light, an organization started by two Compassion program graduates who are revealing God’s good plans for this great nation.

The long relationship between the Ascent Church and the Kale Hewitt church was evident as these leaders, who grew up alongside the Ascent visits, brought us to tears as they thanked Jay, Kimberly, and the team for the prayers, support and inspiration over the years.

The Safe Light team was thrilled with the gift of books we brought along with us for them… and we were thrilled to see what God has done here through them! Prayers be lifted high for safe travels home. Dave and Sherri will be joining us back at the end of this Thanksgiving Holiday week.