Great pictures coming soon!

I will be honest with you, I am not even sure which day we are on anymore as the days seem to blend together. Time gets lost in childrens laughter, elders handshakes and womens smiles as we open a new well, play soccer (sorry Mer) with them or just plain sit on a hillside and talk. It is pleasant weather here and we are now as tan from the shirt sleeves down as we have ever been, except for bill who seems to be the whitest guy here. We have all had a great time and spent last night at a cultural dine and dance restaurant where the dancers contort and throw there shoulders and necks around like a mad slinky on a steep staircase.
Today we made our way to Gondar Ethiopia on a prop plane that landed with a distinct thud. We then made our way through the endless stream of Bajaj’s,donkeys, horsedrawn carriages and even a Mercedes or two. We wound our way in the van, which seems like a fishbowl on wheels the way people stare at us, up the steep and narrow road up to the Goha hotel and that is where I am writing this story. The group almost immediately comments on the sheer beauty of their surroundings as we look over the city from our perch high above Gondar town.
Gondar is a bustling city steeped in biblical and cultural history and I am excited for the group to see some of the sites that they will see today. They will see the castles of Gondar which are an amazing site and story. They will see a church that is hundreds of years old made out of rock to mimic the shape of noahs ark, with paintings and drawings that depict the old and new testament in only a way the local Ethiopians can understand. They will meet an amazing woman who by God’s grace began a ministry caring for single women with families that have nowhere to live, some of whom have been shunned by their local communities because of their AIDS status. She takes them in, and teaches them health, sanitation and a trade with which they can hopefully survive the sometimes daunting streets.
This is my city, my place. My heart is here when I am not here. A heart for this people because it holds the village of Robit Ethiopia. A village about an hours drive from here with a story so compelling that it can make the hardest person soft. A village that when we come the people just throng to see us and be with us and just tell us their story. I am really excited to see what God will do with this part of the trip.
Father give us the eyes to see, ears to hear, mouth to talk and hands to show your love and do your work.

Mike Koch
 

 Great pictures coming soon!

I will be honest with you, I am not even sure which day we are on anymore as the days seem to blend together. Time gets lost in childrens laughter, elders handshakes and womens smiles as we open a new well, play soccer (sorry Mer) with them or just plain sit on a hillside and talk. It is pleasant weather here and we are now as tan from the shirt sleeves down as we have ever been, except for bill who seems to be the whitest guy here. We have all had a great time and spent last night at a cultural dine and dance restaurant where the dancers contort and throw there shoulders and necks around like a mad slinky on a steep staircase.
Today we made our way to Gondar Ethiopia on a prop plane that landed with a distinct thud. We then made our way through the endless stream of Bajaj’s,donkeys, horsedrawn carriages and even a Mercedes or two. We wound our way in the van, which seems like a fishbowl on wheels the way people stare at us, up the steep and narrow road up to the Goha hotel and that is where I am writing this story. The group almost immediately comments on the sheer beauty of their surroundings as we look over the city from our perch high above Gondar town.
Gondar is a bustling city steeped in biblical and cultural history and I am excited for the group to see some of the sites that they will see today. They will see the castles of Gondar which are an amazing site and story. They will see a church that is hundreds of years old made out of rock to mimic the shape of noahs ark, with paintings and drawings that depict the old and new testament in only a way the local Ethiopians can understand. They will meet an amazing woman who by God’s grace began a ministry caring for single women with families that have nowhere to live, some of whom have been shunned by their local communities because of their AIDS status. She takes them in, and teaches them health, sanitation and a trade with which they can hopefully survive the sometimes daunting streets.
This is my city, my place. My heart is here when I am not here. A heart for this people because it holds the village of Robit Ethiopia. A village about an hours drive from here with a story so compelling that it can make the hardest person soft. A village that when we come the people just throng to see us and be with us and just tell us their story. I am really excited to see what God will do with this part of the trip.
Father give us the eyes to see, ears to hear, mouth to talk and hands to show your love and do your work.

Mike Koch