05/19/2026
Dear Friends and Supporters,
Last Wednesday afternoon, my wife, Nancy, and I returned from Ethiopia. I apologize for taking so long to report to you, but the last week of the trip I became very ill. I am much better now, although still not back to 100%.
In any event, as you know, ECLEA is expanding beyond the five countries that surround Lake Victoria. David Njeru is heading our expansion into Malawi and Ethiopia. He has already established the beginnings of an indigenous ECLEA organization in Ethiopia, headed by the very capable and well-respected Solomon Kebede Tessema. While in Ethiopia, we did a training of trainers in 1 Timothy in Addis Ababa to about 26 participants who had already been through 1 Timothy; The Church: Its Nature, Mission, and Purpose to about 28 participants in Burayu; and Biblical Marriage and Parenting to about 30 participants in Ambo. I also lectured on Is Christianty True? to about 25 students at Addis Ababa Bible College (where Solomon is a lecturer). Because I had gotten so sick, I was not able to participate in the first day of the Marriage and Parenting session, but Nancy spoke for about 30 minutes on marriage and parenting based on her own experience. Reports indicated that she did an excellent job and was well-received.
We are building a very good foundation in Ethiopia. The Ethiopians clearly followed the material and see how valuable is. It will bee translated into Amharic and Oromo, the two major Ethiopian languages. I am hopeful that, especially when it comes to marriage and parenting, the participants will take to heart what we talked about so that Ethiopian family life will be rather more biblically, as opposed to culturally, based.
Let me give you a few impressions of Ethiopia. The country is known as "the land of origins." There were very few Westerners we encountered. The people were unfailingly gracious and helpful. Ethiopia has a real "coffee culture." There are coffee shops everywhere. Their coffee is essentially espresso (which is the one kind of coffee I like). The food is distinctive and excellent. Meats, vegetables, and sauces are placed on injera (a spongy flatbread made from fermented teff flour), which is used as a transfer device for the meat, vegetables, and sauces. Ethiopian music has significant Arabic influences and sounds similar to Indian music. One thing Nancy and I both noticed was that the Ethiopians are quite aggressive about trying to cut into line or grab your seat, the greatest offenders being old women!
After the week of teaching, Nancy and I (on our own dime) stayed an extra four days and visited the city of Lalibela, where there are 11 churches hewn out of solid rock, dating back to the 1100s. We also visited the northern city of Axum, which includes multiple 1700 year-old obelisks, the Queen of Sheba's castle and pool, and other interesting historical sites.
Attached are some photos of the trip. Unfortunately, my camera is having some problems, and I have not been able, so far, too offload pictures from Axum. However, I think these will give you a good feel for this amazing country and the great privilege we had in going there.
Now that I am home, I have a considerable amount of ECLEA-related work to do, including proofing translations, among other things. I am still planning on returning to East Africa later this year, although such trips have not yet been finalized.
I want to thank you again for your ongoing prayer and financial support of ECLEA. I hope you can see how valuable your support is. We are making a big difference in a spiritually important part of the world--indeed, ECLEA is going to the primary meeting point between Christianity and Islam. So, thank you very much again.
Until later, God bless you,
Jonathan
