Kennedys plan mission to Ethiopia

Len, Gaye, Stephen and Shelly are planning to visit Ethiopia from August 17-24. They plan to visit and encourage many of the churches and missionaries supported through IOI in Addis Abeba and the Oromo Region. Len is on the church staff at Woodland Baptist Church, the founding church of IOI.

Goshewye and Kalkidan to Visit Tennessee

Depending on the doctor's advise plans are being made for Kalkidan and Goshewye to visit their supporters, the Beards and the IOI office in Jackson, Tennessee from August 10-14. Plans should be confirmed on Friday August 4. For more details contact Patrick.

Missionary Lemma loses wife

Ato Lemma with his wife Ferihiowt and their two sons pose with Ababa (bottom far left), Negash (bottom far right) Jon (top left) and JB (top right) in January 2006.

Ferihiowt, Ato Lemma's wife, died this morning in the hospital in Addis Abeba. She was expecting a baby and complications developed that eventually led to their deaths.

In January Ferihiowt was healthy and excited about a vision to start medical clinics in the countryside for poverty stricken villagers. Her health declined rapidly in recent days.

Please pray for Lemma and his two boys as they deal with the loss of wife and mother.

Kalkidan released from hospital!

Praise the Lord!! Kalkidan was released from the hospital yesterday and she and Gosheway are back over at the Ronald McDonald House.

Kalkidan had some x-rays yesterday morning that showed everything was looking good. Also, her incisions are healing well. Kalkidan was very,very happy to be out of the hospital! There is some follow-up care necessary. Kalkidan will have another x-ray on Wednesday to make sure her stools are moving through her bowel correctly. Since constipation is not allowed during recovery, she will need a mild laxative and have some irrigation (enema) once a week for several weeks tomake sure the good colon has a chance to function properly. Gosheway was given special solution, catheters, and large syringes for this task. Gosheway will also be working with Kalkidan on exercises to help her control her bowel movements. The doctor wants Kalkidan to stay in the USA for another six to eight weeks, just in case he needs to see her again. He wants to make sure she is fully healed and functioning before returning to Ethiopia. So, we will be working on getting their tickets changed to a later date.Thanks for all the prayers.

Have a blessed day!
Jeff

PLEASE PRAY for complete healing, no complications, and a properlyfunctioning colon.
PRAY for Gosheway as he cares for Kal Kidan.
PLEASE PRAY they will be able to obtain extended visas and easily be able tochange their airline tickets.

Update on Kal Kidan

I met with Gosheway, the doctor, a nurse, a social worker, and the interpreter this afternoon to discuss Kalkidan's condition. Gosheway was very concerned about Kalkidan, based on the vomiting and fever she developed last night. He was upset because it seemed to him that this surgery was heading in the same direction of the previous five - failure. However, after talking with the doctor his spirits were lifted considerably.

So, here's the latest: Last night Kalkidan experienced a burning sensation and a lot of pain in her abdomen and she vomited multiple times. To relieve that, a tube was inserted through her nose into her stomach to release any gas that has collected andto drain the bile. She is slightly dehydrated and is continuing to get IV fluids, and they are monitoring her urine output. The doctor explained that general anesthesia not only puts a person to sleep for the surgery, it also puts all your organs to sleep as well. So, he is now waiting for her colon to "wake up", and they are doing irrigations to stimulate her intestinal tract. To comfort Gosheway, I asked if this kind of a reaction is common following a major surgery and we were assured that it is. The doctor also suggested that Kalkidan remain in the States for another eight weeks. The purpose of the extension is to ensure Kalkidan has plenty of recovery time and the opportunity for multiple follow-up visits after her release from the hospital. Gosheway needs to learn a few bowl management techniques and that cannot begin until her surgery scars are well on the way to healing. So prayer is needed for our application to extend their visas.

I think knowing this will also help Gosheway find some peace as he diligently watches over little Kalkidan. He very rarely leaves the hospital room for fear something might happen while he is gone. He and Kalkidan havebeen down a long road over the past three and a half years and he is going to be with her no matter what.

As I watched them this afternoon I could see a parallel with the way God looks after His children. God is always there. He is there when we wake inthe morning and He is there when we lay down at night. He is there when times are good and He is there when times are rotten. He is there when weare faithful and He is there when we sin. He is there when we are at home and He is there when we are thousands of miles from home. When you see Gosheway tenderly stroking Kalkidan's forehead, speaking ever so gently, and witness the special bond between them, you can picture God's love in action.

Jeff

Comments from the Concert

"Those guys are real musicians! We have to follow them?!?" -- Robin in reference to Kula

"This was the best night of my life!" -- Joy

"The Irish dance troupe was fantastic." -- Robin (who is from Ireland)

"How mightily God moved! The anointing of God's Spirit was snuggled so close on that beautiful hillside, nestled in such lush green beauty, with the stars glinting down upon us. Robin Mark and his group were just incredible. I am very reluctant to call such a glorious presence of God a concert. It truly was more of a worship service. There are few things that will cause love to swell in a wife's heart like the sight of her husband standing under the stars, his face turned heavenward, his hands lifted to his King in worship, focused solely on Him. One gentleman came up to us, asking how the recovery was going post-Katrina. I was born and raised in New Orleans and my brother lived three houses down from the 17th Street Canal levee breech. He lost everything, as did many of my cousins. Needless to say, this is a subject very dear to my heart. My beautiful city is still very wounded, in some areas mortally. It was so heartwarming to hear this man tell of the efforts he and his church made to come and give of their time and energy and dollars. He was so genuinely interested and concerned. Here we are, ten months after the storm, and the unfathomable grief over what was lost and the overwhelming joy and humility over the selfless, tireless giving of so many still does me in to the point of tears." -- Bill & Missy from New Orleans

"One kilo of Ethiopian Sidamo coffee goes to the person who traveled the longest distance to come to this concert..." -- Patrick, just before giving the coffee to a grandmother who drove from Allentown, PA with her family from New Orleans for the concert.

Robin Mark Concert a Success

Almost 500 people attended Thursday night's concert at the Casey Jones Village in Jackson, Tennessee.

Kula and WindDance (www.kulaband.com) performed 75 minutes of great Irish music and dance. The new IOI video, made by Nic Pfost, was shown and Patrick spoke briefly about the ministry of IOI. A kilo of Ethiopian Sidamo coffee was given to the person who had traveled the longest distance for the concert (a fan from Allentown, PA). The last 90 minutes of the concert was performed by Robin Mark (www.robinmark.com) and his band from Belfast. It was a time of good music, joy and worship.

A special thanks to all who volunteered to make this concert possible and to those who attended on one of the hottest days of the year! Thank you to Kula, WindDance and Rose Creek Village for bringing your excellent talents (and over 100 of your community) to make this event extra special. Kudos to my "staff" Jon, Stephen and Tyler -- your eagerness to serve is a true blessing. Thank you to Hap Folwer with WAMP who helped promote the concert and taught me how to do a concert without losing money. Speaking of money -- God bless Christ Community Church (www.CCCJacksonTN.com) and Craig a thousand times over! Thank you to the Denkers and the Varughese clan for filling in the gaps. God bless Katy for filling in for me at the doctor's office. Hats off to David (a professional director who is humble enough to wear any hat so that the show will go on) and Will Burke. Andy, it is always a pleasure to work with you. Thanks to Northbrook Church, Toni and Chris for the instrument set up. Allegra Print and Imaging for the posters, tickets and programs; you guys always come through (even when I only give you 24 hours to do something that should take twice as long). The Hoovers for bringing the banners -- what a blessing it was to see the children dance and wave banners to the music. A very special thanks to Julian Williamson who coordinated all the technical aspects of the event and gave days of labor to make this concert a success (it would not have been possible without him, and he knows I am not just saying that).

Surgery Report

The report last night is that Kal Kidan's surgery went well and the doctors expect a good recovery. She will be in the hospital for a few days and the coming weeks she will be recovering. Please continue to pray for healing and that the procedures performed in the surgery will be successful.

Doctors were able to repair the large scar from previous surgeries performed in Ethiopia, but they did report some potential problems as a result of those surgeries.

Update on Kal Kidan

For those of you who have been keeping up with and praying for Kal Kidan this is the latest update. Kal Kidan (which means "promise") was born with severe intestinal problems. Her father is a countryside evangelist in Ethiopia. God has opened the door for Kal Kidan to come to the USA for surgery.

Dear Friends,
THANK YOU for your prayers for Kal Kidan! She is now in the states!

I am so full of joy that I can hardly write! Gosheway and Kal Kidan will arrive in Cincinnati at 3:30. I will have an Interpreter and we will pick them up, take them to Ronald McDonald House and get them settled for the night. I will get some pictures tomorrow and update the website with pictures and details by Saturday at noon!

Here are important dates to remember in prayer:

Friday July 7 - Initial Consultation @ 2:00 with Dr. Levitz @ CincinnatiChildren's Hospital (Peds Surg Cener/C2)
Monday July 10 - Enema and testing
Wednesday July 12 - Pic Line. Radiology, Admin
Thursday July 13 - Five hour surgery - Pull Thru Colon, create a new rectum NOTHING TO EAT for 7-10 days
Friday July 28 - Post Op check-up; determine return date to Ethiopia

Sincerely,
Grace
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