Individuals and teams recently visiting Soddo have now returned home with precious memories and lasting fruit from love poured out in service to the people of Ethiopia.
Krissy Ricco, Sharon Daly’s friend and former student, returned on Oct. 22. She shared one of her most powerful impressions came from seeing the transformative power of the micro-loan program in the lives of the women who had been helped. She got to hear stories from twelve women who formed a co-op using the loans for a variety of businesses from selling butter to making bread to harvesting poultry. On their own, these women decided to give a portion of their earnings each month to help the most needy in their village.
Adam and Michelle Yates (left) and Taylor and Kavi SImpson (right) with Sharon and Meskerm at the Mossy Foot Clinic headquarters
During the time Sharon was in Ethiopia, she was able to welcome two young families from her home community that came on an exploratory visit focused on possible future service partnerships. This team includes Kavi Simpson and Michelle Yates, two moms who are Family Medicine Doctors; Kavi’s husband Taylor, an architect who has designed hospitals; and Michelle’s husband Adam, an electrical engineer, along with a growing set of children.
Sharon also hosted a team of six from Michigan led by their Michael Bridge. This small but mighty team brought important supplies and found many ways to use their skills to help others, from distributing clothing and shoes to the children of Mossy Foot patients, to helping to treat the sick (the team included a doctor and nurse), to helping to build two new homes for needy widows. This brief video demonstrates the great joy released by the simple act of kindness initiated through providing a new home for a widow.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySi7eOX-8ck[/youtube]