Missionary Emma Geswein

Updates from Ethiopia

In my last newsletter, I introduced our new food drive project. We raised money to distribute staple foods to our families that have not been able to purchase them due to the inflation of the economy. We also hired the very women from our programs to make the food for the project!

In each of our programs, we selected women who were not able to find jobs, and gave them an amazing opportunity along with payment. They worked hard all day long for about a week to prepare everything for the food drive.

In these photos, the women are making shiro and berbere, two spices that are used in almost every food for Ethiopians. The process takes about a week to complete – sorting through various grains and spices, drying them in the sun, separating the peppers, then taking them to the grinder. In the end, they packaged them for each family to receive along with oil used for cooking.

It was a HUGE blessing to be able to distribute this food to the families and to see how it impacted them. Thank you so much to everyone who donated to the food drive. You helped to make this possible!

My dream is that one day we can make a full business out of making these spices and more, giving these hard-working women an opportunity for full-time work.

Although my husband Abenezer and I were married in August, we wanted to have a ceremony and reception when both of our families were able to visit from the US. It was an amazing time to celebrate and get to meet each other's families! (This is one of the only photos I have...I can't wait until our professional photos are ready so I can share)

My family was able to stay with us for just over a week and we had a wonderful time together. My brother Ashton, who is 22, bonded with my husband Abenezer. It was beautiful to watch as their conversations about God and faith unfolded.

The day that my family was returning to the US, we prayed with Ashton. I am beyond excited to share that he accepted Christ that day! Mine and Abenezer's biggest wish for our wedding was that someone would come to know Jesus through our union. God is faithful and I can already see his hand on Ashton's life. We are so grateful!

I can't thank each of my monthly partners enough for joining me on this mission!
You make all of this possible. I'm so grateful for these opportunities and I don't take it lightly that God is calling me to do this work. Please pray as I continue to work with needy families and face the everyday battles that come with full-time mission work.