UPDATE: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this trip has sadly been cancelled.  My understanding is that trips will resume when teams can safely travel by air with less chance of infection and better treatment options exist for COVID-19 both in the US and Ethiopia.  

As for the funds that you have so generously contributed, I'm sorry to say that guidelines for tax-deductible donations prevent them from being refunded.  For now, they will be held for me to go on another trip between now and the end of 2022.  Failing that, they will go directly towards disciplemakers in Ethiopia.  

This is not the news I'd hoped to deliver, but I trust in God's plan for all things.  My hope is that your investment in His kingdom will bear fruit soon, if not in exactly the way we'd expected.  Please reach out to me with any questions (dhope1633@gmail.com).

Hello all, and thank you for visiting my Ethiopia trip fundraising page!

I’m excited to tell you about this trip, why I’m going, and how you can be a part of it.  

The Trip

God has opened the door for me to go on a short-term mission trip to Ethiopia with e3 Partners Ministry and Watermark Community Church in July, 2020. We will partner with Ethiopian Christians as we do children’s/VBS, men’s and women’s outreach. Ultimately, the purpose of this trip is to build relationships and share Christ with Ethiopians who have never heard the name of Jesus and help fulfill e3 Ethiopia’s vision of planting churches within the unreached peoples of the Arsi Oromo.

Why I’m Going

If you had told me two years ago that I would feel and respond to God’s call to go on this trip, I would have been skeptical, at best. Though I’ve known Jesus for most of my life, I’ve never participated in any sort of missions trip before, and God’s call to proclaim the gospel and make disciples here in Dallas and abroad (Matthew 28:19) was a command I usually tried to avoid. I’ve typically prized comfort, security, approval, and control over being part of God’s mission - at least until recently.    

Over the past year, God has used a discipleship/recovery program called re:generation to show me how valuing those things above all else was trapping me in anxiety, and that real freedom comes from trusting God and living in obedience to Him (Romans 15:13). I’m still very much a work in progress, but I have tasted the freedom that comes from trusting in Jesus (Galatians 5:1), and I want to honor God by sharing this freedom with others. When I saw the opportunity to join this trip, I felt God’s call to trust Him and go.

My hope, and the hope of everyone going on this trip, is to share the gospel so that people might know God and experience salvation through faith in Him (John 3:16, Romans 8:1, John 17:3) as well as a life transformed by Him (2 Corinthians 5:17).

The Opportunity

I need your help! This is a team project, and you are needed on the team. First, we need your prayers for the spiritual battles ahead. Please know how much I will value your prayers over the coming months. Second, I would value your help in covering part of the cost of this trip.

The total trip cost is $3,400. Would you prayerfully consider investing in this project? This will cover the cost of travel, lodging, food, translators, and supplies. Much of this amount is due April 1st. Any funds above and beyond the trip cost are welcome, as they will be directed toward the training of local disciplemakers.

If you would like to join me in this, there are two tax-deductible ways to do so. The simplest way to donate is by clicking "Donate to this fundraiser" up above. Alternatively, you can send a check (please include my name and personal ID of ET20D65899 in the memo line) to the address below:

e3 Partners Fund at Pure Charity

PO Box 1053

Searcy, AR 72145

Thank you for being a valuable and influential part of my life, as well as the lives of others around the world. If you have any questions or would like to know more about the trip, please let me know - I would love to talk more about it.  

Sincerely,

David Hope

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” Matthew 28:19

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” Romans 15:13

“For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” Galatians 5:1

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:1

“And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” John 17:3

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." 2 Corinthians 5:17