God has called me back!  And this time, He's called Rachel as well.  So off we'll go.

I am happy to tell you all that both my daughter Rachel and I are both going to Ethiopia this September.  Here is the e3 link.

You likely recall that I went to Ethiopia in February, being certain of God calling me there.  And you might have read the report slide deck, linked in the email I sent out awhile back.  In that I mentioned that while I was in Ethiopia I felt like I might not return.  And then suddenly both my daughter and I are going back, September 15-26, of this year.  Here is how this came about for us.

Rachel’s call

I'm going to Ethiopia because I heard God telling me to.  While my youth pastor was preaching about how if God asks you to do something, and you do it, then eventually, He will show up. I heard Him very clearly saying that I was going to Ethiopia. I am hoping to convert lots of people to Christ. I'm nervous about everything, because I don't know if we will be welcomed, or if the people will be accepting.

David’s call

After returning home from Ethiopia, at our church trip report we learned of a family oriented trip occurring in September.  I asked Rachel if she would be interested and she said maybe.  And that was all there was to that.

About a week later as I was praying I questioned, “Should I go to Ethiopia in September”, and I immediately felt a “Yes”.  That’s interesting, I thought.  I’ll pray about that again tomorrow.  The next day praying I remember this, and pray the same thing.  I don’t even finish the question in my mind before I get the same clear “Yes” response.  That’s really interesting I think, so I should definitely pray about this again tomorrow.  The third day, as I start to pray about Ethiopia I can barely get to “Should I…” before I hear “Yes”.  Ok, I’m going to Ethiopia.  Can you tell me why?  Silence.  Nada.  Alright – I’m going and I don’t know why.

All together

After another week or so I asked Rachel if she had thought any more about going to Ethiopia.  She said she had, and that she felt she should go.  When I asked her why she felt she should go, she said she felt an invisible tug pulling her to Ethiopia.  With that, we realized we both were going to Ethiopia.

What we’ll do

As before?  The plans aren’t fully set, but the basics are in place.  The trip is scheduled for Sept 15-26, 2015.  Once again we will

·      provide chickens for each household  (You can read more about the Rhode Island Red hens here.)

·      provide preventative information regarding human trafficking, using the Priceless Cube

·      do house to house evangelism with the Evangecube, along with an interpreter and a disciple maker

An interesting twist on this trip is that the leaders are preparing it to be a family-oriented mission trip.

How you can help

One obvious way is financially.  We are in process of raising about $7045 for the cost to go.  That includes travel, the cost for the chickens, as well as necessities while in-country.  The easiest way to contribute is here.  If you strongly prefer to contribute by check, you can do so sending a check made payable to E3 Ministries, with “Trip ID# ET15Q” in the memo portion.   Send checks to

            David Helfrick

            560 Howe Place

            Escondido, CA  92025

Prayer is another critical support we need.  Closer to the time of the trip, we should be able to provide a fairly detailed itinerary, with specific items to pray for.  Currently, we know to ask for is prayer for spiritual sensitivity, obedience, and wisdom.  Prayer for safety is always a good thing.

We appreciate your interest in supporting this mission trip.  If you’re interested to keep in contact with the trip itself, send us a note and/or follow the pure charity Ethiopia page.

Sincerely,

-Dave & Rachel

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Spreading the love of Jesus through community development in partnership with believers in the Amhara region. This is an exceptionally challenging area due to significant local opposition to the Truth. We will connect with families as we speak out against human trafficking and child slavery using the Priceless Cube.

Take a look at our Feb 2015 trip. Love to have you in this picture.