This Sunday, March 23rd, 2025, the Haynes had a friend over for brunch. Our sweet friend Victoria has been on this mission trip twice before. She imparted her wisdom, tips, and prayer points, which we will share at the end of this post.

Ethiopia's culture vastly differs from American culture. We will travel to a farming village. The weather is unpredictably rainy—we were warned of sporadic rain showers. We are prepared to embrace the mud!

Women also dress differently. That said, Victoria brought me (Angie) a bag of clothes to condition me for the trip.

In addition to her practical contribution, she suggested that we journal every single day that we are there and invite people to partner in prayer with us as we prepare for this trip.

My most notable takeaway from our conversation with Victoria is that though you see extreme poverty and kids without the care of any adult - you should notice that our spiritual poverty is more significant than physical poverty. She reminded us to pray and ask God how we can help/act if we feel emotionally depleted.

As days approach, anticipation grows, and we are so excited.

• Pray that the Holy Spirit works in the hearts of those who will hear the Gospel.
• Pray for the Spiritual and Physical health of the team members (we were warned to stay away from the water and ice - meaning we can only use bottled water).
• Pray that we prepare our hearts to be receptive and available to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.