"Real Life" Encouragement in Ethiopia

Looking back on the 2 spiritual refreshment retreats in Ethiopia between Jan. 26 - Feb. 7, a number of the participants wanted to express their appreciation to those who prayed for & financial supported the retreats they attended. Here are some anonymous comments (lightly edited) that can help you gain a sense of how God answered your prayers for the retreats…

“Thank you for your invitation and we would like to thank God for giving such a vision to His children.  Experiencing soul-refreshment is very important--especially to those who are serving God in any kind of ministry. Please pass along our appreciation to your supporters as well.”

“Thank all of you for the burden you have for us as Christian leaders!!”

“We do not have words to express our gratitude for your love, kindness, care-giving & sacrificial service toward us for Christ's sake. You thoughtfully arranged such a 'honeymoon retreat' for us as pastors & wives in which we enjoyed all the best spiritual, physical, and emotional rest & nourishment. We are so grateful & thankful for you and those who prayerfully supported this retreat.”

“Brothers and sisters in Christ who are serving the Lord through this 'soul refreshment' ministry, Greetings in our Lord Jesus Christ!!  God has worked through you and I just want to say may God bless you all. We want you to know we believe that your ministry is from above and God has given us real soul refreshment by giving us a chance to focus on how much Jesus loves us and how we can reflect this love to our brothers and sisters as Jesus has done for each one of us.  So I want to say thank you to all of you who have prayed for us and are partners of the BTS ministry. May God bless all of you."

“Thank you for Your encouragements. Please keep me and my family in your prayers!”

“I thank God for your ministry that you have done with all of your heart.  May God bless You and the families (of those who prayed for us).”

“I am grateful that my husband and I were invited to this amazing fellowship of Christ. The retreat was a transformative experience at a much needed time for our family. We enjoyed every second of it and we left encouraged, refilled and energized for our ministries.“

Thank you for traveling all the way from the US to be with us. I feel a deeper connection to God. I genuinely feel that I am drawing closer to God, with the teachings from John 15 being the pinnacle of my two-day stay. I praise God for the grace He has put on you, and I pray and believe that you will reach as many lives as possible so that each soul draws closer to our God. I believe your biblical insights help Christians navigate their faith with greater clarity and understanding.  Keep spreading God’s love and making a difference in the world!!

“(God used this retreat) to perform necessary surgery on my soul.”

Participants formed smaller circles for deeper sharing and prayer for each other

The 2nd retreat group after dinner

Our meeting/retreat room for the 2nd retreat

A ‘reunion’ of some of the brothers & sisters from retreats held in 2022

Words of Gratitude from Ethiopia

As we concluded the BTS spiritual refreshment retreat in Ethiopia on March 19, the eight couples asked if they could express some things to those whose prayers & financial support made the retreat possible. Assisted by a translator, Steve jotted down some of their heartfelt words and you can sense how God answered your prayers for the retreat…

“May God bless all of you (who made the retreat possible). The fellowship and encouragement we experienced while meeting other brothers & sisters in Christ for the first time really impacted us. My wife and I thank all of you!“ Brother Bayu (an evangelist)

“In the midst of a very hectic situation within our church, God used this retreat to give us rest. It was such a timely retreat for my husband and me.” Sister Berhane (pastor’s wife)

“I thank God that He allowed Steve to come despite his accident last May. Steve and BTS have been used by God to serve us in many ways. We leave the retreat remembering we need to ‘rest more’ as we continue to serve Christ.” Brother Makonnen (Campus Crusade)

“A special Thank You to the BTS team for this retreat…they were all with us in spirit. This retreat gave each of us an opportunity to lay aside our normal schedules and get away for encouragement. In all of my years as a Christian leader, I’ve received plenty of training but have never been given an opportunity to rest (and be refreshed) like on this retreat.” * Brother Getachew (leads ministry to street kids)

“Thank you to everyone who helped make this retreat possible. I want you to know how important this retreat was to me personally. We’ve understood Christ’s New Command in a deeper way and how important it is for us to be loving one another. This retreat was an answer to our prayers.” Sister Tsega (children’s pastor)

“I thank God that He used the BTS team to make this retreat possible. I’ve learned how important it is to Jesus that His disciples relate maturely to each other. God wanted me to personally be here at the retreat and I want to follow Mary’s example of sitting at Jesus’ feet. We have more deeply understood God’s love for each of us and how we can personally experience it through putting the ‘one-another’ commands into practice. I also want to say Thank You to BTS for making this retreat available to both men & women!” * Sister Aster (Campus Crusade staff)

“In 2019, I heard Steve speak at my church on Christ’s New Command and it impacted me and my small group deeply. Now that I’ve been able to attend this retreat, God has ‘fanned into flame’ my desire to live it out in all of my relationships.” Brother Shemelis (church deacon)

“Our time spent thinking about the conversation between Jesus and his disciples in the Upper Room touched my life in many areas…we sometimes felt like we were a part of the conversation with Jesus because it became so personal to us…we were reminded that we must not only love others in God’s family BUT also allow them to love us…thank you to ALL who have been involved in making this retreat happen.” (Combined comments)

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Making the most of this unique opportunity

If you would like to watch part or all of Steve’s 30-minute video before reading/adding to the list of “encouraging examples” below, simply click here and then you can return to this page on the BTS website when you are finished.

At the bottom of this page you can read some ‘anonymous’ ways that others have witnessed ‘God being on the move’ through His people as we make the most of this opportunity to serve those who serve our Savior. If you have an example to add that you’ve seen in your own sphere, please encourage others by typing it in the white section below! And if you were particularly encouraged by what someone else posted, feel free to respond and describe why!

“One specific way I’ve seen others in my sphere go out of their way to encourage or serve a Christian leader is…”