My project-1-30

Trip dates: Jan 6 - Jan 21 

Here is a bit of info on the trip - this page will be regularly updated as we can regarding the trip. Below is a letter from Nic regarding the Trip and a short bio from Sam and links to follow along with their flights.

 

From Nic:

Beloved, 

I am excited to return to Ethiopia after not being able to go back for nearly 3 years!  In 2018 we began our training in Addis and Harer with over 100 pastors gathered to receive training in Biblical Counseling.  The goal?  To help train the pastor's how to better shepherd their people through real issues and struggles in life and to help them shepherd their own hearts as well.  
We committed to a training curriculum consisting of 4 modules and upon completion, they would receive a certificate of completion of the program.  The curriculum we use has been written by OIC who is an official training center for ACBC.  The training these pastors receive are equal to the introduction and foundational classes found at any reputable Bible College in the area of Biblical Counseling.  We have already completed Modules 1 and 2 and we head out on this trip to conduct Module 3.  Topics we will be covering include dealing with anger biblically, sexual sin, the roles of husbands and wives, counseling through suffering, and counseling through trauma and abuse.  
There is much that we can be praying for!  Please pray for the reception of the material as we present it biblically and not from an American perspective.  Pray for hearts to be humble, teachable, and encouraged as we fellowship with our pastor friends and their families.  Pray for growth by the Spirit of God using the Word of God.  Pray for our families as we leave them for a few weeks, and pray for Sam and I as we will be missing our spouses (and for me my kids).  Pray for traveling mercies as well.  Pray that God would use this trip as an encouragement for our church and to help us stay focused on the call to do missions and evangelism.  And lastly, pray for whatever the Lord lays upon your heart.  
We will do our best to stay in contact and give reports of the trip, but I think of Paul's words from our sermon last Sunday in Romans 1:12 ".....that is we may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith, both yours and mine."  I think of how this applies to the mutual encouragement in the faith between us and our brothers in Ethiopia and I think of how this applies to our church as well;  the faith of Sam and I to go and the faith of the body at NHCC (which we so dearly love) to support!  

 

Sam:
Hello! My name is Sam Baker and I live here locally in Vacaville with my wife Dominique. The Lord saved me in 2019 during my last year of college at UC Davis where I was studying secular psychology. Now, the Lord has developed in me a growing biblical worldview and a heart transformed by the gospel. In going to Ethiopia I seek to help others by the counsel of His Word and encourage biblical discipleship.

 africa travel day-1-2

Follow the flights - you can track via a map following the links below!  
From SFO to Frankfurt: Flight LH9127 Landed!
From Frankfurt to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: Flight LH9694 Landed
From Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to Frankfurt Germany: Lh9595
Landing soon
From Frankfurt to SFO LH454 - Arrives at SFO 12:30 Jan 21


An overview of the timeline of the trip:
Land 1/8
Fly to Harer 1/10 and teach 1/11-13
Fly to Addis 1/14
Nic preaching 1/15 at Kibru's church
Teach in Addis 1/16-20
Fly home 1/21

 

 

Ethiopia 2023 – Image 1 of 36

 

 

Notes from Nic:

Jan 9:

Well, we are on day two of being in Addis! Yesterday we were able to spend some time with Kibru and we were greatly encouraged by how excited everyone is that we are back to continue the training and Kibru was greatly encouraged to see us back! We are still adapting to the time change, and all the other changes that come with being in Ethiopia but things are going well and we look forward to flying out to Harer tomorrow in beginning the training there on Wednesday. Please continue to pray for traveling, mercies, strength, energy, and the ability to communicate the truth of God’s word, graciously, and truthfully.

 

Jan 10:

Just a bit of an update on what’s going on out here in Ethiopia. On Tuesday we flew out to Harer and got settled into our hotel in the evening. It was a great time to be able to see a few of our friends here and we are looking forward to beginning teaching through the materials here over the next three days. 

Our friends have been wonderful hosts and treat us very well. Please pray for our time teaching, that the material would be well received and seen as springing forth from God‘s word. Pray that our relationships with our brothers and sisters here would continue to grow, and that our hearts would be knit together in love. 

As always thank you for the support and prayers as seek to help build the up the church!

 

Jan 11:

Well, we just wrapped up our first day of teaching in  Harer and it went very well! All of the trainees were happy to see us back again, and welcomed us very warmly. Today we cover the topics of biblical decision making , biblical forgiveness, and how to deal with fear, worry and anxiety. The feedback that we received was overwhelmingly, encouraging, and everyone is excited to see what God has planned over the next two days! After our training, we got a chance to go to a restaurant and try out a few local pastries, as well as a local special tea. Please pray we continue to be effective in our communication and that they would see Gods Word as our guide for all of our life and the help God offers us by His Spirit!

Jan 13:

Well, we have finished up our training in Harer where we spent the past three days, teaching 70 trainees on how to counsel biblically through issues like the role of the husband and the wife in marriage, communication in marriage, domestic violence, sexual abuse, pornography, biblical decision, biblical forgiveness, and suffering, as well as a few other topics. 

The training was overwhelmingly well received, and everybody was encouraged! Including me and Sam. It was great to not only teach the materials, but to reconnect with old friends and continue to build friendships with them. Today is Saturday and we fly back to Addis to prepare to teach there Monday through Wednesday. 

Please keep us in prayer as there is still much traveling and teaching left to do!

Jan 17:

Well, I know it’s been a couple days since I’ve given an update, but things are going well and we appreciate the prayers! We have finished our first two days of training in Addis and for the most part, everything has gone very smoothly. Everybody has been very encouraged and the material has also been challenging. We ran into a big issue today regarding the role of women pastors in the church. In Ethiopia, it’s very common to have women serve as pastors and elders in the church. I was asked, this question directly and responded with the position that the role is reserved only for men. Needless to say it caused a huge discussion and took a lot of time. But it also provided a great opportunity for us to think biblically rather than on our own feelings. So we got to apply some of the biblical counseling material we’ve been teaching in real life!

As we wrap up the teaching with this group tomorrow, please keep us in prayer that our time together would go well, that God would be glorified, and that we would all be encouraged in the faith, when applying God’s sufficient Word to the many problems, we face in life

 

Jan 20:

Well, it’s our last day here, and we are excited to come home! After teaching nine out of the last 10 days, we are very tired, but very glad that the Lord gave us the opportunity to come and serve here. Both groups of trainees received the training well, and are excited to continue on in the next set of module training. Pray that we are able to travel safely back home and that the time we spent here makes a lasting change in the lives of us all.