Church planting and leadership training are the heartbeat of the ministry of Craig and Allison Fowler and the CMF team in Ethiopia, and the past several months have been full of steady growth in both of these areas.
Samwel Kozigore grew up with an animistic worldview in his remote Ethiopian village of Koma, near Yasow, sacrificing sheep and goats to the forest spirits, participating in religious dancing, and visiting the local witch doctor. But a series of dreams involving sheep and Jesus led him to a local Christian church and, eventually, his calling as a full-time evangelist with the Kristos Andinet (Unity in Christ) Church, CMF’s partner in church planting in rural Ethiopia.
Born in an area often divided by violent ethnic clashes, Jaldu overcame an extremely difficult early life to become a Christian. Now his ethnic background has shifted from being a hardship to an asset as he serves as a church planter with the Kristos Andinet (Unity in Christ) Church, CMF’s partner in church planting in rural Ethiopia, in a community that is closed to other evangelists.
In 1976, they were two kids from rural Oregon who wanted to serve God in Africa but didn’t have any idea how to set up and get started.
Fortunately for all, they connected with CMF as their support organization, and Garry and Linda Brock’s 44 years of ground-breaking mission work in Ethiopia, Kenya, the CMF office and Asia Marketplace Ministries took off.