Dear friends and family,
It’s hard to believe that I’ve been in Ethiopia for a whole month now. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think about all of you and praise God for blessing me with such an incredible support group of friends and family. Every single one of you have, in some way, helped play an amazing part in shaping who I am and in preparing me for this journey. I apologize for not being able to communicate more (and before now). We have had very limited internet access and I don’t foresee that changing anytime soon. NeeleyRentz Lane has graciously offered to create and be the administrator of a blog site for me, so I will begin sending her things to post very soon and I will make sure that all you receive the link to follow along.
For those of you who don’t know the details of why I came to Ethiopia, I would like to give you just a brief summary along with an update of how God has been at work. About two years ago, I was reunited with my high school biology teacher/soccer coach/Sunday school teacher/FCA leader, Coach Tracy Roper, at a friend’s wedding. After catching up on the previous 9 years of school, work and life in general, he asked me if I had still wanted to pursue a career in teaching and if I would be willing to leave Dahlonega. He told me about his church in Oxford, Georgia and the school that they had started only a few years before that, Providence Christian Academy. He then told me about a plan to start a school modeled after Providence in Dukem, Ethiopia and offered me the opportunity to be a part of it. Whoa! Ethiopia is certainly a LONG way from home for this little Dahlonega girl! I assured him that I would definitely pray about it, because I knew that if that was God’s plan for me then He would undoubtedly have to do some work in my heart and make it clear to me. For two years, that’s exactly what I did. Many of you were also praying about this decision, although you didn’t know exactly what you were praying for. Last February, God gave me a peace about the decision and I confidently accepted this calling, along with a small group from Crosspointe Church – Sandra Roper (aka. “Grams”), Amber Moore (a 19 year old taking a year off of college) and the Sabo family - Michael, Christina, and their 3 small children: Izabella (8), Jack (3) and Caleb (18 months). Though I knew how extremely hard it would be to leave behind my family, my friends, an amazing job with wonderful people - at the University I love, and all of the comforts of “home,” this decision was one of the easiest ones I have ever had to make…because it was a decision that I didn’t really make at all. Preparation for coming to Ethiopia did not come without challenges, however. A little over a month before my departure date, I found out that there had been some financial constraints on the projects which halted the delivery of the canister (containing all of our supplies for the school; including a van, beds, household goods, building supplies, etc.) and that the school would not be opening this fall…and we would not be getting paid. I had to seriously consider the financial burden that I would be leaving behind for my mom, but after much prayer I was quickly reassured that God was calling me to this mission and that He would provide. Not very long after that, we received more troubling news that a mass was found on mom’s ovary and her doctors feared that it was surely cancerous. How on earth could I possibly leave my mom in this incredible time of need?! Again, God reassured me that He was in control and that I only needed to keep my focus on that…so I did. Again, He was oh-so-faithful to his promises. Mom’s tumor was removed…and it was cancer-free! In fact, mom’s ‘down time’ (any of you that know my mom, know that ‘down time’ is something she knows very little about) gave the two of us an opportunity to spend some good quality time together before I left. This was definitely a much-needed blessing for us both. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28
Now let me fast forward to Ethiopia. Here we are! God has brought me across the world with 7 lovely ‘strangers’ on a mission to open ‘Crosspointe Christian Academy,’ the first international, classical, Christian school in Dukem, Ethiopia…or so we thought. Our ‘plan’ was to receive the canister shortly after our arrival and to get to work right away on the school, but asI’ve been told many times before, “men may plan, but God prevails.” Within our first 2 weeks, we moved all of our belongings from hotel to hotel – 3 total. We stayed in Addis Ababa, DebreZeit and Dukem. These two weeks were almost like we were on vacation. Several friends from Crosspointe also joined us for this time. We had contract taxis with our own personal drivers to take us where we needed to go.We were living in “fancy” hotels and eating lots of yummy food. (With the exception of frequent power outages and toilets that didn’t work, we were basically living it up in “Ethiopian luxury”.) We got to enjoy the scenery of this beautiful country. We visited Genesis Farms (one of the most beautiful places I’ve seen – started by missionaries originally to sustain their group, but now it has grown and it provides produce to much of this area), toured a chicken farm, visited an Ethiopian church (the entire service was totally in Amharic) and experienced the Mercato (the market – kind of like Gold Rush…but scary). We were also able to visit the school to see all of the progress that is being made.We painted the bedrooms, as well as a mural in the common area. We also got to spend some time playing soccer and loving on the neighborhood kids. (I will try to attach some pictures of the school and the kids.) On the Saturday before the visiting ‘Crosspointe crew’ had to return home, we spent some time just walking around the school property, praying over each area and writing specific prayers and scripture on the unpainted walls. The celebration was concluded with songs of praise and a group prayer for the school, the team, and future students and staff members. After the other folks left to return home, our vacation days were over. We no longer had a driver so we were confined to the hotel…which wasn’t so bad, because it gave us a great opportunity to begin growing and working together as a team. We also had the chance to begin building relationships and ministering to several of the hotel workers and other long-term tenants. At this point, the canister still had not arrived and we had no idea of its location or arrival expectancy date. Although the hotel living and eating was nice, we knew that we couldn’t afford to continue and without the canister we couldn’t move onto the school property…so we prayed…and prayed. Once again, God proved to be so faithful as he provided an amazing opportunity for us to be truly immersed in the culture. With the help of our friends, the Haileselassie family (whom you will hear much more about another day), we were able to enroll in a 6-week Amharic language course in Addis Ababa and find housing at a nearby seminary compound. “We must love the people to whom we minister so much that we are willing to enter their culture as children, to learn how to speak as they speak, play as they pay, eat what they eat, sleep where they sleep, study what they study, and thus earn their respect and admiration.” This is a quote from a study we are doing as a team called, ‘Ministering Cross Culturally,’ but I think it applies to all of us no matter where we are. We are now in our 3rd week of learning Amharic and it is going really well…I mean, really well unless you want me to speak it. We also began homeschooling Izabella two weeks ago. Each of us is responsible for teaching at least one of her subjects. I am teaching her Spelling & Vocabulary and really just enjoying the time that I get to spend with this incredibly bright little girl. It is also helping me learn and understand the classical education model more.Our walk to school and home every day is almost 2 miles. Sometimes (if the power isn’t out), we are able to stop by the little ‘internet shop’ on our way home to check our e-mails. We’ve been attending a wonderful international church close by and I’m looking forward to getting more involved there. Last Sunday Amber, Christina and I left early, prayed and took our chances on one of the scary over-stuffed taxi-buses so we could attend one of the Adult Bible Fellowship classes before the service. I apologize for the super-long e-mail, but I wanted to get you all updated on where I am right now. I have never been more humbled, more grateful or more dependent on the incredible grace and providence of God. For this opportunity and for YOU, I am so thankful. Your continued prayers and support mean so much more than you can imagine.
By Grace Alone,
Kandi Ledford
“Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.” Ephesians 3:20
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