Brian & Joey {Return} to Africa!
Donation protected
Hi Friends!
(Joey here) Many of you who know us know that Brian and I went to Ethiopia 8 years ago and fell in love with a beautiful country and a welcoming culture. In a sense, we left part of our hearts half way across the world and have been dreaming and talking about the day we could return. For years, we have been praying for the right opportunity, and the Lord has continually asked us to be patient while we finished our schooling. The Lord has been gracious in giving us the desire of our hearts by preparing a way for us to return this spring!
We are so excited to say we will be going to Kenya and Ethiopia in April/May!!!
(Brian here) Before we even left U.S. soil, I noticed an African man at the airport in Dulles who seemed discouraged. Quite unnaturally for my introverted personality, I introduced myself and asked the man if he needed help with anything. This man informed us that he was on standby because of an error with his tickets that caused him to miss his original flight (they randomly printed the departure time in Ethiopia’s timezone and not D.C.s!). He was needing to get on our overbooked flight to be at his son’s graduation ceremony. I asked if we could pray for him, and he smiled as he bowed his head. Well this man, miraculously made it on our flight and we talked with him much of the way. It turns out, Dr. Aila Tasse is the Founder and President of an NGO, Lifeway Mission International,** an organization that trains and equips local missionaries to reach the unreached people groups throughout Africa. We have kept in touch with him these last 8 years (thanks to emails and Facebook!); he has come to visit us in Iowa and again in Virginia. Some of you had the pleasure of meeting him when he visited us in the Quad Cities. He came to Easter Sunday with us at Heritage and was able to share his story for a few of our closest friends and family. After growing up in a very strict Muslim home in Ethiopia, Aila converted to Christianity as a young teen after being given a Bible by a Campus Crusades missionary while severely sick in the hospital. Miraculously, while many of his peers lost the battle, Aila made a full recovery. However, he was sadly excommunicated from his tribe and had to flea his childhood home. His amazing life’s story is one of bravery and hope.
(Joey again) The minute we heard Aila's story - we knew our meeting in that airport was through providence. We have been inspired so much by the work the Lord is doing through his ministry and his life that we have wanted to document it so many more people in the states can join in on the amazing work they are doing. It has always been our hearts’ desire to go visit him and his family and to see how we could partner with his organization. I chose to study film because I believe we live in an age of constant content - and I want to use those mediums to share the powerfully inspirational stories of real life people throughout the world. Every person has a story - but unfortunately not every person has the voice to tell it. I want to use my lens as a microphone for the otherwise voiceless. We have a wonderful opportunity to go to Kenya in April to travel with Aila throughout the country to the various villages, to learn about the people and see Lifeway Mission International in action. We will be documenting our trip through video and photography to help raise awareness and support for their work, and as a way to celebrate Lifeway Mission Internationals 20th anniversary in October 2017.
We are firm believers in dreaming big - so after a few weeks in Kenya, we will {finally} be returning to Ethiopia! One of my high school friends is the Communications Manager for a USAID Forward initiative in Addis that is working with many amazing organizations to promote sustainable development through local solutions and high-impact partnerships. She has asked us if we could provide training or workshops for the local Ethiopian organizations on how they could utilize photo and video content to tell their stories to grow their programs. We are so excited to be able to utilize our education to help equip local Ethiopian’s to share their stories and develop media strategies to grow their organizations’ reach.
(Brian again) Over the past year, I’ve had the pleasure of helping grow a startup youth soccer program called the Soccer Unity Project as the Community Development Coordinator. I’ll be taking this experience with me, along with my business school education, while also learning the culture and needs from them. I know that there are different challenges businesses in Kenya/Ethiopia will face than those faced in the U.S. but my prayer is to listen and learn those challenges to find out what principles are universally applicable. Aila and I will be teaming up with local entrepreneurs to help with business planning assistance (maybe we’ll channel our inner Lebron James’ and make a short doc called Nairobi Hustle). We are thrilled to discover what sorts of partnerships can be formed through this trip.
Will you consider joining us to help us make this trip happen within the next 6 months? We need prayer partners as well as financial assistance in raising the funds to travel overseas.
If you would like to join us in prayer: our prayers are that we will continue to trust the Lord’s provisions in the details of this trip, for health and safety while we prepare and travel, and that He would grow us, teach us, use us, and change us through what we see and experience.
Our ambitious goal of $8,000 will cover airfare and in country travel and living expenses for both Kenya and Ethiopia. (Unfortunately, we had to increase our original goal after airfare prices skyrocketed.) If we surpass our goal, the remaining funds will be donated to Lifeway Mission International.
Thanks for taking the time to read this and for considering supporting Joey and me as we fulfill a dream we have had in going back to East Africa.
Brian & Joey
** Lifeway Mission International provides Biblical training and church planting support for national missionaries, basic education to slum and nomadic communities, women empowerment through micro-finance and business training, and emergency relief. Their holistic approach to reaching the persecuted, suffering, and poor is a beautiful example of the Gospel in action.
(Joey here) Many of you who know us know that Brian and I went to Ethiopia 8 years ago and fell in love with a beautiful country and a welcoming culture. In a sense, we left part of our hearts half way across the world and have been dreaming and talking about the day we could return. For years, we have been praying for the right opportunity, and the Lord has continually asked us to be patient while we finished our schooling. The Lord has been gracious in giving us the desire of our hearts by preparing a way for us to return this spring!
We are so excited to say we will be going to Kenya and Ethiopia in April/May!!!
(Brian here) Before we even left U.S. soil, I noticed an African man at the airport in Dulles who seemed discouraged. Quite unnaturally for my introverted personality, I introduced myself and asked the man if he needed help with anything. This man informed us that he was on standby because of an error with his tickets that caused him to miss his original flight (they randomly printed the departure time in Ethiopia’s timezone and not D.C.s!). He was needing to get on our overbooked flight to be at his son’s graduation ceremony. I asked if we could pray for him, and he smiled as he bowed his head. Well this man, miraculously made it on our flight and we talked with him much of the way. It turns out, Dr. Aila Tasse is the Founder and President of an NGO, Lifeway Mission International,** an organization that trains and equips local missionaries to reach the unreached people groups throughout Africa. We have kept in touch with him these last 8 years (thanks to emails and Facebook!); he has come to visit us in Iowa and again in Virginia. Some of you had the pleasure of meeting him when he visited us in the Quad Cities. He came to Easter Sunday with us at Heritage and was able to share his story for a few of our closest friends and family. After growing up in a very strict Muslim home in Ethiopia, Aila converted to Christianity as a young teen after being given a Bible by a Campus Crusades missionary while severely sick in the hospital. Miraculously, while many of his peers lost the battle, Aila made a full recovery. However, he was sadly excommunicated from his tribe and had to flea his childhood home. His amazing life’s story is one of bravery and hope.
(Joey again) The minute we heard Aila's story - we knew our meeting in that airport was through providence. We have been inspired so much by the work the Lord is doing through his ministry and his life that we have wanted to document it so many more people in the states can join in on the amazing work they are doing. It has always been our hearts’ desire to go visit him and his family and to see how we could partner with his organization. I chose to study film because I believe we live in an age of constant content - and I want to use those mediums to share the powerfully inspirational stories of real life people throughout the world. Every person has a story - but unfortunately not every person has the voice to tell it. I want to use my lens as a microphone for the otherwise voiceless. We have a wonderful opportunity to go to Kenya in April to travel with Aila throughout the country to the various villages, to learn about the people and see Lifeway Mission International in action. We will be documenting our trip through video and photography to help raise awareness and support for their work, and as a way to celebrate Lifeway Mission Internationals 20th anniversary in October 2017.
We are firm believers in dreaming big - so after a few weeks in Kenya, we will {finally} be returning to Ethiopia! One of my high school friends is the Communications Manager for a USAID Forward initiative in Addis that is working with many amazing organizations to promote sustainable development through local solutions and high-impact partnerships. She has asked us if we could provide training or workshops for the local Ethiopian organizations on how they could utilize photo and video content to tell their stories to grow their programs. We are so excited to be able to utilize our education to help equip local Ethiopian’s to share their stories and develop media strategies to grow their organizations’ reach.
(Brian again) Over the past year, I’ve had the pleasure of helping grow a startup youth soccer program called the Soccer Unity Project as the Community Development Coordinator. I’ll be taking this experience with me, along with my business school education, while also learning the culture and needs from them. I know that there are different challenges businesses in Kenya/Ethiopia will face than those faced in the U.S. but my prayer is to listen and learn those challenges to find out what principles are universally applicable. Aila and I will be teaming up with local entrepreneurs to help with business planning assistance (maybe we’ll channel our inner Lebron James’ and make a short doc called Nairobi Hustle). We are thrilled to discover what sorts of partnerships can be formed through this trip.
Will you consider joining us to help us make this trip happen within the next 6 months? We need prayer partners as well as financial assistance in raising the funds to travel overseas.
If you would like to join us in prayer: our prayers are that we will continue to trust the Lord’s provisions in the details of this trip, for health and safety while we prepare and travel, and that He would grow us, teach us, use us, and change us through what we see and experience.
Our ambitious goal of $8,000 will cover airfare and in country travel and living expenses for both Kenya and Ethiopia. (Unfortunately, we had to increase our original goal after airfare prices skyrocketed.) If we surpass our goal, the remaining funds will be donated to Lifeway Mission International.
Thanks for taking the time to read this and for considering supporting Joey and me as we fulfill a dream we have had in going back to East Africa.
Brian & Joey
** Lifeway Mission International provides Biblical training and church planting support for national missionaries, basic education to slum and nomadic communities, women empowerment through micro-finance and business training, and emergency relief. Their holistic approach to reaching the persecuted, suffering, and poor is a beautiful example of the Gospel in action.
Organizer
Joey Wren Milano
Organizer
Encinitas, CA