Ayele's Financial Assistance

Dear friends,
We all know brother Ayele from Debre Zeit, for those who may not know him, he is the one seated on the right side in the photo. He served as former branch and district president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Ethiopia. He is one of the pioneers of the church in Debre Zeit; he had made lots of sacrifices and contribution to get the church where it is right now  in that city. I remember when I joined the church 16 years ago; we met at his house for church services because we didn’t have an official church building to meet in. We held sacrament meetings in his living room and he divided his bedroom in half so that we can conduct Sunday school class. I can say his house was our second home; where we go on Saturdays for seminary, Sundays for church and additional one or two days for activities. He held English classes for the young men and women to help us prepare for missions. He taught us the stories of the Book of Mormon and frequently bore his testimony about his conversion. Many people in Ethiopia, including myself have been blessed because of his service and kindness.

This past conference weekend we, the Amharic translation team, met as a group in Salt Lake to help with General Conference interpretation. Through discussion on how the church and members are doing back home in Debre Zeit, I was told how Brother Ayele was struggling during this time. As you might have heard, he lost his job few years ago due to old age and his deteriorating health condition. One of his daughter’s, Tigist, is currently on a mission. The other one, Meheret is in college, and Dawit is no longer staying with the family. His wife Belaynesh has been selling enjera(bread) to help sustain the family. She covers all the expenses including medical bills, school fees, food and other expenses in the family. He couldn’t even afford few birr to go to an internet café and exchange emails with his good friends and acquaintances out here.

We all love brother Ayele and appreciate his service and dedication. This is a good time to say thank you to all he has done, given his health condition. If we can all contribute a little bit, it will help him get better health treatment, assist his daughter (Tutu) to finish school and also fund his wife Belaynesh to start a sustainable business that can help the family to be self-reliant. Thank you very much for your contribution and I am sure Brother Ayele will be eternally grateful for being there for him in times of need.