Empowering Women

Our WCL (Women’s Cycle of Life) coordinator in Ethiopia, Sharon Abebe, shared this story with us when she visited the Home Office recently. It was very encouraging to hear about all the things God is doing in and through Sharon and the workers in Ethiopia. Here is her story:

Sharon Abebe, the WCL (Women’s Cycle of Life) coordinator for Ethiopia, facilitated a weeklong workshop for twelve women from Arusi Jeju, in the eastern part of Ethiopia. It covered a variety of topics that have direct relevance to rural Ethiopian women ranging from character studies of women in the Bible to everyday topics like beauty and God’s word, personal hygiene, self-control, home management. Even sensitive cultural topics like FGM (Female Genital Mutilation) were covered during the course. The group studied Proverbs 31 and reviewed the difference between how culture sees women and how God sees them. All the women enjoyed the way in which the training was conducted and found it useful to increase their knowledge and transform attitudes. One of the ladies testified that she had accepted Jesus Christ as her personal Savior and Lord because of the training. She testified that she had focused her life in accordance with many of her secular friends running after worldly things rather than the things of God.

However, the biggest surprise of all was to learn that one of the elders of the church had sat in the back of the church during lessons each day, with what the group thought was mere curiosity. It turned out that he was listening carefully and taking notes so he could share them with his sick wife! On the last day of the training, his wife came to the church and told the group everything that her husband had shared with her during the preceding days. Many of the women in the group were moved by this testimony. The church elder – Besufekade – was a true example of being a servant to his wife!

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to Himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. Ephesians 5:25-28 NIV