A letter from John Haspels serving in Ethiopia
Thanksgiving 2014 - Giving Thanks
“When he had said this, he knelt down with all of them and prayed. They all wept as they embraced him and kissed him. What grieved them the most was his statement that they would never see his face again. Acts 20:36-38
Dear Friends,
-1_medium250.jpeg)
Return to Tul and Moga 2014
-2_medium250.jpeg)
Harm’s Way: “Why are you going back into harm’s way,” I was asked? Nov. 9 found me in a plane flying back to Ethiopia. It was a good time to go because Desta, Heather, and Haptom were still in South Africa to care for Gwen. Monday morning I picked up my son, John T., at the airport in Addis. That began a long week of telling and re-telling the story.
Because of rumors that Gwen had been killed in the incident, it was a time to reassure everyone that we were OK. It was a time of heartfelt thanksgiving and praise to God for our lives having been spared and for our deliverance from the hand of a gunman. It was a time to share that we had forgiven the man who shot us.
Raw Emotion: Early Thursday morning found us in a helicopter heading for Tulegit. On board were Lanjoy, the Suri MP (Member of Parliament), Dr. Haili, a vet with a passion for evangelism, John T. and myself. Just two weeks before, Dr. Haili left for Addis to take a TEE exam. He was leaving behind a new church in Koka where John had been scheduled to do a baptism on Oct. 11. “Are you leaving us too,” the Christians asked, “just like corn, ready for harvest, left standing in the field?”
A large crowd instantly gathered as we landed. School kids left their classes and ran to the helicopter. One of the first to greet me, with an AK 47 strapped over his shoulder, was Workey, our first Suri tractor driver. As he wept unashamedly, he embraced me, unable to speak. Everyone wanted to shake my hand as they stared intently into my face. Some wanted to see which eye had been blinded. Others just wanted to be sure it was Mr. John. The women were asking, “Where is Mrs. Gwen? Is she still alive? Why didn’t she come too?”
We Want Revenge: After about an hour on the ground, we flew to Moga to reassure the people there. On Oct 1, we were on our way to Moga when the shooting took place. A crowd quickly gathered, again staring intently into my face. Again there were expressions of sorrow and grief.
As we got ready to leave Moga, Bardugu, the acting chief of Moga said, “You are leaving too soon! We still have something to say.” With an AK 47 strapped over his shoulder together with several other armed men, he said, “We are ready to go and attack the thief and his gang for what they did to you!” It gave us a good opportunity to share the Gospel with them.
We told them that Jesus taught us that we should love our enemies, and that we should forgive them for what they did. That is what we did. The cycle of killing and revenge needs to be broken among the Suri. It can only be done by the heart changing power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ by forgiving and being forgiven.
Service of Thanksgiving: When we got back to Tulegit, hundreds of people gathered in the church. It was to be a time of thanksgiving and praise, sharing testimonies of what God has done. The junior choir sang a song which says, “Where would we be if Jesus had not died for us?” Psalm 23 was read and the story was told again of how God was with us through the valley of the shadow of death.
Other testimonies followed. With tears, a government leader on behalf of all the Suri asked for forgiveness. Our Suri MP gave a speech. Ngakochi, an elder in the church, shared how God was with us in 1983 while we were being held hostage in Boma, South Sudan, and how the same God was watching over us as we passed through the valley of the shadow of death. The service ended with a prayer and the choir singing, “The Walls of Jericho Fell Down.”
-3_medium300.jpeg)
Family Birthday celebration
Day of Great Joy: After a goat roast, we headed overland back to Addis. Passing through the town of Tum, I stopped beside the house of Aster who lived along the road. Aster had worked for many years with Gwen as a midwife. I still remember the day she came forward to receive Jesus as her Savior. Before that day she would wake up every morning wondering where her next drink was coming from. On that day her addiction was broken and she literally was ‘born again’.
I honked the horn outside her house as I always did. She came running out from behind her house, wailing and mourning, beating her chest with her hands. She fell to her knees pounding the ground with her fist in sorrow. I shouted at her, “Aster! Aster! This isn’t a day of sorrow. Stop your crying! Gwen is alive. This is a day of great rejoicing.” After looking at a recent picture of Gwen in a wheel chair, she began to make the Ethiopian joy cry, thanking God that we were alive.
Twice along the road to Addis we were stopped by police thinking our van was a taxi. Both times the police wanted to know what had happened to us when they found out who was in the car. Twice when we stopped to fill up with fuel, people gathered around the car wanting to hear the story. Each time we told the story giving glory to God for his goodness and mercy on us.
THANK YOU!!: Gwen and I are deeply grateful to each of you who have prayed and shared with us in this pilgrimage. It will be a pilgrimage of two or three years before Gwen is completely free of any more surgeries. We echo the words of Paul in Acts 20:24 “However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.”
Together in His Service, The Haspels
The 2014 Presbyterian Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 133
Read more about John and Gwenyth Haspels' ministry
Write to John Haspels
Write to Gwenyth Haspels
Individuals: Give online to E200359 for John and Gwenyth Haspels' sending and support
Congregations: Give to D501920 for John and Gwenyth Haspels' sending and support
Churches are asked to send donations through your congregation’s normal receiving site (this is usually your presbytery).
Double Your Impact!
A group of committed donors has pledged to match all gifts sent by individuals for mission personnel support now through December 31, 2014, up to $137,480. This means your gift today will be matched by a gift to support mission personnel around the world, wherever the need is greatest. We invite you to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity to double the impact of your gift. Thank you!
