Highlights from our January 2024 Trip to Korah

We had an amazingly full trip in January! Our journey was not without its typical hurdles and the need for flexibility. However, as always, our team rose to meet these challenges head-on. Some days we worked 12 hours and went 20 different ways, and while we all returned home tired, we returned home with full hearts.

Here are just a few of the things we did while there:

Offered medical aid to infants and children at a local Orphanage.
Painted the walls of the newly established Pediatric ICU ward at Alert Hospital with vibrant murals.
Conducted daily medical clinics not only for our students and faculty but also for the broader Korah community.
Distributed Christmas presents to every participant in the program.
Supervised students in composing personalized letters and updates to their sponsors.
Met with our local Ethiopian staff to review our yearly budget and audited financial records.
Conducted home visits to nearly every child’s residence.
Offered prayers for the well-being of our staff, students, and patients at the clinic.

The overall theme that seemed to earmark our trip, and every trip, was a sense of seeing the fruit of the many years of sowing into this program. There have been many times we have wanted to quit. Many times, that have yielded “growing pains.” Many times, where we have questioned, “Are we making a difference?”.

We can stand with a sense of knowing today and tell you wholeheartedly — yes. We ARE making a difference. And things ARE changing!

We now have two Out of the Ashes graduates working for us in Korah! Adanech is a social worker and Zenebu is a Jr. Accountant. This would not be possible without people like you who believed in OA and in these students!! The feeling of seeing things come full circle fills our hearts with pride and joy overflowing as we continue to see our mission bear fruit in this way.

So, we will carry on. This verse continues to be pressed into our hearts as we keep our mission at the forefront of all we do:

“And don’t allow yourselves to be weary or disheartened in planting good seeds, for the season of reaping the wonderful harvest you’ve planted is coming!”(Galatians 6:9 TPT)

As always, we deeply recognize that none of these endeavors would be possible without your steadfast support, prayers, and encouragement. From the depths of our hearts, we extend our sincerest gratitude for your support of our mission. We eagerly anticipate the unfolding of more opportunities and achievements this year as we remain steadfast in our journey.

With Overflowing Hearts,

Brad and Stacy Segebarth

“Before I linked up with OA, I joined several trips to help people in different developing countries mostly on medical short missions.

I always came home happy with what we achieved but dissatisfied with the lack of a long term relationship with the people I have helped.I would never see any of them again and whatever was done was a temporary fix.

This is why I searched and linked up with OA based on their approach to longterm changes and continuity of care .

I have not only achieved to have a relationship with those that I sponsor but also those that I get to see and work with on an annual basis.It is a work and fun trip for me once a year that I look forward to and as tiring as it may be it gives me the energy to carry on in my personal and work life.

I am always humbled by the elderly folks in our community clinic who carry on despite the many challenges they face and the OA families thankful for our help.I am looking forward to many more trips and new friends.”

~ Yvonne Wildenhain

“As a matter of fact, … I was impacted this trip more than any other.

As we were driving to the compound one morning, I spotted this older lady carrying this bag. Which was bigger than she was. I asked our driver to pull over so I could talk with her. The good news was that the bag was filled with empty plastic bottles that she was carrying to the recycling center to sell. So, the bag was very light. The bad news was that the bag was very light… she had worked all day the day before to gather the load. She was hoping it would bring $.40 to $.45 cents.

I started doing some math. If she picked up and sold 30 loads in a month, she could rent a 6 foot by 6-foot hut …. For 1 month. I’m quite sure she just lived on the street or wherever someone might let her sleep, because she most assuredly used the money for food.

It was a reality check for me. I always talk about how much poverty there is in Africa… but it hit me like a ton of bricks that day. That kind of poverty is real. Not like the poverty we talk about in America. In America we have welfare lines to get in. We have food stamps delivered to us on our phones. We have church food pantries on every corner.

There are no lines to get in where we go in Ethiopia. None.

That, my fortunate friends, is real poverty. When you drink water at night to try and get full… that is real. I thanked God that morning… for never letting me experience poverty. And for opening my eyes that day.

While HE tells us that the poor will always be with us. HE also tells us that we are supposed to help the poor … in 2000 verses.”

~ Brad Segebarth

Highlights From Our January 2024 Trip!

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