Dinner with Jo

I had a treat tonight -- dinner with my friend Joanna whose life has taken a VERY unexpected and wonderful route since we both did youthwork together here in the early 90's -- Joanna is trained as a banker -- volunteered with our S1 & 2 group (middle school) -- also came on the Romania mission trip with us years ago. Joanna eventually left banking and studied at the London School of Theology.

Long story short -- she now is married to a wonderful Ethiopian man named Desta (whom Jo met in London as he was completing a Ph.D. in New Testament studies),

Jo and Desta

living in Addis Ababa, a missionary through SIM and raising their family of 2 kids -- Abi and Ayu, Desta's nephew and niece! Amazing. I wish you could read Joanna's newsletters. Hope embodied.

Abi and Ayu

Here is a link to a PC(USA) missionary web page report on the Ethiopian Graduate School, where Desta is their new director (I particularly like that the last name of the missionary sending the report is Wheeler...)

Speaking of raising nieces and nephews, here is a Skype snapshot of why my Father is not being asked to raise his grandsons / my nephews...

They are, of course, having a ball...