Kevin & Erica Kipfer

SERVING IN ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA

April Kipfer Update

What we’ve been up to
At the end of April, we celebrated both Kevin’s birthday Addis now. We’re moving toward securing a site and some
(April 28) and the completion of our first six months here initial staff for a counseling and resource center (more de-
in Addis (April 27). At the beginning of the month we en- tails below).
joyed spending time with Erica’s parents here. We visited
some new sites with them, including a couple days to get Even though it’s not rainy season, we have rain just about
away at a nice lake. every day. And even more frequently than that, we’re
without electricity every day for a few hours. While there
As we reflect on our time so far, it’s been quite different are plenty of unknowns and variables, there is one constant
than expected. Some projects have gone slower, while oth- throughout our 6 months. That is the love and support we
ers are coming to fruition. We’ve made some great friends, feel from all of you – whether through emails, letters, pack-
found some favorite places to eat, and are beginning to ages or prayers. In 2010 alone, we’ve had visits from each
drive like the crazy drivers here (just ask our parents). Our of our parents, LSM President Ed Schwartz, and nine times
NGO paperwork to get LSM legal status here has cleared with adoptive families. All of them are a source of encour-
the Ethiopian Embassy in DC and we are working on it in agement and connection to everyone back home.

Counseling & Resource Center

Details are coming together for the “drop-in center” that we
mentioned in our last newsletter. We think we’ll call it a
“Counseling & Resource Center” to better describe what
we hope to do there: provide practical resources and coun-
seling support for prostituted women and their children. We
also hope it will serve as a gateway to other services for
these women that will provide them with new opportunities
for a better life. Our Ethiopian staff member, Paulos, and
Betty from a partner organization, have found a location
Running This past weekend we ran a half-marathon in that we will rent for this center (pictured left). There’s lots
Hawassa in southern Ethiopia. We were a lit-
tle concerned that we would come in last place since it was- of work ahead to make the facility ready and make other
n’t a very big event. We didn't get last place, but were defi- preparations for our guests who will be coming.
nitely towards the end! We ran the Indy half-marathon Learning a new language
about a year ago. It’s interesting to contrast the two. Ha-
wassa had about 100 runners, Indy has 35,000. Here we ran • Not only are we learning Amharic, we’re also learning
by a lake where people were washing clothes and mending new English words. Many Ethiopians use the phrase
fishing nets. Needless to say we didn’t see that in Indy. “missed-call” as a verb. As in, “he ‘missed-called’ me
Both races were won by Kenyans. Our “good friend” Haile so I need to call him back.” Most phones are pre-paid
Gebrselassie, the marathon world record-holder, was there and no one seems to keep much of a balance so people
hosting the run. It was a cool feeling to pass him walking to will call you and then quickly hang up which we’ve
the race and exchange “good mornings.” We also met, Ti- learned indicates that you should call him or her back
runesh Dibaba, the female 5K world record holder. (so you have to pay, not them).
• One day during our language lesson, we must have got
Stolen mirrors and other injustices on the subject of music. We learned that a literal trans-
lation of soprano, alto, tenor, and bass is: fat woman’s
For this story and other insights into life in voice, skinny woman’s voice, skinny man’s voice, and
Addis Ababa, see our blog: fat man’s voice. I don’t think that would be quite as
kevinanderica.blogspot.com accepted in the U.S. as it is here!
Kevin’s Email: kevin@loving-shepherd.org Erica’s Email: erica@loving-shepherd.org
Blog: kevinanderica.blogspot.com
Field Address: PO Box 16245, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Pa r t n e r i n g t h r o u g h p r a y e r
Weekly Prayer Updates—To receive prayer requests
more often, just reply to this email with ‘prayer update’
in the subject line and we’ll add you to our weekly email
list.
If you wish, you can pray through the pictures in this
newsletter—for our relationships, the LSM children,
future work, etc.
Praises and Prayers
• Praise God for how He works in His timing in His way.
• Pray for the many preparations for the Counseling & Re-
source center and for the women and children who will
visit there.
• Continue to pray for the NGO application and that the
process will be finalized soon. Currently, it is in Addis
Ababa awaiting approval.

Left, we enjoy some traditional Ethiopian food with

Erica’s parents. The various dishes are placed on a
plate of “injera” (spongy bread) which is used to eat
the stew instead of utensils.

Below: On our trip with mom and dad a few hours

south of Addis Ababa, we passed a herd (or caravan?)
of camels along the road.

The signs of Easter here

are much different than in
the U.S. We didn’t color
Easter eggs or eat any
Peeps but we were over-
whelmed with the massive
number of animals being
bought and sold along the
streets. The Orthodox and
Christians celebrate
Easter with a feast, in-
cluding chickens, sheep,
and bulls for the very
wealthy.

Financial contributions can be made: 1) Online through www.loving-shepherd.org by clicking the

‘Donate’ tab. 2) Visit our blog for a printable donation form to mail to: Loving Shepherd Ministries,
PO Box 375, Bluffton, IN 46714. Note your gift for ‘Ethiopia Projects’.