Useful News About Onesimus
November, 2023
Formerly, he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you and to me. Philemon 11
Our Vision:
To see Restored, Self-Sufficient, and Productive Children in Ethiopia
Our 3 Goals:We SUPPORT children and families by Preventing homelessness and Restoring
children to their families and to physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being.
In the month of November, the program department continued their normal activities of home and school visitations and gave high priority to educational support, physical health, and mental health. Our program coordinator, Kanu, counseled college and high school students on education issues and life skills. The organization also provided medication support this month for one family who had a child that was very sick. Praise God, the boy now feels much better.
In November, Onesimus also welcomed our 28th round of drop-in center kids. Onesimus in Addis Ababa has 20 children, and Onesimus in Arba Minch also has 20. In total, we are hosting 40 children from the street. For this round, all the children participating are boys. The children seem to be happy to be coming to the drop-in center. The whole staff in both locations is committed to bringing lasting change to the lives of these children.
The boys were especially blessed by getting to spend time with teams visiting from the USA. After spending time in Addis Ababa, the team from Iowa led by Marti Boal, went down to Arba Minch and Chencha. They visited both the farm in Chencha and the drop-in center in Arba Minch. Indeed, their visit was a blessing for the staff and children in each location. Marti and the team did such a wonderful job. We have no words; all the reward is with Jeus! In addition, Marti and Chad blessed us with table tennis for two sites and a gift for the staff.
The mission team with the boys at the OCDA drop-in center
New table tennis!
“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” James 1:27
We SUSTAIN our own ministry by developing Income Generating Activities within Ethiopia that will allow us to be self-supporting.
The outside plastering work on our building looks great!
We are excited to report that a family recently gave a donation allowing us to buy a cow and a few chickens. Indeed, the Lord is blessing us. The more cows and chickens we have at the farm, the more we can bless the local community and raise funds to support children in need through our ministries.
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We work to SAVE children and adults from darkness by Preaching the Gospel and Discipling those who believe.
As you may recall, late last year the whole Onesimus staff committed to reading the Bible together over the course of this year. They were faithful to the task and recently finished reading the entire Bible. Currently, they are planning their spiritual focus for next year. They intend to pray in topics for the whole year. The staff’s five selected topics include praying for: Onesimus partners/donors every Monday; Onesimus Fellowship/church planting and ministry every Tuesday; all Onesimus beneficiaries every Wednesday; the farm, the new office building, and the branch offices every Thursday; and for our country and the whole nation every Friday. PLEASE JOIN US!
The Onesimus staff and families believe that increased intimacy with our Heavenly Father is the richest reward of bringing our petitions to Him. We trust that God is faithful to hear when we pray and to answer our prayers quickly. It is indispensable to spend much time with the Lord, which is essential for knowing Him and having a relationship with Him.
Onesimus Fellowship, like Onesimus CDA and Onesimus Ministry, continues to respond to the heart of God to care for orphans and poor, neglected, and destitute boys, girls, and families. Onesimus Fellowship is praying and working hard to address their spiritual needs and is preaching the gospel, without bias, for all people, including children, youth, and adults living on the street.
Marti’s mission team visits Onesimus Fellowship
Marti and the team pray for a boy who was attacked by robbers as he left night class.
Mat is a grade 10 student who is also a member of our Onesimus Fellowship church planting team. Sadly, Mat is still living on the street, but is working hard to turn his life around. He was attacked by robbers after leaving his night class. We are looking for a sponsor for him, and someone willing to purchase a cell phone for him.
People SpotlightThe story of Yordanose Dergu
Yordanose Dergu is 18 years old and in grade 12.She is from a very destitute and poor family. Shehas one brother, and she is the oldest child of thefamily. Her family is Christian. Before she joinedthe community program, her family did not have aconstant income source. Her dad was a dailylaborer, and her mom had no job. As a result, it wasvery hard for the family to send her to school andafford school materials. The area they live in is verycrowded. There are a lot of people, and house rent is horribly expensive. When she joined the community program in grade 0, it was a great blessing for her and for her family, too. Trying to afford the cost of school and other basic needs was enormously tough for them. Onesimus provided Yordanose school materials, food, clothes, counseling, and psychosocial support. Her dad said, “The support brings wonderful impact on her life and education also brings enormous relief for the family.” Yordanose said, "It is hard to attend school and buy education materials without the Onesimus support." Her future plan is to be a doctor and help poor children like herself.
Yordanose was very sick for a year and had to have treatments and checkups for a whole year. The doctors said it was a food infection. She suffered a lot. Praise God - in the month of October she went to Landmark General Hospital P.L.C for a checkup, and the doctor treated her very well and provided support. The diagnosis was gastric bacteria, and they gave her antibiotics. Now she is fine and is cured.
Your generous support continues to make an impact on the lives that we serve. With your help, our staff continues to provide essential resources to vulnerable children and their families. Thank you! We couldn’t do what we do without you. Again, thank you very much for the amazing impact you’ve helped provide in Yordano’s life and health.
Praises!
Hallelujah! My soul, praise the Lord. Psalm 146:1
Join us in praising our good and faithful God for:
Marti and her team members, who came from the U.S and did an amazing job at the Onesimus Drop-In Center and showed wonderful love for children living on the street and the Onesimus staff.
The 28th round of Drop-In Center kids and the program going well.
For Yordanose’s healing.
The devoted individuals, churches, and organizations who have donated generously to the ministry. Indeed, their reward is with Jesus in heaven.
Every employee of Onesimus, because each one is fully dedicated to loving and serving children and the community.
The construction of the building going well and for God providing for the plastering work.
Our Christmas Conference for street children! We have no funds, but we trust that the Lord will provide what is needed to feed the hundreds we expect on Christmas day. The need is $1,000 to cover all transportation, food, and other things like t-shirts for each participant.
For Yordanose and her family and for God’s continued protection over her health.
For the 28th round of street children who have joined our Drop-In center and their health and wellness.
All the beneficiaries of Onesimus and all the staff in Addis Ababa, Arba Minch, and Chencha.
Peace, reconciliation, and economic stability for our country. Fundraising Focus
Funds needed for the Christmas conference, which is coming soon!
Funds needed for the ongoing support of our community children and
Funds needed for Onesimus Fellowship church plant.
Funds needed for the completion of the building.
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