Signs of Peace ~ ABC

September 2011

Jonathan Ray Bucklew

Volume 1, Issue 1

The Great Return

Areas of tract distribution It was Wednesday night and I had said my goodbyes to my family and friends at Antioch Baptist Church. I returned home and counted my luggage and double checked my documents and things for my carry on, and of course the anxiousness to return kept me up all night! 5 o clock came quickly and it was time to travel to the Shreveport airport. 1 hour in the lobby there then the first flight to Atlanta, then off to D.C. for the great 11 hour layover. Met many people traveling to Africa and Asia for mission trips and had the opportunity to share the Gospel with several while waiting. Then the flight came and it was off to Turkey! Arrived in Turkey then had a 3 hour layover, and then into Addis Abeba at midnight. Of course customs gave me a hard time and hassled me about everything. After finally getting through and paying import taxes on my laptop and other things I was greeted outside the gate by my dear brother Negash. Arrived at his home around 3 in the morning for some much needed sleep!!!! Getting my Residence ID was at first quite a hassle but in the end had great benefits! I was able to meet people in high positions who now want to assist me in anyway they can on information and statistics about the deaf in Tigray. Arriving back to my home during the rainy season brought many surprises!!!! Such as the cracks in the foundation and roof which led to a great water fall in my stairway and a pool on the bottom floor! This resulted in mold in the walls and a very unpleasant smell! So we found a great compound that has many rooms and space to have programs, classes, bible lessons, and small workshops for the deaf in. It took about a month to get things settled but now things are in motion! Working on the daily schedule and putting things in order. Preparing for a new project center in the Country side, and ready for all that is to come this project year!

Mekelle Debre Maichew Mehoni

Signs of Peace project areas

Mekelle Mehoni (soon to be) Hagero Selam

Inside this issue: The Great Return Tea Time Bread of Life 1 1 2

Tea Time
When I came to Ethiopia in 2009 to visit a local deaf ministry they had a tea and coffee program on Saturdays. Every week deaf showed up to play and converse with each other and it was there that I was able to do most of my evangelism to the deaf. That program has since ceased, and I felt the urge to start that kind of program again because it really was a great opportunity for outreach. So I did and it has been great since!!! Providing them with a safe comfortable place to gather and play ping pong, soccer, and other games along with conversations with those they would not meet during the week. I get many opportunities to share Christ with them in 1 on 1 conversations, and share scripture with them as they discuss problems and things they faced in the past week! Please pray for this program and for the Gospel to be preached weekly!

Orphans and Spon- 2 Special Project Mehoni PC MISC. Pics 3 3 3

Signs of Peace ~ ABC

Page 2

Bread of Life
The mission motto of ABC is I will show you my faith by my works. So that brings us to the Bread of Life outreach program. Every month we make food drops to several deaf clients. To those who are living in hard conditions, widows, single mothers, physically disabled, etc.. This is such a great opportunity for us to share the Gospel. Being able to enter homes with food for the family, and then being able to share with them about the Bread of Life! To be able to share with them the Glorious Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ! Another great opportunity in this outreach is the work with CODAs (children of deaf Adults). Going into the homes and ministering and loving on these children who are made to be complete outcasts from the community and other children simply because their parent(s) are deaf. I have been able to understand them and know how to love and care for them since I have come from a similar background. As many know East Africa is facing one of the worst famines in over 60 years. The most affected areas being South Ethiopia, Somalia, and Northern Kenya with an estimated 12 million people affected. Thankfully our region has yet to be affected by this disaster. However the TIgray region has not completely recovered from the last famine and we are already seeing the beginning effects in our area. Please pray for us in this outreach as we are able to help in some way with the feeding of the hungry and sharing of that wonderful Bread of Life Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.

The Orphans

.one of the worst famines in over 60 years.

What a joy it was in meeting the first deaf orphans that I would be working with!!!! These 2 brothers are from a village far from the city and are staying at a local dropping center that houses children from ages 1 week to 15 years old. All of these kids get adopted internationally however that chance has not come for the 2 deaf boys who are now 6 and 7.

So we have picked them up as sponsor children until they are adopted. We are currently working to get them enrolled in the local deaf school and I will be working with them weekly on their sign language skills. The people who house these 2 boys are not hopeful that they can gain a family through adoption. This of course causes discouragement with the kids by the actions of the dropping center

staff. This brings us to a total number of 3 deaf orphans to be worked with weekly. The 3rd is Kahsay who is now 19 years old and of course has lost the chance to be adopted. We will be working with him in job skills so that he will be able to support himself once he leaves the orphanage.

Sponsorships ~ Deaf Child Hope

Our sponsorship program is something that has been long desired and is still in working progress. Deaf Child Hope is a child sponsorship organization in the U.S. working to give sponsorships to deaf children around the world. Our partnership with Deaf Child Hope would allow us to work with more deaf children in Ethiopia. This allowing us into more homes and this resulting in more preaching of the Gospel! Alongside having the funds to care for these kids, and providing a good educational enviorment for these children. Please be in prayer for this partnership as it is essential for the work among deaf children here in Ethiopia. This doesnt only add to the ministry but even creates partnerships with people working in deaf ministry all around the world!! Www.deafchildhope.org

Volume 1, Issue 1

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Special Project
The special project for August was house tarping. August brings us into the heavy part of rainy season and several of our Bread of Life Clients live in very poor conditions! With water pouring through their roofs onto their sleeping area, living area, and kitchens. It was beginning to create mold and bad health conditions for the children.
Seeing these conditions it compelled me to act. So we decided to put tarps over their homes. This was very successful and gave us an opportunity to pray with these families and speak of Christ.

One of the ladies we helped has been very active in contributing to the persecution we face among the deaf. However looking past that to help her and her child anyway spoke many things to her. She now

invites me over often and is attending our Tea Time every week and even allows me to speak of Biblical things! Pray for us as we show our Faith by our Works among those who deny, reject, and even persecute the name of Christ.

Mehoni Project Center

If you travel about 70 Km south of Mekelle City you will reach a town called Mehoni which resides in the Raya area bordering the areas of Alamata and QAfar. These areas being of the most destitute towns and people groups in Tigray the people live in some hard conditions. As development and education are still behind that means that care for special needs groups such as the deaf are certainly non-existent. I have visited Mehoni twice this year and have gained the approval from the local Government to begin project work and child support. This region is also strongly opposed to the Gospel and will be great place for Evangelism! We will strictly hold to the teaching of Sign Language while in the schools and do all bible teaching at our compound in Mehoni along with Evangelism all around outside of Class/ Business time. There is a large number of deaf in this area however they are greatly scattered in the mountains and countryside. So we ask you for your prayers as we begin work with the deaf children in Mehoni and the surrounding villages. Also pray for us in our quest to Preach of Christ in this stone hearted land!

Pray for us as we show our Faith by our Works among those who deny, reject, and even persecute the name of Christ.

Miscellaneous Pictures

Signs of Peace
Correspondence
Jonathan R Bucklew P.O. Box 1925 Mekelle, Ethiopia Tigray Phone: 251914420321 Email: bucklewjonathan@yahoo.com

Signs of Peace is a ministry of Antioch Baptist Church in Minden, Louisiana. All projects and outreach are done under the council and leadership of ABC. All doctrine, teachings, and project work are done in agreement with the Statement of Faith held by ABC which is the current SBC Statement of Faith which can be found at www.sbc.net/bfm/bfm2000.asp The purpose of our ministry is to Worship God by preaching the Gospel to the lost and letting our Faith in Christ be revealed by the works we do. At this current time our projects are focused in on the deaf children of Ethiopia. Support can be sent to: Antioch Baptist Church 11812 Hwy 80 Minden, La 71055 Checks made out to: Antioch Baptist Church (with Ethiopia missions in the memo)

I will show you my Faith by my works. ~ James 2:14-26

Were on facebook! Website coming soon...

The Chronicles of Jonathan

This is a great time to be involved in the Preaching of the Gospel wherever you are as the End times are so completely evident! We truly do not know when the Good Lord will return, but let us Preach Christ daily to all those in our lives! As this new Church/Project year greets us let us continue in prayer for the ministries we are all involved in and for the growth, wisdom, strength, and health of those involved. Let us also be in prayer for our Brothers and Sisters around the world who are in the famine affected areas of East Africa, persecution filled nations, and nations of turmoil. May the Lord bring them strength and encouragement this day! The Lord has blessed me with opportunities to Preach the Gospel outside of some of the local Mosques. Even though there have been many missionaries here I think it still caught the Islamic teachers off guard because there are only a select few who actually speak of Christ openly. However the Lord blessed us and we were able to show them a need for a Savior and then able to show them that the Savior is Christ Jesus! Many became angry but still were unable to dispute the teachings of the scripture which caused others to be interested in what we had to say! Our vision is the Gospel, our goal is the Gospel, our purpose is the Gospel, our reason for the Gospel being these things is Worship unto the Father! Please continue to pray for me as I work to share the Gospel with the people of Ethiopia and more specifically the deaf who have no language.
Also be in prayer as the wedding day approaches!!! For the Next newsletter in the quarterly will say The Bucklews rather than Jonathan R Bucklew!!!