SIM International Director Malcolm McGregor

AS I READ PAUL’S MISSIONARY JOURNEYS in the book of Acts and his epistles to the various churches, I am challenged by his constant desire to build maturity into individual lives as well as the communities of faith he helped establish. Throughout his letters so many individuals are mentioned. For Paul, this was what ministry was all about. He lived to see people come to faith in Jesus, but more than that he wanted them to grow.

In April 2008, I decided that I needed to take some time off from my SIM leadership responsibilities and to reconnect with the young adults and students my wife and I worked with for more than a decade in Ethiopia. My desire was really simple: I wanted to hang out with them for eight days. I wanted to talk to them about their walk with God, visit them at their work and in their homes, and hear how God was at work in their lives, among their children and the communities around them, but most of all pray with them and for them.

Liz and I spent 11 very unique years in Ethiopia, going there during the 1984-85 famine and then leaving in 1996. It was a traumatic time in Ethiopia’s recent history. Not only was there severe famine, but there was a civil war going on against the Marxist regime. Young people had only one desire: to get a visa to Europe or North America. Our ministry was among university students—the hope of the nation—yet they had no desire to remain. There was very little work for them, and most graduates were absorbed in government bodies that gave them very little opportunity to use their tremendous gifts and skills.

On many occasions we traveled to Bole Airport to say goodbye to yet another bright young person who loved God and Ethiopia, but was leaving country and family. We began to pray, "How can we help these young people remain?" The only thing we could do at that difficult time was to get them into Scripture and train them to listen to what God had to say to them. Slowly we began to see change take place.

So what were some of the highlights of my visit?

• A young architect, Rahel, whom we helped establish in her practice, had just received an Aga Khan Award for Architecture for an extension to the Dutch Embassy in Addis Ababa. She now employs eight others in a thriving business.
• Another young architect, Yoseph, now employs 20 in a thriving design practice.
• One couple, who run a major travel business in Ethiopia, is expanding the scope of their work.
• Another couple owns a shoe factory, making 6,000 pairs of plastic shoes per day.
• Two engineers are running their own practice in rural electrification and water projects around the country.
• A young woman leads a Woman at Risk project in Addis Ababa and heads a continent-wide network of others engaged in this ministry.
• A small group, who were part of the discipleship ministry, is starting a school based on Christian principles.
• Some are working with SIM as valuable colleagues alongside the foreign mission staff.
• Some are responding to environmental issues in the country (e.g., planting trees).
• Many are involved in ministries in their churches and communities.

The investment in these young people 15 years ago is now accomplishing things for God way beyond anything we could have thought or imagined. This visit back to Ethiopia was a stirring reminder to me why one of our ministry priorities is youth and youth adults.

“Lord, may there be a new generation growing up in all the countries where the SIM community serves—a generation set free from the injustices of poverty and unemployment and helplessness because we have been faithful in bringing them to Jesus, teaching the truth, helping them come to love your Word, standing against the evils of injustice on their behalf, opening doors of education and opportunity, equipping them to lead others to Jesus, helping them make a difference in their communities, and giving them a reason to hope in you today, tomorrow, and for eternity. Amen.”