Ethiopia (MNN) — Despite a ceasefire in the civil war earlier this year, the humanitarian crisis continues in the northern Tigray region of Ethiopia.
The agricultural system, which employed three-quarters of all Tigray people, has been effectively destroyed by the war. Hospitals have run out of drugs for cancer patients, and often simply send them home.
Eric Foley with The Voice of the Martyrs Korea says, “Our friend, Pastor T, wrote saying, ‘Still, Romans 8:28. The suffering of people is high, but God is working.’ What Pastor T noted for us was that so many Tigrayans are still forced to live in Addis because of the travel limitations and the inability to return and make a living in Tigray at this point. Yet, God is at work.”
“We need to sometimes step into the shoes of ordinary Christian believers and really not think as geopolitical analysts.”
We reported previously that this group of Christians had planted 11 new churches near Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa. Now, that number has jumped to 19.
Foley says in the absence of governments being able to work together, God’s people continue to show Jesus’ love. “Through the care that the Tigrayan Christians are showing to their neighbors, they’re changing the opinions of Muslim and Orthodox Ethiopians about evangelical Christians.”
How to pray
Praise God for the faith of Tigrayan Christians. Ask God to continue providing for these communities and to bring a permanent end to the war.
These believers have nothing except the community around them. Foley says, “They’re forced to cling to each other and to have all things in common just like the early church did. Because in many cases, they’re sharing apartments, they’re sharing food because their resources are so extremely limited.”
The header photo shows aid arriving in the Tigray region. (Photo courtesy of USAID, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
