2015 is here! For most you, 2014 is probably becoming a distant memory. For us, it was most memorable. In February we officially become Discovering Light, relaunching our organization with a more creative and accurate way to tell our story. This new identity was rooted in a clear vision for how we could be most effective in helping our friends in Ethiopia become who God…

          Below is a helpful description of the Savings Group program we support. In Ethiopia, the program is called Self-Help Groups, which can be misleading if you don’t realize the ‘self’ means one’s self, the group, and the community all looking to themselves and God rather than outsiders to pursue and achieve their potential.

Stories of freedom and hope are coming from the countryside in Southeastern Ethiopia as the Good News of Jesus Christ is reaching hungry hearts and minds. Our church planting partners are teaching Christians to bless their neighbors, sharing God’s word with them in an open and gracious manner. When appropriate, believers are praying for others with afflictions and demon possession. In the case of Chiko…

by Champ Rhodes “Maybe he’ll be the manager when I come back next year!” This was my half-joking statement to Tibabu Solomon, owner and manager of Tibabu Solomon Furniture in Awassa. I was referring to Mustefa Muhamed, one Discovering Light’s previously sponsored vocational students, who now works at Mr. Solomon’s shop. After three years at Selam Awassa Technical and Vocational College, Mustefa graduated with a certificate…

Late last spring, we took Mother’s Day and Father’s Day to honor the men and women in West Arsi who are taking advantage of membership in a Savings Group to improve their life and that of their family. We were excited to tell the story of Gezahegn and Nuritu and your response was fantastic. Nearly $4500 was raised and we had many people share how these…

“I love to take care of my SHG members.” These kinds of reflections from Savings Group facilitators in West Arsi are part of why this program has been so successful. Nearly 350 groups are in the process of forming Cluster Level Associations (CLA) – A leadership group made up of 2 leaders from 10-12 Self-Help (Savings) Groups that provides training, experience sharing, and addresses broader…

Welcome Angela! Today, our board of directors welcomed a new member for the first time since our founding. Angela Kadillak has been an advocate for Discovering Light before we even knew what to we thought we were doing as an organization. Besides making a financial commitment to partner with us, she has been committed to employing her many gifts, talents, and resources to make a…

A Tiger Near Shashamene Last month, the Discovering Light mission team spent some quality time with a special father in Southern Ethiopia: Gezahegne. He is a savings group member in the village of Tsegagenet near the Shashamene district. His savings group is named “Nebro,” meaning tiger. The men of Nebro have been meeting for a year and are just beginning to take out loans for…

At this time, we estimate sponsoring a Savings Group costs about $50 per member. Tuition for students at Selam Awassa Technical and Vocational College runs $600-$1800 depending on which program they are enrolled in. The long-term benefits of Savings Groups and Vocational training are highly valuable. In January, while in Awassa, we were debriefing at a Pizza restaurant and our server happened to be a…

In the last 18 months, one of the most promising developments in our work with Ethiopian leaders in West Arsi is the number of people believing in Jesus and forming churches. While our team has been involved in Ethiopia for nearly 6 years, it’s only been the last year and a half that we’ve directly supported the evangelistic efforts of our partners. It took a…