Etaala International

Hey Everyone!

We are off for our first trip to Uganda tomorrow! We are SO very excited and can not wait to see what the Lord is going to do through this trip. Thank you so much for your prayers and support! We feel very well loved and prayed for.
We will be giving out much needed mosquito nets, holding hygiene clinics to train people how to clean their water jugs and prepare them for NEW CLEAN WATER!

On this particular trip, we will be dedicating a new well that will be providing clean water for hundreds of people, we will be holding fun filled game days in orphanages, we will also be volunteering in a baby orphanage, building a structure for the local Church to meet in, and much more!

We are hoping to be able to post most days while we are gone so please keep checking in! Our partner ministry, Safewater Nexus, will also be posting at http://howwillyouchange.com/

We look forward to sharing all that God is doing with you! Thank you again for your prayers and support!

Life is, as one definition puts it, the existence of an individual. That means that for you and I, our existence is life. That’s pretty simple, right? Maybe and then maybe not so much. There are a lot of factors that affect and sustain this existence of life in us individuals. We have to have air, food, water, rest and care. Without those things our lives would cease to exist. Life depends greatly on the provision of sustainable care for this existence to continue.

I’ve been thinking lately about the heart of Etaala to bring light to the darkness. I came across this verse in the book John this week, and it shed a new perspective on my ideas of brining light to the dark places of the earth. It says that “In him was life, and that life was the light of men.   John 1:4″ We say that our mission is to bring the light of Christ into this world. I’ve wondered how exactly we are going to do that. I’ve craved a clearer picture of what bringing light looks like for us. “…That life (of Christ) was the light of men.”

I think light looks like this: God’s Son is LIFE for the world. He died to bring life, and that life is the light of men who are lost in the darkness. When we look at the life of Christ, we see someone who desired to live in a way that brought life to a hurting and dark world. He fed the hungry and gave sight to the blind. Christ forgave though he was blameless. He brought the dead to life and to the sick he gave health. He prayed and encouraged, he rebuked and taught. But whatever he was doing, he was doing it in order that His fathers kingdom of eternal life might begin for us on earth. The life of Christ is not something kept from us ’till the days of eternity, Christ IS alive now.

The verse in John tells me so plainly that wherever we seek to bring life to a person, we are bringing the light of Christ. It may mean feeding the hungry or holding the lonely. It could be listening to someones story, letting their voice be heard before our own. It may mean simply walking along side someone on a road. But whatever we do to show someone that their existence is a life that has meaning and value, it is bringing light this world desperately needs.

As several of us prepare to go to Uganda this month, my hope is that we would be aware of the life taking place around us. It is not only life in the orphans of Uganda that we should be concerned about and serving. Life is this moment. God created this moment as you read, as I sit here writing. There are no small moments in Christ’s life. He is alive right now as are you and I. I don’t know where you’ll be or even where exactly I’m going to be in the times to come here in this world. But I do know this, the Lord has seen fit and willing to give us this time and breathe life into us for this day. Are we truly alive in Christ? Is His life breathing and pulsing through our veins or does our self wrap it’s fleshly fingers around our existence?

Christ said that we are to take up our cross and follow Him. He also said that whoever would lose their life for His sake would find it. Life is found in losing our sin and self in the grace of Love’s cross. And that’s where the darkness flees, death loses it’s hold on us as the life of Christ is alive in us. His life is our light, He has shown us the way.

In January, a major earthquake hit the country of Haiti. The small country in the Caribbean is already the poorest country in the western hemisphere, and now they are facing a disaster that has devastated their country. We at Etaala have put together a project called “Hunger for Hope” to help send food to Haiti. As the people of Haiti begin to rebuild their homes, we believe they need hope and strength. By providing food we can give both hope and strength. We want to stand up and unite in action, taking the light we have to others. In the week of April 26-30, when you’re out at work or school, take a lunch from home instead of eating out. Save the money that you don’t spend eating out and at the end of the week, send it to provide food for Haiti.

Check out the video for Hunger for Hope to learn how to get involved.

I hope you will join us in this project and while you’re eating that sandwich from home, that you remember the hunger of Haiti. Etaala means “light.” Our hope is that we would shine the light of hope and Love on Haiti long after the lights of the media have gone. May we not forget our neighbors or fail to see and meet their need with solution.

We have hope, we have love, let it shine.

As I’m sure most everyone knows, the country of Haiti was hit with a major earthquake this past week. Please keep the country of Haiti and it’s people in your prayers. Also please remember our friends at Safewater Nexus are there this week taking much needed supplies and love. Let us pray for provision, healing and hope. In the face of the rubble and despair may our faith in a redeeming and restoring God be more than word or thought, may it be selfless acts of love for our neighbors in Haiti.

We have hope. We have love. Let it shine.

“He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted…. to comfort all who mourn.”  Isaiah 61:1, 3

Let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.  1 John 3:18

Hello you. My name is Rachel Spinks, I am nineteen years old and madly in love with Jesus Christ. I write, play guitar, hang out at the coffee house and watch girly movies from the 50’s. I wear sneakers and jeans like a uniform, and have recently discovered that I absolutely love good, southern barbecue. I like to travel and see different cultures, meet the people of  the places I go to and see what life is like in their part of the world. I am the sister of  one biological brother, and a younger brother and sister my family adopted from Guatemala in 2007.

When I went with my mom to Guatemala to finalize the adoption of my younger siblings, I truly saw poverty for the first time. While on the way to our hotel I can remember trying not to even look out the window because I didn’t want to see the people begging on the street. God spoke to me right then and said “Don’t look away.” I realized that my faith had to be more than words and thoughts I kept to myself, that I had to show this hope in my life by living it in word and deed. The love that God has poured into my life is not meant to be contained by my heart, it should shine from me that others might see that there is a Father in heaven who loves them.

Orphans have always had a place in my heart, but through my own family’s adoption journey I learned so much more about the global crisis of orphaned children. My heart was broken for the millions of children who had no family. I wanted to meet these children who had been orphaned, the ones God told us to visit and care for, the people Jesus said he was among. So I traveled to China in 2008 to visit orphans, and that was where I met Ellie Mestas. We had no idea what God was going to start through those two weeks. Ellie and I have been friends ever since, traveling to Guatemala in 2009 to visit orphans again, and now starting Etaala International.

As  God has opened my eyes to others and has taken me on this journey, my heart has been broken for the injustice and need that is everywhere in this world. But it is also set afire by the hope I see rising. I believe that this generation can change the world for good, I believe we will change it by the way we love others. My passion is to see hope and love brought to the darkest places in our world, to see people in every corner of the earth find their place in the eyes of the Father. Through Etaala I’m hoping that we can help young people to see and meet the need of others, while maybe discovering the value of all our lives is much deeper than we realized.

I’m currently living in Arkansas with my parents, my younger brother and sister, and a very old dog who thinks he’s still a baby. I’ll be in college this spring, possibly studying towards some kind of social work degree. I’m so excited about Etaala International and that YOU are checking out our blog. Keep coming back to see what’s going on in Etaala.

Family

Wellll…I am 16 years old, I am a Jesus lover and I want to serve Him with my whole heart. I was born in California and raised in North Carolina, I play the piano, I’m homeschooled (yes.), and sadly enough… I am such a klutz. I love people, particularly babies (conveniently my house is full of them), I love to travel and cucumbers are my favorite food in the whole wide world.

I have an “Only in America” type of family ( more like “Only with Jesus” actually.) Two parents, five brothers and three sisters, a brother-in-law a nephew and a niece. I was the third child but now I’m the fourth ( my older brother Solomon is coming to America in the next three months from Ethiopia and we can not wait!) I have 120 brothers in Ethiopia at the Kolfe Orphanage who have become a huge part of our lives as well as an integral part of our hearts. Solomon was one of them. The five youngest kiddos in my family are six years old and under. My youngest sisters and my nephew and niece are only a year and two years apart.

The aunts and uncles and nephews have frequent play dates. The seven youngest live at home with the parents and my Grandma lives with us as well. Needless to say, if you want to be alone, go somewhere else. If you like being around people…come on over, we’ll  feed you food.

God gave me a heart for orphans at a very young age but the adoption of my twin brothers in 2003  really set my heart on fire for the plight of the orphan. It placed a love in my heart for hurting children growing up without families because of how personal it had become. I could not imagine other children like my sweet baby brothers growing up without anyone to love them and protect them from harm. It became so clear to me why God tells us to care for the orphan (James 1:27) He created these little people in His image, they are His children and He wants them to know of His amazing love and plan for each of them.

In 2007, I traveled to Ethiopia, Africa with my parents for the adoption of three of my siblings;  nine month old twin girls and a three year old little boy.

Through traveling to Ethiopia and witnessing the poverty, disease, orphans, and street children, God transformed my life and goals and set me on a path of striving to serve orphans around the world with my life and share the love of Christ with them. Before Africa, I was convinced I was going to be a cosmetologist and I had some big plans and goals and I was going to getting there. Then Jesus said “Uh-uh…” and I’m soo glad He did. His plans are so much greater than my ideas! God has called me into a whole new arena that is filled with Africa and babies and I find it so much more beautiful than glitz and glamour. Only Jesus could have replaced my sight with His like that.

Since then, I have traveled to China and Guatemala serving in orphanages and God has started my family on a speaking ministry on behalf of the orphan. (I didn’t even want to get baptized when I was younger because I would have to share my testimony in front of my church. Jesus has such a sense of humor. Luckily, He equips us for what He calls us to do.)

I believe that we can change the world for the 147 million orphaned children around the world through changing the expectations of youth in America and enabling them to make a difference for children around the world. We have voices and should be using them for those who can not speak for themselves.

I currently live in North Carolina with my lovely family.

You’ll most likely get to know me pretty well through this blog.

Hey everyone!

Welcome to the blog shmog. This is where we will write about the thoughts we are thinking, the places we are going ( perhaps you’re coming with us!) and keep you informed on the latest with Etaala International.

The main writers here are Ellie and Rachel, we live thousands of miles away from each other but God has called us both to this ministry. We met in China in 2008 on a missions trip. Rachel was quiet and posh and Ellie was crazy but we had way more in common than we thought.  We went to Guatemala together on another missions trip the following year and we’re now the best of friends.  Rachel has 3 siblings, 2 that are adopted from Guatemala and Ellie has 8 siblings, 6 of which are adopted from the USA and Ethiopia. We love Jesus, a lot.

In the summer of 2009, God began opening the doors for us to start Etaala International, a ministry that creates opportunities for young people to get involved with orphan care. There are 147 million orphans in the world today and you don’t have to be 18 or 21 years old to change the world for an orphan. Isaiah 1:17 says “Learn to do right, seek justice, encourage the oppressed, defend the cause of the fatherless and plead the case of the widow.” God didn’t put age requirements in there and neither should we.

If you are interested in getting involved, leave us a comment and check out the website…etaala.org

Etaala is taking it’s first team to Uganda in May and we have some more exciting opportunities to serve in various areas coming up as well. We’ll keep you posted on those.

The rest of the story is still unfolding…so keep reading our blog.

and…Etaala means “Light” .

“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” – Matthew 5:14-16

…That they may see us and Praise Him.