This is not just about a bridge, but about building bridges between people and about God answering prayers of people from around the world.
Three years ago I first heard of a need for a bridge over this Gatcheb River in Ethiopia. It is a river which has taken many lives and has been a boundary in the rainy season for people going to school, to the clinic, even to the market. In my work as a medical missionary with the Medical Benevolence Foundation, their isolation and need touched me deeply.
One year ago, I mentioned this idea by way of the internet to "Rusty in Pennsylvania", a person I have never met. One and a half months ago, thanks to Rusty's unsolicited perseverance, a group of five men from around the U.S. (who didn't know each other before) came to Gatcheb and worked with the people of four villages to build the bridge that you now see. It was finished the afternoon before I left Gatcheb. God is so faithful!!!
In this Holiday season, I thank God for hearing and answering prayers. I thank God for all of you who have been praying and supporting me in many ways behind the scenes, for my safe return and for the many friends I left in Ethiopia.
Caryl Weinberg of Chicago IL. spent three years as a medical missionary in Ethiopia under the auspices of the Presbyterian (USA) Medical Benevolence Foundation.