ETHIOPIA
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Gift of the “I
Word
have a surprise for you,” I announced to my midwife students at Gimbie Adventist College of Health, where I volunteered as a nurse-midwife instructor in Ethiopia. “The chaplain just called to tell me that the hospital has Bibles for you—.” That was as far as I got before a joyful roar drowned out
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my voice. My students were clapping their hands, stomping their feet, and gleefully pounding each other on the back. I had never seen anyone so excited about receiving a Bible. But I understood why. Literacy in any language is often elusive in rural Ethiopia, and my students considered their ability
to read a blessing. Finally, they would be able to read God’s Word for themselves. Furthermore, all of my students were struggling financially. Tolessa, for example, did not have money for
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