We are excited to introduce the new director of Horn of Africa Mission Engagers (or HO-ME, our partner ministry in Ethiopia). Welela Yadeta lives with her family in Addis Ababa, and for years she has been involved in the ministry serving as a board member. She shared her testimony with us below:
“I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.” 1 Corinthians 9:23 (NIV)
When I was in high school, a friend of mine shared with me the Good News of Jesus Christ. I did not accept Jesus at that time, but while I was in college I witnessed a miracle in my family. I chose to follow Christ as a result, and I was discipled and baptized in the Meserete Kiristos Church.
Twenty-one years ago, I married a godly man named Fikru Mahteme. Honoring God is our life goal and we are a happy family. We have been blessed with three beautiful children. Our son is a campus student, and our daughters are in high school and elementary school. My 91-year-old father lives with us. My mother passed away six years ago and I treasure her love. She invested her life into shaping who I have become. My family is the greatest gift God has given me.
I grew in my passion to serve the Lord and registered for evening classes through the Meserete Kristos College to study the Bible. One of my classes was the Perspectives on the World Christian Movement (a 15 session missions class). The class impacted my life deeply, my “perspective” changed completely, and I was introduced to the work of Horn of Africa Mission Engagers (HO-ME).
A few years later I took the Kairos course, and again, my life was reshaped. After the class I wrote down a prayer, “…I make myself available to listen your voice. I will obey what you tell me to do. I pray that you help me to be obedient in your call. It doesn’t matter what you ask me to do but give me a humble spirit to accept and do it as You will it to be. I will set priorities in life so that a heart for the unreached and doing the great commission becomes the center of my life.” I believe God heard that prayer and has answered.
The call to join HO-ME became vivid through a dream I had in March 2019. In my dream, I was sitting at my desk at work where I served as Sales and Marketing Manager for an international commercial vehicle supplier. I received a phone call from the current premier of the Ethiopian office. I was told I was needed for service. My boss was there and I told him about the call. “If I take this ministerial service, it will happen within a short period of time. There is an election soon and the result cannot be determined yet.” In my dream, I was wondering what would happen to my children and how I would feed them after taking the position. My boss simply said, “Go, Welela! Don’t worry. He will appoint you to become an Ambassador.” Then I woke up. God often speaks to me through dreams and I interpreted this dream literally, waiting on “the phone call.” I knew I wasn’t to stay long in my position at the company. Twice I was asked to sign commitments to stay for a period of time, but I rejected them outright, telling them I would be leaving soon.
At that time, I was serving on the board of HO-ME. One day after our board meeting in October 2019, Tariku came to me and began asking questions about my MBA studies. Then he asked, “When are you going to succeed me?” He said God had spoken to him and he was eagerly waiting for me to be ready. I was shocked because I thought I couldn’t possibly be fit for that. The work seemed too grand—it couldn’t be for me. I thought he was joking. He explained that he was going to be switching roles, but I was bewildered and didn’t want to take it in.
I was doing my business plan for my MBA studies and didn’t want to entertain anything. But I told my husband and we started praying about it. We were afraid for the future. But deep in my heart, when I listened to myself, I found myself absorbed by the work. I knew I was hearing God’s voice, but even if I surrendered quickly to the call, I needed to wait for my husband’s consent.
After praying for more than six months, we discussed the plan in detail and he shared his concerns. My husband was worried that our income would be reduced significantly and our family would have major financial difficulties. I had convinced him to retire early since my salary would be enough for the family—but now I was asking to leave my prestigious role of 27 years to join a mission agency? So he set the condition that he find a good job. We agreed to pray, asking God to provide a job that would fully support our family. At the time, finding any job was difficult as the COVID pandemic significantly affected businesses in Ethiopia. Miraculously, God provided my husband with a job—even the amount he stipulated. He then agreed to release me for this work.
I joined HO-ME and together with the staff we began to cast vision for the next five years. We have a plan to raise 2000 called-out, cross-cultural missionaries by the end of the year 2025. By God’s grace, it is my mission to make this vision become a reality by giving wise leadership and being sensitive to God’s voice. I also have a passion to love and serve ministers of the Lord who labor in the kingdom. I will use this huge opportunity to humbly serve the needs of missionaries deployed within the country as well as outside of Ethiopia.
Disciple-making movements among the unreached will remain the center of our agendas. I will fix my eyes toward this goal and will fight the good fight. I will do everything for the sake of the gospel.