"Hello, how are you? Praise

the Lord!"

These phrases were repeated

dozens of times by the mission team from Fayetteville First Baptist Church

during its stay in Ethiopia.

The purpose of the visit was

threefold: to encourage the church, to witness the gospel and to help

the poor, specifically by laying a galvanized pipeline down a rocky mountain

side to provide fresh running water for the people of Key Afer.

But the missionaries returned

home and told the "home team" that they received much more than

they gave. Wednesday evening, the group shared their Ethiopian evangelical

adventure with church members, illustrating their experiences with breathtaking

photographs, artifacts and a little comic relief.

Linda Bryan described the trip

as "Living in the National Geographic... we really got to experience

what it was like in Jesus' day," she said, referring to the primitive

living conditions in Key Afer. The missionaries slept in tents, and had

no electricity, no running water and no plumbing for the duration of their

two-week stint in the mountainous village where they set up camp.

Getting there was a challenge

in itself.

Bryan said it took five hours

to travel down the mountain and three-and-a-half hours to hike to the

village. "Lord, what have we gotten ourselves into," Wayne Corley

said he asked himself as they traveled down the treacherous mountain side.

"The Lord chose you to do this, I told myself," Corley noted,

knowing full-well the Lord would also support him in his mission.

"We felt the prayers every

day, every minute," Bryan told the congregation Wednesday evening.

"I was never afraid and felt so supported."

On a typical day, the team

rose at 6 a.m. and, following a trip to the corrugated tin shelter which

housed the holes, or toilets, the men and women gathered for breakfast

which consisted of eggs and traditional bread. Work on digging the trench

for the pipeline, which will eventually provide fresh water bubbling up

from a spring about a mile and a half up the hill, took up the main portion

of the day.

Breaking up rocks into gravel

was a chore taken on by the women, who were often joined by the school

children in the afternoon. Despite the language barrier, the mission party

found other ways to communicate through touch, play and song. "We

could understand how grateful they were that we were there," Corley

noted.

One of the things that impressed

the Fayetteville contingent the most was the spirit of evangelism demonstrated

on their journey. "They didn't pass by five people without telling

them of their God," Corley said.

"I was so impressed by

their ability to walk up to people on the road and share Jesus,"

commented another member of the team.

The evenings were described

as the best time of the day. Following a one-pan dinner of vegetables

and perhaps meat, such as pheasant or goat, the group had time to pray

together, sing and share the word of God with their Ethiopian brothers

and sisters. Their hope is that the living water of faith will be channelled

into the village of Key Afer just as the spring water will flow into the

natives' lives.