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| Our family in Ethiopia with our honorary son |
~ This story is featured in the Home & Harvest January/Feb 2024 magazine and I wanted to share it as well on my blog. g
Imagine yourself sitting down with a book. On the cover, it looks
ordinary, like hundreds of other books, but you buy it anyway. You open it up
and start reading….
Boy meets girl and they become high school sweethearts. They
marry. They move to the Palouse so she can attend vet school. She
finishes school and they decide to start a family. But then … fertility
struggles. After a couple years of fighting the good fight of trying to have a baby,
they are finally blessed with Baby #1. But was that it, or did God have more in
store? They hoped for more children.
A fairly common scenario, except the part where infertility
leads to the part where they help hundreds of street people on a different
continent. Wait?! What?!… PLOT TWIST!!! And with that, let me introduce
you to, Josh & Jill Quaade, two regular people with a story like none
other.
Like most people, you marry and usually the pitter patter of
little feet is the next step. For Josh & Jill, after a
bit of a struggle, the blessing of daughter #1 came along. But then came
the decision of what else would God have them to do. Should they maintain
with one child or add to their family through another avenue? After much
prayer and research, they were led to Ethiopia to adopt Baby #2. After
selecting an agency, they were sent regular updates on available children. One
day in the Spring of 2008, the weekly summary, complete with pictures of
various children available, spoke to Jill, she knew God had a daughter for
them. She handed the flyer to Josh and said, “do you see our
daughter”. Josh took one look and pointed out a picture of their future
little girl. They both knew instantly, independently yet together, the one God
had for them. They had decided that her name had to be connected with the
word “Joy”, for there was so much joy in those eyes that had seen so many
struggles in the few short months of her life. Adoption proceedings began
and after what seemed like a very long year of waiting, Josh and Jill learned
that the orphanage home to their daughter had to move the children to a
different location. Josh volunteered to assist with the move and flew to
Ethiopia. During the taxi ride to the orphanage, the driver began explaining to
Josh about his mission to help the street kids who lived without home or family
in the city. He gave detailed insight to the plight of these young people
and how every Wednesday he somehow eked out enough money from his $30 per month
wages to feed these hungry, impoverished youth as well as some women &
men. With hesitation in his voice Josh, called Jill that night and told
her of the taxi drivers’ tale and asked what she thought about helping. They
agreed to pray about it. After Josh returned home from his trip, it was clear
that God was asking them, “will you go”? Will you help my people?” The answer
was then “YES”. They would help this random taxi driver with his mission
of Wednesday food for the youth and whatever else God put before
them.
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| Jill with a baby from the daycare program |
Together, Josh & Jill knew this was their calling – with a
“heart for Jesus”, they knew they had to help nourish the souls and bellies of
this vulnerable population. As Jill put it, “feeding the belly lasts one
day, but feeding the soul with Jesus lasts an eternity”. So in 2009 they
formed a 501c3 nonprofit corporation called “One Changed Life”. A board
of directors was assembled. Twelve kids were initially sponsored, wherein
it provided life necessities. The taxi driver and they, side by side, strove to
feed the body and the soul. Josh began traveling to Ethiopia regularly
and witnessed how great a work God was doing not only with the sponsorship
kids, but also in continuation with the street ministry.
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| Street boys prayer time |
At first churches would allow the use of their building for the
weekly food sessions that drew about 75 kids and adults. But as time went on
the churches raised their rent forcing the program to move and regular meetings
became a struggle. After 8 years of doing this, Josh & Jill knew they
needed some kind of permanent compound. The Ethiopian government began to crack
down on the need to separate humanitarian work from evangelical work. One
Changed Life worked with a “humanitarian license ” to feed the kids” but to
formally teach the gospel, they needed their own area where they could house a
second licensed entity with an evangelical license.
With a clear vision, a sister organization, under the umbrella of
One Changed Life was formed. A donor stepped forward and donated 3 months of
rent. After discussion with their board, a decision was made to go
forward when and if they could raise rent for 80% of a year. They
started praying, and within 3 weeks, donations to provide enough rent for one
year were donated. An entire compound was rented and the work to move
forward to again provide food and gospel teachings side by side was
blessed. The ministry began feeding about 280 people 5 days a week and
the sponsorship program blossomed. At the new compound, through
donations and much fundraising in the states, staff was hired and programs were
established to help , sponsorship now serving 109 kids, widows with job
training to help them be self-sufficient, feeding and teaching the Gospel to
35-75 kids per day with ages ranging from 3- 18 years of age, and feeding,
teaching and counseling about 180 men and women from the street. All who come
into the street ministry get a meal and a short biblical message daily.
The facility also has allowed them to host annual programs for the sponsorship
kids such as putting on biblical musical productions to bring joy, singing, and
music to enhance day to day life and vacation bible school programs.
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Mommas in traditional dress
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And life continued on for Josh & Jill in America as
well. While all this was going on, they adopted frozen embryos and
were blessed in welcoming their twin “snow babies”, Baby #3 & Baby #4. Time
continues to march on and Josh & Jill now home school their 4 children
which allows them the ability to typically spend 3-5 months a year in
Ethiopia. Josh is self-employed. His employees keep the business
afloat while he is away. Jill works part-time and says she has the best
employer ever, who allows her all the time away she needs.
With the increasing time Josh & Jill have spent in Ethiopia,
it became obvious God was calling them to do more. Homeless mamas and babies
would make their way to the compound, as they had no place to call home.
After much prayer and discussion with their board, it was decided to open
another compound as well, where the mamas and babies could go live, learn the
essentials of life and faith, along with the tools to make it on their
own. And once again the funds came in. In 2021, the Women’s & Infants
Transition Home was opened. With another full home of Ethiopian
staff, 10 single moms with nowhere else to go are able to live at the women’s
home. Over the course of a year, they receive training in basic
life skills, parenting, and the Gospel along with skills training on how to
make items to sell. Item they make include bracelets, soaps, cards and
scrubs. They are taught the basics of business and sell their items
both in Ethiopia and to friends of OCL in the U.S.A, all with the
goal of being self-sufficient. All these funds are saved for their
transition into life out of the home. They are also given training in
trade schools lasting 3-4 months for learning how to become a cook,
housekeeper, seamstress or childcare (being a nanny). Each mama is
provided 3 months of rent upon securing a job and moving from the Women’s
Home.
And it has just kept going. Just after the Women’s home was
opened, a boy’s home was opened just down the street. In this home, boys
from the street who wanted a fresh start could live and grow in the home, go to
school, and learn how to be a productive citizen. Now, the boys who live
in the home help out voluntarily with the feeding program and Vacation Bible
Schools that minister to other street boys who are still stuck in the street
life. Always seeking ways to make the most of Gods provision and to make
the most of the space, the basement of that home, by God’s
provision, was converted into a daycare and was opened to provide care
for the babies of the graduate moms during the day as standard daycare is
overwhelmingly expensive.
Still, God had more, a discipleship program was started,
typically, with about 75 men signing per session. Unfortunately, the
dropout rate is high and usually 12 men graduate. The men who stay
received job training, help do outreach to other street men, and often help
donate money back into the program as they are eternally grateful for being
shown a new way to live, skills to help them be stable but most importantly
living a Christian lifestyle.
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| Street men's breakfast |
All this is accomplished by 18 full-time staff members: two
feeding programs, a discipleship program, a women’s and infants transition
home, a boys home, women’s empowerment training and 109 sponsorship
kids. Affectionately Josh and Jill relayed the story of one of their
first sponsorship children, Ephrem, who was sponsored since he was 9 years
old. He is now a 24 year old young man and an active part of the staff
ministering to the boys from the street and helping with translation.
The excitement and joy of their life work for Josh & Jill was
evident as they were telling me their amazing story. Both feel beyond blessed
in working to make all the things that most of us take for granted such as a
roof over our head, clothes on our backs, enough food to eat and the
opportunity to be self-sufficient, not to mention knowing basic life skills.
Today these children, men, and women have found a soft landing with Christian
love that has forever changed their lives for the better. Josh and
Jill are grateful to God to help them see the need and be instruments in
lessening human suffering.
When I asked if the taxi driver was still driving his taxi, Josh
proudly the man, with the help of an investor, opened several businesses and
employees 90 people, many of whom he has hired after graduating from the job
training programs. His heart still joyful in serving the God who gave His
all for him and happily giving so much of his personal time and resources to
the ministry.
Then Jill happily said the next program that they hope to focus on
is a coffee shop that will be a gift shop wherein the women from their
home can sell their crafts, work, make a good living and be
self-sustaining. Once again, they give it to God in
prayer.
As we finished the interview, I was seeing firsthand the beauty
and faith of two ordinary, but beautiful God filled people doing exactly what
the Bible has taught us. I swear images of Mother Theresa were flashing in my
mind as I was talking to them. When I inquired if they were affiliated with a
church, they replied no. They were just filled with a Jesus loving heart and
doing what God had led them to do. And then as we sat, taking in the moment
that this amazing journey all began because of infertility issues. And in
reflecting at each occurrence along the way with just the right person entering
into the story at just the right time, coincidence? Nope, I personally do not
believe in coincidences, however, I do believe in serendipity by God’s hand.
All you have to do is have the eyes to see it.
Sometimes words aren’t enough to describe the wonderous beauty of
seeing in real life what it looks like for two people to take a leap of faith
to help their fellow mankind and walking a Christian life. To find out
more about their organization, their website is www.onechangedlife.org, email
is info@onechangedlife.org.
And as the promise of the new year awaits for each one of us, what
kind of story will you be living? Where does your heart lead you? May we
all find the faith and courage to live our best life in 2024 and beyond.
All my best, Gayle
