About Michael and Rachel Weller’s ministry
Michael and Rachel Weller were appointed in 1994 to serve in Ethiopia with the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus (EECMY). Michael is PC(USA)’s regional liaison for the Horn of Africa, where PC(USA) works with partner churches in Sudan, South Sudan and Ethiopia. Rachel is health coordinator for the East and West Gambella Bethel Synods of the EECMY in western Ethiopia.
Rachel’s work with three medical clinics in one of the most remote parts of Ethiopia offers her many challenges, the largest of which is finding well-trained medical staff willing to live and work there. She is encouraged by the commitment of the East and West Gambella Bethel Synods to overcoming these obstacles so that the people of the area may have access to health care.
Country context
Ethiopia is the second most populous country in Africa. It has been an independent country since ancient times, and unlike other African countries, it maintained its freedom from colonial rule except for a brief period of Italian occupation from 1936 to 1941. Its monarchy was overthrown in 1974 and the country is now a democratic republic. More than half of the population is Christian and a third is Muslim. While Ethiopia has struggled with severe poverty and hunger issues, it currently boasts one of the fastest-growing economies on the African continent.
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has worked in partnership with the people of Ethiopia for nearly a century. The people of the five Bethel Synods, in the west and southwestern part of the country have a keen sense of kinship with Presbyterians in the United States. Michael and Rachel are very proud to be a part of both communities to be a conduit through which a deeper understanding of God is communicated.
Visit our official website at http://www.countrysideocala.org/ for current information on this special mission ministry.
Michael and Rachel Weller were appointed in 1994 to serve in Ethiopia with the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus (EECMY). Michael is PC(USA)’s regional liaison for the Horn of Africa, where PC(USA) works with partner churches in Sudan, South Sudan and Ethiopia. Rachel is health coordinator for the East and West Gambella Bethel Synods of the EECMY in western Ethiopia.
Rachel’s work with three medical clinics in one of the most remote parts of Ethiopia offers her many challenges, the largest of which is finding well-trained medical staff willing to live and work there. She is encouraged by the commitment of the East and West Gambella Bethel Synods to overcoming these obstacles so that the people of the area may have access to health care.
Country context
Ethiopia is the second most populous country in Africa. It has been an independent country since ancient times, and unlike other African countries, it maintained its freedom from colonial rule except for a brief period of Italian occupation from 1936 to 1941. Its monarchy was overthrown in 1974 and the country is now a democratic republic. More than half of the population is Christian and a third is Muslim. While Ethiopia has struggled with severe poverty and hunger issues, it currently boasts one of the fastest-growing economies on the African continent.
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has worked in partnership with the people of Ethiopia for nearly a century. The people of the five Bethel Synods, in the west and southwestern part of the country have a keen sense of kinship with Presbyterians in the United States. Michael and Rachel are very proud to be a part of both communities to be a conduit through which a deeper understanding of God is communicated.
Visit our official website at http://www.countrysideocala.org/ for current information on this special mission ministry.