Page 156 - Unseen Hands by Nona Freeman

Unseen Hands
remembered His words in John 15:5: "I am the vine, ye are the branches."
The church cannot exist as a small, isolated branch; it must be one with the tree. . .the vine, Tekle thought. The church has authority to bind and to loose in the name of Jesus, and it will be greatly blessed by unity. Each branch must supply and share its God-given responsibili ty as illustrated by I Corinthians 3:6: "I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase." I •will pastor the flock the Lord has given me and work untiringly for the body to become one. We will follow the teaching of the Bible and the United Pentecostal Church as Brother Wendell taught us.
Brother Harris had been appointed superintendent of Ethiopia just after he went to Kenya in 1972. Brother Freeman went with him to •visit the work as often as possi ble. Early in 1974 they found services in progress again, since the emperor had to give his undivided attention to maintaining his power. Political turmoil gripped the land in vicelike tentacles; the country bristled with intrigue, tension, and unexplained murders. Both missionaries felt disturbed over the lack of progress in the work under Amare.
Erkenesh had her fourth child on April 16, 1975. His parents named him Abraham, believing that God would pour out the blessing of Abraham on them and the church. This came to pass before the year ended.
Tekle let it be known that he wanted to bridge the gap between the two works led by him and Amare, and three ladies from Amare's group felt God's leading to be mediators. When they approached their pastor, he answered haughtily, 'T cannot work with Tekle; he
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