Page 94 - Unseen Hands by Nona Freeman

Unseen Hands
answered. "My Lord was beaten by men who did not know Him. If they had known who He was, they would not havecrucified Him. I will say as my Lord did, 'Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.' "
The Orthodox clergy then had Gebre-Egziabher thrown into prison with common criminals. Outraged, the empress Zewditu sent an official to release him. He re fused freedom, declaring, "I have found a needy field where I can preach to hungry souls." He finally agreed to leave jail on the condition that he would be allowed to return and minister whenever he chose.
The monk remained a consistent thorn in the flesh to orthodoxyuntil his death at the venerable age of 120.
Salome, the girl who grieved over the monk's ston ing, grew up with a heart tender toward God. She mar ried a man name Asfaw, and they lived in Addis Ababa with their six children—two sons, Tewodros and Yohan- nes; and four daughters, Marta, Sophia, Aster, and Genet—all of whom serve God today.
One day Salome saw an old, white man with a long, snowy beard circling their property while he called out something. She could only understand one word he said: "Asfaw" (her husband's name). Immobile from wonder and surprise, she watched as he found a small hole in the
backfence and crawled through, found a chair in the yard, and sat down. When Salome came to speak to him, he askedher name. Heignoredher answer, "Salome," and said, "Youare Lisa.My name is Alfred David. I am a ser vant of Jesus Christ, who is the one true God. He spoke to me in my own country of Holland and told me to come to Ethiopia and tell the people of this land who He is and
that He wants to live in their hearts in the power of the 92