9/9/12
Since we have been on the compound
not a ton has happened. It’s really strange because we have 3 meals a day (with
not a lot of protein so my blood sugar has had a REALLY hard time adjusting)
but the weirdest part about it is that we’re served by a lot of the women and
house girls. And we rarely have to do anything for ourselves. I don’t really
like it to be honest. I’m struggling with this balance of service. My sole
reason for deciding to move across the world, away from everything I know and am
comfortable with was to come and serve the community of Yetebon and since I’ve
been here we have been the ones to be served. Maybe it’s a pride issue (let’s
be honest, it’s a pride issue.) In reality I think I’m going to learn A LOT
from being here by getting to see what a genuinely, beautiful servant’s heart
looks like in action. The only things we’ve done so far have been overseeing the cleaning of the library
(because every time I tried to pick up a broom to sweep, one of the house kids
would take it from me and do the job themselves) and clean out and reorganize
the Pedagogy Room (which is just where a ton of teaching aid posters and extra
supplies and things of that nature are housed.) Cleaning that room took place
over the span of 3 days because it had never been cleaned out or organized
properly before. We got to go to the hospital one day because we needed an
Ethiopian doctor to clear us for a work permit. It’s just about a mile up the
road and while traveling the incredibly rocky, uneven, unpaved road we get
stared at a lot. Mainly by children. It’s really sweet when they yell from the
doorways of their huts and just want us to wave back at them. The hospital
itself is really nice for a hospital located in rural Africa. It’s really clean
and seems to be fully operative.
Other than those few things, we
mainly do a lot of reading, hanging out with the house kids between their
chores, some more reading, playing sports with the house kids for about an hour
and a half between the end of their chores and dinner time. In the midst of
playing with the kids we have gotten the chance to hear some of their stories.
The coolest thing about some of the stories is the way some of them have come
to know Jesus through the things they’ve gone through. Lemlem is one girl in
particular who has such a solid grasp on and vision for spreading the Gospel.
She speaks the best English of all the house kids and is so willing to help in
translating and teaching others (even adults) how to read and write in English.
She has an incredibly mild spirit but she is also so brave, bold, and wise
beyond her years. I really believe there is a difference between innocence and naiveté
because Lemlem and so many of the other house kids are walking examples of
that. They have not been jaded by what they’ve endured in life. Rather, they
exude the faith of a child the way Jesus tells us to. The way I wish I knew
how. We also got the privilege to attend their non-denominational church
worship service on Sunday. There were moments that I was overwhelmed by how
good our God is in the way His glory is displayed by these people. There are so
many people here who know real physical, emotional, and psychological
suffering; yet they still worship whole heartedly and purely out of thankful
hearts for what Christ has done in their lives. I didn’t know anything they
were saying the whole time, but there were definitely points where I felt
invited to worship with them (how could I not when there were beautiful
children with raised hands jumping up and down and making a joyful noise before
the Lord?) I remember thinking to myself “These people just get it. I want to
get it the way they do and have even a fraction of their faith.” It’s simply
incredible.
There is one girl named Eyerus (pronounced A-Rousse) who
kinda loves me but doesn’t really want to. She is what we in the States would
describe as special ed. I think I’m beginning to figure her out a little bit.
Yesterday, she wanted to walk back from church with me but she didn’t want me
to acknowledge that she was next to me. If I did, and that could’ve been
something as simple as smile at her, she would fall back a bit and walk behind
me for a minute. After a little bit of time she would catch back up and
continue singing the same song over and over again (once again, I have no idea
what she’s saying but the song somehow got stuck in my head for the rest of the
day.) Later that evening when we were all down at the basketball court, she
stood a little ways away from me and just watched me but still didn’t want me
to acknowledge her. I smiled at her one time and she made a face at me, haha!
After some time of letting her watch me, I patted the ground next to where I
was sitting and she decided to come over and have a seat and continue her
incessant chorus of the song she’d been singing all day. She’s very sweet in
her own way. I actually really appreciate her stubbornness and wanting to do
things in her own timing. I think I relate to her in that aspect more than I
would want to admit.
There are a lot of really sweet things to reflect on and
appreciate and definitely see the Lord’s hand in. On the other hand, there are
still some really funny things that we have to get used to as well. For
example, we can’t flush our toilet paper, we have to burn our own trash, giant
bugs (ones we’ve decided to refer to as “divebombers”) sneaking in to our room
and zooming around at record-breaking speeds and then spontaneously
dive-bombing us when we least expect it (hence the name.) One time, we looked
down and in the middle of the floor of our room there were HUNDREDS of ants
displaying the definition of team work as they carried a dead cricket towards
wherever the heck they even came from. The only thing we could do was just
laugh and bask in how impressive the act truly was. I also keep referring to
our time here as a “trip.” At first it was just an accident because in my mind
that’s all this was but Betsy keeps reminding me that we actually just live
here. For almost a full year, ha! Now I call it a trip because it’s funny to joke
about. I think once we finally start teaching it’ll start to feel more like a
normal thing. Whenever that actually is. TIA.
9/11/12
Today was the Ethiopian New Year. They’ve finally made it to
the year 2005! The New Year is celebrated in a really cool way here (in the
Gurage region anyway.) It started last night by having a huge bonfire with all
the house kids. The kids banged on makeshift drums, chanted different poems,
sang songs together, danced, and clapped all the while having huge smiles on their
faces. While this was all happening I had a “Holy crap, I live in Africa”
moment. It was awesome. This morning we were woken up by mischievous boys
cracking huge, homemade whips outside our bedroom window (given the idea and
egged on by our very own Teacher Thomas.) They thought it was SO funny so I
guess the fact that we thought guns were being shot outside our window was
worth their joy in it all. When we finally emerged from our room for breakfast
we were surprised to see all the kids looking super dapper and beautiful in
“new” clothes. The littlest girls were wearing such cute, frilly dresses and
all of the girls had gotten their hair done (a pretty standard New Year
tradition in Ethiopia.) They were just glowing. And no one had to do any chores
today so we just got to play, read with, and hang out with the kids all day!!
Another really cool thing we got to be a part of was a
traditional Buna (coffee) Roasting Ceremony. They had a circle of chairs set up
underneath this beautiful area of trees with a table set up in the middle with
a fresh bouquet of flowers, a GIANT bowl of popcorn, and a HUGE loaf of bread.
During the ceremony they roasted the coffee beans, ground them, and then served
us the freshest coffee I’ve ever consumed. It was another weird moment of
having to be served because they set up really nice chairs for the ferenges to
sit in and it was as if we were the honorary guests. It really didn’t feel
right because it was their holiday we were celebrating but they insisted. The
beautiful Lemlem did most of the serving throughout the entire ceremony. It was
incredible to watch a 17 year old girl take on such a leadership role with such
grace and humility. After everyone was served and enjoyed lots of buna,
popcorn, and bread, Lemlem closed the ceremony by thanking us for coming to
share our gifts with them and told us how much they appreciate us. We haven’t
even done anything yet. I can’t even explain how honored and thankful I’ve felt
to get to watch and be a part of the simply beautiful things that bring joy to
life here. It has honestly brought me real joy as well and I have genuine
moments with the Lord where I feel at peace and at home with where I am (It
would be hard for me not to feel at home in a place that has celebratory coffee
ceremonies. Maybe I was supposed to be born in Ethiopia or something?)
Just when I think I’ve experienced
enough thankfulness, fun, and joy for one day, we were pleasantly surprised
once more at dinner. Zondra told us she had noticed that one of the house boys,
Bechernet, was missing from the Buna Ceremony for part of the time. Turns out
the reason he was late was because he was working really hard on gifts for us.
He made hand-made personal notes of scripture for us. It really may be the
nicest gift I have ever received. When you look closely at the computer paper
that it’s made on, you’re able to see the faint pencil marks where he took the
time to use a ruler to draw lines on the paper to ensure that his words were
written as nicely as possible. He made special designs on each of them and mine
had a glossy piece of paper that said “You’re Special” glued to it. The piece
of scripture that Bechernet chose for mine said, “In their hands, they shall
bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.” Psalm 91:12. (Maybe I’ll
figure out the significance of the verse throughout my stay here.) Each gift
was partnered with a pamphlet describing why we’re all special in the eyes of
God. It was a truly humbling experience to see how grateful some of these kids
are to be able to receive an education and to just be loved by someone. They
just know what it’s like to be saved by Jesus and know the joy that comes with
3 consistent meals a day and the chance to receive some kind of affection every
day. God’s beauty and glory is magnified here and I don’t know why I was lucky
enough to have been sent here to get to experience it. I, without a doubt, do
not deserve it but am deeply grateful. I am under no impression that this means
I am not going to be broken at some point in the midst of this; but for now I
shall remain encouraged and thankful. I think there is something to be said
about what/why God is allowing me to be a part of and experience at the
beginning of this new year. Even if it’s for a time in the future where I need
something to recall God’s goodness. HAPPY NEW YEAR!
10/17/12
As I sit down to write an update on
my life here in Yetebon, Ethiopia I am reminded that I need to make a stronger
effort at documenting my time here because there is just so much I want to
share and now am unable to sort through it all in my brain to pick out some of
the highlights. I will try my hardest now not to ramble on too long about the
mundane but forgive me when I do. Because I will…
We finally started school here at
Project Mercy on Monday September 24th and then took the rest of the
week off (ha we didn’t really understand why we wouldn’t just wait for the next
week to roll around but it wasn’t our call so we were forced to oblige) for a
holiday known as Meskal. Meskal is the holiday that celebrates the finding of
the Cross. They do it big around here with yet another giant bonfire, the kids
were served a delicacy known as kitfo (which is literally seasoned raw ground
beef mmm..), and were allowed to take 4 days off of school and the workers were
relieved of their duties. We ferenges took advantage of this short vacation as
all 8 of us plus our driver all crammed in a Land Cruiser and headed down south
(not the same as referred to in Wagon
Wheel so don’t be confused there). We got to explore some of the Great Rift
Valley lakes that Ethiopia has to offer in addition to the beautiful Bale
Mountains. While doing so, we got to see some really cool African wildlife that
I never thought I’d see outside of Disney’s The
Lion King. Some of the animals we got to see up close and personal include
warthogs, ostriches, hartebeests, flamingos, hippos and quite a few more whose
names escape me now. Needless to say, we were maybe more thankful than the
students were to have that time off of school.
The next week we actually hit the
ground running with some education around here. To update you all who may not
know, in coming here I thought I was going to be teaching high school Economics
or maybe even English. However, a lesson that I’ve been forced to learn since
being here is that you can never place expectations on ANYTHING. A plan is
simply speculative and is subject to change at any point. For various reasons,
one being that I didn’t “study” English at the university, I was told that I am
not allowed to teach either one of the subjects that I had expected to. So they
decided that they could use me in their kindergarten department (known as KG).
At first I didn’t really know how to feel about that but then after giving it
some thought, I decided that I was actually really excited about the
opportunity to be the first consistent English speaker to be working in KG.
Unfortunately, kindergarten has yet to begin (rumor has it, it is suppose to
tomorrow but I am for sure not holding my breath on that one.) The selection
process to be admitted in to the school is similar to that of a lottery. I am
told that hundreds of children show up, and after being deemed eligible to actually
begin school, they draw their fate out of a bowl. The paper will either have the
school’s seal stamped on it or it won’t. Those who get the stamp are in and
those who don’t will come back next year and hope that the odds will be ever in
their favor (yeah I just made a Hunger Games allusion. So sue me.) So, what
have I been doing in the meantime you ask? Well at first I just went to various
classes with some of the other teachers and acted as crowd control for a few
days. Then, lucky for me and not so lucky for Zondra, our other English teacher
Zondra came down with a case of pneumonia and last Thursday, 10 minutes before
school started, the headmaster told me he needed me to fill in for her. Since
then I have been teaching two 6th grade, 8th, 10th,
and 12th grade English. I am absolutely in LOVE with my 6th
grade classes because they have this contagious enthusiasm for learning and are
just hilarious in class.
Enough of the boring petty details
about the day-to-day and on to the good stuff…interactions with the people. To
preface, there is a river about a mile and a half up the road from our compound
that Betsy and I jog to. Every day that we step out of the compound, we are
swarmed by local children and asked a million times “WHAT IS YOUR NAME?” or “HOW
OLD ARE YOU?” because those are the few phrases they have memorized after being
taught in school or by older siblings who have learned them in school. Anyway,
one instance that sticks out to me, however simple it was, is after running up
to the river the other day I decided to sit for a few minutes to catch my
breath and just sit in this spectacular creation (I seriously wish everyone
could experience where I live.) After sitting by myself for just a few minutes,
slowly but surely a child started creeping up behind me and the never-failing
question was asked: “What is your name?” After exchanging names we had exhausted
our conversation topics because neither one of us were able to say anything
else that the other would understand. So we resorted to just sitting next to
each other. Only about a moment of silence passed before this sweet child began
to sing a song and I am convinced it was his way of telling me that we are now
friends. Since being immersed in a community where verbal communication is
extremely limited, I have started to really believe that the Lord has a universal
language that is Love. Even though we can’t say it to each other, there was an
understood appreciation for one another. It was such a delight to see my friend
two days later at the river again. Maybe to meet at the river is like our
thing. I really look forward to my future interactions with him!
Then, once I got back from the run,
I walked down to the basketball court/field area to see the kids and after
watching them play with their makeshift see-saw (made out of a thin log that
was once part of a soccer goal placed on top of some rusty, probably tetanus
infected, metal box all propped up on a small mound of grass) I got to go on a
walk around the compound with my friend Eyerus (one of the house kids that I’ve
mentioned in a previous post.) While walking, we sang a handful of English
worship songs to which she knew the words (probably not the meaning though.)
During our walk I was sure we were speaking through that language of Love I was
talking about before that comes straight from the Lord.
Speaking of the house kids…good gosh
they are wonderful! They are more like family already than could have ever been
expected. When we are away from the compound for a weekend or any extended period
of time we always find ourselves admitting to one another “I really miss the
house kids.” Turns out they are beginning to feel the same way about us because
any time a car shows up to take us anywhere there is a group of kids frantically
asking where we are going and how long we will be gone. Last weekend we left
the compound for just a day trip to one of the surrounding lakes and after
having been gone for only 9 hours, I got out of the car and heard “MANDY!” It
was my very good friend Selam (who is in 5th grade and I am slightly
obsessed with because she reminds me so much of myself aka she is just a pest
to the other kids and is always up to something mischevious) and she ran
straight to me and wrapped me in the biggest hug as if I had been gone for
weeks. Following that, there was a whole line of kids waiting to hug us!
Nothing beats a welcome-home like that!
Ok, one more story and then I’ll
sign off (I love telling stories and there is a very small number of folks
around here that understand what I’m saying in order for me to tell them a
story so this is my way of decompressing. Thanks for listening.) There is
another Selam who lives here on the compound but she is only 5 years old. So,
the other day Selam and I were hanging out in a field that is the home to 3
broken-down trucks and she decided she wanted to play inside the trucks. So we
did. Selam was “driving” one of them and I was riding shot gun and eventually I
guess we got to wherever we were “going” so we got out and moved to the bed of
the truck and were just hanging out, talking to each other (term used loosely
because it was more like gestures) and somehow it was communicated that when
kindergarten starts, I am going to be her teacher and she yelled out, “Gobez!”
(which means ‘good’) and extended her hand for me to return a high-five. We are
both really looking forward to that actually happening!
So, the theme here has been Love. It’s
mind-blowing the possibilities that life holds and the boundaries that
disappear when things are done out of love. When it’s literally the only thing
you have to offer. It strips you of anything you think is good about yourself
and forces you to present the only thing worth giving. The Love of our Holy
Father.
Until the
next ridiculously long post…
