it followed me home; can i keep it? 

i was given a world magazine by john bascom because the cover story was about ethiopia. he thought it would be good for me to read before my trip to ethiopia. i have to admit, i hadn't had a chance to read it until after my trip which was probably better because a few of the places that i visited (selam and the fistula hospital) while in addis ababa were mentioned in the article, so it was nice to be able to put a name with a photographic picture of the experience i had when i toured both places.

where there is coffee, may there be peace and prosperity.
--from ethiopian coffee ceremony

it seems parts of ethiopia have followed me home. when i took a roadtrip with my family through new england at the end of july, we visited a green mountain coffee shop/museum. lo and behold, ethiopia was there waiting for me.

and a couple weekends ago, i attended passport to forever which is a fundraiser benefiting the international adoption center, a program at the cincinnati children's hospital. i read about an article in our local newpaper about adoption and it advertised the event. all the money raised will go toward the international adoption center at children's hospital which services include helping the parents and adopted children get acclimated emotionally and medically prior to and after adoption as well as providing informational programs concerning adoption.

interestingly enough, the theme this year was "celebrating africa." my ethiopia team members introduced the author, melissa fay greene, to me during our mission trip. she had adopted two orphans from ethiopia and wrote a book that a couple of my ethiopia team members were reading on the trip and highly recommended. she also happened to be the keynote speaker for passport to forever.

because i have a heart for adoption and for ethiopia and the speaker was adamantly touted, i could not pass this opportunity up. and i have to say, the event was well worth the pricey ticket. melissa seemed like a very down-to-earth and passionate lady. she even mentioned big and little a hope, orphanages for children who are hiv positive which i had visited while in ethiopia ! she didn't hesitate to bring humor into her speech and i look forward to reading her book, there is no me without you.

i continue to pray for my team members, the orphans, and for ethiopia daily. God has placed each of these in my life for a reason and i am patiently anticipating the day that i will return to that beautiful country. all these events are gentle reminders from God that He has something awesome in store for me in the future. it may be related to ethiopia, it may not... but i'm sure He will reveal it in His own time.

and we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.  - romans 8:28 -

my journey to the beautiful flower, addis ababa (exerpts from my journal)

wednesday, june 25, 2008

barrett and friend

we gathered up some of our donations to bring to kechene learning center: face-paint, footballs, fingernail polish, jump ropes, and polaroid cameras so the kids could get snapshots of their painted faces.  

we were playing with the children when it started to rain, so we decided to start face-painting and fingernail painting. i painted a lot of faces today. all the kids wanted ethiopian flags on their cheeks and foreheads and chins. some wanted aig and arsenal (both soccer-related) on their faces.

afterwards, our team gathered together for a coffee ceremony and almas, the caretaker/head of kechene, told us a little bit about the purpose and history of kechene. one thing that struck me about her was that she was so humble and that her relationship and faith in God was so strong. i could tell she had a truly compassionate heart for all the children there. when barrett asked what we could do to help, she simply said, "pray for us." many times people would ask her that same question and they would end up making the mistake of promising things they couldn't deliver, so she learned to not ask for specific things. almas had such a heavenly view of this world; her heart was pure and was that of a servant of God. just being in her presence was an awesome experience.

then we walked around the streets outside kechene, visiting a few neighboring houses near the learning center. the roads were muddy because of the rain; thank God it didn't rain too much after we started exploring the streets of addis ababa.

all the natives were staring at us and all these children started joining our group wanting to shake our hands and say hello to the tribe of traveling ferenge. i sort of felt like forest gump when he was running across the usa and little by little, people started running with him. i loved smiling and waving to strangers as we passed because they would return the favor. if i did this in the united states, i would get crazy looks from people. maybe i should start a trend...

when we visited houses in the neighborhood near kechene, i was blown away by the kindness and generosity of those whose homes we were invited. there were so many of us that we barely fit into the cozy rooms of the homes; the hosts would bustle around, gathering chairs or stools for us to sit on. we would stand, not wanting to trouble them, but they beckoned to the open seats, insisting we sit down. we, these strangers from another country, were treated like old friends. we talked with them and ended with a prayer of blessing on each house.

this entire experience was so powerful and said so much about the ethiopian culture: there is so much love, respect, humbleness, and joy in their lives. i think our lives in the usa are so cluttered with things that we miss these more important aspects that make life worth living. relationships, human contact... in essence, people is what Jesus' ministry was all about.

my journey to the beautiful flower, addis ababa (exerpts from my journal)

tuesday, june 24, 2008

we arrived in addis ababa around 2am this morning. after more than 30 hours spend on an airplane in the last few days, we were exhausted and thankful to feel the concrete underneath our feet.

after getting our visas, we made our way to the baggage claim and found out we were missing a lot of our baggages. everyone except rhiannon was missing suitcases. emily and i were missing our suitcases which contained our clothes, but the other girls were gracious enough to lend us clothes.

goodness, God was testing our patience. after all that mess was cleared up and getting through security again, it was nearly to 5am.

geoffrey, who was our team leader, and surafel, our translator, met us and helped to load all of our stuff on top of the bus. we were finally on our way to the guesthouse ! during the ride, brad pointed out that there were people running in the streets... morning exercise perhaps? the night air was quite chilly. cold enough for a thick jacket. i was told later on that people stand outside before 9am to wait to be hired as manual labor for the day. if they aren't hired by 9am, they don't work that day and therefore, don't earn any money.

we reached the guesthouse and were all amazed. compared to the tin shacks that lined the dark streets, our guesthouse was a palace. it was very luxurious inside with a lustrous dining room, comfortable bunkbeds, modern bathrooms, and beautiful balconies. we all said later on that we were prepared to rough it during the time we were in ethiopia and were completely blown away by how home-y the guesthouse was... maybe a little too home-y to the point where we felt guilty for staying in such nice quarters when the houses around us were so shabby and primitive. sometimes God is a little too good to us...

-------

that afternoon, we had spaghetti for lunch -- well, more like noodles with ethiopian sauce, bread, and fresh pineapple juice. it was absolutely delicious !

addis ababa definitely looked different in the daytime than it did at night. what a gorgeous place ! and so peaceful. the view from the balconies was picturesque.

i couldn't take my eyes off the windows during our drive to kechene orphanage. there was so much life going on outside. children running and playing, some of them begging. animals, like goats and donkeys, in the street. i saw an adult begger who was missing both legs, crawling, dragging his body along the sidewalk. stick scaffolding near buildings in the process of being built and erected. people lounging outside little bars and shops. we drove past a landfill where i saw stray dogs lingering, vultures flying above, and children looking for food or things to sell.

it's so hard to fathom how the usa can be so wealthy and how ethiopia lives in such poverty. or maybe it's the other way around...

when we reached kechene, all the little kids were waving and smiling as the bus parked. once we got off, they all crowded around us and held our hands and hugged us. they welcomed me like they had seen me before. i ended up talking to a 14-year-old, bellatu, who pulled me into a nearby classroom to show me pictures. barrett came in a little later and asked me how i was doing and how i was feeling. to be honest, it was overwhelming and when i finally spoke, i had to try hard so my voice wouldn't crack. i felt tears beginning to well up in my eyes as i said, "it's all so beautiful. the city. the children. it's a little much to take in." the feeling was something i had never felt before and it was incredible and undescribable.

there was this unspeakable joy when these little beings came up to me, a ferenge (foreigner), and held my hand, wanting love, wanting to be touched. and their smiles and laughter were so contagious. their eyes were sparkling, so full of life and such happiness.

since bellatu was showing me photos, i decided to pull out the ones i had brought (of family, friends, osu football, cicadas) from home. they LOVED them and pounced on them, eagerly flipping through them and wanting to know the story behind each one. all the kids grabbed ones they liked, wanting to keep the photos for themselves, but i couldn't relinquish them because i didn't have enough to give.

later, the children sang songs to us and we sang songs to them - Jesus loves me, this little light of mine, the hokey pokey... just to name a few. we danced and they danced and then it was time to leave. we would be back the next day.

the orphans taught me to love better - to love strangers better, to have a heart and compassion for those i don't know because if i don't have that, i become hardened and cold which is not how Jesus loved. He had a heart for everyone, no matter what status a person held in life. He loved the unloveable, the lowest in society, the outcasts.

what a day. what a day...

my journey to the beautiful flower, addis ababa (exerpts from my journal)

sunday, june 22, 2008

 
today's devotion was based on philippians 2 to get our minds prepared for our mission trip. here are some notes i jotted down:

• we [my team] are united with Christ - despite different backgrounds, different walks/stages of life, my team is together in Christ. we worship the same God
• consider others better than yourself - be prepared with a servant heart
• extremes
  • make yourself nothing - phil. 2:7
  • obedient to death - phil. 2:8
• God works in each one of us
• didn't run/labor for nothing
• we are all capable and have a purpose on this trip
• shine like stars - phil. 2:15
• on this trip, i am giving up my right to:
  • job search
  • sleep in my own bed
  • surf the internet when i want
  • email/phone family/friends
  • have personal space/privacy
  • be familiar (language, clean drinking water, people, places)
  • eat what i want (choice of foods)

just some things for me to remember and keep close to my heart as i'm serving God and the ethiopians...

monday, june 23, 2008

so we've been traveling all day. it's been shuttle rides, standing in line, toting our carry-on luggage like snails, eating and waiting for our flights. i don't know how people constantly travel for business trips; it must be extremely exhausting and frustrating -- getting acclimated to the time changes, sleeping in a bed that's not your own, living out of a suitcase, eating on the go. it's comforting to know that there are so many people praying for us because i was getting squirmy from being on the planes for so long.

 our travels looked like this:   DALLAS --» LONDON --» JORDAN (re-fueling the plane) --» ADDIS

rhiannon had a little incident when we arrived in london. she had a seat on the plane reserved for her, but for some strange reason, the airline wasn't able to print her ticket off without higher authority. after 1.5 hours, it was all sorted out.

God has been incredibly present during this trip and things have fallen into place and worked themselves out. it's been an amazing experience already and we haven't even set foot in africa yet. i'm still praying for our duffel bags which are full of supplies and donations; we had forgotten to put locks on them. i pray they get to ethiopia safely...

my journey to the beautiful flower, addis ababa (exerpts from my journal)

saturday, june 21, 2008

my flight left cincinnati for dallas at 11am today and my family came with me to send me off.

it's always strange saying goodbye in airports even though i know it's only for a short period of time. i've always found airports to be strange places; they're where reunions and farewells occur at the beginning or end of long trips. and they can sometimes carry a lot of emotions... good or bad... like in hollywood movies - the person is chasing after the person of their dreams or saying goodbye forever or getting chased by some type of law enforcement and getting shot at. you know, the usual.

more on topic, it's a place where the paths of strangers are forced to cross because of a similar destination, but usually dissimilar agendas. plus, going through security is an experience that touches on the science fiction, what with semi-stripping, x-ray machines, and metal detectors. and now there's a machine that blows puffs of air at you to check for explosives and narcotics. next thing you know, they'll be screening for iq levels...

my flight went without a hitch. i dozed off during the plane ride with earplugs in place. (i'm such a light sleeper that they are a true godsend: i used them during my entire trip to ethiopia and slept like a baby.) the only times i woke up were when the curvy stewardess bumped me with her rear end because she was bending over to take the order of the man sitting across the aisle and when my cranberry apple juice finally came.

-------

in dallas...

i met up with half of my teammates, the rest were going to meet us in ethiopia. there were 8 of us: 7 girls and 1 guy. we had introductions with skittles (a different color represented a different topic to share: family, expectations for the trip, hopes/dreams, fears/phobias, etc.) and then there was one where we had to tell an embarrassing story about ourselves and the rest of the team would have to come up with a nickname for us. it was funny how very comfortable we were with each other because we were sharing stories that involved hairy legs, poop, and lots of falling down. it was really great to see how God has led us this far and how He's worked in our hearts up until now. i'm really excited to see how God will use each of us and how God will use these kids to minister to us.

we also were trying to figure out how to get all the supplies to ethiopia (linens, donations, and other supplies for the guesthouse we would be staying at in ethiopia) and we found out that each one of us had missionary status so we were allowed to bring 3 bags, in addition to 1 carry-on ! thank God for that !

i think the excitement of this trip is starting to finally sink in. today has been a busy day of team building and just watching God begin to work in and intertwine our lives.