Finally! It is so good to be able to update ya’ll on what the Lord has been doing in my life and the lives of others over this past month. Here is the first of several blogs for Ethiopia:
We arrived in Ethiopia in the middle of the night after a six hour layover in Istanbul. After gathering our bags together, we found a corner lined with benches, pulled out our sleeping bags and fell asleep. I remember how awkward I felt the first time I slept in an airport. Now all I feel is intense relief and delight when I successfully find the quietest corner where I can curl up in my sleeping bag, zipped all the way over my head to block out all light.
My team and I are working with a ministry called HOPEthiopia in the village of Harbu Chalule about two and a half hours outside of Addis Ababa. I have loved this ministry and I am daily awed by the beauty of Ethiopia. I wish I could share a typical day of what ministry looks like, but there are no typical days here. HOPEthiopia has a large plot of land here in Harbu Chalule that houses twenty five orphans and a group of elderly, bringing together the new and old generation to love on and support one another. One of the things that we have been doing is cleaning and painting the next group of homes to house more orphans and elderly. There are several other projects under the umbrella of this ministry, such as fundraising for and supporting local children or families, wells, reforestation, gardening, trades training and so on.
We do not have wifi here and if you are reading this, it means that I have successfully found wifi in Addis. Yeah! My team is staying here with another team from our squad and we have been blessed beyond measure with bunkbeds, showers, a washing machine, an amazing kitchen and a huge living room to gather in. Along with these physical comforts, we have gotten to live with an amazing staff that cares for us so well (Yeshi, the cook, has saved me from a couple rice cooking disasters).
As I type, children are gathering around the back door. The two window panes at their eye level are covered with hand prints, kisses and so on. I love them so very much! Every time I step outside I am greeted with hugs, but not just any hugs. These hugs begin several yards away, starting as a run, they soon turn into a sprint. At a distance just far enough away that I begin to worry I won’t catch the little one in time, they jump. Despite my worry, I always catch them and it is always just as sweet as the first day we met them and ran to meet one another.
My hands are never empty. They are always filled with little hands pulling me somewhere. Most of the time I love this and sometimes I am tired of being touched, but even in those moments I remember that time is short and I am only with these treasures for a month.
The other day, I was holding one of the younger ones (maybe about three years old). It was later afternoon and he was clearly tired from a busy day. As I sat there with his little head resting under my chin, I was suddenly filled with a deep sense of purpose. This little one, who had experienced so much trauma in his short life, felt safe enough and loved enough to fall asleep in my arms. There were many times before he came to HOPEthiopia that he was ignored and neglected. Until recently he had been unseen by the world, but as I sat there with my arms wrapped just a little more tightly around him, Jesus shared the fierce love that He has for this little one with me. What a privilege to get to hold him! Along with this beautiful, intense love that I got to experience for this child, I also had a really sweet moment of fully loving the body that God has given me. I am strong enough to lift up these little ones and I am a safe haven for them. I can carry them and snuggle them, receive and give hugs, and share my life with these children all because of the body that God has given me. How beautiful!
This blog has lots of little bits and pieces in it and there is so much more that I would love to share , but I think I will just have to start a new one.
Life Update:
I am actually in Rwanda now and sitting at a coffee shop with great wifi:)
