This month, we are working at a variety of ministries. Our main ministry is teaching English and spending time with teenagers at an after-school program called Youth Impact. We had a lot of fun last night letting the girls do our hair (see Facebook for some interesting photos!) We also had an amazing opportunity to go into a large orphanage and spend a little time with babies and preschoolers and pray over their futures. We are also volunteering with a group called Women at Risk (WAR). At WAR, we spend time teaching and hanging out with kids from preschool through middle school while their moms have various meetings with the staff there. The women WAR serves are all prostitutes, or were at one time.
What’s been striking about being in Addis Ababa is the amount of travel it takes to get anywhere. I think it’s fair to say that between taxis and walking, we spend about 4 hours a day just traveling to and from our different ministries. We walk about 5 miles per day (I’m working on those leg muscles, Michael!) Here are some things we see on the way.
People selling
tissue packets
chickpeas
banana-flavored gum
shoe shines
phone minutes
second-hand clothes
Animals, like
sheep
dogs
cows
donkeys
Beggars
with babies
with canes
without limbs
without sight
Buildings
made of concrete
made of tin
touching the sky
tiny and rectangular
modern, and historic
People wearing
t-shirts
head scarves
blue jeans
burkas
straw hats
rubber shoes
Dust and dirt
in my eyes
in my ears
up my nose
everywhere
Crazy traffic
like buses
and cars
and blue taxis
and trucks
and bajajes
and the occasional horse-drawn wagon
All add up to create
a one-of-a-kind experience
walking down the streets
of Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia.
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While I have been fully funded for some time thanks to the Lord and all you wonderful people, I still have two teammates needing to raise funds to reach the full amount needed. Please check out Alexa’s and Hannah’s blogs and prayfully consider making a donation of any amount to help my friends continue their Race!
I love you all, thank you!
