“I’m living in Ethiopia.”
And I whip open the curtain covering the window over my bunk bed and marvel at the field of green and yellow flowers just a stone’s throw away. It’s moments like this where the only word I can get out of my mouth is “Wow.”
I have moments like this all the time. I never want to lose my sense of awe and wonder at the world and at God. So much so that I got the word “wonder” tattooed. It sits on top my hip and is a beautiful reminder to always stand in awe. I go for walks with Jesus here in Ethiopia through luscious meadows and bright fields of beauty. Each time I pick a yellow flower and place it in my hair and listen to Abba tell me how much He adores me as His daughter. I laugh and skip and twirl like a little girl and delight in my Heavenly Father.
These days He has been waking me up at 4:30 in the morning. I think it’s because I prayed a prayer at the beginning of the month “God, I want more of You! I need to have more of You!” Well, here He is waking me up earlier and earlier to get more time with Him. I’m not mad about it. I tip toe in the dark out of my small brick-covered bedroom full of my teammates and our favorite cook, carrying my blanket, my Bible and journal, and my phone. The guesthouse is creeping with darkness until I flip the switch for a lamp in my little corner. It takes about an hour for the sun to join me in worship and make an appearance and during that hour I just sit. I just sit in His presence and simply just BE.
This was a hard habit to begin. I’ve struggled my whole life with DOING and PERFORMING that to just SIT seemed like I wasn’t doing ENOUGH for Him. I have found out on the race that God desires for me to operate out of just being with Him. He just wants to hang out with us! Imagine that! I learned to set down my “formula” of trying to please Him or serve Him better than the next person, but the key is being able to just be okay sitting and being loved by Him. Once you know you are loved, everything changes. I stand firm in the knowledge that I am loved and made so perfect by the Creator of the universe. There were many years where God was chasing after me with all He has, and it finally feels like now I am chasing Him right back.
Once the sun stands a little higher and begins to change the color of the sky from black to red and orange, where the dark looming clouds turn into cotton candy, I bundle up in my giant blanket and venture outside to worship… and stand in awe. Again, I marvel at the colors of the fields and flowers illuminating His beauty, I lay down and count the birds that fly over the now blue sky, I dance and sway with Jesus just as the blades of grass do in the wind, and I sing- I sing my heart out to my God who deserves more praise than I ever could give Him. I pray earnestly for my friends who are running away from Jesus just like I did once upon a time, I intercede for my family who needs a coating of His peace, and I call out to God to continue to captivate my heart.
I make my way back inside to my little nook and try and find more of Him in His Word as I wait for breakfast. And just like clock work, my beautiful new friend who cooks for us every day steps out of the kitchen with a huge smile and claps her hands like a salsa dancer. I’m normally the first in line for her pancakes or eggs or French toast (I know, we are so spoiled).
My teammate surprises me with a banana and avocado from the local market. GOLD in my hands. Fruits and veggies are a hot commodity here because our diet, made by such wonderful and joyful and sacrificing cooks, is mostly carbs. The norms are toast, pasta, spaghetti, potatoes, pasta, lasagna, pasta, pancakes, French toast, pasta, and an occasional salad. Very thankful for the days I can get a piece of fruit- my digestive cycle is currently non existent (we are working on it).
At 9am sharp I am off to ministry. At Hope Ethiopia, each team is assigned to a house full of kids. I have 6 wonderful kiddos that have stolen my heart. One little girl living with 5 boys- sounds familiar. I have a soft spot in my heart for her. We bring a Bible story with a craft and I do my best to stay animated and tell about Daniel, or Joseph, or Shadrach, Mesach, and Abendego. It’s my favorite time. The kids are so engaged and they LOVE acting out the story. We color Moses parting the sea, Daniel in the lions den, or make our own coat of many colors. One morning we were welcomed with bouquets of wild flowers they each picked for us and it felt like I could hear our hearts melting together. For three hours I get energy from the Lord and teach, color, and play with these children. Their favorite game is baseball, oddly enough. Definitely not mad about that- makes me miss home, though.
Most days me and a group of my squadmates make time to work out together before lunch and the kids join us as we pick up construction bricks as weights and do lunges across the back porch (it’s adorable). Lunch comes with more pasta and the sharing of stories of laughter of who has the sweetest or more defiant kids. I think I have both.
The hours after lunch are specifically designated for “team time.” My new team, cleverly named Snap, Crackle, Pop, takes time each weekday to do life with one another. Some days it’s Bible study, blogging, or a fun activity or movie, and other days its worship, prayer, or just checking in and being there for each other. My team is literally made up of some my best friends on the squad- God is so good. I love them and we have a lot of fun together.
The afternoon is what you make it. We have a term on the World Race called “ATL” if you’ve heard me talk about it before. It’s basically designated ministry where we don’t plan anything and we let the Spirit lead us (cleverly title Ask The Lord). For me, it means having a one on one with a squad mate not on my team and intentionally getting to know them more, or helping the cooks in the kitchen for dinner, or finding the kids and doing more games or crafts with them. Some teams grab a staff member and go out into the community or do intentional acts of service for other teams to bless them. Most of my afternoons are spent doing listening prayer for my squad. Each day I take an hour to sit down and write 3 or 4 notes to someone on the squad. I write what I hear the Lord wants to say to them and draw names out of a hat. It’s been AMAZING to see my squadmates return to me and say that it was exactly what they needed to hear or that they were just praying about that with God that morning. God is cool, ain’t He?
Throughout these days in Ethiopia, I have found myself standing back in awe and wonder multiple times a day. It mostly comes when I’m doing something ordinary and I find that it’s normal. I have to shake myself and say “this is not normal!” Sure I am hanging my laundry on a clothes line, but it’s in the middle of a beautiful field in the plains of AFRICA! Sure I am washing dishes, but I’m doing it while looking out a window watching cows graze just a few feet away.
I’m aware that what I am doing is not normal, but when you do it for 9 months straight, you can start to take everything for granted. I have a tattoo on my hip that makes sure I don’t. Every sunrise, every animal, every flower, every hug from a child that I have been privileged to love, has become so precious.
Supporters, every dollar you have donated is changing my life. Ethiopia is a WONDER.
To you and to my God, Thanks for bringing me here. I don’t deserve to experience this beauty and this goodness, but God has chosen me and you trusted me enough to do it. I’m doing it and its simply wonderful.
All my love,
JJ
