HELLO EVERYONE!!!
It’s me! I’m alive! Crazy, I know!! I’ve been living in Harbu Chulule, Ethiopia for about 3 months now! We live in the middle of nowhere on a mountain with the closest wifi being about 3 hours away, which is why I haven’t been able to post any blogs while living here. We live on an orphange campus with about 30 of the cutest little kids you’ll ever see, and we’re surrounded by tons of cows, donkeys, and goats. Life here is very slow paced and extremely peaceful. Ministry here looks like lots of different things depending on the week. I’ve done everything from cut grass with a kitchen knife for hours and cementing bricks, to teaching the kids that live here and priming and painting lots and lots of walls. Everyday is different but they’re also all filled with so many hugs from the kiddos and laughs from my teammates. The very first week we were here I got super sick and ending up having to go to the “hospital” here, where they diagnosed me with having a parasite. Super fun, I know! It took about 2 weeks for me to fully recover, but since then I’ve been doing really good health wise. Everyone on my squad currently has lice, so today was spent combing out all the bugs from everyone’s hair and then treating my own with lots of coconut and tea tree oil. Good times. The Lord is for sure working here. It’s amazing what happens when you don’t have any connection to the outside world for 2 months. My relationship with God is on a whole new level here. I don’t have internet access or anywhere to go but my house, so most of the time when I’m not doing ministry I’m just reading my Bible and talking to God. Learning to choose to go to him first is an everyday thing for me, but the more time I spend with him, the easier that becomes. His voice is so clear here. The Holy Spirit is all over this place. I see it everyday in the kids here. I see it in my squad I get to live with. I see it in Moriah’s voice. In Steph’s laugh. In Eliza’s vulnerability. In Alyssa’s generosity. In Grace’s determination. It’s wild how the Lord shows up here.
Life here is reeaalllll good. Different than anything I’ve ever experienced, but so so good. Prayers are always needed and they’re definitely working here, so thank you to everyone who has continued to pray for me and everything that’s going on here! I can’t believe I only have 12 more days here and then off to Nicaragua & Costa Rica. Thank you to everyone who’s still here following me and supporting me. You can also check out my instagram to see some of the few pictures I’ve been able to post from Africa! – @josie_younan
Thank you, thank you, thank you, & Love you all!
-Josie
