Ethiopia. What a new experience this beautiful place has been. Who knew one place could be so wonderful and so difficult all at the same time? It has been a month and a half in my new home. It has been the biggest challenge but also the best experience of my race so far.
Ethiopia has been a huge growing experience already. I have grown more here than I ever expected. I am choosing to not only truly get into my word but to understand it and see how the Lord wants to apply it to my life. I am learning to love on kids that sometimes don’t have filters and say whatever they feel, even when it isn’t the sweetest, but to also soak up every time one runs up, hugs me, and says “I love you sky”. I have figured out that God has given me such and amazing community around me but also learning when I need to be okay with being by myself and fighting for time with my Heavenly Father. This all has been a constant back and forth battle in my heart. In the end, this has been a moment of “this may be hard, but God is still good”. I have experienced His love for me in a completely new way that has changed my perspective forever.
While being here there are a few things I’ve learned.
1.) Cold showers aren’t as bad as they seem.
2.) Being disconnected from everything is actually pretty dope.
3.) Kids will show you love that you’ve never experienced before. But also new ways to make you need to pray for more patience.
4.) Sharing movies is a new love language of mine.
5.) God is in everything around me.
Now, most of these things were to make you giggle a little, but they are all TRUE! Especially number five.
I start my morning with breakfast, Ethiopian coffee, and my squad mates. Breakfast has a multitude of options for each day of the week, such as banana bread with bread, zucchini bread with bread, pancakes with bread, or oatmeal with bread. The coffee here is beyond amazing and now a vital part to my waking up process.
After breakfast, my team and I are ready to start our day of ministry, which here lately has been gardening. We pair up with another team (Team Easter we love you) and spend the next few hours breaking up piles of dirt with tools, breaking it even smaller with our hands, then we plant all sorts of seeds in the different beds. This process may take a couple of days per bed. It is very tedious work. However, I see so much joy. We are always laughing, singing, talking about the future or our past, and just enjoying fellowship. God shows me a lot in this time. I’ll admit, at first I wasn’t the biggest fan of this ministry, but God has really opened my eyes. He showed me that all the little bits of work we do result in abundance of growth. That this wasn’t for me. It isn’t about me. It is about putting in hard work so someone else can see the results and enjoy the product of our labor.
After gardening, I wash up and spend the next couple hours getting into God’s word before and after lunch. I love these few hours. I have been gaining so much knowledge from Him in this time. I read the Bible and I am filled with so much joy. I am about to journal about how I’m feeling or questions that I might have about what I read. I can box the words that stand out to me or read different versions to gain a better understanding. I’m actually remembering verses or passages that I read and able to apply them to every day life. As I learn more and more about Him, I feel closer and closer to His heart.
Once the few hours of Bible time is up it’s time for more ministry. Grass cutting and more gardening. We spend the first hour cutting the tall grass in the children’s village by hand with a sickle (a sharp, hook-like tool) and gloves. It is a very very long process, but God is still good. I feel Him in the breeze while I’m in the hot sun. I see Him in the way the grass moves. I hear Him in the birds or children playing around us. Afterwards, we spend the second hour back to working more on the garden.
My day is now almost done. Filled with time outside, time with the Lord, and also time with loving on the kids in between. After we are done with ministry I will either play with the kids around me till dinner or hang out with my amazing community around me.
This is a rough outline of how my days generally look. Everyday is a different day. Changing and moving with wherever God takes it. There is no set schedule or time for things. You have to learn to live in the moment and make every second count. Soak up every chance with the kids and choose to see God in all that you do. This is the time to be flexible when time is no longer relevant. This is the time for me to be the closest I’ve ever been with the people around me and my Heavenly Father. This is the time to see love and joy in everything. The time is now because This Is Africa.
