Ministry here in Ethiopia has looked very different from ministry in Guatemala. There I was told what my ministry would be, here I was given options and told to pick one. There the ministry schedule was very consistent, here the schedule has had to be much more flexible. Other things have created a clear distinction between the two ministries but the biggest difference is that my ministry here in Ethiopia is not the one I wanted.
Let me explain by first going into a little bit of detail about what ministry looks like.
In the mornings my team and I have ATL (Ask The Lord) ministry until lunch and it is just what it sounds like. Sometimes we take that time to pray over the base, sometimes we water the apple orchard, and sometimes we help out another team with their ministry. We just do whatever the Lord tells us. I really enjoy this part of ministry. After lunch we have our ministry tracks, these are the ministries we chose. There are three tracks that we could’ve picked from: Kids Track, Womens Ministry, and Reforestation. Each track is exactly what it sounds like. Kids track works with the kids on base teaching English, Bible, and other lessons. Womens Ministry works with the women who come to the training center, teaching English, life skills, and just making them feel loved and seen and cared for. Womens Ministry also works with the House Moms, the women who take care of the kids who live on base. Womens Ministry helps them with chores, going to the market with them, or just intentionally loving on them. And Reforestation does just that (I really don’t know details about this track).
To pick which track we would be in we were told to list them 1-3, 1 being our top pick and 3 being the one we want least. With this in mind I was going to put Kids Track as my top pick. Before coming on the Race I worked in kids ministry at my church for 4+ years, I had also worked with kids during my time in Guatemala, so the idea of working with kids in Ethiopia was something I was comfortable with.
That’s when God asked me a question. He asked if I came to Ethiopia/on the Race to be comfortable. So Kids Track was out. Now I had to decide which made me more uncomfortable. Reforestation would be a lot of manual labor which is not my thing, but in the end it was the fact that Womens Ministry not only made me uncomfortable but actually scared me that made me put that as my number 1. The idea of trying to minister to women older than me, who I can’t communicate with easily, one-on-one at times is terrifying to me. I worry that I won’t say the right thing or will just not have anything to say.
My ministry track is not the one I wanted, but it has been so good. It is not the ministry I’m comfortable in, but that is exactly how it should be.
