After Cambodia we flew to Ethiopia – this was a new country for me, it was beautiful! Here are some of the reasons why I loved it so much!
- Beautiful fields – endless amounts with cows and sheep and goats aplenty.
- All the mountains (to look at, not climb!)
- The weather – felt like home on a good day – cold mornings and evenings and hot during the day
- Cutting the grass – has never been a more peaceful task – sitting with the Lord and a grass cutter was just a really cool way to help the ministry
- SHIRO – this African dish is basically chick peas cooked with lots of flavour and spice and served with injera – I preferred bread rolls but it was an amazing new thing I got to try and experience
- The kids – I have no words for this group of crazy people – the children at the ministry love so fierce and they are crazy! There was never a dull moment with them, they are all beautiful and I can’t wait to see what the Lord might do with them.
- Our ministry – literally everything about this ministry is community based and love-based.
- The people – from our hosts to the kitchen ladies, to house moms – the people we did life with and met over the 3 months in Ethiopia were some of the kindest and genuine people – they love so well and were so gentle spirited, we could laugh with them, cry with them and worship Jesus together, it was amazing!
- The language – this was one of the most difficult but fun languages to try and learn they have 82 different languages in Ethiopia and we managed to hear two *
- Movie nights – these nights were every Friday with the kids. They would come all dressed ready for bed, blankets and all and basically have a slumber party whilst watching a movie of their choice.
- My bed – now there’s nothing that compares to your own bed but this one here was pretty close – I was VERY fortunate to have a double to myself WITH warm blankets (Ethiopia style) – thanks Jesus!
- Christmas – being on the race a second year has its ups and downs; the first year I spent Christmas in Panama with my team and I got to cook Christmas dinner. This year we were together as a whole squad here and it was so cool. There was definitely a lot of mixed emotions in the day. The lead up was fun too. One of the teams did a squad 12 days of Christmas which definitely got us in the Christmas spirit especially being so far away from home.
- Coffee ceremonies – oh these were my favourite!! Typical tradition says in Ethiopia that the women prepare the coffee, they roast the beans in front of you, grind and prepare and you normally – the coffee is STRONG but I found a way to enjoy it without mountains of sugar.
- Birthdays – so many birthdays in Ethiopia including my own. Gap S are by far the best at celebrating and they do it ‘so extra’ as they would say.
- Reforestation – this was one of the ministries we helped with. It was a 30 minute walk through the village to this beautiful serene area beside a stream. Here because of deforestation in the land, the ministry involved packing dirt, planting seeds, watering and eventually growing trees to replant in the surrounding land. It was a beautiful reminder of how the Lord prunes us in order to grow and that there is always a journey and a process which takes time.
- The kitchen – the eventual common area most evenings, where the general consumption of food took place, particularly popcorn seemed to be endless. Along with that music, dancing, endless conversations and laughter could be heard from this place. There was also the occasional water fight.
- Church – home and local: every week the squad would alternate between two local churches and church with other teams on the squad. The local church is like nothing I’ve experienced. African church blows my mind, their passion and desire for Jesus is writing all over. They dance and sing, the little old ladies shout and scream in these really cool sounds that I can’t even describe! Our house church looked like listening to podcasts, sharing with one another what the Lord has been teaching them, worship and praying for one another. There was many a healings and breakthroughs within this squad and it was just incredible to be a part of this church!
- Blanket ceremonies – oh these were so special. The ministry we were working with held blanket ceremonies which was when several people would knit a blanket and give it to any child who was welcomed into the compound to live there – was so cool and beautiful.
- Dance parties – far too many dance parties but that was one of my favourite things in life to do with this squad!
- Tibs – kinda like ribs but cooked and served Ethiopian style – in a hot pot kinda thing with injera, shiro and dipping sauces. My favourite if you could get it was the crispy fat pieces.
