As many of you know I spent the last month in the wonderful country of Ethiopia. Over the past few days I’ve been trying to write about my time there but to be honest, I’m stumped on where to begin.
Let me try to start by saying this; I absolutely fell in love with Hopethiopia!
This was the organization that we had the privilege of partnering with for the month.
On December 30th 2017, my squad and I arrived at a compound 4 hours into the “bush” of Africa where we were greeted by 24 smiling, jumping, cheering orphans who I instantly fell in love with.
This is where I get stuck. I could spend my time writing about ‘all’ that we did, what ministry looked like, etc. But that doesn’t feel right.
I came on the World Race hoping I’d be able to make a difference, to see the world, to find freedom from shame and fear, and to make an impact in the lives of the people around me. But this past month, the children and staff at Hopethiopia drastically changing my life. Instead of me simply telling you that my life was changed, I want to share a few stories/testimonies of how amazing God is!
Childlike Faith
“Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”
Luke 18:17
There was one sunny day that some of the kiddos and I were out on the concrete porch doing puzzles. I was reminded of a song that my little buddy Malasaa sang for me a few days prior and asked if he would sing it for me again. Though I couldn’t understand what they were singing about, it brought tears to my eyes and filled my heart with a deeper sense of love, hope, and an incredible peace.
Malasaa started singing and the other children were quick to join in… Literally the most beautiful sound that has ever reached my ears. I couldn’t help but put my puzzle on hold and soak in the sweet melody of all these children singing their hearts out. That is when one of the staff members and my dear friend, Warqaa, came over to see what was going on. I will never forget the look on her face as she came around the corner and joined us. It was an expression of awe, amazement, and wonder. I’m not sure what was going on in her mind in that moment but I can only imagine God was speaking to her in an special way that spoke directly to her heart. After a few minutes of listening she asked me if I knew what the children were singing about. She shared with me the powerful lyrics of the song:
No matter what we go through or whatever comes our way, we will keep our eyes on you, we will trust you and give you all the praise because you are good.
It was a song about worshiping and trusting God no matter what.
In that moment I was able to hold in the tears but when I sat and thought about it more in depth later on that day, I sobbed. I’m 100% sure that these children, at some point in their lives have had to go without; whether it be without food or water, without a solid roof over their head, without protection from people who are lost and confused, and/or without a mother or father. Yet they sing and give praise and thanksgiving to God for what they do have and for how good He is.
INCREDIBLE!
God used these children to shift something in my innermost being. The phrases that come to my mind are ‘a lifestyle of praise and thanksgiving,’ ‘He is more than enough for me,’ and ‘faith like a child.’ These children grew my faith in leaps and bounds!
(Purqaa on the left, Malasaa on the right)
Whatever the Cost
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.”
Matthew 16:24-25
Now you read a little bit about Warqaa above but I’d like to share a tiny bit of her testimony with you. Let me start by saying this woman is a prayer warrior (emphasis on these two words)! She loves deeply, prays constantly, cannot get enough of Scripture, and has a faith so rooted in the Lord it convicted me in certain areas of my life. On top of that she is so humble that if she is given any compliments she is quick to give all praise and credit to our Father in Heaven.
One night she decided to share her testimony with the whole squad. It was inspiring to say the least. ~ A reoccurring ‘theme’ in her life was persecution for her faith. A little ‘need-to-know’ information on Ethiopia is that from 1987 to 1991 Ethiopia was considered a communist country. At this time, anyone who’s beliefs didn’t match up with the governments would gotten in trouble. Pastors were being persecuted, churches were being shut down, etc. Warqaa was just a teenager during this time but her faith in the Lord was strong! She was thrown into jail several times because of her belief in Jesus. People all around her kept telling her to simply deny being a Christian. They didn’t understand her devotion to the Lord. She even had teachers ask her why she wouldn’t just “throw in the towel” for better words. There were times she was harassed, threatened, and had a gun put up against her head… but she never denied her faith in Christ.
When I think of Warqaa I think of the verse above in Matthew 16 and 1 Corinthians 16:13, “Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Do everything in love.” Through all the persecution, she stood firm in her faith in the Lord. She could have taken the easy way out but she decided to stick with what she knew was to be true. God has been incredibly faithful in her life. He has also used her testimony and the way that she still lives her life, to point others to the Father.
God never said this life would be easy. In fact in John 16:33 Jesus says,
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Warqaa’s testimony has encouraged me to take heart when things in life get rocky, to remember that God is with me in every moment of every day (even if it doesn’t feel like it), and that He is faithful.
(Buze on the left & Warqaa on the right) 🙂
Fun fact: This photo was taken after Buze and Warqaa had dresses brought over for us to try on for a wedding that we’d attend at church that coming Sunday.
The Real Enemy
“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
Ephesians 6:12
This next testimony takes place in a nearby market that my teammates and I would visit to buy food each week. We were 3+ hours away from any grocery store so the market was the place we went to buy all that we needed. The best way to sum up the marketplace is; busy, packed and pepper-filled air (yes, you read that correctly… pepper. So sneezing and coughing were inevitable).
The first two times I went to the market I honestly had no idea what to expect and I left feeling SUPER overwhelmed. I remember getting back to the compound where we were staying and crying tears of frustration. The two times that I had went, people crowded around us, the sun beat down on us, I had forgotten my water, the pepper made it hard to breathe, and the people in the crowd started pinching/poking/touching me and harmlessly pulling on my hair. I remember leaving confused and sad. But I spent time praying about it and the next market run, I volunteered to go back for my team. (For those of you that have not read my previous blogs, fear is something God has been freeing me from and something He has been helping me face whenever it comes knocking). This time we all prayed before leaving and personally I felt a lot more confident in what was to come.
When I arrived at the market for a third time people crowded around us like before. It wasn’t as busy but the crowd that gathered around us was just as big if not bigger. This time rocks were being thrown and all the things that happened last visit were happening again. To be 100% honest, my immediate internal response was anger… But after sitting in the anger for a couple minutes I began praying. I looked up at heaven and started praying out loud. The people around me probably thought I was crazy but it did not matter to me. I prayed and asked God what He wanted me to do. I told Him that I knew He heard our prayers, that He was with us in that very moment, and that I was aware that the people around me were His children as well. His answer was simple.
Love.
There was no need for me to be angry. The people around me simply needed to be shown that they were loved and that they were worth me stopping what I was doing to talk with them. The moment this word echoed in my heart and mind, was the moment things started to change. I pulled out a paper with the list of groceries that I had and started reading it over and over again to the crowd of people that surrounded me. Men, women, children, elderly people, teenagers… they were all gathered around, curious. I started teaching the kids different hand shakes, taught them many English words, starting hugging the people that would allow me to. Things changed.
As I write this testimony of how God moved and spoke to me through His amazing people in Ethiopia, I am reminded yet again that the battle is not against flesh and blood. It is not against family members, neighbors, coworkers, friends, teammates, people that have hurt us, etc. Words that describe the enemy are the following: destruction, confusion, and disunity. He has only come to steal, kill, and destroy. God came so we may have life and have it abundantly.
It could have been really easy for me to judge the people that were doing these things to me. But through prayer and God’s provision, He reminded me that we are all similar in the fact that we are all people and we each desire to be loved and know that we are worth it. ~ Maybe someone with my color of skin had hurt them in the past and they associated me with that pain. Maybe there whole life they have been fed lies about certain people and that is what caused them to throw rocks at us. Do you see where I’m going with this? The devil is the ultimate deceiver/liar. Jesus came to love others and He calls us to do the same. There are endless Bible verses that lead us to love. The world can and will change if we focus on a simple word, a word that defines God’s character; love.
These incredible people helped me seek the Lord when I needed His guidance, they helped me choose love over anger and judgement, and they ended up loving me so incredibly well after I took time to help them realize that they are loved and they are worth it.
Another beautiful thing is that the people in the crowd ended up telling our hosts that were with us that they would gladly ‘welcome me into there nationality.’ Our host Mehgersah explained to me that them saying that was a HUGE honor and something he hasn’t heard before.
All glory and credit to God! His love endures forever!
Above are some pictures of the market on a day that it was closed. This particular market is only open on Monday’s, Thursday’s, and Saturday’s. ~ Usually this area is FULL of people, animals, food, supplies, etc.
Thank you for taking the time to read and for all of you who have been praying for me and sending encouraging messages my way. Ya’ll are amazing!
With lots of love,
Caleigh Schuur
