While I loved our time in Eastern Europe there was definitely a harsh exterior from years of communism that you had to combat when working to form relationships and interact with the people there. While that was a challenge, there is definitely a secure comfort of having most Western amenities while living in Europe.
I definitely consider myself a pretty seasoned traveler and adventurer. I’ve been to a large number of cities and countries and embrace novelty and adventure. However, I had NO point of reference for Africa. No idea what to expect. I’d never been and had heard a variety of different opinions and experiences. Numerous people had told me I would love it, but the unknowns let fear creep in a bit. Not that I was dramatically dreading Africa, but the mystery of what awaited there kept excitement at bay.
As a Logistics Coordinator for the squad I get access to a bit of confidential information the squad isn’t privy to until a later time. Some of this information included seeing the list of ministries and set-up sheets for Ethiopia before they were assigned to teams. Most of the teams would be assigned to ATL (ask the Lord), which means there is no assigned hosts and teams create their own ministry through prayerfully seeking what the Lord has in store. The ministry at the top of the list was Testimony Feeding Center located in Addis Ababa. The ministry talked about providing care and love to orphaned children. Uhhhh, say what?! I am instantly interested and so eager to be working in a ministry that closely aligns with my heart passions. Sure enough, the Lord knows and that’s the ministry my team gets assigned to.
Praise. The. Lord! He truly knows me and the desires of my heart.
But we’re probably going to be tenting… because it’s Africa. And most people tent in Africa. It’s just basically guaranteed to be a struggle. But nope, we pull up to the compound and behind the gate is an excited puppy, Reggie, to greet us in front of this large, beautiful ranch style home. We are staying in our own house complete with Western toilets, hot showers, a full kitchen, and plenty of beds. What?! So overwhelmed with the blessings!
But it continues– our host Gadisa and his staff are all around our age, so down to earth, and fun to be around. They are passionate, welcoming, and wholeheartedly pursuing the Lord. Our first night Gadisa shares his testimony of his life story and how he began his NGO Testimony Feeding Center. Gadisa grew up as an orphan on the streets of Addis, seeing his own mother get electrocuted at 4-years-old. He endured a lot of abuse and hardships at the hands of extended family, but God clearly had a plan and purpose for him. Through the Lord’s ordainment Gadisa met the founder of a Christian NGO operating in Ethiopia, which gave him the discipleship, training, and relationship with Christ to begin work on the passions and giftings the Lord had instilled in him. The Lord opened door after door for Gadisa, putting him in contact with the right people and giving him a heart for kids growing up in the same disadvantaged circumstances he did. The night Gadisa shared his testimony– he was able to say “God, I understand why you allowed me to grow up as an orphan.” He spent a number of years in bitterness and frustration for growing up as an orphan, but had heard God clearly speak over him through scripture and other people prophesying over him, ‘For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’ Jeremiah 29:11.
After the terrible circumstances I encountered in the orphanage in Romania, I had been in an ongoing debate with God. Conversations regularly went, “Lord I’ve seen testimony of Your goodness and faithfulness time and time again, but I just don’t see Your goodness in these circumstances. Regardless, I trust in You– but help me see your faithfulness in this.” To hear Gadisa as a an orphan who has endured so much be able to say, “God I understand why You made me an orphan and how You’re using it for my good.” Wow, that was incredibly powerful and exactly what I needed to hear. Confirmation that God is still good and just and He’s doing a work even when we don’t necessarily see it with our own eyes. His thoughts are higher than our thoughts and His ways are higher than our ways.
The same night we heard Gadisa’s testimony, we experienced our first of dozens of traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremonies. An intricate process where they roast raw, green coffee beans over a small charcoal fire (or electric version), grind the beans, and brew the coffee in a large earthenware jug called a jebena. As a massive lover of all things coffee and cultural– this was simply amazing.
Gadisa started Testimony with the motive of wanting to offer kids growing up in tough circumstances similar to his background opportunity for hope and someone to believe in them. Rather than having kids grow up in an orphanage without loving, consistent caregivers and deprived of family environment, Gadisa wanted to provide them opportunity to live in the homes of relatives. This way they are learning the invaluable skills of how to live in a family, receiving a higher amount of attention and care, and learning the Oromifa tribal language. People of the Oromo tribe are at a large disadvantage when they aren’t able to maintain a sense of identity and community being unable to speak the language. Testimony provides the needs for the kids (school, food, clothing, etc), just asks the relatives to house and care for them. Currently Testimony sponsors 10 kids, although we only worked with 8 boys (the two girls are currently away from the program). I absolutely love this model. Kids grow up with a sense of idea and community within their tribe and relatives’ home. The higher ratio of attention, care, and nurture they receive inside a home is invaluable, especially compared to the amount they would receive in an orphanage with very few caregiver. They learn what a family dynamic looks like and in turn grow up with a sense of normalcy. It’s by no means perfect, but much preferable than becoming institutionalized in an orphanage.
Each morning the 8 boys being sponsored by Testimony would walk to the Testimony house for breakfast, receive a packed lunch, and get walked to the bus stop by Worke (the cook and maternal figure of Testimony). After the first week, my fellow morning person Tori and I were up early enough to walk with the boys the half mile to the bus stop and back. It became my favorite part of the day, holding hands, skipping, pulling along Reggie the Testimony puppy. On Saturdays the boys would come to spend the whole day at the Testimony house. They would play soccer and other games outside, spend time together as “brothers”, and eat their meals there. Saturdays became the time of day we were able to play and interact with them the most. We planned games, English lessons, taught Bible verses, had dance parties, made crafts, watched movies when it rained, and just snuggled and loved on them. Each boy has such a different personality and it was an absolute joy to work with them and get to know them.
Not only did I love the ministry, but our compound and community was also such a blessing. There was a busy, bustling market a 5-minute walk from our house. I ended up making daily trips there to buy produce for the house. Lots of avocados, mangos, bananas, tomatoes, onions, pineapple, papaya. They had all the amazing produce for a very reasonable price. It all grows right here! We get lots of looks in the market and everyone calls out farengi to us. We quickly developed our favorite specific people and sellers in the market where we would be loyal customers and have little chats each time we visited. I loved the sense of community we were able to develop in the marketplace. It was the icing on the cake for a perfect month!
