Hey friends!! In my excitement to post a blog about Christmas I forgot to tell you what I’m doing in Ethiopia. Well, my squad has partnered with HOPEthiopia, an organization that serves across Eastern Africa. They focus on serving through four core areas- orphans, healthcare, education, and reforestation.
Orphans: My squad is currently living on a compound with about twenty five orphans. Each one has no parents and came here under the age of seven. They were placed into one of seven houses with a house mom and other orphans. These kids live together in a little family. They do their chores together, work on homework together, and play together. My main ministry is loving on these kids however I can. Recently I became really good friends with a girl named Sintu. We’re super close because our names are similar, and she’s a beautiful girl with a big heart. When Sintu grows up she wants to be a bank manager, her favorite color is pink (then yellow and then purple), and her favorite animal is the elephant because it’s so big.
Healthcare: Currently I’m living about three hours from the nearest major city, which means I’m basically living in the bush. There isn’t much out here for doctors or dentists, so HOPEthiopia provides a lot of health care. While I have not participated in this ministry personally, my squad mates have helped at a dentist office and eye doctor. One of my squad mates named Elle continually has the locals visit her for teeth cleanings and check ups. She even makes sure all of her patients walk away with a new toothbrush and bright smile.
Education: One of HOPEthiopia’s main goals is to send their children off into a bright future. Therefore, as a volunteer it is my job to help the orphans learn in any way I can. Now, being entrusted with teaching people is no small task (check out James 3), but a great place to start is just by talking to the kids in English. That helps them gain fundamental communication skills (and gives me new friends). My squad teaches the kids spelling and English, games, how to work computers, math, and most of all, that they are loved by Jesus. One of my favorite things to do is to have the kids write in my journal. It gives them the chance to practice spelling, writing, and forever writing their stories into mine. They get so excited when they write in my journal, and I get to see them dream.
Reforestation: Ethiopia isn’t like the Africa you see in “The Lion King”. Instead of blistering heat we have sweater weather, and instead of the savannah we have mountains. The place I live at used to be covered in leafy trees that were destroyed in a movement of deforestation. There are few insects and even fewer wild animals here, mostly because there isn’t anywhere for them to live. That’s where we come in. Every summer HOPEthiopia plants thousands and thousands of saplings in rocky soil. They grow the seeds in plastic pouches for months until planting season. These pouches of dirt jump each tree’s chances of survival from 5% to 90%. My team has spent hours sitting around a dirt pile packing pouches for growing more trees. While we’ll miss planting day, this ministry has taught me a lot about planting seeds for the Lord. You never know what the Lord will grow from the moments you step out and serve in His name.
It wasn’t easy moving to Ethiopia, I’ve never lived so far in the bush and I didn’t want to leave Cambodia. However, I feel incredibly blessed to serve HOPEthiopia’s mission each day. The kids here are so full of Jesus’s light that you can’t help but fall in love with them. I may not know the latest trends or viral videos, but I get (because the nearest WiFi is hours away) to unplug and just serve the people right in front of me. I haven’t loved every day and sometimes I get homesick, but every day I see the Lord at work in me and the people around me. Thanks for keeping me in your prayers and please pray for my squad. We’re planting seeds every day, whether that means stuffing a plastic tune full of dirt, playing lots of games of soccer, or by simply being love.
~CLS
