Ethiopia has been the wild west so far, but things are looking up. Here are some stories about pick-pocketing, street fights, and leaving to help hurting communities elsewhere.
This is a gender month – separated teams by men and women (you can see the teams listed below) in order to facilitate a couple pretty big opportunities. First, gender teams can afford racers healing in ways that might not be achieved in a gender integrated team. Second, it could open doors to ministry opportunities that we might not encounter otherwise. Many of the cultures in the 10/40 Window are heavily based on traditional gender roles for social gatherings, employment, and activities.
This is also an ATL month (Ask The Lord) because we don’t have partners or hosts. It’s left us to trust the Spirit and receive guidance for where to live, who to interact with, and what to do. We’ve been blessed in so many ways because of this – we’ve made friends with the staff at our hotel, shop keepers in the neighborhood, and people we meet in the markets! It’s also left us to figure out transportation, parts of town, and food on our own, which can get a little rough. Here are some short stories.
-Friends-
Enock – Manager of the girls hotel. Blessed the womens’ team with a budget that is simply unspeakable. He’s given the Mariposa girls a safe, comfortable, beautiful place to stay for nearly nothing (compared to what he COULD be charging them). In exchange, they support a women’s ministry that specializes in teaching textile crafts and employing women.
Tiff – Manager of our hotel. A blessed woman that knows the Spirit and serves as a worship leader at her church. She learned that we were Christians and took us to a service to share in their community and hear her singing worship. Let me tell you… I’ve heard some things about worship in Africa, specifically Ethiopia… every one of them was true. WORSHIP WENT OFF. It was such a blast!
Poopie – (real nickname) A convenience store keeper around the corner from our hotel. The shop has the best prices in the neighborhood. She spent several years living in LA so she speaks great English and is easy to interact with. Also, Dylan is convinced if he spends enough money in there, she’ll marry him. She’s my friend on Facebook so here’s to hopin’ bud!
Abdi – A convenience store keeper with produce. I met him on day one when I was looking for eggs and coffee. He’s Muslim, which makes our conversations a little difficult to share the Gospel, but he’s one of the most joyful people we’ve met here and is excited to be our friend. I introduced him to the team and have insisted we continue to buy eggs from him to foster the relationship. He’s wonderful and is always excited to see me/us. I stop by regularly just to say “hi” and he notices if I haven’t been by in a few days. I’ll share a blog on ministry to Muslims another time. It’s something we’re all constantly growing in.
Matteo – A homeless man in search of work. Matteo is a wonderful story. A couple of the boys bumped into him as soon as we got here. He’s well educated, speaks great English, is friendly, and open to the Gospel. Jake and Austin have been meeting with him regularly to read the Bible and build a relationship with him. He’s a good man that deserves some love, so our team provided him new clothes to help him clean up and find work. His lifted Spirit, new wardrobe, and work ethic has landed him an interview as an English-speaking guide for a large hotel in the area! He has a second interview coming up. Please join us in praying for him.
Hashers – “drinkers with a running problem”. Unfortunately, I anticipated this to mean they were a casual group of runners that socialized together. What it ACTUALLY was ended up being a training group led by a Lieutenant Colonel, USMC (retired) and an Ethiopian professional distance runner. AN ETHIOPIAN PROFESSIONAL. I GOT TO RUN WITH AN ETHIOPIAN PROFESSIONAL RUNNER. I’ve also heard some things about professional runners from Africa… every one of those is true as well. He made us look downright stupid. Since I got out of the military, I haven’t felt that I need to be fast anymore so my cardio has dropped while my strength training has gone up. We ran the hills of North Addis Ababa’s Monument park for an hour and a half. It was humbling.
-The struggle-
Theft – Just like any large urban area at home, petty crime is waiting for those that aren’t in the mindset to protect themselves. People have gotten phones taken out of their pockets, from their hands, or backpacks. Money has been taken from people by way of pick and run or scams.
Physical contact (1) – A lot of interactions here are forced. Men and women on the squad have been firmly grabbed, myself included, with the intent to capture attention, drive a conversation, or make a sale. Most of the time, when met with stern resistance, it’s been released. Not always.
Physical contact (2) – Attacks. Members of the team have been pulled by their hair, kicked, or in one instance, attacked by a naked man (definitely mentally unstable). In each instance, other racers were quick to respond and protect their friends. In the case of the last example, a special circumstance allowed two of the men to be with the girl at the time; one hurried her into the taxi for her safety while the other physically overcame the naked man to get him away from the girl and the car.
-In Life-
In either case, good or bad, we’ve learned to trust the Lord. Our squad leadership chose this location based on a series of inputs ([lack of] incident reports, connections in this city, etc.) so I believe due diligence landed us here. In light of all the incidents, our leadership believes what we’ve experienced to be spiritual attacks – there isn’t/wasn’t/hasn’t been any reason to anticipate such encounters in Addis Ababa, but racers are experiencing warfare in a number of ways, many of which have been manifested in physical experiences.
So what has been done about it? Nothing. Okay, not nothing. We have some new policies – a buddy rule, a curfew, etc. But one of our squad leaders reminded us that a spirit of fear is more detrimental than anything the enemy can hit us with because it’s what we internalize and speak over ourselves. Instead, we need to look at the life Jesus lived – He was persecuted (and in many instances, treated similarly to what we are experiencing now) but continued to love the people He encountered anywhere, at any time.
So what has been done about it? Nothing. We continue to pray for safety and trust the Lord. Has God provided? Absolutely. God provided men willing to fight to protect women of the squad. God provided well-stewarded team finances to recover us from theft. God provided loving team members to comfort and support racers that feel uncomfortable, hurt, or sickened by what they’ve experienced.
The short version is that God provides in a lot of ways we can’t begin to anticipate. So yeah, it was frustrating when our leadership responded with instruction to pray because it didn’t feel like enough. Prayer didn’t feel like enough? Prayer? That’s absurd. But nothing has ACTUALLY happened to anyone because of all our prayer. Money has been recovered, reimbursed, or covered through other means; racers have found comfort and community in the support they provide each other; and the girl was never actually touched, spoken to, or in contact with the naked man. It’s hard to understand in the heat of the moment sometimes, but God is good and He always provides.
Similarly, Da Bois, also known as The Might Men, also known as John and The Hashers, will be leaving Ethiopia here in a couple days to head into Djibouti. We’ve been given an opportunity to serve refugees there. I can’t disclose what we’ll be doing, who we’ll be working with, or where we might work, but I’m looking forward to it so please keep up with blogs to read about it! I have a history in Djibouti that fell far short of my expectations and quite honestly, broke my heart for the people there. I’m excited for an opportunity to provide some support, love, and God.
Da Bois
(because I refuse to acknowledge any other title)
Ian – Team Leader; brings patience and inclusion to a team of 20-somethings. Not something just anyone can do.
Jake – Story teller; not a threat to WiFi bandwidth (phone stolen). He takes awesome photos to capture our story.
Elijah – Treasurer; thank God for Elijah. He doesn’t hand out money for us to manage, he does it all. He claims its easier that way. I don’t care what his reason is, it’s far easier for ME this way. Asking for money is something Victoria trained me for.
Dylan – Fundraising Coach; the squad is almost completely funded. It’s insane how blessed this man is with the ability to get finances organized and support his squad with donors and supporters.
Austin – Friend to all, enemy to none; doesn’t matter who you are, Austin is going to get you to talk to him. He’s our way into a lot of conversations.
Mariposas
Aspen – Team Leader; a free spirit who loves talking to everyone and hearing their stories
Becca – a humble servant on fire for the Lord, led completely by the Spirit
Kati – Story teller; a passionate learner, devoted to justice and speaking up for those who can’t speak for themselves
Hannah – Treasurer; a fighter through sickness this entire month, a sweet soul and Beyonce’s biggest fan
As a side note, not everyone on the squad is completely funded and today is the final deadline! As you read through the blogs, if you notice they have not reached their goal yet, please consider contributing to their race!
