This month we lived on a small compound a couple hours outside Addis Ababa in Ethiopia. This compound is truly a Godsend for the community members living nearby. The compound is working toward being self sustainable, with gardens, electricity, chickens, bees and even a fish pond. There is a small budding apple orchard near the front of the property that will be used to not just provide the people living on the compound with fresh fruit, but the main plan is to actually give a whole tree to people in the community, so they will be able to have fresh apples for their families too. Just outside the property line, on the other side of the fence, a large well has been dug. This is so locals can walk to the well to have fresh water for their families or any work that they may be doing. The compound is home to several small homes where children and house mom’s reside. In the middle of the property, there is a large guest house where visitors and mission teams stay.
Our ministry this month was full of variety and lots of community building. Most of our squad was together this month (minus one team) and we were able to help out our hosts so much. Our work ranged from making bricks in the back for a new construction project on the property, to sifting dirt and removing the large rocks that weren’t suitable for brick-making. We fed the chickens and watered the gardens. We pulled weeds and cut the grass – by hand!! We helped the house mom’s wash laundry and sort through the grain, picking out the bad pieces from the good. We taught the children on the property English and had afternoon soccer tournaments with them! We set up events for the children, like movie nights, plays, obstacle courses and scavenger hunts for everyone to participate in. We did women’s ministry where we helped the ladies (who came to serve us for the month) in the guest house clean and cook in the kitchen. We built relationships with the house mom’s and drank coffee with them during their daily coffee ceremonies. We led Bible studies with the women and talked about shame, faith and shared our testimonies. We even help a Beauty for Ashes event at the end of the month where the women could actively work through their identity in the Lord. We prepared sermons for church on Sunday’s and got lost in the way Ethiopians rejoice during worship.
This month was incredible.
The whole month we were without wifi or any connection to the “outside world” and that made it even more amazing. We were able to spend time as a community, laughing and playing games, asking extremely deep questions about God and our purpose, spending hours in prayer (even staying up all night to pray for the compound), and building friendships together that will literally last a lifetime.
I could go on and on about Ethiopia and the way that it has forever changed my heart for people and for myself, but I would end up writing a book! God revealed so much to me about who I am and how important I am to Him and others. It was the first month where the head and the heart started to click and I was able to break free of chains that have been trying to strangle me for years. I will always be able to look back on this month in Ethiopia and know this is where it all started to change. This is where is all began to make sense and I finally started to see the bigger picture of life and all that God has for me. I learned how to slow down this month and simply listen. I know it will be something that I will cherish and take with me for the rest of my life.
