It’s been a month in Ethiopia and a month being three hours from the city and from Wifi. Being totally disconnected while living in the rural area of Harbu Chulule has brought many challenges and many moments of bliss. The days here seem longer, but the weeks fly by. The days hold so many more moments of connection with my community. I always knew technology took up many hours in the day, but I had never tangibly experienced my life without it to understand how much time it really took up. Time moves more leisurely and therefore I do too. You realize more about your surroundings and spend more time with those around you. My team has benefitted so much from the disconnection. We’ve become closer in this last month than all of Guatemala combined. We’ve had memorable nights sitting around sharing embarrasing stories from our past, laughing at our memories, and balancing it out with those deep World Race conversations. Little things like a movie night with popcorn and hot chocolate with my team seem so much more special. I don’t feel forced to be with my team, but I look foreard to every moment I get to spend time with them. They truely are my sisters and my home.
My time in Ethiopia so far has felt more like real life. We are literally living in our ministry. I thought living in an orphanage with 24/7 kids ministry would become overwhelming. However, living with other children 24/7 has just made it feel more like me living at home with my brothers and sister. The children here have become like my family and each day I am so excited to see their smiles. Just like family there are days where we can become frustrated with each other, but that just makes it feel even more like home. I get to spend my mornings with the preschoolers and my afternoons with the moms and older kids. We play outside together, eat food together, walk to the store together, and have movie nights on Friday every week! All of this time together will for sure make the goodbyes even harder.
Ministry in Ethiopia really embraces the idea of living a missional life because ministry never stops. It is something you have a chance to choose into every minute of the day. There are some times of the day that do involve structured ministry, though. Team Ekkelsia has the great pleasure of working with the preschoolers on the base, Matthew, Dereck, Robert, and Luke. Throughout the week we structure the days to teach on different topics. Mondays are physical therapy days. This time is to specifically help Robert and Luke. Robert has mental and physical disabilities, so we work on stretches and basic motor movements. Luke’s legs are deformed so we work on upper body strength and learning to move better. With the other kids we love to play follow the leader, have races, and play with basketballs and footballs. Tuesdays are crafts days! We’ve watercolored, made Christmas ornaments, and origami animals. Wednesdays are Bible story days. We’ve been reading stories from the “Jesus Storybook Bible” and incorporate games or activities with the story. Thursdays are our fun days. We play in the children’s corner, play games outside, or watch a movie. Fridays are all squad ministry days so ministry looks different on those days. We might cut grass, encourage cleanliness by picking up the trash around the base, and of course always giving 50% of our day to be with the kids. The afternoons are split into three different tracks. There is the Reforestation track, which goes off base to plant tress and make bricks that are used to build the houses. There is the Kids Track, which involves teaching and playing with kids. Then there is Women’s track, which is mine. We spend the first half hour in the training center with the women who are learning how to make goods to support their families. We hangout with them, teach them English, teach life skills, and play volleyball. After the training center, we go to spend time with the House Moms. Every Monday and Thursday is a market day. Ellie and I joined Abaru and Ditu one day at the market. It was an overwhelming, but a very exciting experience! There were bags everywhere on the ground with spices, beans, and vegetables. There were booths with clothes, jewelry, and other textiles. Other days we sit with the house moms and talk and eat together. Towards the end of the day sometimes the best way to help is to go and be with the kids.
Going into the village is always a fun experience. Kids always run out to greet us yelling “Ferengi” (white person in Oromifaa) and hold our hands.There are little stores that sell things like popcorn kernels, sodas, candies, and cookies. That was a pleasant surprise as I thought we wouldn’t be able to buy any snacks at all. My go-tos are a sprite and cinnamon snaps or cappuccino cookies. There are also little shops where you can get coffee or go soft drinking. One of the base staff, Mango, has often taken us to get soft drinks or a strong cup of coffee. During my morning workout, you can hear calls coming from many of the surrounding Mosques and Orthodox churches. These calls will happen throughout the day and have become a part of everyday life in Ethiopia.
Besides walking into the village, we haven’t had many opportunities to leave the orphanage. One weekend a group of us went into Addis on a three hour bus ride both ways. We got to eat at a Pizza Hut, get ice cream, Wifi, and went to an All-Mart (We were very disappointed when we discovered it wasn’t a Walmart). Another time we bused for a day to a resort that had a spa, a pool, and Burgers!
We’ve gotten to spend Christmas, New Year’s, and the Ethiopian Christmas here! We’ve had so many fun activities like water day, powderpuff football, volleyball tournaments, and kickball tournaments for the kids. Despite being away from civilization, W squad has worked so hard in embracing and choosing into our environment. There have been so many special days spent here and I am so excited for the rest of our time in Ethiopia! More updates to come 🙂
*names changed to protect identity
