Have you ever felt like everything is against you? Have you ever wondered why so much seemed to be going wrong? Have you ever felt alone and confused for what you are doing?
This month has been one of the hardest for me, which is strange since Ethiopia is supposedly the least spiritually heavy place we’ve been so far. It is a place saturated with the gospel where people come up to you and tell you they are missionaries openly. However, this month has been filled with a lot of change. It’s a change in atmosphere, team dynamics, and pace. This change has really been hard on me and how I have been able to connect.
This month I have been questioning God where He was and what He was doing within my life here. I have been frustrated, confused, unheard, and overwhelmed. I felt like I had lost everything I had. It’s been a difficult month for me.
However, God showed me something special the other day as I ran the 10K. He showed me how to never give up when the odds seem against me. He showed me how to keep going when it seemed impossible and fruitless. He showed me how to lean on Him because I cannot do it alone. He showed me how to run my race.
Hannah Sahatoo and I ran the Great Ethiopian Run which many people come from all over the world to attend. We were by far unprepared for such a feat. We hadn’t trained, we hadn’t registered, but we had excitement and determination even though we were not sure if we could even get in and run!
Wondering who might help us find a green shirt for us to run our race!?
The morning of the race, we woke up a quarter till 6 and headed out the door without a clue as to where we were really going and how we were going to get in to run. We saw many people all wearing green and preparing to take on this race. We followed these people in green and managed to get past the first line of military personnel. However, as we followed the green shirted crowds toward the starting line, there was another line of security. This one would not let us through without a green shirt. We were stuck out in our orange and blue shirts against the sea of green. We watched people pass in their excitement to run without a clue as to how we might get ourselves a into the race. It was hard finding someone who spoke some English, and when we did, they didn’t know how to help us even when they tried. We were doomed and started walking back up the hill with our heads hanging low. However, we didn’t want to quit just yet, and, as we looked back down the line of people, we saw a little dirt path people were traveling through. We decided to check it out and found that it took us to another side of the starting line, however there were still military guards checking people in on this side, too.
We saw the Marriott Hotel across the street and decided that they might be able to help us and speak a little more English. We tried getting past the guards one last time with no avail, then started up the ramp to the hotel entrance. Going through the hotel security, I asked the woman if she knew how we could get a shirt (I had to explain this several times in several different ways, so she knew that we wanted a shirt but didn’t know how to get one). Once she finally understood, she went outside, leaned over the edge, and yelled something in Amharic. A man came up the ramp with two shirts in his hand which he was selling. What!? Where did this guy even come from!? He gave us a fair price and we searched our pockets for change. However, after pooling our money together, we came up 100 birr short. We were so close, yet short! However, the man was kind and let us take the shirts without the full payment. Wow, what a blessing! We then quickly changed and headed out for the race! We were actually going to run this thing!
The people who helped us find shirts so we could run the race!
After asking the hotel if they could hold our bags, which they said they would do only for us, we left for this grand race of an adventure!!
We were dehydrated, untrained, sore from running the past two days, recovering from an illness, and yet we were eager to go!
We squeezed through the crowds, staying close to one another since we now blended into the crowd with our new green shirts. A man asked us if we wanted glitter face paint, but we had left all out stuff behind. As I was starting to walk away, he grabs my arm and Saha’s and says it’s free! Wow, how sweet! We both get sparkling Ethiopian flags on our cheeks!
Not long after, the race started and people were cheering, singing, and dancing! The atmosphere was filled with excitement. We ran! We weaved in and out of people as hordes of green were everywhere. At one point, we were so squished against the crowd that we were shoved together like sardines. Saha and I had to link arms in order to not get separated as we were shoved forward against the big crowd.
We ran, we walked, and we cheered. It was more like a big long party than it was a race. People were always cheering and finding ways to have fun. This wasn’t any ordinary run; it was immersed in the Ethiopian culture. Every so often, there would be a big water tank truck spraying each of the racers. There were music stations layered along the road where people would dance while they ran. After finally receiving water at the halfway mark, many people would come by and pour their water down my back! This happened many times and I watched as others were experiencing the same thing.
Finally got some water after being dehydrated most of the run!
We might have been out of shape, but the atmosphere kept our adrenaline pumping! It was an experience of a lifetime!
As we came around toward the end, we picked up our pace! The Ethiopian theme song was playing that gave us the momentum to finish strong. Our legs wobbling, feet burning, lungs heaving as we finished our run! It was quite the experience! As we walked around afterward, people were congratulating us and talking to us about the run. It was like we had become a part of this great big family!
All throughout this crazy, extravagant day, God was teaching me something special. He taught me that I don’t have to have it all figured out and planned. I don’t have to know every step to take. He just wants me to trust Him that He has it all prepared for me. He never said it would be easy. He just wanted me to keep moving forward and let Him do the rest. Its not about how fast I can do it, but its where and with whom. He wants me to run the race set before me even if it seems like the odds are stacked against me.
With much love,
Laura Leigh Armstrong
