I have been in Ethiopia for a month now, and it is incredible.
Me, along with my entire squad is staying at a non-government organization called Hope Ethiopia. We are staying at Hope Ethiopia’s base which has an orphanage attached to it.
The base is in the middle of nowhere, so at night, the sky is so clear you can see the Milky Way.
There is a high percentage of Muslims in Ethiopia, and there is a mosque right behind the base. We get to wake up every morning to the call to prayer.
The ministry I do every day is mainly manual labor which consists of cutting grass with a long curved knife, gardening, and watering the apple orchard on base. On some days I walk 45 minutes to Hope Ethiopia’s reforestation site where I pot dirt and water plants. Though this doesn’t look like conventional ministry, I get to choose into it every day in honor of my Father, which is cause for rejoicing!
The showers are cold 9/10 times(which has been the leading factor in me now showering every 7-10 days) and the power is out 8/10 times so hello headlights!
We have all of our meals prepared for us by 3 incredible Ethiopian women, and if we want a snack, we can walk 25 minutes into town to get either a coke, popcorn kernels, or apple cookies.
Most of our meals consist of carbs, carbs, and more carbs, with an occasional salad. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
If we’re lucky, we can occasionally snatch some Ethiopian food from our cooks…and that is a very god day because Ethiopian food is my favorite!
(Injera is on the bottom, which you tear off and eat all of the food with)
Life here is slow and peaceful. The sunsets never disappoint and the stars take my breath away every time.
The people we encounter never cease to honor us in any way they can, and the children on base invite us so well into everyday life with them. This is an incredible country where I have seen the gentleness of the Father, and His promise of intimacy and warmth for Ethiopia.
