Maybe it was the fact that we were entering hour 40-something of our travel day, or the the flu I picked up along the way, but when I saw the vastness of the Ethiopian countryside, all I could do was cry. Yall, it is breathtaking. From our tiny van, we had a 360 view of nothing but untouched land and sky.
Life is so simple here. The compound we are living on is made up of 8 homes built with bricks made by hand here on the property. All of the homes in the surrounding area are modest huts made of branches and straw. It gets crazy cold here at night, so while I’m grateful for our accommodations (beds, toilets, and sometimes even hot water… whaaat?!), I can’t help but feel a little guilty.
The longer I spend in the simplicity of African culture, the more my heart hurts for America. Not because we do things differently or wrong, but because most of us will never know the beauty of life here. Everything we eat is freshly grown. Our chickens come whole, ya know, like they’re supposed to. Yall, I’m so thankful for people who don’t panic at the sight of raw meat and love me enough to step in and gut it for me. We walk anywhere we go, even 2 miles to get Coke. No shame. Some days we don’t have electricity, and we never have wifi, which means we have ample time to spend with the Lord, the people here, and each other. We teach and play cards and have silly (super cute) photo shoots.
The ministry we are with is incredible. They care for orphans and women. They sponsor 17 families in the community who cannot afford food and/or housing. They’re in the process of building a ninth building as a training center for the disabled. They host vision and dental clinics throughout the year. They have a well that supplies clean water for everyone in the area. Every morning people come from all over and gather what they need. They’ve even built troughs for farmers to bring their cattle to drink. The closest watering hole is 7 kilometers away. Imagine having to walk 9ish miles round trip for your cows to get water. And then somebody comes along and helps lighten your load by putting in a trough that never runs dry. That is beautiful. And isn’t it so reflective of the mind of Christ?
Everyday we learn more about the reality of following Christ here. The area we are in does not welcome Jesus. The locals are mostly Muslim and some sort of Orthodox, and together they are less than welcoming to the Protestant church. One of the churches we attend and preach at this month is roughly two miles away. We walk off-road through fields and cracked land to get there and many people come from way farther. Missionaries are also not super welcome here. Trips to the market often end with veggies and rocks thrown at us. The government is currently trying to shut down the organization we are with in hopes that Christianity will not spread. They’re suing them for the same land that is helping to keep many people in the community fed and alive.
Our squad has gotten a taste of the spiritual heaviness the local Christians face every single day here — nightmares, depression, and illness. It has been an honor and privilege to join in daily prayer and worship against these things, but it makes my heart ache, too. I can’t imagine having to daily fight for my faith, especially in such a highly spiritual place like Africa. Following Christ has been totally persecution-free for me, especially living in the Bible Belt of America. Even ‘abandoning’ my life to spread the gospel meant stuffing my apartment’s contents into a storage unit and leaving my family and friends, who 100% support me, for a year. People are disowned by their families every day for deciding to follow Jesus. The people of HOPEthiopia, who have less to their names than my 60-liter pack, still walk in deep confidence and complete surrender in Christ. They still choose to love big and give even bigger. They daily inspire me to choose joy despite all circumstances and love sacrificially.
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4
Please join me in praying fervently for our friends at HOPEthiopia and the tiny village of Harbu Chulule. Their strength and their faith are astounding, and they deserve so much love and support.
The kiddos barricaded the road when we loaded up in vans to head to the airport to leave. They’re seriously the cutest!
