It’s our third month in Africa and we are doing ministry in the country of Ethiopia. What stands out to me the most in Ethiopia is the culture. It is so beautifully ingrained in each region, town and home. The most obvious differences that have been both fun and, sometimes, challenging to embrace are:
- Ethiopia has the BEST coffee y’all!
- A coffee ceremony is the greeting given to guests every time you enter a home. Burning incense and pouring the coffee one foot above each mug is tradition.
- No utensils needed for meals. You eat with your right hand only – major struggles for lefties
- They always round coins up to a birr (what they call a dollar). For example, your bill may be $40.53, but you will only get 9 birr back. Always. Change smaller than a birr is rarely seen.
- Favorite transportation – bajej!
- Ethiopia dervies from the Greek ethio = “burned” and pia = “face”: the land of the burned-faced peoples.
- From the meaning of Ethiopia, you can already assume how hot it is here. It is the hottest country in Africa.
- To greet someone, you grab their right hand and touch your right shoulders together. You can also kiss each other multiple times on the cheeks, which is more common with older adults.
- Traditional dance = basically, shake your shoulders. A LOT.
- Tej is Ethiopian mead – a honey wine with 19% alcohol content or higher
- Your meal is never truly “yours.” Don’t be surprised to have someone you just met to sit down and start eating your food without asking.
I miss home and all my friends and family and hope everyone is doing well. Please don’t hesitate to send me any of your prayers requests. I have a remaining $2,756 that I need to fundraise by the end of April to continue serving on the mission field and would love to have people partner with me through prayer, giving, and/or both. Blessings!!
“Look at the nations and watch – be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told.” Habakkuk 1:5
