Sometimes I wish I could watch myself grow up. To be able to watch and skip from chapter to chapter to see how I have grown and changed, physically, spiritually, emotionally, and mentally would be amazing. As I watch some of the kids on the compound grow up, I am always curious as to what they are thinking and why they do what they do. What is the thought process of a 2 year old that is growing up learning 3 languages? Does she think in different languages? What makes the 1.5 year old say “Tota (monkey in Amharic) no!” when there are no monkeys in sight? Why do some children become obsessed with the moon? Perhaps I should have paid more attention in my Child Development class freshman year of college…
I stumbled across this photo the other day and figured I would share it with you all. I think I am 3 years old in the picture. Check out those bangs! I want to be friends with that kid! :) It still blows my mind that the little kid in the picture is now a married woman who lives in Ethiopia! Man – time sure does fly.
In the past week and a half I have spent a lot of time on the road. But driving in Ethiopia has it own unique challenges as well as entertaining sights. Not only do you have to watch out for maniac drivers on drugs, but there are more than a few fearless donkeys, goats, sheep and cows who believe that food can be found on the other side of the road, or perhaps right in the middle of the road. Did I mention the people riding bicycles or standing on the white line waiting for rides? I’m grateful for God’s protection; I have no doubt we would be dead without it! But a picture is worth a thousand words, so here are a few for your enjoyment.
Sure it looks a little dangerous to be riding on top of the truck. But when you find out that the truck was traveling at 60+ miles per hour, it puts a new spin on insanity.
This gives a whole new meaning to “eminent domain.” I guess the government didn’t want to buy the whole property, so they just cut away part of the concrete building and but up tin along the new property line.
Just like an urban setting where property (in this case vehicles) is expensive, you build up. Here, they stacked a layer of sheep above cows by setting the sheep on wooden poles that were stuck through the side of the truck.
That’s right, two signs – Flammable & Non-Flammable. I still think I would refrain from striking a match anywhere near this truck.
Oh ya, I forgot to mention that you also have to watch out for camel crossings too! I hope your commute to work is a little less adventurous this week.
Living on a compound in the middle of rural Ethiopia brings a whole new meaning to the phrase “living in community.” In the states, we often times struggle to find real community. Our natural tendencies are to avoid vulnerability and to stay out of other people’s lives. Out here there is virtually no privacy. If you are fighting with your spouse, everyone knows about it. If you snap after being asked for another ride, everyone knows about it. If you have the runs, before lunchtime the entire compound knows about. The current state and function of our bowels is a daily topic of conversation. And last week was no different. By mid-week some sort of amoeba/stomach virus had infected the entire team, which meant that nearly every conversation touched on the current status of our stomachs and bowels. During our team’s Bible study this week, we were discussing living in community and what Biblical community looks like. Near the end of the discussion Bryan posed a challenge to all of us. He said “What if we talked about our spiritual health and life as much as we talked about our physical health?!? Everyone fell silent as conviction ran through the room.
Maybe bowel movement is not a typical topic of conversation in your life, but what is it that dominates your conversations and thoughts? What would it look like to have Christ take the center stage?
Check out the video below to see how God moving in our local community!
This week, I have the privilege of serving along side David's older brother, Joshua* at Camp Langano. What a joy it is to see God's hand at work in the lives of many people in our community. Please pray for both David & Joshua, that the Lord will continue to use them in a mighty way.
