The night after the flood, it started raining again. I chuckled out loud as our prayers shifted from “Lord, please bring rain” to “Lord, bring rain BUT please keep the river from overflowing its banks!” Haha. As planned, Monday morning the school was cleaned and the students were able to take their exams. Mid-morning we went out to check on our neighbors and survey the damage. One of the homes across the street from the church had water two feet of water in it the night of the flood. Though the family could have been frustrated or discouraged because of their situation, they were in good spirits and assured us that “God is here.” It was so sweet to hear our neighbors trust in God’s sovereignty even during difficult times.  

As we continued our survey, we found the iconic Langano container bridge in a compromising position :) The soil beneath the concrete footing on our side of the river had been washed away. The footing had broken and pulled away from its reinforcing causing the container to rest on the bank in an impassible manor. Without much heavy equipment at camp, the task of moving the 8,700 pound container seemed just a little bit daunting.

That evening you could hear the river pouring over the falls just above the container bridge. So Bryan and Yonas, the camp manager, went to check the situation out. They found the river full and the water being partially blocked by the fallen container. Initially they were afraid that the lower part of the compound, teacher & nurse housing and the clinic, would flood because the water level was still rising. But thankfully after about 2 hours the water began to recede. With darkness upon them, Bryan and Yonas returned home for the evening knowing that the next day would be dedicated to moving or at least attempting to move the bridge.

Bryan loves the sound of rain pounding on our tin roof, so last weekend when the rain started coming down a big grin spread across his face. Little did he know the damage the rains were about to inflict. 

Like most Sundays at Langano, we slowly woke up and got ready for church. The rains the night before were a thing of the past and neither of us had given them a second thought - that is until we started walking to church. Each step was an adventure. A thick, sticky and slippery mud covered the usually sandy soil causing us to slip and slid around. The 2 minute walk took nearly 10 minutes. At one point during the walk, Bryan’s mom, DiAnn let out a loud squeal as the gooey mud sludged onto her sandals and squirted in between her toes. Thankfully we made it to church without wiping out :)

We were some of the first people to arrive at church, probably because we had one of the shorter walks. As we greeted our friends, we found out that the night before the river overflowed its banks upstream and the water had flooded the ‘lowlands’ in and around the compound. Water had gotten into the church and the evangelist’s home. The evangelist’s wife told us that plates & bowls were floating through her house! Her niece told me that she was sleeping on a mattress and she woke up when the water came into her ear! Thankfully, no one was hurt and only a few household items were lost or damaged.

After church, we ran into our teammate, Joan (the school director), and she informed us that water and a thick layer of the sticky mud had entered two classrooms and the library during the night. Joan told us that all of the textbooks were safe, but that some of the other library books were ruined as a result of the flood. At that point the water had receded, but the mud was still covering the ground and stuck to all the desks and chairs. After an initial cleaning, it was decided to leave the mess till Monday morning when reinforcements could help with the clean up process.

You know that you are building relationships with people when they start to joke around with you. Understanding humor in another language and culture has proven to be tricky, and often times we miss the punch line. But God is good and we are learning the ways of Ethiopian humor :) 

A familiar face. Deep discussions with good friends of spiritual things in English. Dove chocolates. Oh the things in life that I have been missing.

Last week we were blessed by the presence of a short term team from New Heights Church in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Now some of you may be thinking..."Fayetteville, Arkansas?!?!?! Who do you know there?!?!" Well, when it was time to head off to college in pursute of our collegiate athletic careers, I chose Vanderbilt University and my best friend, Kathleen, chose the University of Arkansas. Over the years, I have made several trips to Northwest Arkansas and her friends have graciously welcomed me with open arms and become my friends. So much so that as part of a 6-week long missions trip, Kathleen's roommate brought a team to Camp Langano for a week to serve along side us and encourage us! This was the first time my "American world" and my "Ethiopian world" truly collided, and I loved every second of it.

As an extra special bonus, one of Kathleen's brothers and his wife joined us for the week. Growing up he was like my big brother, whom we always thought needed to be aggravated and provoked. But by the grace of God we have both matured and it was fun to have meaningful discussions with him about life, ministry and church. As we reminisced, it was crazy to see how we have both grown up in the last 13 years. 

Thank you all for coming to serve the Ethiopians and love on us! We are blessed beyond measure.