Whenever I take a picture of or with one of our Abesha summer staff, they always ask, “Abesha or Foreignji?” This simple question is absolutely hilarious to me. Every time Ethiopians get their pictures taken they either have blank look on their face or they look almost angry. So when they ask “Abesha or Foreignji?”, they are really asking if they should smile for the camera :) Below are two photos of some of my favorite summer staff – one Abesha and one Foreignji. 

In America it is considered rude to tell someone they are fat or that they have put on some weight. In Ethiopia they play by a whole different set of social rules. Not only is it socially acceptable to comment on someone’s weight, but carrying a few extra pounds is also proof of your financial stability.

During our last few months in the states, we were eating like royalty. From bacon cheeseburgers to mochas to Baskin Robbins ice cream – if it sounded scrumptious we ate it without thinking about the consequences. We kept telling ourselves that soon we would not be able to eat or drink things like Dr. Pepper whenever we wanted. As a result, both of us came to Ethiopia a little on the plump side.

After 2 months of living at Langano, our Ethiopian teammates are now telling us ”You are losing all of your weight. Eat!!!” I keep assuring them that eating is not the problem :) While we are eating differently then we would in the US, we are still eating some great American comfort foods. Yesterday our teammates made mango crisp and homemade ice cream. Today Bryan fried up some doughnuts and we spread Nutella on top of them and the camp cook made cake at two different times today! Amazingly Bryan has lost 25 lbs and I have dropped 10 lbs.

Also Bryan says, “If you are worried about him withering away into nothing, you should mail us some Ghirardelli Triple Chocolate Chunk brownie mix – available at your local Costco.” :)

We wanted to share some information with you regarding the current situation with our visa & work permit. In the middle of this past April we applied for a 2 year business visa. This is the same visa with which our predecessors at Camp Langano lived in Ethiopia. However, we were only given a 6 month business visa due to a change in Ethiopian government policy. This means that our current visa and ability to stay in Ethiopia expires in October.  SIM was warned that applying to extend our business visa would bring unwarranted and unneeded scrutiny onto other missionaries with SIM in Ethiopia. So that option is very low on the list of potential solutions. Ideally, we would be able to get a work permit, which is different from a business visa. A work permit is tied to a government contract for a given project and that contract specifically lists the qualifications necessary to obtain the work permit. Currently there are no available work permits for anything remotely related to construction. Also, the work permit needs to be in Bryan’s name, which rules out any soccer or community related options that Nicole might be able to apply for. One great thing about SIM is that there is a whole team of people working on this issue so that we can focus on serving here at Langno. That team is currently looking into a number of options, most of which include writing a new government contract or re-writing an existing contract to create a new work permit for us. Once there is a work permit available, we will most likely need to be out of the country for two weeks while the paper work is filled and hopefully approved. All of this could take months to happen and force us to leave in October or it could take a matter of days, which would mean we would miss a few weeks of camp later this summer. We really have no idea on the timing, but are aware that we may get an email and need to leave the country within the week  :)

So, we really need your prayers and support in this. Please pray for wisdom as we try to figure out the best option for obtaining a work permit. Also pray for favor with the government officials that SIM is working with. We are glad to be here at Camp Langano and able to serve for the time being and trust that God has a plan for us. Who knows where he will lead, but we are excited to follow!

Last night I came home to my cute husband after being at the field all day coaching and refereeing futball matches. I plopped down at the kitchen table, guzzled down some water and began conversing with Bryan. After a few minutes I stopped him mid-sentence and ask, "Do you smell that?!?!" Sniffing the air, he makes a face that lets me know it is indeed a foul and potent smell. We spent the next 10 minutes trying to figure out what the smell was. Of course, my first thought was - Bryan, but he had just showered so unless he forgot soap I knew he was not the culprit. Bryan of course thought it was me. I quickly decided that I did smell bad but the foul smell that had permeated the room smelled more of rotting animal/feces. After searching the entire kitchen for the source of the smell and coming up empty handed, we left to go to the camp's evening program. 

I forgot about the smell until the next morning. Like most weekday mornings, I got up early and ran morning exercises and a technical session for 80 campers. After the session, I ran back to my house for a couple pancakes. Upon entry into the house I was hit with the nasty rotting animal/feces combination. I sit down and the smell intensifies. And then it hits me. Yup - after being in my boots (cleats) my feet are carrying the foul rotting animal/feces smell. 

After feeding the campers breakfast, I went over to the camp staff house Bryan is installing tile in to tell him the news. You should have seen the smile on his face! His eyes told me everything - he was sooo glad that it was my feet and not his :)

One of the major projects that I have been working on here at Camp Langano is finishing up a new house. The house is for two staff, one Ethiopian (Asse) and one American (Stephanie). This project was started a number of years ago and has been under the supervision of at least 3 other men during that time. It took some time for me to figure out which way was up and what needed to be done to complete the project. There was a lot that needed to be done, electrical, plumbing, windows, doors, floors, bathroom and kitchen, just to name a few. Asse has been patiently waiting over a year for the house to be completed so that she can finally move in. During that time she lived in a single room with a sink and toilet next to her bed, took cold showers 200 yards from home and ate every meal in the dining hall or at a friend’s house. The little room that she was living in happened to be attached to the front of the new house. However, there was never any intention (that I am aware of) for leaving the room there permanently as it was blocking the front door to the new house. So we had a mountain of a problem, how to move the room and keep it in tact so that it could be used for storage elsewhere at camp. We thought long and hard, we prayed and we had faith. Last week God brought to us many willing hands (some even came from Thailand, Kenya and Nigeria!) and together we successfully moved the old room away from the new house! It was quite a sight to see. Fortunately, there were only a couple of minor injuries and everyone seemed to enjoy the hard work together. But now the pressure is on … Asse is living in a cabin with the summer staff until the new house is complete and Stephanie will arrive in a matter of weeks. We look forward to sharing some pictures of a completed house, hopefully very soon!

CLICK HERE to see pictures of the move.

When we arrived at Langano, I had a beard. I have had a beard for most of the last 4 years. It is a nice shade of red. I rather like my beard; it also means I don’t have to shave every morning which is a big plus. We have been here for almost two months and I had yet to trim or shave the beard. Nicole did give me a haircut a few weeks ago, but we left the beard. One of our fellow missionaries described it well; Shane said I looked like a real mountain man. It was very full. While many of our staff was gone to a wedding this weekend, we decided to trim the beard to the point of fine scruff (yes I still did not have to shave). It was great to see the reactions when everybody returned. Apparently the beard also makes me look older. One estimate said I look 5 years younger with it trimmed so short! Haha, I guess all you have to do to look young is shave …  

PS for those of you wondering about our last post, I purchased cream … but it turned out much closer to Cannary Yellow!