When my ‘big boss’, Ephraim (the SF Ethiopia Training Director), told me that I needed to get my session on futball refereeing translated into Amharic before an upcoming training, I had no clue what I was getting myself into. Ephraim had listened to a talk/session I had given at the SF International Leadership Training, and he thought that the talk would be applicable and valuable information for the SF denominational coordinators in Ethiopia. Now before I get all caught up talking in SF (Sports Friends) jargon, I’ll rewind a little bit. So what is a SF denominational coordinator (DC)? Well a SF DC is a man or woman who has been elected by their denomination to oversea and manage the ministry in a specific geographical region. These men and women do everything from run practices to training up new sports ministers to encouraging existing ministers. How many DCs are in Ethiopia? Right now there are 85 active DCs working for their denomination across Ethiopia. Lets look at a case study for a moment: in the greater Arsi Oromo region (the area we live in), Yohannes is the Kale Heywett Church SF coordinator. He currently overseas and manages a couple dozen churches, who are using the SF ministry model as an evangelism tool. I could go on for another couple of paragraphs talking about what all they do on a daily basis, but I’ll save that for another post.

So, starting January 31st, we will be hosting the SF denominational coordinators semi-annual meeting. At this meeting, the DCs give ministry reports, network, share challenges and blessings, and get continuing education on everything from futball to Biblical Ethics. Since the average English level of the DCs is relatively low, Ephraim thought it essential that I work with Asse to get the presentation notes translated. Yesterday, Asse and I spent hours attempting to translate 16 PowerPoint slides of information. At one point we were trying to translate the phrase, “Make a good first impression.” Simple enough right?!? Haha. Ok just for a second, try to explain the phrase. What would you say? Well, I started out by trying to explain the word impression. I start out by saying “the feeling people take away when the meet you for the first time.” And I end my explanation by jabbing my hand into the couch and saying “Look, when I lift my hand, the mark I leave behind is the impression of my hand.” :)

I’m learning that the English language has a ton of words and sayings that just don’t translate into Amharic – which can make translating documents tricky. But I’m having a blast and Asse is very gracious as I attempt to define/explain words and phrases. Pray for us this next week as we finish translating the material and then present it.

Ahhhh poinsettia plants! Just the sight of them evokes so many memories of Christmas as a kid. Every year my mom (Nicole's mom) would go to Costco and purchase at least two of the BIGGEST poinsettia plants she could find. Purchasing the poinsettias always marked the beginning of the Christmas season in our household. 

Meet Coach Desta Tadesse!
Name:  Desta (Joy in English) Tadesse
Lives in:  Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Age:  28 years old
Family:  2 brothers & 3 sister
Education: Bachelors in Business Administration and 
       Information Systems
Work experience:  Professional soccer player & owner of a        
       mobile maintenance store
Coaching Teams: 2 Under-15 boys team with plans to begin a 
        girls team

As a recent graduate with a Bachelor’s in Business Administration, Desta had high hopes for his new mobile maintenance shop. Like any young entrepreneur, he had dreams that the shop would grow and be a stable source of income for years to come. In addition to being blessed with a sharp mind, Desta is also a gifted soccer player. He even played soccer professionally in Ethiopia for several years. While playing professionally, a pair of godly coaches noticed Desta’s joy and love for the Lord. They saw him as an emerging Christian leader both on and off the field and decided to invest time, resources and energy into developing his leadership skills. About two years ago, the coaches sent Desta to a Sports Friends Basic Training. For Desta the training sparked a passion and a vision for using soccer to bring youth to a saving faith in Jesus Christ. 

As Desta formed his teams, he began to feel called into full-time ministry. But with the responsibilities of his shop always looming overhead, he was unable to devote much time to building relationships with his players off the field.  He was faced with a decision, and for Desta the choice was simple – seek first the Kingdom of God (Matt 6:33). To most people the choice to sell his shop was irresponsible and irrational. Even now, nearly two years later, many people do not understand why he would “throw away his life,” but with a smile on his face he graciously explains his satisfaction in Christ alone. 

Desta is currently coaching two teams of boys under the age of 15. He spends 6 days a week at the field coaching the boys and developing their skills. Many of these boys have promising soccer careers, but developing their skills on the field is not Desta’s primary goal. His greatest desire is to see young lives transformed by the Gospel. He loves spending time with the kids off the field and discussing life with them. Over the last two years, he has seen 15 of his boys come to know the Lord and he is hopeful that many more will be added to the Kingdom.  

In week 5 of language school we are inching past the infant stage and attempting to speed crawl. There have been many challenging days alongside of times of tear jerking laughter. Above all, we have learned that learning Amharic just takes a lot of time. So it fits in well with the rest of life in Ethiopia where just about everything takes two or three times as long as you might think, on a good day. But, there is a saying that helps describe all of this. “Cus ba cus, encular ba eger telyedalich.”  Literally translated this means, “Slowly by slowly, the egg will walk.” I kind of like it and in a weird sort of way it is true. So the next time you are struggling, just remember that the egg will walk!

Below is a video of Jalayllie, Bryan’s teacher, with the correct pronunciation in Amharic.

Hey Folks, I just wanted to give you a quick update on the progress of some of our construction projects. There have been many small and medium size projects including new screens and a laundry facility. Currently our focus has been on a new duplex, which will be used for new clinic staff housing.  Things got off to a rough start, but things are running smoothly for the moment. Above is a picture taken about 5 weeks ago. Below is a photo from last week. The guys are doing a great job and cruising right along. Hopefully we will be able to get a roof on in the next month or so! We are also in the planning stages for a new Gymnasium that will be the largest building on our compound at nearly 15,000 square feet. Please lift this project up in prayer as there are many challenges that we face before we can actually start construction (which we hope to do next fall).

-Bryan

PS my wife tells me that her blog posts are funnier ... well maybe someday I will write a hilarious post for you all to enjoy. Until then, just think of something funny while reading my posts so that you laugh a little bit. That way you can honestly tell nicole that you laughed while reading my post!

The vehicle saga continues. Since arriving in Ethiopia we have been leasing a truck, but now we are looking for a truck to purchase. Bryan has been tireless in his hunt. After spending every free afternoon in the last 3 weeks discovering used car dealerships around Addis, we had finally narrowed our choices down to two trucks.  We were able to have the SIM mechanic check out one of the trucks, which revealed a few issues; but when you are looking at a 15-year-old vehicle, that is to be expected. Feeling good about the first truck, we scheduled the second truck for an inspection the following day. By the time we went to pick it up, the second truck had been sold. Talk about a quick turnaround – the truck wasn’t even on the lot 24 hours before it was sold! If we thought finding a quality truck in our price range was tricky, we weren’t prepared for the next twist in the road. Apparently in Ethiopia, it is uncommon for a used car dealerships to write a purchase contract with the FULL price of a vehicle on it. The dealerships have a super complicated reason for why they do business this way, but in the eyes of the law the act is fraudulent and jail time is inevitable. So in an attempt to be above reproach, we cannot purchase either vehicle.  What does that mean? We are back to square one, well maybe a little bit before square one. :) Our plan is to get back out and continue scavenging the back allies of Addis in search of a car dealership that has a quality 15+ year old truck in our price range AND is willing put the whole price on a contract! We look forward to the day we will be able to drive a vehicle home and put it to use hauling supplies to Langnao. Hopefully there wont be too many more surprises along the way!

I (Nicole) have been trying help in the search by providing…creative solutions. See below for my best idea yet! For some reason Bryan says putting 18’ pipe on top would be somewhat challenging. I think it would be the perfect opportunity to impress me :) 

One thing we love about Ethiopians is their creativity. They can find a use for just about anything  and they use whatever they have to solve any one of many challenges, which leads to some interesting sights. Around Ethiopia we have seen a surprising number of sleeping eye masks. However, they tend to use them for different reasons.  The most common is a mouth & nose cover or dust filter. It is quite humorous to see. If the smell is bad enough, the sleeping mask is dedicated to the mouth while garlic is used to block nasal passages. There are some days walking down the street when I must agree that this may not be such a bad idea, as public toilets are also known as the side of the road! Urine baking in the sun gives off a pungent and very recognizable smell for a surprising distance.

PS we can’t seem to find the picture but will try to put one up in the future. For now, just let your imagination treat your senses (including smell!)