Yes I know, the title of this blog post is a bit cheesy, but it‘s true. There are many reasons for why I love my job, one of them is the new and ever changing challenges that we face each day. Let me walk you through one of my recent days at work. The day began with four labors riding in a trailer behind the car on our way down to the beach. The soil at the beach is high quality sand that we use to make concrete for various projects around the compound. We hauled four loads of sand over to the duplex project. Next was a more unusual challenge. We needed to move a small, about 10’x15’ house/shed a couple kilometers across the compound. Oh, did I forget to mention that the shed weighs about 3000 pounds? To move it, wooden logs were placed under the house and a cable ran through the house and was connected to the back of the car. The general idea was that the house would roll across the logs as the car pulled it. Unfortunately the front porch was not quite strong enough to survive the initial attempt to move as evidenced by the columns and railings being ripped off. So we re-rigged the cables and successfully began to slowly move the house. It took 11 of us nearly 3 hours to move it a couple kilometers. But along the way, we were able to problem solve our way around corners, down hills, over ditches and through a gate. After lunch, some of the guys began repairing the porch and one side of the house that had some damage while I went to cut up a tree that had fallen down in a windstorm and put the finishing touches on a new ping-pong net for the game pavilion. And we finished the day with a soccer match between many of our workers and missionary staff.
I love my job, not only because of the great diversity of things I get to do, but also for the problem solving that is required to get almost everything done and for the purpose that drives all we do. We must be creative, or we would be cutting a new road because a house is stuck in the middle of the old road. I have to repurpose materials to serve in ways never intended to create things useful in the Ethiopian countryside. But more than that, I love my job because I am working in the background to support the work of a great ministry. The sand is for a duplex that will house more staff for a clinic that serves the local community and shares Christ daily. The house that we moved was previously used by a camp staff member, who lived in the single room for two years because of her heart for Arsi-Oromo people. Now that her new house is complete, this shed will be used for storage near our field for balls, cones, life jackets and other essentials during the camping season. The soccer match is an opportunity to have fun and build relationships with the guys that I work with everyday. I hope that I can minister to them as we prepare this compound for its role in ministering to youth from all over Ethiopia along with the many ferengiis (foreigners) that pass through our container bridge each year.
Thank you for your support and prayers. I could not serve in this way and do the job that I love without you. May God bless you as we work to further His kingdom together through Camp Langano.
I love my job, not only because of the great diversity of things I get to do, but also for the problem solving that is required to get almost everything done and for the purpose that drives all we do. We must be creative, or we would be cutting a new road because a house is stuck in the middle of the old road. I have to repurpose materials to serve in ways never intended to create things useful in the Ethiopian countryside. But more than that, I love my job because I am working in the background to support the work of a great ministry. The sand is for a duplex that will house more staff for a clinic that serves the local community and shares Christ daily. The house that we moved was previously used by a camp staff member, who lived in the single room for two years because of her heart for Arsi-Oromo people. Now that her new house is complete, this shed will be used for storage near our field for balls, cones, life jackets and other essentials during the camping season. The soccer match is an opportunity to have fun and build relationships with the guys that I work with everyday. I hope that I can minister to them as we prepare this compound for its role in ministering to youth from all over Ethiopia along with the many ferengiis (foreigners) that pass through our container bridge each year.
Thank you for your support and prayers. I could not serve in this way and do the job that I love without you. May God bless you as we work to further His kingdom together through Camp Langano.
The clinic staff duplex construction is coming along great!
The guys laying the roof...it reminds me of the BSU football field :)
