Even amidst 'Africa time' I've developed a great routine here in Addis Ababa over the last three weeks. (I apologize that blog updates is not included in that… apparently Ethiopia internet dislikes blogger.com… who knew?!). My week starts on Mondays with English class and my wonderful students! I teach through the Youth for Christ youth center, and my class consists of 25 students, ages 10-14. They are beginners so I have a translator; however it's amazes me how quickly I've built relationships with them in spite of the language barrier. I'm always excited to do it over again on Tuesday and Wednesday. Unfortunately, this week some class time was interrupted by a nasty 'bug' that hit my stomach. I would still appreciate your prayers as I can't eat much at all, and I'm just dying for injera and a macchiato!
Thursdays have become a nice day of rest for me… great time to spend with God and my guitar. Fridays a few of us generally go to a local 'soup kitchen' (injera kitchen would be more appropriate) called Hope International. As would be the case in the states, serving the food is really a minor part of the experience… the good stuff comes with the smiling faces of those you take time for. Their delight and surprise in being acknowledged, and spoken to in their or language (or we attempt to speak, at least) is overwhelming! Each time I have these personal encounters, I'm reminded greatly of how much people need people. Seems like such a simple concept, but I think we easily forget, particularly in America, that God created us to love and function as a body and community. People like these who generally are not treated with much dignity are missing out on a fundamental part of God's design. And those times we help them find it, even for just a moment, I know we're right where God wants us.
My week truly peaks on Saturdays when we head to Holetta Orphanage for the day. Last year when I went for the first time, I was emotionally gearing myself up to be heart-broken and filled with pity upon meeting the children. I was taken aback by the contagious joy that exudes from the children at Holetta. It's not merely joy to see us… it's a genuine joy that comes from deep within, and is contingent on nothing but God Himself. They are a family among themselves; they don't seem to feel that they're lacking a thing. I wonder sometimes how ashamed I would be if they only knew of times I've felt alone or discontent. These children have so much to teach us, I feel blessed to have been welcomed so quickly into their family!! We spend our day with them playing, tickling, and more playing and more tickling, and then we finally get to 'group time.' They share about what God's done in their heart that week… they take turns singing songs, sharing scripture, displaying drawings, and praying. It's remarkable… I wish I could say such things are common, but no… it's truly remarkable.
