1 Corinthians 13

I had a chance to go home this weekend and spend some time with family and friends. It was so great to see everyone and share some stories from Ethiopia.  It was a very beneficial time for me as well because it allowed me to debrief more intensely and really reflect on what God taught me while I was in Ethiopia...

I experienced poverty and death first hand while in Ethiopia, but I want to share with you what I learned about love and life.  You would think that spending so much time with people who are constantly faced with the reality of death and who are never completely sure of where their next meal will come from would be draining.  Instead it was the most alive I’ve ever felt.  My heart has come alive in a new way because I now understand more deeply what love really is.  Love is not hanging out with 15 boys who live under a bridge after their parents abandoned them, love is not picking up a tiny child and telling her in a foreign language that she is beautiful, love is not singing songs with orphans for an afternoon and teaching them new colors, and love is not travelling to Ethiopia in order to work alongside a church reaching out to the lost and dying.  Those are all great acts, but if it’s not done out of the overflow of what God is doing in your own heart it’s nothing.  Not once did I have to ask myself if doing these things was the right thing to do I just loved without reserve.  These kids loved me back no questions asked.  Not only that but they loved each other in a way that was overwhelming and challenged me.  

Talk about caring for one another.  One night we had the opportunity to take 15 street boys out for dinner. They live underneath a bridge near the church in a make shift tent.  It was great to be able to feed them and dance with them, but my favorite part was when 2 boys got their food before everyone else and they just sat there.  We told them they could go ahead and eat, but they wanted to wait until everyone got their meal.  Then they all offered their food before they took the first bite.  These are children that are not guaranteed food everyday and I expected them to devoir their food, but they care for others in such a sincere way that even food to their empty stomachs does not make them want to eat unless everyone will have something to eat. To them it’s not about “me”, it’s about “us”.  

As I reflected on my trip to Ethiopia and the love I saw and experienced I was brought to 1 Corinthians 13 which sums up what I’ve been feeling:

 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

I understand that passage in a way I never did before. I see faces when I read those words.  All of things that my team was able to be a part of accomplishing was great. We painted rooms, we gardened, we taught children, we helped make jewelry, we partnered with other believers in doing amazing things for the Kingdom, but none of that matters without the love that flowed out of the love we have for Christ because he first loved us.  I will forever be changed not only because of what I saw and experienced, but because my heart actually feels more full. I left Ethiopia more alive.  No pity, just love; no poverty, just joy; no depravity, just hope; no death, just life.  Ethiopia is a beautiful place...maybe not for it’s amazing technology and incredible buildings, but it is beautiful for its love.  Love that despite death chooses to be alive and present.  

Story #4

(taken from my journal 3-9-09)

"After leaving the compound I was exhausted.  We drove back to the Guest House and split up for dinner.  My group went to Kaldi's Coffee which is basically the Ethiopian Starbucks.  We all had french toast and it was amazing.  Kaldi's is named after the man who discovered coffee years ago here in Ethiopia.  We came back and had time as a group to share stories, pray and worship and it was great!  Hearing some of the stories was amazing.  I'm working with some awesome people.  From hanging out with the taxi driver, inviting him in places they went, to giving women propel powder for their water.  Simple things that mean a lot!

One of the interviews the media team did today was a young woman and they asked her why she moved to the mountain.  She said her family didn't make her, but they were always so sad about her condition so she decided to move to spare them hurt.  The media team also shared that even when they couldn't understand what people were saying they felt it Spirit to Spirit.  It's incredible how we can communicate without words..."

Story #3

(the following is taken directly from my journal 3-8-09)

"This morning we woke up, got ready, and had some coffee with Walde (the hotel manager).  The coffee is very strong and is served in a very small cup.  Anyway, then we got ready and went to church.  Beza was amazing.  I loved worshipping with them.  We sang 'Holy is the Lord' and the line:

It's rising up all around,

It's the anthem of the Lord's renown

made me think about the millions of people all over the world singing praise to God.

After church we went to lunch with people from Beza and got to know them better.  It's really interesting how the restaurants are so diverse here.  They don't serve just one kind of food.  For example, mexican/italian/american. 

One thing I really liked about the message this morning was he said:

'If you're doing something for free and you're loving it then you're probably on the right track! Go for it, just try! God will intervene if it's not right--he's that powerful and we really can't mess it up.'

We also went swimming today--actually we laid in the sun at this public pool.  It was pretty great! Most of us actually fell asleep in the sun and didn't even go in the water.  Our team split up for dinner...no more meals with 40 people. So I went with a group to get what we thought was going to be German/American Cuisine.  It was interesting.  We had to get on the omni-bus which is like the metro only above ground.  It is basically a taxi van that picks up tons of people and piles them inside.  Anyway, the food was really random and most of us didn't even get anything close to what we actually ordered.  On the way home we got a taxi for 4 people and fit 8 inside--true Addis style apparently.  What a day...just getting to know the culture and hanging out with wonderful people that are becoming family!

After we got back I went to to desk to ask Walde for a wake up call and he asked me to sit down and talk for a little while so I did.  He eventually told me that I should marry him and that he would move to America for me.  I sort of laughed and changed subjects! He is a great guy--he is studying hotel business management and he goes to church down the street. Someone complained about our group being too loud during our meetings so he switched our room and said 'now you can worship and pray as loud as you want'.  Everyone jokes about him being my boyfriend now!  He is teaching me Amharic though and I'm trying to teach him English."

Story #2

As soon as we got off the airplane in Ethiopia we went through customs and all of us got through without a problem.  The next obstacle was making sure that all of our luggage was there.  This guy in the airport decided that he would help me put suitcases onto a rolly cart and once he did that he asked me for a tip...I didn't ask him for help so I took the suitcases off the cart and walked away.  It was an interesting beginning, but fun!

We piled inside of 2 huge vans and headed to the hotel where we ate breakfast and then immediately got to meeting people and working.  I, and some others, headed up to the mountain to hang out with the kids that live there and it was a blast to hang out with them.  My favorite part was when they started to count my freckles.  I used it as an opportunity to learn their language and teach them English!  It was so much fun to see how excited they were that I had freckles and it amazed them when they counted over 20.  

That night we went to a place that had traditional Ethiopian food and dancing! It was so much fun! They can shake like I've never seen!! It was a good start to the trip!

story #1

The plane ride over to Ethiopia was a great start to the trip!  It was a 15 hour flight, non stop (except for a fuel stop in Rome...where we didn't even get off the plane).  I was wondering what I would do for 15 hours, but I was excited to have some time to journal and read.  There were a lot of empty seats on the plane for some reason so a lot of us split up and enjoyed the comfort of double or triple seats to ourselves.  Being short, I took a double seat to myself and was able to lay down comfortably.  The guys sitting in front of me were from Sudan and were lost boys.  Throughout the 15 hours I learned a lot about their lives.  One in particularly was named Abraham and he shared his story with me.  He was born in Sudan, but was sent to a refugee camp at a young age and separated from his mother.  His sister died in war and his mom took in her two children after that. He didn't know where his mom was most of his life and his brothers were scattered among refugee camps, but he knew where they were.  The first refugee camp he went to was in Kenya and then he was moved to one in Ethiopia. 

In 2000 he filled out an application to come to America through one of the organizations that works with the Lost Boys of Sudan.  On his application he specifically said that if he was accepted they would have to allow his 5 brothers to come as well.  He was granted permission, but when he asked about his brothers they said it would take a little longer to process.  He said he would wait.  Then September 11 happened and the process was put on hold for a little while.  Soon after they told him that his brothers would be able to come, but that he should go now...that was 4 years ago.  His brothers soon joined him in America.  Four of them live in Utah with him and one of them lives in Canada.  All of them found out where their mom was after coming to America.  She is in Kenya still caring for their niece and nephew.  Now him and his brothers take turns sending money to help them go to school.

Abraham was on his way to Sudan with an organization working with the Lost Boys of Sudan along with seven other lost boys.  They were going over to speak to those still there and tell them about all that they have accomplished in America and that people actually care about them and what state they are in.  There is an election coming up in Sudan and they are also going over to educate the people about democracy and what that looks like.  Pretty cool! 

My favorite part of this story is that when Abraham's brothers found out that he was selected to go back to Sudan they wanted to make sure that he was able to reconnect with their mom.  So, they bought her a plane ticket and arranged for her to meet him in Sudan for the first time in 22 years!  Praise God! I was almost in tears, as was he, when we landed because I knew it was just a matter of days before he was hugging his mom after so long!  

Ethiopia pictures

Sorry that I was unable to blog while I was gone. The internet was not very good and it was difficult to load most websites so I didn't get the opportunity to do so!  I am home safe and sound and I think part of me will always be in Ethiopia with the people that I spent the past week and a half with!

Here are the pictures that I took while in Ethiopia! Thank you for all the prayers...it was an amazing time of growth and learning! I had such a great time building relationships with people who work and live there! I was sad to have to say 'goodbye', but I know that this is just the beginning of what God is doing in Ethiopia.  I wrote in my journal everyday so I will be sure to document some stories on here, but for now take a look at the pictures:

check these out for updates

You may be wondering how you can be updated while I'm in Ethiopia.  We will have access to the internet, but I will not be bringing my laptop so it depends on availability of computers as to whether or not I'll be able to update on here at all.  However, there will be a blog being updated through the church website and the missions website:

http://aoneeight.org/  (the website for the mission's series)

http://theaterchurch.com/missions  (the church website)

Check on both of these links throughout my time away and there should be updates fairly regularly!

quickly approaching...

Tomorrow is quickly approaching and that means adventure is on its way. My team is meeting at Ebenezers at 5:45 in the morning where 2 shuttle buses will arrive to take us to Dulles International Airport. I think at that moment I will begin to feel like this whole thing is real. I am prepared with books and music for the plane, but with 20 people traveling together I don't think it will be difficult to find entertainment!  

At the gym this morning I was listening to my Ipod and the song "I don't want to go" by Avalon came on and it has become my prayer:

I don't want to go somewhere

if I know that you're not there!

So, my prayer today is to be filled with God's Spirit, God's truth and God's love!!!

snow day in DC!