Only in Africa

You might be a missionary in rural Ethiopia if: 

• You plan extra time into your trips because you may find yourself behind herds of animals and taking unplanned and unmarked detours because of construction. Alright, let's be honest here. It is not that you "may find yourself" in these situations... It is more a matter of how many times it'll happen. 

 

• You get excited when a bathroom has toilet paper in it. And let's not even talk about the thrill that comes with seeing a toilet... The excitement is kind of like Christmas and your birthday all rolled into one! 

• You have a love-hate relationship with rain! 
• Rain love: Cool water to drink, a good excuse to curl up and drink hot tea (though here you really don't need an excuse), and we can shower and wash clothes as often as we want. 
• Rain hate: Cold, muddy, sometimes long-term power outages, and being trapped inside. 

It is just life. The rain comes and goes. If it is dry in the morning, you can plan on a wet afternoon, and often it works the other way around too. 

• You are preparing to celebrate New Years. On Thursday, September 11th, we will be ringing in 2007. Yep, you got that right. I am back in my middle school years, though this time around is much more enjoyable than my first round of 2007 was. 

• You look around and sometimes wonder, is this even real? Then you realize that yes, it is indeed real and that not only is our God an amazing father... He has a side job as a world class artist! 

With You Always

 

My official work with teaching will begin here a week or so after the Ethiopian New Year (September 11th) when the kids start back to school. I will be working to teach English to students who are in the preschool and kindergarten programs at the local church. I am ever so excited for late September to bring this new and exciting responsibility, new relationships, and new opportunities to be a contributing part of this community. As I wait for school to begin I still find myself teaching... We have just wrapped up another week of homeschooling for Dawit. I have been able to get involved with his schooling a little by taking on a few subjects each day; as schools in the states are all back in full swing, I find myself missing being in the classroom so what a joy it has been to be doing what I love: teaching... In AFRICA!

Though I came to teach, I have come to find out that I'm also here to learn. 

More times than not, I find myself in the role of teacher; however, since arriving in the hills of Ethiopia I have quite often claimed the title of student! In my short time here, just by living on the farm, I have learned a great deal about hatching and raising chickens. I have learned how to cook various new dishes, including tortillas from scratch. Slowly but surely, I have picked up some of the local language, Amharic. Each and every time we go into "town", or anywhere beyond the 4 walls of our house for that matter, I learn just a little bit more about social roles and etiquette. Through relying on Jesus Christ as my constant, I have even learned more about what it is to share a deep and personal relationship with the Savior of this world.

Of all that I have learned, that last one is by far my favorite! How sweet it is to know that My God is the same yesterday and today, in the states and in Ethiopia, when I am sick and when I am well, when I am feeling encouraged and when I am discouraged. In Matthew 28, Jesus commands us directly to go and make disciples of all nations, spreading the truth of who HE is! And His promise to us: "And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." 

Rolling into Week 3

        I cannot even begin to tell you how often I sit here looking at a blinking cursor and blank white page wondering how in the world I am going to put into words all that I am experiencing. This is one of those times. As a good friend described it, "New people, new food, new culture, new home, no inside plumbing... WOW!" I want to spill the beans and share each and every detail, but there is no way to recount two weeks of life and there is no way you want to sit and read that..... So, let me just share with you a few random Hannah-facts about life in rural Ethiopia.

Relationships are BIG! Whether it is going down to have coffee with some of the staff or sharing bumbalino with a neighboring family, people appreciate time. 

Electricity: take it or leave it. For all of you who were worried: YES, we do have electricity. It is just unpredictable. There are days when it goes out 4 or 5 times a day, then there are times when it stays on for a full day or 2. You just never know. 

Despite popular belief, Africa is not always blazing hot. In fact, here in Chencha things are pretty chilly, at least for right now. Currently, we are wrapping up the rainy season, though it has been awfully sunny for the past two days. As the rain moves away, my understanding is that warmth will move in. 

BYOTP (Bring your own toilet paper). I'd say 4 out of 5 times, when you use a public bathroom, it is a TP free zone. Carrying toilet paper was a trick I picked up on VERY quickly! 

Life is beautifully simplistic. There is a certain beauty that thrives in the lifestyle here.  It comes from the relationships, the lack of constant connection, the freedom to be a little dirty, the mindset of giving and sharing with others even if it is all you have. 

        As I roll into week 3, I am happy to be pretty well settled in. I am grateful for easy adaptations, doors opening in the near future, a handful of words that I have picked up in Amharic, and the beginnings of what will amount to great relationships by the end of this year. Please pray in the coming week that God would continue to provide opportunities for me to serve, that I would continue to pick up on the language, and that in all things--good and bad--I would turn to God. 

Here. Happy. Home.

Yesterday marked the end of my first week in Africa. Sometimes I catch myself looking around and thinking "is this even real?" Seeing as this has been something I have spent so many years dreaming about, it seems like a natural reaction. The fact that I am indeed really here, even as I begin adjusting to the routines of daily life, seems totally and completely surreal. 

 

Above is a picture just down from our house... Just to the right of the blue building is where we live. And that green building at the top of the hill, that's the Onesimus chicken hatchery house. Over the past few days I have spent a little time in there cleaning eggs and collecting from the hatch. 

Below is again, just down from our house. This will give you an idea of what Chencha is like. Currently it is the rainy season so the days are foggy and the nights are wet, but in a month or two I'm picturing blue skies and clear views.

       

A quick overview of the past week: After arriving on Wednesday morning around 7:00am (midnight your time) we began our day with some breakfast and a tour of Addis Ababa. After unloading my stuff at the guest house where we were staying, we went back into the city to meet the staff of Onesimus and check in on the girls at the half way home. I did not quite understand all that the girls were saying, but spending that time with them was a treat. After turning in early that night and catching up on a few days worth of sleep deprivation, I was able to welcome day two rested and ready to go. We spent the day stocking up on supplies and preparing to head south the next day. Out trip to Chencha began on Friday and was a two day endeavor with an overnight stop about six hours in. Saturday afternoon we arrived in Chencha, and after five or so days of traveling, I was at my new home! 

       Last night I was reading back over some of what I have journaled in the last week. I had to laugh as I read everything from "oh my goodness, I am so excited to be here" to "what on earth am I doing here?". Times when, in the same day, I was both overjoyed by the reality of what is happening in my life and yet totally overwhelmed by the newness. As my first week here draws to a close, I am so very content to call this place home. I have been blessed already in my time here: by the people, by my family, and by the beauty and simplicity of life. Please pray as the weeks tick by that I am able to be as much of a blessing as others have been to me thus far. God is going to do great things in this year. What an honor it is to be a part of His plan.

So there you have it. The long-awaited first post from Africa. In short.... I am here, I am happy, and I am home. 

Pray for: My Family Abroad

     I mentioned in my post a few days ago that through all of this I have gained a family. When Africa was first on the radar, something I really desired was to be in a family setting. I have a five-star family here in the states and I wanted more than anything to be in a similar environment while serving in Africa. While I am in Ethiopia, I will be living with a family of four: Jon and Jess and their two kiddo's. I was blessed to get to meet them mid-February and have felt like they were my family ever since. I have spent a week with their siblings while training in Mississippi: LOVED them! Over the past two weeks I have spent some time with their parents: LOVED them, too! How great is our God that He would meet my desire to have a family abroad so abundantly.

       Today, as my family in Ethiopia is nearing the city where they will pick me up, please be in prayer specifically for them! What a joy it has been to get to know them over the past seven months, and my prayer is that the next twelve or so are as much of a blessing as the first few.

       Pray specifically for:

• Transition as a family: we are all excited about what this will mean for each of us, but still pray that the transition goes smoothly.
• For the kids: that we will grow together and have great adventures along the way, but that as they adjust to a new adult in their family that it would be a natural and fun transition.
• Our service: pray that God would provide opportunities for each of us to serve independently and as a family, and that in those opportunities we would know how to best support and build up one another.  
• Praise God for bringing me to this family, and for their willingness to serve not only the people of Ethiopia but me in my time there. Pray that God would bless them abundantly as they continue to give of themselves in order to further the kingdom of God.

Pray for: Safe Travels

Two. Days. Left.

       Today, please be in prayer for safe travels on this excursion.

For my travels:

• Pray that maneuvering the airports goes smoothly and that my flights all go according to plans.
• Pray that the departure is a time of great joy and vision of opportunity. 
• Because of the time difference, I'll leave early morning our time and arrive "25 hours" later their time--pray that I'd be able to rest on the plane and be ready to face the day upon arrival.

For my Ethiopian family's travels:

• Pray for my family in Ethiopia as they travel to the city to pick me up, that things would go smoothly for them and they make good time.  
• Begin praying now for our travels down to Chencha early next week.

    Pray that in all things, that God's hedge of protection would be around each of us as we travel.

      

Pray for: ME!

       What a journey these last seven months have been, and what a journey the next phase will be! It is easy to make this whole thing sound like a walk in the park, and in comparison to many people's experiences, my preparations to leave have been. However, there have been days I have wanted to quit, days I have struggled with my own emotions over leaving, as well as tried to carry the emotions of others, days when I struggled to make the people I love understand WHY I have to do this, and days I took on the guilt of the world because of time that I'll miss while I'm gone. I have gotten overwhelmed by the details, stressed over things far beyond my control, and missed countless opportunities to turn to God for what I needed.

Just keeping it real here.

 

       Through all of the ups and downs, I have found myself to be blessed. Yes, there have been times that preparing for this new phase of life was not easy, and yet, when did God ever promise us that following Him would be? Beyond that though, I have had opportunities to open up a window into my heart for the world to see. I have been able to share my deepest passion and craziest dream with the people that I love most. I have been able to watch God at work in my everyday life and observe Him personally putting the pieces of my life's puzzle together. I have gotten to meet and share with so many more people than I ever would have had the opportunity to before. I have been able to watch firsthand how God's people come together to support something that God lays on their hearts. I have gained family and gotten closer to friends. Most importantly, I have been given opportunity after opportunity to put my faith in God and watch as He did a great work with it.

 

       Today, as I continue to go through the roller coaster that is mission work, I am asking you to pray for me personally. I leave in 3 days, 7 hours, and some change. I cannot even begin to imagine, much less describe, all that I will experience in that amount of time, but know that your prayers make a difference!

• Pray that I would continue to be overwhelmed with God's peace in this great change that is on the horizon.
• Pray that my transition into the Ethiopian lifestyle goes smoothly without too many embarrassing flubs on my part ;)
• Pray that I would have patience as I enter a culture where time-frames are not a thing, and that I would not be discouraged when things don't happen right away.

 

And as always, pray as you feel led. I'm giving you creative freedom to take the gaps and run with them. You're welcome. :)