A Drop of Love

Oceans. Have you ever thought about how many drops of water it would take to fill an ocean? As I spent hour after hour flying over the water I was hit by how overwhelmingly HUGE the Atlantic Ocean is. 

Over the past week I have struggled with facing ocean-sized-realities that with all that is in me I want to fix. Babies that cannot get adopted because of a freeze, street children who are left utterly alone in this world, children that I so wish had the love and support I had growing up. As we have pretty well settled into life in Soddo, I find that day by day my eyes are opened more and more to the reality of life here. It is a good town full of great people, but even in my little bubble of life here there is need. Along with facing those harsh realities, I have been struck with the fact that I am one person, totally and completely incapable of solving the world's problems. If I could though, believe me, I would! 

Even after two and a half short months here I came to doubt myself; I wondered if going to the orphanage and spending time with the kids there was enough. After all, I am not with them all the time, and what is a few hours of love in the grand scheme of their lives? This is the question I took to The Lord last night: "Lord, you called me here. Am I doing all that you have on the table for me?"

This morning I got up and began my trek to the baby home dodging motor bikes and donkeys all along the way. Upon arriving I went about the normal routine of greeting the staff, getting hugs and handshakes from the older children, and making my way to the baby room. As I sat there with the little ones this morning, softly humming Baby E to sleep I felt the gracious arms of Christ wrapping around me. "This, my child, is exactly where I have planted you. Spread my love." I looked into Baby E's eyes and stroked his tight curls, and as his face broke into a smile I knew that I was indeed doing everything in my power to bring the love of Jesus into their lives. And the beautiful part is, without even knowing it, they are doing the same thing in my life. 

Sharing love, that is what I am here to do... Giving the thing that my life is overflowing with. Yes, my influence is just a drop in the ocean, but without that drop the ocean would not be complete. 

NEW ADDRESS

NEW MAILING ADDRESS:

PO Box 131

Soddo Wolaitta

Ethiopia 

Looking forward to lots of snail-mail flooding the new box! 

A Week in Review

Highlight

It is hard to narrow down just one item from the week to highlight.

• Hearing that my newsletters arrived was a pretty hight point... I've got a newsletter in print, that makes me a REAL missionary, right? ;)
• Sending out some snail mail to the states was exciting as always!
• Hearing the giggles and seeing the growth in some of the children at the baby's home was a joy.
• Finding green beans in town was also a highlight.
• Perhaps though, topping all of those was the time I spent with local missionary ladies at our weekly Bible study. What a great time of fellowship, but even more importantly a great time to dig deeper into the reason we all came here in the first place. This week we were hunkered down in Philippinas, a hidden treasure in the New Testiment. I never realized how many precious words were in this book. Lessons on loving like Jesus, finding contentment in Christ, and a wonderful reminder not to be anxious about anything. This week, at the top of my list is the joy that came in studying Philippians with some amazing sisters-in-Christ.

Lowlight

This one is easy. Wednesday was a sick day. ICK! Mangoes out of season=bad idea! Life is back to normal now, but good-gravy that was rough!

Prayer Point

This week, please pray Paul's prayer in Philippians 1:9-11 for me (woah, talk about a tongue twister). Also know that this week I will be praying the same prayer for you, my readers.

We Moved!!

       This week, we have seen quite a bit of transition. We decided as a family that it was time to move to a little town about 100km (60 miles) from Chencha. This move was one that had come up in some e-mails before I even crossed the ocean, and after God dropped the perfect opportunity in our laps we took a step of faith and decided it was time to go. A week ago we packed up a good portion of the Chencha house and headed down the mountain to our new home in Soddo. 

        Now, you are probably asking lots of questions... "What does this mean for your ministry?" "How does Soddo compare to Chencha?" "Why the move?" Etc. 

        The move came about as my host family had pretty much accomplished their goal--they had worked themselves out of a job in Chencha. This is the ultimate goal of every missionary: to come in, empower the people, and watch them become self-sustaining in whatever it was that the missionary came to do. In this case, with the ag-project in Chencha where we were living, they had reached the phase where space was necessary to see if the farm could run on it's own. It was certainly sad to move off of the property because the staff there really feels like a family, but we will still be making frequent trips back, and Jon will still be in Chencha weekly to see how things are going with their self-sustainability. The work for my host family is still the same, just with added distance to give the staff the ability to really discover their strengths and abiliteis. 

        Compared to rural Chencha, Soddo is a hoppin' place! Where as life in Chencha meant rustic living in a village like setting, Soddo is a town and as a result is a bit more western. We have gone from a Chica-Bet (a mud house) on the farm in Chencha to our new home which has an indoor kitchen, their own rendition of indoor plumbing, and even glass windows. One of the biggest advantages here is that we have a feringe (white westerners) missionary community which makes all the difference in the world for minimizing cultural stresses. We are able to be a part of weekly Bible study, fellowship, and Sunday afternoon church. Yes, you read the correctly. Sunday afternoon, as in 4:00pm. They've got it going on!! Getting to know other missionaries has also been quite an encouragement. 

        For me, this move has meant plugging in with a mission VERY quickly! Up until this point I have been on mission for missionaries working with Jon and Jess and the kids through all the transitions that have gone along with leaving the farm. This has been good time to bond and grow together as a family, as I have been ever so blessed to call them mine. Looking forward though, I am excited to plug into something of my own. I'm looking forward to spending time with a local children's home that has captured my heart. They work predominantly with young children and those with special needs. In addition to that I have been privileged to travel to a rural pregnancy clinic and help care for mothers who do not have access to quality care on a regular basis. My goal in all things here: to pour out the love that I have been overwhelmed with all of my life. God has given me great opportunities to serve the people here... 

        So there you have it. Life in Africa is changing. That is exactly how things go here. And as in all things, God is at the center of this leading our hearts to where He wants to use us to further His kingdom. 

God's an Artist

 



Happy New Year!

                                    

          Happy Ethiopian New Year (a few days late). On Thursday, September 11th we welcomed in the year 2007 with lots of visiting with friends, more coffee than you could ever imagine consuming in a given day, and copious amounts of dorro wat with injera (a local chicken dish eaten with a fermented pancake like bread called injera). Welcoming a new year here is similar to the states in that it leaves you reflecting on the previous year and looking ahead to what is to come.

        The process of reflection took me back about 7 years, to what my life looked like in 2007. I was in the midst of the chaos they call middle school. ICK! Though, this is right about when God started laying Africa on my heart. And here, 7 years later (or no time later depending on which calendar you follow) I am living my dream in a situation that ONLY God could have orchestrated. It seemed as if these days would never come, preparing was a test of patience, but the result is so worth the wait. 

        Here, with a family I feel like I have been a part of my whole life, with people I have grown to love in such a short time, and with a new opportunity to serve right around the corner I feel complete. I am filled with joy and have never felt so alive. This is what it is to live, to come across a dream and follow it. It is not always easy, but it is worth it. 

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!