Yes, yes, yes, we are alive and well. After a trip like we took, one wants to be able to tell a good story about the trip and about all the wonderful things we are excited about, but it takes a while to process it all into something you can put down in words. So thank you for your patience.
We indeed had a wonderful trip, with no travel delays, no sickness, no undo hardships. We also traveled well as a group. God united our two families to encourage each other, share each other's burdens, and pray together.
This trip certainly had a unique weight to it, as we are going to see if this is the place where God would have us live for the next season of life. On that front, we were genuinely encouraged that this may be the place for us. We met so many great people with hearts that are seeking to love the people of Ethiopia. We are still processing through all of the trip, and what it means for our future, but for now, we are excited about Ethiopia.
And now, some stories:
Story the First:
When we arrived in Ethiopia we were met by our friends from Ventura, Sharon and Chrissy who were in Ethiopia at the same time with a team supporting the Mossy Foot Project (www.mossyfoot.com). We drove from the airport to the SIM guest house and on the way so quite a large crowd of Ethiopians. They were all getting excited for the Ethiopia - Sudan soccer match. If Ethiopia could win by 2 points then they would qualify for the Africa Cup tournament.
Streets Crowded with People hoping to see the match
I thought it was pretty fun to be in a city during a big important sporting match. Outside the guest house you could hear the cheers at the stadium 2 kilometers away when Ethiopia scored the goal to take them into the lead. When they scored their final goal to bring them two points up and win their spot in the Africa Cup, the streets erupted with cheering. The people were so excited to win and were blowing horns and banging drums outside.
Excited crowds jumping on cars
When dinner time came, we loaded up to drive a short distance away to a restaurant Sharon enjoys. We made our way to the main drag and upon turning onto the street we found ourselves caught up in the victory celebration. Throngs of young men were walking through the streets celebrating their victory! Unfortunately the throng would rather ride than walk. We quickly had many passengers riding on our bumper. The driver quickly stopped the car and got out to tell them to get off! But when he stopped, the crowd crawled on top of the vehicle too. Any vehicle with a bumper had people hanging on. The people passing were hitting the car with their palms and with sticks. Now here we are, 8 farangi (foreigners) with 2 kids, in the back of a land rover in the middle of a soccer celebration of unruly young Ethiopians. Of course this caused some fear for us, as any celebration can quickly turn to a mob (I'm looking at you LA Lakers fans). Our quick thinking driver, pulled us over and went and got the help of a police man to escort us on foot away from the scene. Thank God that the celebrations stayed peaceful and we stayed safe.
Story the Second:
When we traveled south to Soddo, we had the amazing opportunity to go out with the Mossy Foot Project to see one of their important ministries: building houses for widows. Mossy Foot provides the money for the metal roof and the nails for the construction. The local church and community provides the wood poles and the mud that forms the walls. We were visiting the site with the Mossy Foot pastor, and the team from Michigan that raised the funds to pay for the house.
We arrived to the joyous singing of the community. They sang and danced and worshiped Jesus for providing. The widow could not stop hugging everyone that had come to help her build her house. All the time she was singing in her language what translated to "Praise to Jesus". We were so blessed and encouraged by the great work that the Mossy Foot Project is doing for the people of this area.
Thank you for your prayers while we were in Ethiopia. We were greatly encouraged by them and God was faithful to answer our prayers for our trip.
