More Christmas Pictures

Christmas Dinner

Christmas Calves

Christmas In Yetabon

I’d like to introduce you to some of my dear friends here.

Zoedeetu is a “house mother” to the 60+ kids who call Project Mercy home. She also works as an evangelist at the church during the day. Zoedeetu has been an incredible Christian mentor to me. She radiates love for Christ and shares that love with all she meets.

Mohammad is the farm manager here. He carries a lot of responsibility and always has “bizou sera” (a lot of work to do), but never fails to greet me with a big smile. He’s a very innovative and ambitious farmer. Several of his children are in the Project Mercy school.

Salam is the baby of the family, and being the baby amongst 65 kids equals a lot of attention! It’s fun to see the other kids, as well as many of the workers, dote on her and shower her with affection. She’s well-loved! When I first arrived, she wasn’t very comfortable with the white people. She’s since warmed up to us and now calls my name when she sees me.

These 2 little guys are also given a lot of attention. Tesfu, on the left, is Salam’s brother, and the 2^nd youngest house kid. My favorite memory with him occurred soon after I arrived. I was taking a jog in the field, and he wanted to come along. As we were “running,” he was jabbering away in Amharic, oblivious to the fact that I couldn't understand a word he was saying. Every once in a while, his voice would inflect in a question and he would look up at me, to which I would nod and smile.

Abenezer is a sweetheart, too. He was the first surgery patient in the hospital here. He had an intestinal blockage when he was only about 2 ½ years old. Today he’s a very hyper little kindergartner.

This is Whinishet with her son, Yididiah. Whinishet teaches English in the primary grades. She and her husband, Danny, who is also a teacher, are very active in the church. Whinishet has a gift of hospitality, often inviting us to her home for a “coffee ceremony,” an Ethiopian tradition where the coffee is roasted and prepared in front of you while everyone sits and chats. Yididiah will steal your heart when he says “What’s up?” in his cute little toddler accent.

These 3 ladies are very important to me and all the guests at Project Mercy. Allum, Workie, and Totiledge are the cooks, and what wonderful cooks they are! These ladies are in the kitchen by 6am and they don’t turn the lights off until after 9pm! I have so much admiration for the long days they put in 7 days a week! And they remain so gracious and loving. I didn’t think I would like Ethiopian food very much before I came, but they’ve got me hooked!

Malcom Ghena!

That's "Merry Christmas" in Amharic.  And it was a merry one.  Scott, the other 'ferengi' long-termer, and I went to Addis for the weekend.  If we were going to experience any sort of traditional celebration, it would have to be there.  The western-style shopping centers were all decorated with Christmas trees and an occasional Santa statue (no live ones!), with Christmas music in the background.  That helped to get me in the spirit.   We went to 2 Christmas programs at English-speaking churches.  One of them even had a French choir! They sang a song we had sung in the French choir in Burkina (for Daphne: "Cloches sonnets resolu.  Pais salu! En Jesu!").  It made me a homesick for my friends there, but I was so filled with joy to reminisce about the wonderful time in Burkina.  At that service, we sang most of the traditional carols, which was what I was craving to make the celebration more complete. 

Of course, it wasn't complete without being home with family.  However, God blessed us with an invitation to have Christmas dinner with some other missionaries in Addis, giving a family atmosphere.  Gary and Peggy, who serve at a Korean hospital in the city, hosted us, along with their daughter, visiting from Illinois.  After eating, we played speed scrabble and Dutch blitz. That really felt like Christmas…I couldn't have asked for anything more.  

Well, maybe one other thing…I needed my cow fix!  Marta and Deme (the founders of Project Mercy) invited us to stay at their home while we were in the city. They have a few animals in their compound, and I got some quality calf time Christmas morning!  Take notice of the scarf I'm wearing that Mom knitted for me, which I received Christmas eve…thanks, Mom!

There's not exactly that letdown that we all have after Christmas is over in America since we have another Christmas to look forward to in 2 weeks!  We'll be staying in Yetebon for that one to celebrate with the kids here.   

Recent Photos from Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Dinner

The View from My Window

The Corn Harvest

Bead Making

Itoggin Making Bead

Lessons learned…and learning

Does one ever reach a point in life when you feel entirely capable and qualified to accomplish what you're called to do?   I've struggled so much with feelings of inadequacy and incompetence here.  Philippians 4:13 often comes to mind when I get down on myself, as well as 2 Corinthians 12:9 – My grace is sufficient for you because my power is made perfect in weakness.  I know that anything productive that is accomplished by these hands is from above.  

I tend to relate to Martha in the Bible – the one who seeks to be busy and finds her self-worth in doing something.   Recently, I received a copy of an interview with Rick Warren in the mail where he talked about becoming too task-oriented.  He said, "God did not put me on this earth to fulfill a to-do list.   He's more concerned about what I am than what I do.  That's why we're called human beings, not human doings." This concept has been freeing as I've struggled some days with finding enough work to keep me busy.  When that happens, I feel like a failure and go back to the inadequate and incompetent section again.   I pray daily for wisdom and guidance to see the needs around me, particularly with regards to the garden and fruit trees that I've been brought here to take care of.   But I also don't want to neglect the importance of relationships with the people here and sharing Christ's love.

Ultimately, our worth comes from God and not man.  I've heard this numerous times throughout my life, but I still strive for approval from man.   Several weeks ago, I was blessed to encounter a couple visiting Project Mercy who share a special gift of praying for individuals and receiving special insight and revelation from God about the individual.   They prayed for me and then shared what God revealed to them.  Through that experience, it finally hit home to me that I am uniquely created by God and have a specific role to fill in His kingdom.   There's no need to strive for acceptance from man because God has already accepted me.  It's still nice to have confirmation from others for a job well-done, but my self-worth doesn't depend on that.  

So to all you people-pleasers like me, remember our primary purpose in this life.  Keep it all in perspective, and your load will be much lighter!

            It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on our own.   Our

            qualification comes from God.                                    2 Corinthians 3:5

Thanksgiving

I enjoy spending Thanksgiving in another country.  It really puts everything in perspective of all we have to be grateful for.  This year we were blessed to have a chef visiting from Denver, Colorado, who prepared a lovely feast for us.  Noel owns a restaurant in Denver called Strings, and after sampling some of his talents, I would highly recommend it to anyone who might be in the Denver area.  Our Thanksgiving meal was traditional, with an Ethiopian flair - turkey, stuffing, roasted potatoes, gravy, cucumber and tomato salad, with injera and wat as well.  The turkeys, which were smaller than the customary American turkey, were imported all the way from Brazil!  Globalization at its best!  I'm currently reading The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman, which comfirms the theory that technology and globalization are leveling the marketplace around the world.
In the afternoon I watched some of the kids at Project Mercy make glass beads.  The group from Denver have taught some of the young people here how to melt glass and make beautiful, colorful beads.  They create bracelets and heart pins, which are then sold in several venues around Denver.  The bracelets are now available online to purchase at the Cunningham Foundation's website: www.cunninghamfoundation.org  All of the proceeds go to Project Mercy.  It's really fun to watch the kids develop this skill and allow their creativity to blossom.
My Thanksgiving day ended with a massage given by one of the team members who is a massage therapist in Denver.  What a treat!  And now you know how much I suffer in Africa! 

How much things cost

exchange rate: $1US = 9 birr

 

Mailing a letter to the States ------ 3 birr 45 cents

horse cart ride 10 kilometers ----- 5 birr

minibus ride 4-5 km in city ------- 1 birr 20 cents

an hour on the internet ------------ 20 birr

an hour on internet @ the Hilton - 109 birr (!!!)

doctor visit -------------------------- 5 birr

renting a VCD (like a dvd) ------- 2 birr

cup of coffee ------------------------ 1 birr 50 cents

a pound of coffee ------------------- 30 birr

steak dinner ------------------------- 30 birr

watering can ------------------------ 45 birr

cell phone --------------------------- 600 birr

packet of tissues (called 'softs') - 1 birr

bottle of Coke ---------------------- 3 birr

can of Diet Coke ------------------- 45 birr (!!!)

sunglasses --------------------------- 15 birr

School Kick-Off

Kids Waiting

KG Kids

KG Kids

The Crowd of Kids

Class of 2007

Families Watching

Making Faces

Me with Salam

Kitchen Ladies

J and R making faces

Armani and Salam

Riots

How much is an education worth? 

This week was the KG (kindergarten) registration.  Children from who-knows-how-far-away lined up at the compound gate Tuesday morning after word spread that the registration would happen that day.  Many kids even left their current school to vie for a spot at the Project Mercy school…why?  Because here they are fed 2 meals a day, have class in a well-lit, concrete building (as opposed to a mud structure with small windows that allow scarce amounts of light), and are virtually guaranteed an education through grade 10. 

By around noon the crowd outside the gate had grown to over 2,000.  The children sat apprehensively in front of the gate as the parents hovered on the outskirts.  They didn't have advance notice to fix their hair or wear clean clothes; they came just as they were.  One boy was wearing his father's shoes, it appeared.   Marta began the selection process, initially judging only by size; those who appeared to be around 5-6 years of age came through the gate.  This process of selecting by size proved futile as parents would instruct their child to get back in the line-up and try again if they were turned away.  So, the next plan was to bring all the children into the compound, leaving the parents outside.  The children streamed in through a doorway, but somehow the large gate slipped open and floods of people poured in… Utter mayhem…children were separated from their siblings and parents, terrified and screaming; parents were yelling for their children to get in the right line; children were losing shoes, but the they couldn't retrieve them for fear of being trampled by the crowd.  It was a horrifying scene.  These poor young children really couldn't comprehend what was happening or why.  Thankfully the guards were able to effectively get the crowd under control and send the parents back out of the compound.  Then there was a "manageable" group of about 1,000 children to sift through for the 200 KG spots.  The criteria really wasn't too demanding…the child needed to be between 5-6 years old, not registered in any other school, and live within a reasonable distance of the KG school.  They were each individually interviewed to find these things out. By 5:30pm, a list of 160 names had been compiled; there was room for more names, but this was sufficient to start with.  More children will still show up the first day of kindergarten, so a few open spots will come in handy.    

The very same day, a medical team from the San Francisco area held a mobile clinic in a village nearby.  The people were so desperate to see a doctor that the crowd became uncontrollable.  Some of the nurses were shoved into walls by the overpowering crowd. The team was unable to see as many patients, as a result. 

We just can't comprehend desperation.  Reason goes out the window.  It doesn't matter if your neighbor is bleeding or too weak to walk; your own needs take precedence.  And those parents just want their children to have opportunities not afforded to them.  We can be so quick to criticize these people as uncivilized, but until we've walked a mile in their shoes, or lack of shoes in most cases…

Ethiopian Safari

Ethiopia is not renowned for its plentiful wildlife
the way that Kenya and Tanzania are. However, they do
have some, and this past week I got to see a lot of
it.
The first spotting was a jack rabbit the size of a
medium dog. Its ears alone were the size of a typical
bunny in the States!
There was a group of 4 people visiting for several
days, and the General (he's the administrator of
Project Mercy; a retired leader in the Ethiopian
military who spent 11 years in prison during the
Communist regime. He's got some stories to tell!)
offered to take us out one evening to look for hyenas.
You could call this the Ethiopian version of
spot-lighting. There's a specific spot where people
dump their garbage that the hyenas frequent most
evenings. So we went at dusk and parked beside the
trash pile. As you can imagine, not many people sit
around waiting to spot a hyena. They can be quite
dangerous, killing small animals and children. We sat
quietly for about 20 minutes and I began to strongly
doubt that we would see anything. Oh me of little
faith…out of the village one lone hyena stalked over
to the trash. It was much larger and scruffier than I
had imagined. We had the headlights on, and it just
stared back at us. Hyenas usually travel in packs, so
I believe God sent this one to satisfy our curiosity.
On the drive back to the compound, we chased a fox
along the road and saw another rabbit, but this one
wasn't as big.
The next day, the General (that is what everyone calls
him) asked if we wanted to see monkeys. Well, I wasn't
jumping at that suggestion given my bad experience in
India of being attacked by one. However, I still went
along for the ride. The General knew of an eye clinic
nearby that also had a miniature zoo…only in Africa!
We pull up and the gate is closed, meaning the eye
clinic and zoo are closed…minor setback. I mean, we
are with a retired General. He honks the horn a bit,
and when no one came, he got out and opened the gate
himself. I was mortified at the audacity, but when in
Africa…. We start roaming around the property until we
spot a small sign that says "zoo." It wasn't 10
seconds after reading that sign that an unexpected
guest appears out of nowhere – an uncaged monkey! The
General had brought 2 bananas to feed them and it took
no time for the loose monkey to spot them. He was all
over the General. It scared the wits out of me. The
General gave him 1 banana, but he still knew there was
another. There were 2 other monkeys, as well as 3
porcupine, 4 goats and 1 duck all in cages –
everything one would expect to see at an eye clinic
zoo. The General wanted to give the other banana to
the caged monkeys, but the loose one wasn't going to
allow that. He hissed and clawed at the General and
eventually had his way. The rest of us stood back
with clenched teeth and white knuckles while the
General authoritatively let that monkey know who's
boss.

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Why Have an Amharic Phrasebook?

 

I just bought an Amharic phrasebook/dictionary…it's the only one currently available in the country in English, mind you.   My first clue that this was the most ghetto book I have ever owned was when I realized that some of the pages needed to be cut apart!!  So now any time I read it, I have scissors easily accessible.  

Today was the first day that I seriously sat down to study since buying the book over the weekend.  I had flipped through it before and saw that half of it was a dictionary, leaving about 150 pages for language acquisition tips.   Well, guess what!!  There are no verbs in that section! There are phrases that have verbs in them, but absolutely no instruction for how to conjugate verbs (which is fairly complicated, from what I've learned thus far – 4 different forms for "you"!)   How are you supposed to learn a language without verbs, please tell me! 

Ok, now for the part that made me laugh out loud…keep in mind that this book was printed in 2006. 

First…in the introduction there is a page that is titled "Why have an Amharic Phrasebook?"   And then it gives about 10 reasons…here are the best ones (verbatim): 

• If you believe Rastafarianism is your religion or philosophy then learning Amharic is just part of that way of life.  
• Learning the local language of the place you're traveling to, Amharic in our case, is amazingly fun and adventurous!

The book is then divided into topics useful to the traveler, such as going to a restaurant, shopping, etc.  Before each topic is a little quote (in English) to introduce the next section.  Here is a sampling of those: 

• Time is up the essence – introducing fractions of time
• Best vitamin for a fruit-eater is B1!
• What does it take to be Lance Armstrong? – for the sports section
• Hair you are! – oh yes, they even have hair care in here!
• I so don't need this right now! – can you guess what this would be a quote for?   It's for telling your pain. 
• Pretty body going down the street… -- Body parts

Ok, for body parts, they list some interesting ones, such as urine, whitehair (I can't make this stuff up! –the word is sibat) and lower tip…what is the lower tip?? It's listed after tongue, but why in the world would you give a name to the tip of your tongue??  

That's where I stopped.  Hopefully you'll get as much enjoyment out of this as I have, but it would be better if you could read it for yourselves.   It was certainly worth the 50 birr ($6) purely for the entertainment value.  Not sure how far I'll get in learning Amharic with it, though.  

The Photo to prove we met him

Presidential Visit

 

I don't believe I've ever met a foreign dignitary…until this week.  Last Saturday Butajira, the town about 8 km away, hosted a millennium celebration.   (Ethiopia doesn't just celebrate a new millennium one day – they're having a year-long party!)  Unbeknownst to us, the President of Ethiopia was their guest of honor.   Sometime late Thursday, 2 days before his visit to Butajira, word was spreading around Project Mercy that the President requested to stay here rather than a hotel in town.   So you can imagine the frantic preparation that all the staff and some of the older kids had to do. Lasagna noodles were made from scratch; flowers were cut and put in the rooms; furniture was moved from various locations.

Just like in the States, the President doesn't travel alone.  He had an entourage of about 20 secret service and army guys who accompanied him.   An SUV full of them came on Friday and checked out the place. They came back again early Saturday morning and everything seemed to check out ok.  The president arrived in the afternoon, and all the children were lined up clapping to welcome him.  We didn't even catch a glimpse of him at that time as he was ushered into his room to rest before the festivities.  

We weren't sure if we would have the opportunity to see how the local people celebrate a new millennium, but thankfully we got a ride there.   Not only did we get a ride, we were ushered into the front row, about 10 feet down from the President! Oh yes, the token ferengis – myself, Scott, and 3 ladies from Washington state who had just arrived - 5 white people in a sea of Ethiopians.  There had to be well over 25,000 people lining the streets and surrounding the field.  And it was all captured on camera…about a dozen members of the press lined up with microphones and video cameras…so I'm pretty sure we were on TV somewhere in Ethiopia. 

They first had an unveiling of a huge billboard promoting improved livelihoods and the end of poverty for Gurages (the local people group).   Then several governmental officials gave some speeches, the President spoke, a marching band played, a group of ladies did a traditional dance, and a music group got the crowd hopping.   It was a very exciting cultural experience.

The President spent the night at the compound, along with his people.  The next morning, as we were getting ready for church, someone knocked on our tuckel door and said the President wanted to greet us.   We all went in and Marta introduced us individually.  She explained to him the fruit project and he asked me if these trees that we brought are proven to grow here, and which ones have the best potential.   Talk about being put on the spot…I responded that these species had been grown in similar climates and had done well.  I said that avocados great for their nutritional value, and mangoes and papayas are practical because they can be preserved.   These are the 3 trees that they plan to distribute in the community, so I figured they should be highlighted.  The President may be over 80 years old, but his mind is very sharp and his English is perfect.  

Ethiopia has a Prime Minister, overseeing Parliament, and the President, who is more of a dignitary.  He has served in this role since 2001.  

My promised pics

One of the first things I had to do upon arrival was citrus budding.

A heavy load heading to market.

The greenhouse full of the trees imported from ECHO.

My Tuckle: Home sweet home.

Food Security

 

Tim and I had the opportunity to speak with Deme (the founder of Project Mercy, along with his wife) at length today about how this tree project came to be and its intended outcomes.   In 2003, Ethiopia faced a severe famine.  15 million people were affected and over a million lost their lives.   In order to prevent another occurrence with such dire effects, Project Mercy has instituted a food security program for the surrounding regions, an area about 30 miles wide encompassing over 200,000 households.   With an average of 5 individuals per household, there are well over a million people living in this district.  The food security program includes several components, one being the fruit tree importation.   The goal with these fruit trees is to propagate them here at the Project Mercy compound and then distribute them in the community.  Our goal is for each household to have 3 trees planted in their backyard.   The varieties may vary, but the main types will be mango, avocado and papaya.  It will take several years to propagate a supply large enough to provide for all 200,000 households.   We also need to see what varieties do well in this high elevation, and what trees people are accepting of.

The other component of the project is vegetable gardens.  Project Mercy would like each household to have a drip irrigation system, similar to the type we used in Burkina with a bucket that feeds into the dripline.   This requires a significant financial input to buy the drip kits and ship them here for distribution, as well as training on correct usage of it.  The rainy season is very similar to Burkina, with the summer months bringing rain, and the rest of the year being quite dry. However, due to the high elevation, the temperatures are much cooler.   It does not often get above 80 degrees, and falls to around 40 degrees at night in the coolest months.  Our water comes from a spring in the mountain, but May and June water must be conserved because those are the last months of the dry season.  

This is a brief sketch of my purpose for being here.  I will help the staff establish a nursery and teach them how to propagate the trees, whether by grafting, cuttings, seeds, etc.   We will research other areas in the region to see what is growing and what other potential crops could be introduced. 

 

Then God said, "Let the land sprout with vegetation – every sort of seed-bearing plant, and trees that grow seed-bearing fruit.   These seeds will then produce the kinds of plants and trees from which they came.   ~ Genesis 1:11

Blogging world

I've just haphazardly entered the blogging world...it was almost too easy. I thought I would look into what was involved, and all of a sudden it says to start posting.
Well, in 18 hours I will be aboard a plane bound for Addis Ababa. There's still a last minute trip to Home Depot to complete, and of course the dreaded weighing of the bags...apparently Ethiopian Airlines is very strict about their baggage allowance. Don't they know that a lot of people are going there for an extended time and need a few comforts from home?!
Well, my next post will hopefully be from another continent. We'll see how much the blogging world likes me over there!