ET02

Ethiopia Revisited
(This was my view of the mosque and Ethiopian countryside from my window !)

October 11, 2002 I again was privileged to make a trip to Ethiopia.
My trip in 2000 was so special and left me with so many wonderful memories,that I wondered if this trip would be a letdown.
But oh no......I wasn't disappointed !!!
Quite the contrary........If possible, this trip was even better than the first !!

You know, it was as if God said,
"Tell you what, why don't we (the Trinity) plan a trip just to bless Barbara" !!!!

We arrived on Saturday evening after a change of planes in Frankfurt and a stop in Cairo.
The Ethiopian people must be the warmest, friendliest people on earth.
These two dirty little children danced and laughed around us, using their bit of English with Eric, while we stuffed all our luggage and us into the vans.
How can you not love these people !!

We stayed in the Red Cross Center. The grounds were beautifully groomed and there was space to walk a bit and sit in the wonderful, crisp cool air.
Yes, it was warm during the day, but basically the weather was fabulous......just like this day !

Our team included dentists, a physical therapist, nurses working with the ladies giving hygiene instruction, a civil engineer assisting with clean water proposals, layman and pastors teaching and encouraging the local leaders and a lady assisting with local quilting classes.

Our accommodations at the Red Cross Center were quite adequate. One can live with leaking showers and water heaters, you know.
I threw my exhausted body into bed after almost 20 hours of travel and dozed off trying to ignore the ever barking dogs.
The Orthodox church and the Muslim mosque seem to have an ongoing competition beginning around 2:00AM.
I was serenaded by the chanting and wailing of the Muslims and the singing and "trilling" of the Orthodox.
I couldn't decide who won.....but I do know who lost....(ME) !

In spite of so little sleep, Sunday was a wonderful experience.
I had the privilege of worshiping with Endris, the Muslim young man who was at our "English As A Second Language Camp" in 2000. Last December 24 he accepted Christ as his personal Savior !! What a Christmas present I received last year!!
Now I was sharing worship with him as a brother in Christ.
He told me how God drew him and 'whispered in his ear'.
Endris explained that life has not changed for him. LIfe is still hard and there seems to be no future for him.
In spite of that, he is content and happy!!
(You see that in this picture !)
He tells me he wakes up in the night and just lies awake saying, "Thank you, thank you, Jesus" !! He cannot tell his family of his new found faith....they would have to disinherit him.
I know God is working , though, and I expect one day Endris' family will also know the Saviour !!
God is so good !!

It was evident in our team meeting Sunday evening
that our group was experiencing extensive culture shock.
Everyone on the team had been out of our country before. But the extremely poor living conditions combined with the loving, gentle spirit of the people tore at our hearts.
Our senses and emotions had a difficult time processing all we had encountered in just this twenty four hours.