A Journey to Hope

After a 5-day trip of almost 2,000 km (many of which were over poor – or no – roads), we are safely back in Addis (after several near misses with cars, donkey carts, and livestock – we only nudged one donkey, and that was to get his attention)!  What an incredible experience!  We visited about 15 rural communities, seeing new wells, capped springs, latrines, and other physical evidence of the changes that this project is making. 

More exciting was the opportunity to meet the people in the communities and the children in the schools and hear how their lives had changed. We also saw their pride as they described their own hard work and their ownership of the projects.   I hope to share a couple of particularly touching stories when I can upload a couple of pictures, but I can summarize by telling you how profoundly grateful they were to Lifewater, our partners at the Mekane Yesus Church, and to God.  Most of the communities were almost exclusively Muslim, and we saw no difference in the reception we received or their relationship with our partners from what we saw in the more Christian areas.  From a personal perspective, this was a dream come true – catching nine of my friends from our trainings in the act of doing their jobs!  Even better, I got to surprise all of them because they had no idea I was coming on this field trip!  You should have seen the people in the town of Bule Hora when Zeleke (see that photo from my first post) and I greeted each other in the street, hugging, laughing, and shouting!  I also got to see how GREAT they are at their jobs, and what great relationships and respect they have among the people in the communities.  And of course it was personally gratifying to see our training come to life, and to feel that, in some small way, we contributed to the successes that we observed.  Zeleke told me, “All of this is because of you and your training.”  But he agreed when I responded, “No, it’s because of what GOD is doing among us and in the communities.”  I’m just incredibly blessed to be here and be part of it.

Now I’m recharging my batteries, working on my report on our field visits, and preparing for the arrival of our training team.  Judy arrives Tuesday night, and Bob & Cindy (not my Cindy, alas) on Friday.  Keep checking the blog, because I hope to post a couple of more times before we leave for training in Awassa.

T-Minus 6 Hours and Counting!

After wrestling with packing two suitcases (the "can't live without for a week" carry-on and the "hope this arrives before I head home" checked bag), I'm finally about ready to go.  Cindy changed her plans to be here with me this morning, and John will drive me to the airport.  I feel calm yet eager to experience once again the exhilarating sensation of sitting back and enjoying the ride as God drives the roller coaster!  I've learned to begin these trips with no expectations, just an open mind and an open heart.  A great send off from our new church yesterday reaffirmed that God has great plans for this next few weeks.  I'll post an update when I'm able.  Until then, prayers are much appreciated!

Return to Ethiopia!

After 3 months of "R&R" in the US, it's time to go back to work!  On Monday, February 21 I fly back to Ethiopia.  This will be my fourth trip there with Lifewater International since 2008, and my third on the current project since February 2010.  During the first week, I'll be visiting project communities with Lifewater's project manager, Kiera, and East Africa director, Zerihun.  We'll be assessing the progress made on the project objectives.  I've been longing to make this trip, because I finally get to visit the communities where my friends from this project work, and to see first hand the impact they've already made in the lives of the people there.  The remainder of the trip will be preparation for and conducting the fifth round of training for this group of participants.  The topics will be Safe Fecal Disposal and Keeping Water Safe.  The cool thing about these trainings is that we're modeling training techniques, and the participants will all get the chance to be the trainers in a nearby community, perhaps the same one where they built model latrines on our last trip.  Of course, it will also be a chance to deepen the already strong bonds of friendship I have with so many of these people, and to continue to share the love of Jesus with all of them. 

I'll be team leader for this training, and the rest of the team will be Judy Wood (my dear friend from my February 2010 trip) as lead trainer, and Bob and Cindy Zahner as the "designated rookies".  Please pray for us as and the participants as we all prepare for this adventure.  This will be my longest trip yet (29 days), so please pray for Cindy, too, as she has to add household management, dog care, etc. to her already full plate.  Besides, who knows, she might miss me, too!

I'll post again before I leave, and will post updates from the field when I have the chance (not very likely during the first week, as we'll be in the most remote areas I've ever visited.)  God bless you all, and thanks so much for your prayers, support, and love.