Sunday Morning in Awassa

Today is our one day off during two weeks of training.  So, I took advantage by "sleeping in" until 600.  I awakened to the  familiar sound of the donkey across the alley, the same donkey I have heard every morning during the last two trips.  I know his distinctive bray very well!  After a few swigs of bottled water, I headed out to the streets for a run, a treat which I rarely get a chance to enjoy because of our long daily schedules. 

I warmed up by running down the boulevard towards the lake in the early morning sunshine, temperature in the low 60s.  Soon I was running alongside two smiling teenage boys.  After a few minutes I turned off onto a shaded cobblestone side street.  I headed to the Lewi Resort on the shores of the lake, and enjoyed watching the monkeys feast on the food left by late diners last night.  The lake was beautiful in the morning sun, and there were many, many birds, including eagles, hornbills, egrets, herons, ducks, and Awassa's famous - and ugly - marabou storks. 

Next, I headed down a dirt road to the gate of the Norwegian mission where Judy, Janet and I stayed at the end of our trip in 2010.  Retracing my steps, I passed the Lewi and veered onto the trail which runs right along the water's edge, watching the boys fish and swim.  Finally, I turned back onto the boulevard and headed back up towards St. Gabriel Orthodox Church, whose gold dome shone in the sun.  I stopped briefly to play soccer with some boys and watched their game for a few minutes.  Now in the "home stretch" of my 5-mile jaunt, I was greeted by many smiles, calls from the bajaj (3-wheeled taxi) drivers, and shouts of "Strong!"  As I caught my breath at the doors of my hotel, a young girl and boy giggled at me on their way to church.

After the wonderful treat of a hot shower, I went next door to the restaurant and enjoyed a cup of strong, Ethiopian coffee under a palm tree.  Back in the lobby I played with two 3-year-old boys who said hello in Mandarin, because they assumed from my fair skin that I was Chinese.  Soon my good friend Judy joined me and we went to a sidewalk cafe where I enjoyed a breakfast of pancakes and honey (and more coffee, of course.)

Have I mentioned that I love Awassa?

Welcome to the Fourth Grade!

These eager (not so) young fourth graders are our students during our two weeks here in Awassa.  Actually, they're highly competent and motivated health extension workers and educators who are participating in Lifewater's WASH (WAter, Sanitation and Hygiene) in Schools training.  We model the lessons for them, and they play the role of primary school students (and obviously have a great time doing so!)  After practicing lessons on each other, they will go to a local school and teach lessons to real third, fourth and fifth graders next Thursday.  Today I visited the school with the two team leaders, Misrak and Teshale (left and center in the front row), and the school director is very excited to have us come.  It should be a great day for all of us!

The training has gone very well.  We've been at it for five long, hot days, and everyone is tired but very happy.  We have a great mix of training "veterans" whom I know very well, and new folks who have fit in wonderfully.  Tomorrow (Saturday) is a short day, then Sunday is a brief R&R.  Back to a full schedule next week, concluding Friday afternoon.

Our team is great.  Judy and I are old (she won't like that term) friends, Christine is the new Volunteer Programs Officer at Lifewater, and David is a retired fourth grade teacher with wonderful teaching skills and a great heart.

God has been moving powerfully here, and we're just along for the ride.  We appreciate your prayers, and you can trust that they've been answered in amazing ways!

Tesfalem

Safe and Sound!

We arrived (with our bags) on Wednesday night, and have been resting and preparing for our training.  We leave tomorrow for Awassa with our driver and translator.  Sunday will be a full day of preparation, and our participants will begin to arrive that afternoon for the beginning of training on Monday.  Everything is going very smoothly, and the team is great.  The only issue has been a pretty good case of jet lag for all four of us, but we're all used to shrugging that off and slogging on.

I got to see our dear brother Getu today, and he is recovering well from a major heart attack this summer.  He won't be driving for us this time, but might join us for a few days.  At the least, we will see him and his family when we return to Addis in two weeks.


It very much feels like home to be here again.  There was an almost instantaneous transition to the culture and pace of life.  And it's great to have good Ethiopian food again!  My Amharic is as bad as ever, but I manage to communicate anyway! 

I'll try to post again from Awassa after the training begins, but we will be working 12-14 hours days 6 days a week after Sunday, and internet is even spottier there.  So, thanks for the love, support, and prayers, and I'll be in touch when I can!

Tesfalem

The Journey Begins

I leave for the airport in 3 hours!  Now that I've done this a few times, the preparation is easier, but it's interesting how my emotions still go through the same cycle.  I'm now firmly in the "I can't believe I'm really doing this!" phase.  It is incredible to contemplate how different my life will be - how different I will be - in just a couple of days.  But I eagerly anticipate that transformation because of the richness of experience and opportunity that awaits.  Yes, there is uncertainty, and plenty of of challenges, but there is also exhilirating joy and a great sense of purpose and presence.  So I leave with confidence - not in myself, but in the God who has called me and will be with us in every circumstance.  Thanks to all of you for your prayers and support!  Ciao!  (Yes, that's how they say goodbye in Ethiopia!)

Don't Leave Home Without It!

It's hard for me to believe, but I leave for Ethiopia one week from today!  Cindy and I just got back from a wonderful beach vacation, and now I'm into full trip-preparation mode.  This includes not only logistical and curriculum preparation, but also the mundane chores of laundry, housecleaning, lawn-mowing, and bill-paying, to add as few things to Cindy's already full plate as possible while I'm gone.  The toughest chore is the packing.  I've learned a balance between under- and over-packing (although I still tend towards the latter), but there's always that underlying fear of forgetting important items.  This is particularly nerve-wracking when you're headed to a place where you can't just run down to Walgreens or the mall if you forget something!

What am I worried about forgetting?  Couldn't get far without my passport, of course.  And Judy would never forgive me if I left my training manual at home.  I might forget my razor on purpose.  Good old-fashioned American snacks?  Well, I pack some, but I really LIKE the food in Ethiopia.

So what is it that I most need to remember to bring with me, and to keep with me at all times?  Humility.  As described so well in the must-read When Helping Hurts, there is a common tendency on these sorts of trips to unintentionally and subconciously carry along feelings of intellectual, cultural, and even spiritual superiority.  After all, aren't we there to teach, to give, to tell about Jesus?  Yes, to a degree.  But we are also there to learn, to receive, and to listen to what God is already doing among the people there.  How arrogant it would be to think that I have anything of my own that can improve the health and change the lives of people in Ethiopia!  I've learned the discipline while in-country (and should apply the same here!) to begin each day by releasing all my plans and agendas to God, confessing my weakness and helplessness to Him, and simply asking Him to work, speak, and love through me.  That I would be a transparent vessel through which others could only see Christ within me.  And he has answered that prayer time and time again.

Please pray for me this week that God would soften my heart and remove any calluses of pride and self-reliance, and that he would give me the "big ears and small mouth" that we always teach about to our participants!

                                                                              Tesfalem

All of you, clothe yourselves with humility towards one another, because,
     "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble."
Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's almighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.  Cast all of your anxiety on him because he cares for you.  1 Peter 5:5-7

He has showed you, O man, what is good.  And what does the Lord require of you?  To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.  Micah 6:8