Fast-forward to April

Hello friends!
Today I am heading home. Our project is winding down nicely here in Canada, Leana and I have imported all the drawings into Auto CAD and we are waiting on some structural questions before the final set goes out to SIM. We will hear how the initial meeting of the SIM Ethiopia board goes in May and know what the time line is to start construction then.

This weekend our host parents took us out on a sweet hike around Bragg Creek. It was a really great way to spend my last free Canada day. Saturday was spent cooking, baking and playing cards all day and on Easter morning Leana and I were woken up by racing around our host house looking for Easter eggs (Celeste hides them hard!) and then a delicious Easter breakfast. The Campbell’s have been wonderful host parents, Leana and I have truly been blessed. I will miss my little host family.

And now the answer you have all been waiting for: What is the first thing I will do when I get home (besides giving B lots of hugs and kisses, and visiting the Yaya’s and my parents)? Get a really big In & Out cheese burger and strawberry shake! I miss California food :)

10Then you will live a life that honors the Lord, and you will always please him by doing good deeds. You will come to know God even better. 11His glorious power will make you patient and strong enough to endure anything, and you will be truly happy.

Colossians 1:10-11

With love,
Cindy

Trip Video 01

This video highlights some of the amazing times we had on our little adventure. Enjoy.
(For a full screen version click here.)

Love,
Cindy

Trip Log - Last Days

We are back in Addis tonight at the SIM guest house. Tomorrow is our big meeting with SIM to show them the presentation and get initial approval. The trip today from Durame was overwhelmingly long. We stared out in the early morning and had quite a few stops so a 5 hour trip took about 10 hours. But the little places where we stopped were nice and we passed a lot of interesting things on the way.

On the trip down we took the Western route, this time we took the Eastern one past Langano, Shala, Ziway and Abijata Lake with a detour down to Lake Awasa [click here for a map]. Awasa was the only lake we visited on our journey, the rest were just glanced at from the road. Our guide book noted that Hippos lived in this lake, and I was very excited about the prospect of seeing them. We stopped in to a little café by the lake with rows of blue and red chairs and cappuccinos served in tiny cups. The trees were alive with many different species of birds and we even saw a monkey! Hippos are best seen in the morning or evening times from a boat, though, and we were there in the afternoon and the boat did not look extremely sea worthy, so I didn’t get to see any hippos. Maybe next trip.

Whenever we see another white person or an Asian person on this trip there is always a head nod or a “hello”. A bit of ‘Oh, you are different as well’ comradely. I have a pretty active imagination and like to hypnotize about why they are in this land. One reason I did not imagine is on roughing-it vacation. Apparently there are little high-end pretending tent villages where travelers can explore the country and then retire safely tucked away. We heard complaints of drunken tourists stumbling back to these villages late at night, disturbing their missionary and village neighbors. I suppose that is one way to see the country, but I can not imagine being here, seeing all this and not helping (or worse hurting by giving a bad impression of rich foreigners).

One of these villages is just down the road from House of Hope, an SIM project that Brian’s church in Canada has been helping sponsor. H of H cares for Ethiopian babies who have been orphaned during the first few months of life. They take in about 10 babies at a time for a few crucial developmental months and then re-assimilate the child with their father and a female relative who is willing to help. We were given a tour of the facilities and held the children for a while. The babies were all so tiny and looked like newborns, because of low birth weight, but they were all several months old. They were just so precious.

We also stopped into a fairly fancy Western-looking place for lunch. After so many meals of traditional Ethiopian food we were all ready for a little variety. The menu was fairly extensive and included pasta, a raw beef delicacy and something called a “hum burger with cheese”. I thought that was close enough to hamburger but cheese can be a little tricky here, so I ordered one without. Fairly safe, right? Well, this one was different than what I had pictured in my head. I got a fried chicken sandwich with a surprise of boloney. Huh… It was good though (I picked out the boloney). Some times in this country you think you’re getting one thing, and you end up with something completely different. And as we learned in training some things are “not bad, just different”.

When we got back to Addis tonight Tammy, her husband, adorable child and her brother, Techie (well that’s his nickname) meet us. Tammy had taken the bus back to Addis earlier in the week (I can’t imagine doing this, by the way, the buses here are CRAZY) because she and her brothers (her other brother is called Mercy) own a small engineering/architectural company and she missed her family. So we all went out to dinner at this very fancy traditional Ethiopian food restaurant with a live band and professional dancers. The performers perform a song from each region of Ethiopia and then come into the audience and pull us up to dance with them! We had a lot of fun.

Tomorrow, after our big meeting, we are going to do some souvenir shopping with Tammy, Techie and Jonathan’s wife, Sara Margaret. Should be a pretty fun day, then off to the airport and over to Germany for a little break, just me and Leana.

With love,
Cindy

Trip Log Day 11

This morning was Sunday, so we all went to Desta’s church, only he wasn’t there. He preaches every Sunday so to get a break he convinced all of us white people to give a message. He asked for 10 minutes each, with translation that is only about 5 but it is still a very long time to stand in front of people you have never met and speak. We walked in the church looked like it was about to burst from the number of people in there. Steve did some math and estimated there were 1,200 in a space that in North America would have held half that. When it became time for us to speak I was so nervous I don’t quite remember what I said but I do know I read from 1 Corinthians 3

10By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. 11For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Meaning that eMi is only here in Durame for a little while and we can only start the plans, the people have to bring them to life; and if Jesus hadn’t been here even before us, then we could not even be here. Then I just prayed that what I said made even a little bit of sense to someone in that massive crowd or that at least they would know that we were there to help them build not to build for them.

Tonight was the big presentation! I can’t believe we finished it all in time. We have seven building plans, a large master plan, and a few elevations. I have no idea how that all got done in essentially a week. It’s kind of a miracle, well a miracle with a lot of work involved. All the elders of the church, some students and other concerned citizens came to the meeting and I believe the presentation went fairly well. We had time for a few questions at the end of the presentation. The way questions are phrased in this culture is really interesting. They first start out by praising God, then thanking the team, and then they ask their question finishing off with another thank you. Nothing is direct, thanking is extremely important and time is relative. I think we could learn a few things about how to be grateful and patient. The presentation was opened and closed in prayer. And these people know how to pray. It is all in Amharic and it is almost rhythmic in flow. It is beautiful to listen to.

In Him,
Cindy

P.S. Click to see images or the presentation, both on flickr.

Trip Log Day 10

Steve bought a sheep today from town. Jonathan suggested that to honor our hosts we buy them a sheep. One sheep costs approximately $30 Can. and is a very special occasion meal. Leana and I got away with out having to actually watch the sheep get slandered, or see it at all before it got killed (lest we name him/her and get attached) so I can’t say how big of a sheep it was but I can tell you it fed more people then I thought it would. Teddy, who grew up in Ethiopia, claims that the mark of a good sheep is the size of its tail, so he went around grabbing all the sheep’s tails in the market. This one had a good fat tail.

Our hosts and their families all came for the meal. It is a beautiful night so the meat was roasted over a fire in the courtyard. The children all sang to entertain us until everyone arrived and the food was ready. Some of the songs sounded very familiar, just in a different tongue. Their songs remind me that we all serve the same Maker, no matter what the language. Every bit of the lamb was served, Leana and I accidentally came down too early and saw a sliver of jaw bone with teeth go into the pot. The barbecue was very delicious although a bit slippery because it is cooked in the sheep’s fat. One piece I was trying to eat went flying over to Desta, family. I was a bit embarrassed to say the least, but everyone laughed. We had a great time. The best part was watching Leana try to suck the bone marrow out of a piece of leg. She eventually had to poke it out; apparently it has the consistency of cottage cheese with a barbecue flavor. Yum. By the end of the night Leana and I were both on the ground letting about ten little girls and a few boys pet our heads and take turns making pony-tails and placing barrettes. Since we haven’t taken a shower in quite some time (still no running water) it was nice and greasy for them but they loved it!

And now because the presentation is tomorrow are staying up late to continue making the final adjustments to our PowerPoint and renderings.

Love,
Cindy

P.S. Still more images here.

Trip Log Day 09

I thought I would take a minute to describe the food here. In Addis there is so much variety, we had Mexican (yeah, good Mexican, too) on the day we left town. But out here in the country side food has become a daily remembrance to be thankful for what the Lord has provided for us and the hands that prepared our meals. In short, we have three meals a day of virtually the same thing. I have come to call the dishes Red, Green and Yellow; I think we were told the correct name but I can’t remember. We eat separately from everyone else so there isn’t really a way to tell if we are eating fancy or more frequently than the others but we all suspect that we are. We have to remember that the staff here is truly blessing us.

Injera: This is the sour bread I was writing about earlier. It’s rolled fermented sour bread (almost pancake-like) that is used as a utensil to scoop up food. I ate this the first few days but towards the end here I haven’t touched it. The sour starts to get to you.

Red: Red bean spicy chili with lots of oil and sometimes tiny (we’re talking flakes) of meat. This is served at every meal.

Green: This one is spinach that has been chopped up finely and has the same flakes of beef (or some meat…) in it once and a while. This one also is served at every meal.

Yellow: Cabbage is marinated in curry (making it yellow) and about twice this also has potatoes in it.

Loafs of white bread: Praise the Lord for white bread loafs! They taste completely western and freshly baked. I love them. The loaves served at every meal along side the injera and are getting to be the only thing I am willing to stomach for at least two of the three meals a day.

Also making select appearances:

Purple: I don’t touch this one. It’s beets in some sort of water soup.

Red CHICKEN!: This made one appearance on a very happy afternoon. There was one less chicken in the yard. According to Jonathan (or local expert) this dish is only served at special holiday celebrations. It was so yummy!

Spaghetti: This is kinda an odd one. Twice it has been breakfast. Be we are not in a position to complain so it gets eaten pretty fast because it resembles Western food. The sauce is Red.

Potatoes: Plain fried potatoes, oh how I love thee! This dish was served once at dinner. Two small thinly sliced potatoes around a team of 8 people is eaten really quickly. I think that French fries might be the anti-Ethiopian food. Leana and I are totally craving them lately.

Steve keeps threatening to fake illness or fast. He was done with all this food days before any of the rest of us were. Makes you wonder how he has survived years of team leading. Fasting here means eating only vegetarian, though and illness means that you are going to be prayed over and get people all worried, so he has to eat. And so do the rest of us. Again, praise the Lord God in heaven for white loaves of bread!

Lastly, the coffee here is amazing. It’s so dark that you can’t see the spoon if you scoop some up and it is so rich that it tastes like the earth (it seems as if you could describe the coffee like I would wine: earthy with a strong aroma). Leana hates coffee under normal circumstances but here – coffee is amazing! It is freshly pounded then roasted then brewed every day, three times a day for us. There is even a whole elaborate coffee ceremony that we were treated to three times here. The whole process takes about two hours and I can’t believe they are willing to make it so often for us, but again, we are very blessed by our hosts.

The women put out a grass mat and grass clippings on the floor to sit on and the ceremony begins. It starts out with roasting the green beans over a small fire pot. You have to move the around continually to keep them from burning, we were each allowed a turn, it was very stressful. Then the women pound the beans into a fine powder in a hollowed stump with a large trunk like staff. After that the beans get brewed with hot water in a clay pot over the small fire. Another job we got to try was fanning the flame with a piece of cardboard. The coffee is portioned out into small cups and passed around and re-filled till you can’t drink any more. So yummy.

Pictures of the coffee ceremony, food and more of the adventure can be found here.

Bon Appetit,
Cindy

Trip Log Day 07

We haven’t had running water in a few days. The flushing and showers from the day Leana got sick depleted our reserve. Let’s just say it is a good thing we have two toilets because one is now for one and the other for sickness and well, the other. We didn’t realize it but the water tank that feeds the house is doesn’t run along the water line be fed directly from the spring, so it has to be filled manually. Manually means 8 men with two or three bright yellow water cans each climbing a lashed together ladder to pour in water they carried up the hill.

The spring empties at the church lot (where all the locals wait for water every morning) and starts way up in the hills, a two hour walk from our site. The ESKM application for EMI services mentions that repair is needed to bring the flow to maximum capacity. Johnny and Teddy (as they now fondly refer to one another) walked up to the source a few days ago. There is a lot of repair that needs to be done over hilly pasture land. Perhaps on another trip.


Bugs

I am so thankful for Leana and Tammy, they are really not afraid of the gigantic bugs that keep sneaking under the door and they smash them for me. Here is a detailed list of the ones we have encountered:

- The June Bug: We used to see these all the time on Mexico missions trips and they are here too! These huge 2.5 inches (or 65mm) beetle-like bugs fly around with a loud buzz noise and wouldn’t stay still enough for me to take a picture.

- The Fly: Almost the same as its North American cousin but these ones are less afraid of you. They just decide to hang out on your arm no matter how many times you swat them (maybe it doesn’t help that with out running water it has been a few days since we showered). The kids here have just stopped swatting at them all together; so on the warmer days the flies are just basking in the sun on the kid’s shoulders.

One new trick I have learned from Brian (who lives out in the Canadian country side on a farm) is how to catch them. The flies fly up before out so if you sweep your hand directly above them you get ‘um just as they try to escape. Brian is our resident catch and release or smoosh-er.

-Bed Bugs: I haven’t actually seen these but they are leaving their mark on me. I’ve got little red itchy bumps all on my ankles. I tried shaking out the bedding but that didn’t seem to help so my guess is these guys have hooks and sharp fangs, but I really have no idea. Leana has them way worse than I do, she has bites on her stomach from staying in bed all day when she was sick.

- Spiders: Also the same as in North America but just more frequent now. We’ve seen daddy long legs and little black ones but nothing too dangerous or scary, thankfully.

- Crickets: These ones are smaller and darker than any I have seen before and like to frequent the guest bedroom where I am sleeping. One totally freaked me out the other day by jumping just out of the corner of my eye. Leana smashed it for me.

- Heebie-Jeebie Bugs: These guys are especially prevalent here. You think you feel them on you, or see a movement out of the corner of your eye and yell, but then suddenly there is nothing there. This goes on till you become so desensitized that when an actual bug is on you, you don’t notice.

- Big crunchy tail bug: This one keeps sneaking in at night when we host the whole team for devotional. They love the light so when the guys open the door they jump from the porch one to our living room light. We have gotten in the habit of making answering our door with the lights off, but they still sneak in! This bug has a long segmented yellow tail and four orange-brown wings and it makes the most disgusting crunch when it is smashed with a shoe. Ewwie.

That’s all for now, be careful of those heebie-jeebie bugs!

As usual, images are here on my flicker account (don’t worry, no bug ones!).

Lots of love,
Cindy