Epiphanies in Ethiopia

Ethiopia! The land where coffee originated, the queen of Sheba was from, and where over 80 languages are spoken!

When I first arrived into this country I had no idea what to expect.  We arrived at the airport in Addis Ababa and found that the air was so cold we could see our breath against the windows.  It felt so cold to us after living in a perpetual summer for 9 months. We were crammed into vans with our luggage strapped on to the top and we headed to Harbu Chulule, a village very far in the country.  After many winding dirt roads we were out of the city, and that’s when we had our next surprise.  I was expecting a safari type landscape with lots of dirt and a couple of trees every few miles.  Instead I found we were surrounded by lush green fields with wild flowers everywhere and mountainous hills in the background.  It was beautiful and I was very excited for this month. 

Our ministry in Harbu Chulule is Hopethiopia, an organization who does a variety of things including; building wells, reforestation, dentistry work, and running a children’s village.  Hopethiopia houses and takes care of children who are misplaced, unwanted or can’t be taken care of in the community.  They are split up into houses and each house is assigned with a house mom.  Most of the children have sponsors who help with all the finances in taking care of them.  For our month in Harbu Chulule, my squad and I stayed in the guest house at the children’s village.  To our surprise and delight we had running water, bunk beds, a living room with couches, a washer and dryer, coffee and tea all the time, and even sometimes hot showers!  We were also blessed with fabulous cooks who made some of the best food I’ve had so far on the race.  It felt like a home and we (all 30 of us) were very thankful.  I am genuinely in love with the people here.  I wasn’t here for more than a day, and the kids here at the children’s village were coming to me to hold my hand or hug me.  The house moms would give me hugs and the women in the kitchen would grasp my hands, smile and then try to tickle me.  How could I not feel loved?  

While being on the race I had never really expected to be reminded of home.  This country though, with it’s 60-40 degree Fahrenheit temperatures, fields and cows everywhere, wild flowers and long grasses, and seeing the milkyway along with all the stars at night, it all reminds me of my home in the country of Wisconsin.  Now with all that being said, it is very very different.  Mud huts dot the landscape, and men are plowing the fields with teams of oxen, and trees with little yellow fluff balls that remind me of something out of “The Lorax” by Dr Seuss.  It is so very different and beautiful!

During our day, my team and I would head out to the kids houses (we have house 2) around 9 am to play games,  make crafts, color, memorize verses, and read bible stories.  We have 6 kids in house 2; Biquiltu(7), Sintayo(11), Balcha(9), Abiti(8), Sisay(9), and Simacho(7).  They can be a little rambunctious at times but they are really fun and I love them. 

Our activities in the afternoon would vary; playing with the kids, brick making/hauling, helping in the kitchen, prayer walking, weeding, and cutting grass.  Now when I say cutting grass, I don’t mean with a lawn mower.  Oh I’m talking about on your knees, grasping the grass in your hand and cutting it with a little sickle.  Sure it’s tedious work and everyone in the neighborhood decides to stop and watch all 30 of us cutting grass but really if it’s for God’s glory who cares?  If anything else I will never, ever complain about mowing the grass again!

 So what has God taught me this month?  Firstly patience, in all aspects of my life.  Here in Ethiopia, everything is very laid back.  If we are meant to be somewhere at 9 am, we might get there around 10:30 am.  A drive that might normally take 2 hours might actually take 5-7 hours.  I’ve had to remind myself to go with the flow and that God’s timing is better than my timing.  It’s a hard thing to learn but you can never have too much patience right?

Another thing I’ve learned is that I don’t have to live under fear or believe lies about myself anymore because that is not how God made me.  I have been living and believing the lies that I am not good enough and that my life is not worth anything for almost 10 years now.  I labeled myself as suicidal and battled with those thoughts since I was 13.  Sure a part of me knew that I was God’s daughter and that He loved me so much to send his son to die for me, but in the back of my mind I still believed the lies that were being whispered to me.  “You are worthless, you are never good enough, everyone would be better off if you were gone, you should die.”  I’ve had seasons when it was really, really bad and other times where I rarely had an “attack”.   Over time I learned to run to Jesus when I started to have an episode and he would take the thoughts away before it would get bad.  I simply assumed it would be something that I would have to continue to struggle with for my whole life.   But this month I realized that I don’t have to.  Suicide is not a part of me.  I was not born with it, God certainly didn’t make me that way. No, God never intended for suicide to be “a part” of me.  So this is why epiphanies are so dangerous. Once I realized that I didn’t have to live with it anymore, the lies became irrelevant.  The gigantic hole where the lies had been was then filled with the spiritual truths from the Holy Spirit.  The lies and the whispers stopped.  I couldn’t help but sing.  My chains were broken!  I have been set free!  
So as this month comes to a close,  I am walking in freedom and healing, and I am also waiting patiently to see what God wants to teach me next.

Thank you for reading the latest part of my journey!

Love, Jewel