Monday, November 25, 2013

Ethiopia in Retrospect

My plan was to update this journal each week while in Ethiopia, but my opportunities to connect to the internet were few and when available, short-lived. So, rather than give you the mother-load, I'll write this in mini-series form.

Some things never change...

All my travel went smoothly. I settled into my small, attic-story, SIM guesthouse apartment, rested a short while and then took off on foot to see some of the city (huffing a bit at 7500 feet). I'm amazed at the changes even since we were here 2+ years ago. The entrepreneurial spirit is ALIVE(!): new restaurants, hotels, hundreds of new apartment blocks and condominiums, vastly improved roads and even a light rail system, expected to be in operation in less than 2 years. It's hard for me to recognize areas of town because my landmarks no longer exist.

But in all the changes, I've been blessed to find that many things have not changed: generous hospitality, the warm cheek to cheek greetings, the priority of relationships, and the deep and loyal love of friends. These treasures have filled my heart in these weeks. Connections over coffee and unhurried conversations over meals kept me hopping on taxis all over the city. It has been as important for our friends to grieve with me as for me to grieve with them. And teary eyes gave way to smiles as I pulled Steve-stories out of them.

A memorable time of story-telling came one evening during my first week when the Kale Heywot Church Central Office (denominational headquarters) invited me to a lovely dinner and time of honoring Steve. The tributes/memories ranged from Steve's impact in the classroom to his response to loudly snoring hotel-mates at conferences. A few days later, I spoke during their chapel hour and  stories and words of encouragement and exhortation again spilled over me. Each time they prayed passionately for God's comfort and guidance as I move forward.

I shared with them the impact their lives had on us. It was watching the Ethiopian church walk through the pain-filled years of communism that changed Steve and I. Christians had no political power, no social standing, no human resource to bring relief, but they knew their God was sovereign over all. God wove into the fabric of our souls their model of dependent prayer and faith through great trials, and unquestionably their example impacted how we walked through this last year and half of life-with-cancer.

God is so worthy of my awe and never-ceasing joy - his masterful formation of the Body of Christ brings life-changing interdependence even across cultures! Bless the Lord, O my soul!