Ethiopia Lighthouse 2011 -- 2nd post

It’s been quite awhile since I last wrote. Internet access is almost nonexistent here except for one of the volunteer American teachers who has rigged up her computer to pick it up but we don’t want to bother her too much. A lot has happened since our last posting. (Thanks to Ryan for posting this from the US since Blogspot can’t be accessed in Ethiopia. :))

School has started and the team is teaching English in small groups to the children every day. They are doing a great job and seem to be enjoying the experience even with its challenges. A few days ago, we heard people wailing and crying on the compound. Evidently, one of the upper grade teachers had been found dead in his room. From what we have heard he died of a bleeding ulcer but no one knew that he had been having any trouble. He was only 27 and a mile from the hospital which makes it seem such a waste. He was a believer so we were all encouraged by that. The grieving process here involves much wailing and crying, a funeral the next day and mourning where friends and family come to the home to bid their condolences. He was from Addis so the body was taken there in a truck. The people followed the truck down the road wailing, until they couldn’t see it anymore. School was dismissed for the next two days and the flag was placed at half-mast.

A little about the school here at Project Mercy. They have around 1750 students from KG to grade 12. The KG is housed in a new building up the road and they are building a nice new high school at another site not too far away. Every morning at 7:45 the students line up in very straight lines and very quietly. At the sign from the headmaster, they sing the Ethiopian national anthem and raise the flag and then head to their classes. The classes have about 75-100 per class. After grade 5, they are taught in English. Many of the children here walk 2 miles to and from school daily, over mountainous rocky paths. Since education is valued here and everyone would like to attend the Project Mercy school, they are placed in this school by a lottery determined by the area elders.

The ‘bug” hit the team last week and as many as five were sick with the flu at once. They have all recovered well and are back to serving in any way that they can. One of the guys on the team got bitten by a “something” on his leg. It became very redden and swollen so we took him to the PM hospital where they gave him some antibiotics to take orally. The next day it looked worse and was more swollen so he has been in the hospital overnight so they can treat him with IV antibiotics. He has been a good sport about the whole thing and they have been taking good care of him. Hopefully, he will get released tomorrow. His leg looks much improved and he is in good spirits. The team was able to take a tour of the hospital last week. It is a fine facility and they are doing a great work in the community dispensing healthcare. Patients are brought here from miles around to receive the excellent care that they give.

There are around 80 children ranging in age from 2 to 20 that live on the compound and are called the “house kids”. Our team has connected with them very well and has spent much time playing games, talking, teaching and just “hanging out” with them. They love the attention and love being shown to them. It will be sad when we have to say good-bye. I’m sure that many tears will be shed. This evening there is going to be an Ethiopian vs America volleyball game. We will probably get whipped. They are pretty good athletes. Speaking of sports, we did here that the Colts got beat, so Roger says that he doesn’t care who wins. We have some diehard Packers fans on the team. We shall see.

On Friday we went to the market in Butajira, a town fairly close-by. The infrastructure in the city is almost nonexistent and that extends to the market as well. There were hundreds of people sitting on the ground displaying their wares–anything from clothing, spices, vegetables, cooking supplies and much more. We divided up into two groups so as not to be such a large group, but when all the white people show up, all eyes are upon you. We became like the Pied Piper and had a trail of children following us though the market and all the way back to the hotel where we had parked. It was poverty like nothing Roger or I had ever seen. The children are so beautiful but dressed in ragged, dirty clothing with flies all over them. They are so used to them that they don’t even swat at them anymore. A very humbling experience!

Yesterday, we went on a hike around a crater lake and again attracted quite the crowd of children, many asking for money. They stuck with us the whole time. Some of the team hiked down to the lake’s edge which was steeper than this writer wanted to go but Roger, not to be outdone by the younger generation, did just fine and enjoyed it. At the end we hiked farther inland from the lake to a cave where a “Muslim holy man” has been living for twenty years along with his three wives and many children. Interesting to say the least. He makes his living selling “chat,” a type of addicting stimulant containing amphetamine that is chewed by many Ethiopians.

Project Mercy is a very busy place and well thought of in the community development world. Yesterday, four doctors from Norway and the USA were visiting. Today, four photographers from Johnson and Johnson arrived to take photos for the company’s annual report which is going to feature Project Mercy. Tomorrow, the architect that is doing work here is coming. Demi and Marta, the Ethiopian founders of PM, are such gracious and humble servants of God. They truly exemplify God’s love for the world and how that plays out in practical terms. God has blessed them with the right gifts to minister in this community and they are following his call.

Today, we attended the church down the road. It is about a twenty minute walk down a rocky road. Worshiping in another language is always challenging but exhilarating at the same time. The lack of understanding of the language but the smiles on the faces of the people and listening to the singing brings smiles to our faces as well. It impresses on our hearts that God’s family is made up of all tribes and tongues.

Hopefully, we will write again before we head home on the 25th. We leave here for Addis a week from today where we will debrief and do some touring of the city. Thanks for your continued prayers.

Love, Roger and Carol