Yesterday was the beginning of our journey here in Addis. We woke up to the sound of rain hitting the roof, birds chirping, and synagogue music playing. Our team started the morning off with some tasty coffee, Bible reading, journaling, and great company along with an amazing spicy egg and toast breakfast. Just having a simple meal and interacting with the people at the guesthouse was more than we could ask for. After breakfast, we made our way outside to the courtyard to play some soccer and a little table tennis… Let’s just say the Ethiopians kicked our butts at them all! We had no chance.

That afternoon, time seemed to stand still. It was like God wanted us to be patient for what was next, and didn’t want us to skip a beat on being present and relaxing with what and who we were with at the time.

That afternoon we broke into three groups with our translators Aki, Josi and Masti. One group traveled to the city of Korah near Bright Hope School where Masti was from, and the other two stayed within the area surrounding the guesthouse. We were graced with a challenge to speak our story and the word with complete strangers that day. I thought to myself, are you crazy Kate Townley? You want us, as a team, to speak our story and the word to people we can’t even understand?

At first it was very challenging to get past what we saw and smelled to think of anything except sorrow. Once we got into people’s homes and heard their story and struggles, the anxious feeling went away. Knowing in your heart that we are no different and are all here on this earth God created for the same reason was the most relieving feeling He could ever give me. It was such a blessing to see their way of life and admire their faith after everything they’ve been through. After praying for a family and walking out of their mud house into the rain, nothing seemed crazy at that point. Everything seemed right. He wanted us to be here.

After wrapping up the afternoon with some crazy taxi rides, we made our to a restaurant called Chocolate, which by the way, has the best macchiato coffee drink ever. America is totally missing the boat on this one.  We grabbed some pizza and made our way back to the guesthouse to unwind and talk about how each group was challenged and how our experiences grew our faith.

All it took was one afternoon

[One challenge]

[One greeting]

[One Faith]

To see and feel a difference in life on earth.

 

Some first time nuggets:

* While walking through the city, pedestrians do NOT have the right away. Being on your toes is a must!

* When eating, if someone wants to feed you, let him or her. It’s a sign of friendship, even if they feed you too much and want to choke.

* Lastly, if you don’t know the language, try it and if you butcher every word, at least you will get a smile and probably make someone’s day.

Love Always,
Iowa