I am very sorry that I have not kept up with my blog. Between the internet being a bit unreliable, building relationships with the girls at Deborah House and traveling around the city every day, there was little time to actually write any blog entries.
But, as promised, I will be posting several blogs about the girls of Deborah House, my time in Ethiopia and what I’ve been up to in North Carolina.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Ethiopia: The birthplace of good food
Meals in Ethiopia are a communal event. Not as in, people eat around the same table and chat. Communal as in, the food for the entire eating party is put on one tray in the middle of the table and everyone eats directly off of it with their hands.
Covering the bottom of the tray is enjiera, a substance that has the texture of a thin pancake and the taste of sourdough bread. On top of the enjiera is the watt, which can be a variety of spicy sauces. Beside the watt are the tibbs, or chopped meats. You can also have several different mixtures of vegetables piled on there, too.
With your right hand, you tear off a piece of the enjiera, scoop up some watt and tibbs and stick that whole glob of goodness in your mouth. It’s absolutely delicious.
Try it sometime.
Covering the bottom of the tray is enjiera, a substance that has the texture of a thin pancake and the taste of sourdough bread. On top of the enjiera is the watt, which can be a variety of spicy sauces. Beside the watt are the tibbs, or chopped meats. You can also have several different mixtures of vegetables piled on there, too.
With your right hand, you tear off a piece of the enjiera, scoop up some watt and tibbs and stick that whole glob of goodness in your mouth. It’s absolutely delicious.
Try it sometime.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Week One: Digest Version
I’ve been in Addis for one week now and in that time I’ve run from goats in the streets, nearly been run over by a few taxis, seen the work of the Lord being fulfilled, met 22 girls that have changed the way I define hardship, perseverance and thanksgiving, learned that Brooke is an Amharic name reserved only for men, been renamed Brooktite by the girls in Deborah House to correct the mistake that my name is in this culture, eaten a lot of really yummy food (College Station needs to get an Ethiopian restaurant), gotten sick from the yummy food once, experienced the most beautiful impromptu worship service ever, built a relationship with seven incredibly strong Deborah House girls, heard the unabridged stories of three of them, tried to understand how big God is with about 30 people, been an encouragement, been encouraged, met a few girls from Dallas, walked around half the city with Amy, my favorite Oregon girl, and Sandra, from NYC, and generally had an incredible time learning more about the Lord, this culture and myself.
Details on the past week and Deborah House specifically coming very soon. I’m crossing my fingers that I’ll have time to get something up tomorrow!
Details on the past week and Deborah House specifically coming very soon. I’m crossing my fingers that I’ll have time to get something up tomorrow!
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Things to know about Ethiopians
1. They’re beautiful. Seriously, I’ve never seen so many pretty faces in one afternoon.
2. Colors are not gender specific. So the adorable two-year-old girl dressed in all pink at one of the houses we visited was actually an adorable two-year-old boy. I found that out after we had left. In this case, thank goodness I don’t speak Amharic or else I probably would have told his mother how pretty her daughter was.
3. They are criz-azy drivers. I’m not going to elaborate on that any further.
4. They share the rest of the world’s love for Michael Jackson. Yeah thaz right. (That was just for you, Jenny!) It turns out the disco bar my roommate in North Carolina warned me about does in fact exist and actually it’s right outside my window. Good thing her warning came with ear plugs. Right around midnight they began a 30 minute tribute to MJ. However, I was too tired to dance to “Thriller” when it came booming through the bar’s speakers… twice.
2. Colors are not gender specific. So the adorable two-year-old girl dressed in all pink at one of the houses we visited was actually an adorable two-year-old boy. I found that out after we had left. In this case, thank goodness I don’t speak Amharic or else I probably would have told his mother how pretty her daughter was.
3. They are criz-azy drivers. I’m not going to elaborate on that any further.
4. They share the rest of the world’s love for Michael Jackson. Yeah thaz right. (That was just for you, Jenny!) It turns out the disco bar my roommate in North Carolina warned me about does in fact exist and actually it’s right outside my window. Good thing her warning came with ear plugs. Right around midnight they began a 30 minute tribute to MJ. However, I was too tired to dance to “Thriller” when it came booming through the bar’s speakers… twice.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Day 1 in Ethiopia
After flying over the Atlantic Ocean, a few beautiful mountains and the Sahara Desert, I arrived safely in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Tuesday night. In the U.S. it was somewhere between late morning and early afternoon, depending on location.
My first day was surreal and eye opening. To become more acquainted with the culture and the city, I went on a couple of home visits with some of the long term missionaries and the two girls working in Deborah House this summer. As we were driving through Addis on our way to visit the families, who are assisted by SIM Ethiopia programs, I got my first real look at the city. First, I was just thinking, “Can I really finally be here? After months of preparing for and praying about this place, am I actually in Addis Ababa… Ethiopia… Africa??” But more so I was looking at the people and the poverty. I’ve seen it before, but nothing like this. Nothing like children and old women repeatedly begging for money, guys my age shouting “Money come!” at me and the mentally ill lining the streets because there are no programs in this country that have the knowledge or ability to assist them. Seeing it all, I was struck by its reality. This is the reality for thousands in this city alone.
But I also got to see a little of what the Lord is doing through SIM in Addis. Feeding families, putting a roof over their head, sending children to school, equipping them to better provide for themselves and, the best part, telling them about the Lord. And that’s only what I saw in the lives of the families we visited! The missionaries living at the guest house work in fields from English education to HIV/AIDS clinical care. They do whatever they can to show the love of Christ and share the Gospel. It is so clear that the Lord has specifically placed these missionaries here and that He is doing great things in this impoverished city.
Thank you to everyone for all your prayers and support. Please continue to pray for me. Ask the Lord to make me alert to all the opportunities for ministry around me, not just the specific task that I am here for. I can have pretty bad tunnel vision sometimes!
I’ll post again and tell you about the girls as soon as I can!
My first day was surreal and eye opening. To become more acquainted with the culture and the city, I went on a couple of home visits with some of the long term missionaries and the two girls working in Deborah House this summer. As we were driving through Addis on our way to visit the families, who are assisted by SIM Ethiopia programs, I got my first real look at the city. First, I was just thinking, “Can I really finally be here? After months of preparing for and praying about this place, am I actually in Addis Ababa… Ethiopia… Africa??” But more so I was looking at the people and the poverty. I’ve seen it before, but nothing like this. Nothing like children and old women repeatedly begging for money, guys my age shouting “Money come!” at me and the mentally ill lining the streets because there are no programs in this country that have the knowledge or ability to assist them. Seeing it all, I was struck by its reality. This is the reality for thousands in this city alone.
But I also got to see a little of what the Lord is doing through SIM in Addis. Feeding families, putting a roof over their head, sending children to school, equipping them to better provide for themselves and, the best part, telling them about the Lord. And that’s only what I saw in the lives of the families we visited! The missionaries living at the guest house work in fields from English education to HIV/AIDS clinical care. They do whatever they can to show the love of Christ and share the Gospel. It is so clear that the Lord has specifically placed these missionaries here and that He is doing great things in this impoverished city.
Thank you to everyone for all your prayers and support. Please continue to pray for me. Ask the Lord to make me alert to all the opportunities for ministry around me, not just the specific task that I am here for. I can have pretty bad tunnel vision sometimes!
I’ll post again and tell you about the girls as soon as I can!
Monday, June 22, 2009
How You Can Pray for Me
Please join me in praying that
-the Lord will prepare the hearts of the girls in Deborah House and Lois' Lodge for me;
-that they will be receptive to building a relationship with me;
-that the Lord will provide opportunities for us to talk about Him and what following Him means for their lives;
-that the girls will be open to talking about their past and present lives;
-that the Lord will provide ways for us to relate to each other;
-that the Lord will prepare my heart for these girls, giving me compassion and love for them, as well as the words to speak to them;
-and that He will give me patience and confidence in own abilities so that He can use me this summer.
THANK YOU!
-the Lord will prepare the hearts of the girls in Deborah House and Lois' Lodge for me;
-that they will be receptive to building a relationship with me;
-that the Lord will provide opportunities for us to talk about Him and what following Him means for their lives;
-that the girls will be open to talking about their past and present lives;
-that the Lord will provide ways for us to relate to each other;
-that the Lord will prepare my heart for these girls, giving me compassion and love for them, as well as the words to speak to them;
-and that He will give me patience and confidence in own abilities so that He can use me this summer.
THANK YOU!
It Has Begun
Last Monday, Dad and I left the house at 8:00 in the morning to drive the 1,000 or so miles from Texas to Charlotte, North Carolina. We drove as far as Knoxville Monday night and arrived in Charlotte late Tuesday morning. When I say "we drove," I mean Dad drove the whole way while I operated the radio. Thank you, Dad.
I went through training the rest of the week with a few awesome girls from all over the U.S. who are going to various places in Ethiopia, Paraguay, Nigeria and East Asia.
Amidst all the training we received, we ate at a local Ethiopian restaurant, The Red Sea, for a bit of a cross-cultural experience. It was absolutely delicious! More to come on that experience later.
Today is my first official day of work with SIM. It began with me sleeping past my alarm clock (nothing new there), but once at the office my day brightened up.
This morning I poured over the raw video footage of the girls living at the Deborah House in Addis. This is a ministry that has literally saved the lives of some of the girls they take in. For the others, their lives are infinitely better - filled with opportunity for spiritual growth, formal education and so much more.
After seeing them on tape, I am so anxious to meet them! I will be flying out of the states around July 5. Until then, I will be working on the girls' benefit concert at the SIM USA office.
I went through training the rest of the week with a few awesome girls from all over the U.S. who are going to various places in Ethiopia, Paraguay, Nigeria and East Asia.
Amidst all the training we received, we ate at a local Ethiopian restaurant, The Red Sea, for a bit of a cross-cultural experience. It was absolutely delicious! More to come on that experience later.
Today is my first official day of work with SIM. It began with me sleeping past my alarm clock (nothing new there), but once at the office my day brightened up.
This morning I poured over the raw video footage of the girls living at the Deborah House in Addis. This is a ministry that has literally saved the lives of some of the girls they take in. For the others, their lives are infinitely better - filled with opportunity for spiritual growth, formal education and so much more.
After seeing them on tape, I am so anxious to meet them! I will be flying out of the states around July 5. Until then, I will be working on the girls' benefit concert at the SIM USA office.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
