I didn't intend to write 2 parts but when I was finished with the last post, I realized that I only talked about what happened in Africa. I never got back to the more personal part of it. The way this trip changed me. I'm probably still figuring it all out but I'm also pretty sure that's the point.
A couple days after I got back I embarked on a road trip. I figured that after having survived 15 hours on a place I would like to see how it compared to 15 hours in a car. (It is in fact better in a car minus the part where you travel a million times slower.) I set out driving and figured I would "debrief" myself while I drove. I only had the radio so it was the perfect time to reflect on what exactly God is teaching me. Or better yet, what He wanted me to do next. I tend to be a little emotionally detached so I didn't come back feeling that much different than when I went. I didn't "feel" changed or moved. I was reflective and needing to do a lot of thinking. God likes to drop things in on me while I'm thinking (AKA-talking to myself). THEN, I start to feel the change and see the difference. THEN, I can start to do something about it.
I thought about a lot of things while I was on the road. I prayed for the team that went and the people we met. I thought about our impact in Addis and how I could tell people about the trip in way that helps them understand why I think it's so important. I tried to decide where to start when people ask, "Tell me about your trip!" For the record, I still haven't quite figured that one out yet. I pretty much just start talking until eyes start to glaze over. As evidenced by this month long series of posts, there's a lot to say. Anyway, I'm not really sure where I was but I was thinking about going back next year. I was thinking about what I might change, do differently, or what it could look like. I was thinking about how great it could be and how many people I could convince to go with me. It was all quite inspiring when God just dropped in a bombshell of a thought:
"Jessica, you're life isn't supposed to be lived mission trip to mission trip. Your WHOLE LIFE is a mission trip."
Well, isn't that humbling. God likes to put me in my place when I get a little carried away. I should put it on a bumper sticker because it's going to stay with me awhile. I realized I shouldn't be focusing so much on how God can use me in Africa when I'm not in Africa right now. I'm in the United States with people who need God's love, mercy, and grace all around me. I interact with people who need God and are searching for Him everyday. I don't need to go to another country, state, or town to for God to use me or to be His light. I have to do it here too. It shouldn't just be a constant high and low as you go from outside your comfort zone to right back into it. I should be living my life with the same passion and energy as I plan for and think about a mission trip. It's not wrong for me to want to go back to Ethiopia or on another overseas trip, but it is wrong for me to neglect what I can be doing RIGHT NOW for the people around me. It's too important not to forget.
Right now, I don't feel called to go live in another country (pause for a big sigh of relief from my parents.) I DO, however, feel very strongly about the kids I'm teaching. I truly do love what I do even when it's hard and disappointing. I'm already starting to feel the excitement of meeting my new class and imaging what this year might bring. I was discouraged some last year but I never dreaded going to work. I've enjoyed my vacation but it's starting to seem right that in three weeks I'll have a new class list. I don't know what to expect but I do know that it's where I'm supposed to be right now. This IS my current mission trip, and I need to be preparing and treating it as such. It's giving me a fresh look on the year and a renewed passion that I needed. I have three weeks to get ready for my best year yet, and I plan to do just that.
Now, don't get me wrong, I believe that every person should go on trips outside their comfort zones to love God's people. You should never let age, time, or money get in the way of stepping out in faith and going on trip. God wants that opportunity to impact your life so don't use any excuses to opt out when He's giving you a way in. You won't be disappointed. It keeps you humble, changes your perspectives, and allows God to use you in completely different ways. I might have spent this next year treading water and barely keeping myself afloat in my classroom. Instead, I'll be more prepared and reenergized. I'll attack it with a passion I don't think I would have had otherwise. I will be a little bit different but by God's grace it will be better and I will be too.
I think I've finally said just about all I can say about Ethiopia 2011. I've exhausted my personal list of things I wanted to write about and remember as well as some requests from others. I hope it was well worth your time and reading. I did the best I could.
As a P.S
While I've already determined to live my life more as a mission trip instead just trip to trip, I'm still thinking about what next summer might have in store. I've been asked to lead this trip for next year; and so far, I can't think of any real reasons not to-which, as a friend kindly pointed out, was how I ended up going on this one in the first place. I'm not sure what exactly will transpire next but it could definitely involve me asking you if you want to go to Ethiopia in 2012. Did you get a little bit excited when I said that? Good. You're going. Get ready.
P.S.S.
Softball started yesterday and school starts on the 16th. Blogging will be back to school related things shortly but will probably be in hiatus for the next few weeks. I've got work to do.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Impact
When going on mission trips, there is always an expectation of change. Change in the place you are visiting. Changing the people you meet. And, being changed yourself. You want to leave an impact and be impacted. (And we usually like to be able to take a picture of it to show off to friends at home.) We usually go with the idea of how much we are going to do for others but don't take into account how much will be done for us. How much going will change our own perspectives, outlooks, and relationships. It usually happens that almost everything you can say that you gave was also given back to you. Love, care, relationships, friendships, encouragement, and humility are just few.
When we returned, I was asked if I thought we really made an impact for Jesus with the kids we met and who came to our VBS. Honestly, at first I had to answer that I'm not really sure that we did. I thought that was going to be the place where we made the biggest difference. But God surprised me. It wasn't the VBS or even the medical clinic. It wasn't in something I could easily explain or take a picture of. It was with His people. It was the encouragement that we were able to give to the people working with these children and in the community. It was apparent that the kids didn't need our 1 hour VBS lesson and skit to know about God's love. They see it EVERY DAY in the sunday school teachers, social workers, and program directors. Just by being a part of the projects, even if they aren't sponsored, they are cared for and loved in ways that will ultimately change the course of their lives.
As a teacher, I know how hard and draining kids can be and especially those kids that are so needy. To think that every single one of these kids is in that situation where basic care and love are not a given is staggering. When I wrote this post in April, I was thinking about one student in my class. But if I was seeing 240 kids in that situation?? Visiting homes that leaked, listening to stomachs growl, watching bruises come and go, and seeing sad eyes watching you is what they are serving every day. There is only so much they can do. The money only goes so far and time is always running out. I can't imagine how hard and draining it must be. But, they have servant's hearts. Big ones. They teach the children that God loves them and takes care of them, and the kids know it's true because they are experiencing it. Through sponsors across the world and the people who are His hands and feet in the country, God's love is being felt. We didn't need to be there for God to do that or make His impact there. He's already doing it His way with His people in a much bigger way than we could have ever imagined.
So what about our team? What did God have planned for us there? What was the impact He wanted us to make because we know His plan is always better than ours? Well, we know how it feels to always be the ones giving. To be the one that is always giving of oneself, and not getting anything in return. The constant pull to help every child but not know what else you can do. I think it's one of the hardest things God calls His people to do. Lots of people do it but I have never seen it in such a sacrificial way as I did with the people who worked at the projects. There are 4 adults for 240 kids. I would argue that kids are the hardest because they can't help themselves. They are at the mercy of others who may or may not be caring for them as a parent should. They don't have a way out and we are only limited humans. Only God can rescue everyone. And, He also rescues us. It was in that place that we were to make an impact.
We were there to give that love back to them. So, we gave them a break. We allowed them to rest. We showed them that they weren't forgotten. We showed them that someone is noticing and and that someone cares. We gave them tools to continue their work and hopefully make it a little easier. We left them toys to brighten their days. We prayed with them. We prayed for them. We acknowledged their sacrifice, humility, service, dedication, and hard work. We praised their efforts and will continue to share that with the people at home. Hopefully, we showed God's love to them in the same way that they are doing with the children. It might have only been a few days in each place but God can make it be enough. He can use that week to sustain them for a year or two or three. So that, His children keep feeling His love through His people-the ones who can be there every day.
So you see we did make an impact for Jesus on this trip. It just wasn't in the way I expected. And, it wasn't in a way we could see or take a picture of to bring home and show you. Sure we played with kids, told a bible story, and gave them lots of kisses but that wasn't where the change will be noticed. The change is what happens after we let. We will keep happening for years after we are gone. It was in us being there and loving people we hadn't even met. It was in showing God's love to others so that they could keep giving His love to so many more. It was witnessing, showing, and experiencing the love that keeps on giving in a way that only God's love can do.
When we returned, I was asked if I thought we really made an impact for Jesus with the kids we met and who came to our VBS. Honestly, at first I had to answer that I'm not really sure that we did. I thought that was going to be the place where we made the biggest difference. But God surprised me. It wasn't the VBS or even the medical clinic. It wasn't in something I could easily explain or take a picture of. It was with His people. It was the encouragement that we were able to give to the people working with these children and in the community. It was apparent that the kids didn't need our 1 hour VBS lesson and skit to know about God's love. They see it EVERY DAY in the sunday school teachers, social workers, and program directors. Just by being a part of the projects, even if they aren't sponsored, they are cared for and loved in ways that will ultimately change the course of their lives.
As a teacher, I know how hard and draining kids can be and especially those kids that are so needy. To think that every single one of these kids is in that situation where basic care and love are not a given is staggering. When I wrote this post in April, I was thinking about one student in my class. But if I was seeing 240 kids in that situation?? Visiting homes that leaked, listening to stomachs growl, watching bruises come and go, and seeing sad eyes watching you is what they are serving every day. There is only so much they can do. The money only goes so far and time is always running out. I can't imagine how hard and draining it must be. But, they have servant's hearts. Big ones. They teach the children that God loves them and takes care of them, and the kids know it's true because they are experiencing it. Through sponsors across the world and the people who are His hands and feet in the country, God's love is being felt. We didn't need to be there for God to do that or make His impact there. He's already doing it His way with His people in a much bigger way than we could have ever imagined.
So what about our team? What did God have planned for us there? What was the impact He wanted us to make because we know His plan is always better than ours? Well, we know how it feels to always be the ones giving. To be the one that is always giving of oneself, and not getting anything in return. The constant pull to help every child but not know what else you can do. I think it's one of the hardest things God calls His people to do. Lots of people do it but I have never seen it in such a sacrificial way as I did with the people who worked at the projects. There are 4 adults for 240 kids. I would argue that kids are the hardest because they can't help themselves. They are at the mercy of others who may or may not be caring for them as a parent should. They don't have a way out and we are only limited humans. Only God can rescue everyone. And, He also rescues us. It was in that place that we were to make an impact.
We were there to give that love back to them. So, we gave them a break. We allowed them to rest. We showed them that they weren't forgotten. We showed them that someone is noticing and and that someone cares. We gave them tools to continue their work and hopefully make it a little easier. We left them toys to brighten their days. We prayed with them. We prayed for them. We acknowledged their sacrifice, humility, service, dedication, and hard work. We praised their efforts and will continue to share that with the people at home. Hopefully, we showed God's love to them in the same way that they are doing with the children. It might have only been a few days in each place but God can make it be enough. He can use that week to sustain them for a year or two or three. So that, His children keep feeling His love through His people-the ones who can be there every day.
So you see we did make an impact for Jesus on this trip. It just wasn't in the way I expected. And, it wasn't in a way we could see or take a picture of to bring home and show you. Sure we played with kids, told a bible story, and gave them lots of kisses but that wasn't where the change will be noticed. The change is what happens after we let. We will keep happening for years after we are gone. It was in us being there and loving people we hadn't even met. It was in showing God's love to others so that they could keep giving His love to so many more. It was witnessing, showing, and experiencing the love that keeps on giving in a way that only God's love can do.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Meeting Dawit
I'm not giving you location update because believe or not I'm still in Champaign! In fact, I will be here for 5 whole days! Amazing, I know.
I didn't even know it when I decided to go on the trip, but my mom's sponsor child lives in Ethiopia. They had started sponsoring him about 2 years ago and even though I wasn't the one writing him letters, I was given the chance to meet him. He doesn't live in Addis but Compassion would bring him in so that we could spend a day together. There were two other people on our trip who had sponsor children from Ethiopia too so it was planned that on our last day would be all get to meet them. He and his family lives about 180 kilometers outside of Addis in a mid-sized town. He came with his dad and the social worker for the project where he's enrolled. They actually came in the night before and got to stay in a hotel which I'm sure was a special treat and something he'd never done before. We met at the Ethiopian version of an amusement park which was basically mini fair rides. They had bumper cars, a ferris wheel, merry go round, and a spinning swings that just about made me sick. They also had a really big arcade with games and Dawit liked the car games the best. You don't get to drive in Ethiopia until your 19 and most people never will but it's still the most exciting thing for a ten year old boy. We got a chance to talk through translators and go on some of the rides. I'll admit that it was a little awkward at first and the conversation was pretty slow but I took some pictures of our family to show him which helped a little. Like most ten year olds in Africa, his first love is soccer and he would really like to be a soccer player some day. But if that doesn't work out maybe he'll be a doctor. : ) I took a few gifts for him and his family as well. It was mostly practical things like toothbrushes, soap, and a washcloth which were more appreciated by his father than him but his very own soccer ball made up for the practical nature of everything else.
We guessed that he probably liked soccer and took a soccer ball to him. It was definitely his favorite thing. This is a video of him playing with it. He was really good. A sports club is one of the things offered at his project and his team won the tournament between all the surrounding projects. He was very proud and even the social worker couldn't help but brag a little bit about it.
As quiet as he was during our meeting, I'm sure he'll be the star of the show back at home. With his back of goodies, soccer ball, and arcade experience under his belt, he'll probably talk about it for weeks. His father was extremely grateful since Dawit's sponsorship lifts a financial burden from his shoulders. He has three other siblings at home and jobs are hard to come by. They were gracious and wonderful people and it was very special to meet them even if I'm not the one sending the checks or letters. Family is family and they are now a more real piece of ours.
I didn't even know it when I decided to go on the trip, but my mom's sponsor child lives in Ethiopia. They had started sponsoring him about 2 years ago and even though I wasn't the one writing him letters, I was given the chance to meet him. He doesn't live in Addis but Compassion would bring him in so that we could spend a day together. There were two other people on our trip who had sponsor children from Ethiopia too so it was planned that on our last day would be all get to meet them. He and his family lives about 180 kilometers outside of Addis in a mid-sized town. He came with his dad and the social worker for the project where he's enrolled. They actually came in the night before and got to stay in a hotel which I'm sure was a special treat and something he'd never done before. We met at the Ethiopian version of an amusement park which was basically mini fair rides. They had bumper cars, a ferris wheel, merry go round, and a spinning swings that just about made me sick. They also had a really big arcade with games and Dawit liked the car games the best. You don't get to drive in Ethiopia until your 19 and most people never will but it's still the most exciting thing for a ten year old boy. We got a chance to talk through translators and go on some of the rides. I'll admit that it was a little awkward at first and the conversation was pretty slow but I took some pictures of our family to show him which helped a little. Like most ten year olds in Africa, his first love is soccer and he would really like to be a soccer player some day. But if that doesn't work out maybe he'll be a doctor. : ) I took a few gifts for him and his family as well. It was mostly practical things like toothbrushes, soap, and a washcloth which were more appreciated by his father than him but his very own soccer ball made up for the practical nature of everything else.
We guessed that he probably liked soccer and took a soccer ball to him. It was definitely his favorite thing. This is a video of him playing with it. He was really good. A sports club is one of the things offered at his project and his team won the tournament between all the surrounding projects. He was very proud and even the social worker couldn't help but brag a little bit about it.
As quiet as he was during our meeting, I'm sure he'll be the star of the show back at home. With his back of goodies, soccer ball, and arcade experience under his belt, he'll probably talk about it for weeks. His father was extremely grateful since Dawit's sponsorship lifts a financial burden from his shoulders. He has three other siblings at home and jobs are hard to come by. They were gracious and wonderful people and it was very special to meet them even if I'm not the one sending the checks or letters. Family is family and they are now a more real piece of ours.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Medical Clinics
Current Location: Champaign, IL
The second biggest thing we did as a service to the projects besides VBS was a medical clinic. We had two doctors with us who had done very similar clinics in other countries. Ahead of time, the sites arranged for specific children and families to come. Some had specific things that they wanted us to see and others were very high risk. Paige and I took temperatures, weights, and used a translator to write down specific complaints that the child had. The primary complaints were abdominal cramps from hunger pains and skin rashes. Many kids were malnourished but were always smiling and laughing at us when we tried to say "thank you" in amaharic. We also saw what was probably pneumonia and a case of TB. Sadly, there was also a girl with a cracked sternum which probably was from abuse. With our limited resources there wasn't always a lot we could do for them but clean out their ears, give them a bag of basics and love them a little while they were there. Every child also got a toothbrush, toothpaste, washcloth, and soap. We also handed out a lot of vitamins, anti-fungal creams, and special shampoos for scalp irritations. We brought a lot with us but also spent more than a little time at drugstores getting things the doctors thought we needed. We ended up seeing over 100 kids between both sites which was quite a bit more than we planned for but we made sure everyone got a little health kit. The kids were amazingly quiet and smiley despite being poked and prodded by strangers speaking a different language. They just loved smiling at us and curiously watching everything we did.
I am still in awe of this precious boy. He was one of the first to come through and didn't have any complaints. I think he was 6 despite looking about 4 or 5. He must not have come with an adult because when he was done they just had him sit off to the side. Where for the next 2 hours, he just sat. He didn't fidget. He didn't whine. He didn't get up. He didn't complain. He just sat there and watched us. Since my job was only to write down temperatures and weights, I wasn't very busy and kept making eye contact with him. We spent a lot of time making faces at each other and smiling back and forth. Eventually, I remembered I had a piece of gum in my bag that I gave to him. He tore it in half to save some for later or someone else I'm not sure but I can guarantee that there isn't an American 6 year old out there who would of his own volition just eat half a piece of gum. LOVE HIM.
This was one of the rooms at the first site.
The second biggest thing we did as a service to the projects besides VBS was a medical clinic. We had two doctors with us who had done very similar clinics in other countries. Ahead of time, the sites arranged for specific children and families to come. Some had specific things that they wanted us to see and others were very high risk. Paige and I took temperatures, weights, and used a translator to write down specific complaints that the child had. The primary complaints were abdominal cramps from hunger pains and skin rashes. Many kids were malnourished but were always smiling and laughing at us when we tried to say "thank you" in amaharic. We also saw what was probably pneumonia and a case of TB. Sadly, there was also a girl with a cracked sternum which probably was from abuse. With our limited resources there wasn't always a lot we could do for them but clean out their ears, give them a bag of basics and love them a little while they were there. Every child also got a toothbrush, toothpaste, washcloth, and soap. We also handed out a lot of vitamins, anti-fungal creams, and special shampoos for scalp irritations. We brought a lot with us but also spent more than a little time at drugstores getting things the doctors thought we needed. We ended up seeing over 100 kids between both sites which was quite a bit more than we planned for but we made sure everyone got a little health kit. The kids were amazingly quiet and smiley despite being poked and prodded by strangers speaking a different language. They just loved smiling at us and curiously watching everything we did.
I am still in awe of this precious boy. He was one of the first to come through and didn't have any complaints. I think he was 6 despite looking about 4 or 5. He must not have come with an adult because when he was done they just had him sit off to the side. Where for the next 2 hours, he just sat. He didn't fidget. He didn't whine. He didn't get up. He didn't complain. He just sat there and watched us. Since my job was only to write down temperatures and weights, I wasn't very busy and kept making eye contact with him. We spent a lot of time making faces at each other and smiling back and forth. Eventually, I remembered I had a piece of gum in my bag that I gave to him. He tore it in half to save some for later or someone else I'm not sure but I can guarantee that there isn't an American 6 year old out there who would of his own volition just eat half a piece of gum. LOVE HIM.
This was one of the rooms at the first site.
Monday, July 11, 2011
VBS
Location Update: White Lake, Michigan
So far it has taken me 25 minutes to sit down and work on this post. Being in Michigan pretty much means I do a lot of nothing productive which in turn means even writing this is not happening very quickly. I'll try a little harder next week.
Before we left, we had conflicting answers about how many kids would be at each VBS site. We heard it could be 150 and we heard it could be 50. We didn't the ages or group sizes either. We tried to plan but without knowing how many translators, extra adults, and kids we would have we still felt very unprepared. We did know we would be doing something two days at each site so had two days of lessons and activities planned. We were going to teach about David with the first lesson being about how he was chosen to be king and the second about David and Goliath. We also had snacks, a craft, and a games all planned out. However, BE FLEXIBLE was our motto and we definitely needed to be just that.
At ET 566, we had somewhere in the ball park of 150 kids. The point of the lesson was about how we are all unique and that God chooses us each for His purposes. We did a skit of the bible story when God chooses Daniel from his brothers to be King. The best part was that we had some kids come up to be "sheep" that had to wear masks and baa every time we used the word sheep. The masks were pretty funny for the kids. For a craft, we used ink pads to put the kids fingerprints on the "bookmarks" and color pictures of things they were good at. It didn't occur to me until as I was explaining it that they probably didn't have books or know what a bookmark was but it was fun to use crayons and fingerprints anyway.
I couldn't even get them all into the picture . . .
The games did NOT go as planned because there were just too many kids and no good way to organize them. We had a pretty decent sized place to play outside but we just couldn't keep everyone contained enough to explain rules. It was at this point that we almost got trampled handing out balloons and opted instead to let them teach us their games. We also would take out a few toys, put everyone in a circle, and share. We passed around a soccer ball, blew bubbles, and shot up balloons for them to chase. Turns out the "teacher look" is pretty well understood worldwide and without speaking ahmaric I was able to get everyone to back off, create a circle, and practice throwing a frisbee to one kid at time. We only got to do one day of VBS at this site because we ran out of time and had to do home visits the second day. We joked with Atkelt that he probably just decided that because he didn't want to have to translate another crazy skit for us. He insisted that it wasn't and did let us to do two days at the second site.
At ET 565, we had two smaller groups of about 50 kids. Some of the kids came both days but we probably could have done the same thing twice and had mostly a new audience the second day. The second day was also hindered by a pretty heavy rain that came right when the kids were supposed to come. We probably would have had 20-30 more without the rain. Since this group was so much smaller, we probably could have done a little more with our original plan but since we had already done it once we just decided to stick to the same plan. We made bracelets with the kids the second day which turned out perfect since we didn't have as many beads as had planned. Everyone got enough to make a decent beaded bracelet and went home happy.
They filled these benches in a classroom that was much smaller than my room.
As a teacher, it was really interesting to watch the regular teachers interact with the kids. Just like any group of kids waiting for something new and exciting, they were pretty pumped up before we started. However, the teachers had obviously established great routines and expectations with them and it took only seconds to calm them down and get them ready. They counted down, got quiet, put their hands on their laps, and paid attention much easier and better than I expected. They were polite and well behaved throughout the entire skit and lesson. It was funny to watch them with the crayons and markers because while we started by just giving child one they would trade and pass around colors when they wanted something new. At the second site, we let kids keep one crayon or marker. Of course, there were a few that tried to sneak an extra one but he or she was almost immediately ratted out by a peer and would give it back with an apologetic and chagrined look. I was extremely impressed by how honest and respectful each of kids were about getting the one that he or she wanted. Many kids would take the snacks home to share with siblings too. They had really innocent and loving hearts and it was obvious that coming to the Compassion site was making a big difference in that area of their lives.
I would be remiss if I did this entire post with more than a mention of how we did all this without speaking more than one word of Amaharic (thank you). Our main translator, Atkelt, was our in country compassion guide, trip coordinator, and primary translator. He used to a Compassion sponsored child and often teaches sunday school. He was great with the kids and is the one in the welcome movie who steps in front of the kids when they stop singing and gets them to say "welcome!" It is definitely a challenge to work with a translator and get used to pausing at the right places to ensure there isn't too much of a break in getting to the point. All I know is that it got a little easier with time and he was the reason any point was made at all. As I muddled through the idea that God makes everyone special he elaborated and drove the point home. I'm pretty sure he added about ten times more than what I actually said in a way that made sense to them because when we asked a few questions at the end they did a really good job of answering the questions. It made me feel good that they did get the point we were trying to make even it if really was Atkelt that made it happen with my ideas and muddled, pausing, reworded English. Big props go to him and the rest of the staff that helped us because without them it would have been a train wreck and with them I can confidently call it a success.
Of course, like any good VBS we started off by singing! We taught them, Allelu, the B-I-B-L-E, and God is so Good in English. By the second day, we could do the standing up, sitting down part of Allelu, allelu, allelu, alleluah, Praise Ye the Lord! I wish I could have gotten that on video but was too busy holding the signs and trying to speed them up. It was really fun and took me way back to my own sunday school days. Definitely the best way to start the day.
So far it has taken me 25 minutes to sit down and work on this post. Being in Michigan pretty much means I do a lot of nothing productive which in turn means even writing this is not happening very quickly. I'll try a little harder next week.
Before we left, we had conflicting answers about how many kids would be at each VBS site. We heard it could be 150 and we heard it could be 50. We didn't the ages or group sizes either. We tried to plan but without knowing how many translators, extra adults, and kids we would have we still felt very unprepared. We did know we would be doing something two days at each site so had two days of lessons and activities planned. We were going to teach about David with the first lesson being about how he was chosen to be king and the second about David and Goliath. We also had snacks, a craft, and a games all planned out. However, BE FLEXIBLE was our motto and we definitely needed to be just that.
At ET 566, we had somewhere in the ball park of 150 kids. The point of the lesson was about how we are all unique and that God chooses us each for His purposes. We did a skit of the bible story when God chooses Daniel from his brothers to be King. The best part was that we had some kids come up to be "sheep" that had to wear masks and baa every time we used the word sheep. The masks were pretty funny for the kids. For a craft, we used ink pads to put the kids fingerprints on the "bookmarks" and color pictures of things they were good at. It didn't occur to me until as I was explaining it that they probably didn't have books or know what a bookmark was but it was fun to use crayons and fingerprints anyway.
I couldn't even get them all into the picture . . .
The games did NOT go as planned because there were just too many kids and no good way to organize them. We had a pretty decent sized place to play outside but we just couldn't keep everyone contained enough to explain rules. It was at this point that we almost got trampled handing out balloons and opted instead to let them teach us their games. We also would take out a few toys, put everyone in a circle, and share. We passed around a soccer ball, blew bubbles, and shot up balloons for them to chase. Turns out the "teacher look" is pretty well understood worldwide and without speaking ahmaric I was able to get everyone to back off, create a circle, and practice throwing a frisbee to one kid at time. We only got to do one day of VBS at this site because we ran out of time and had to do home visits the second day. We joked with Atkelt that he probably just decided that because he didn't want to have to translate another crazy skit for us. He insisted that it wasn't and did let us to do two days at the second site.
At ET 565, we had two smaller groups of about 50 kids. Some of the kids came both days but we probably could have done the same thing twice and had mostly a new audience the second day. The second day was also hindered by a pretty heavy rain that came right when the kids were supposed to come. We probably would have had 20-30 more without the rain. Since this group was so much smaller, we probably could have done a little more with our original plan but since we had already done it once we just decided to stick to the same plan. We made bracelets with the kids the second day which turned out perfect since we didn't have as many beads as had planned. Everyone got enough to make a decent beaded bracelet and went home happy.
They filled these benches in a classroom that was much smaller than my room.
As a teacher, it was really interesting to watch the regular teachers interact with the kids. Just like any group of kids waiting for something new and exciting, they were pretty pumped up before we started. However, the teachers had obviously established great routines and expectations with them and it took only seconds to calm them down and get them ready. They counted down, got quiet, put their hands on their laps, and paid attention much easier and better than I expected. They were polite and well behaved throughout the entire skit and lesson. It was funny to watch them with the crayons and markers because while we started by just giving child one they would trade and pass around colors when they wanted something new. At the second site, we let kids keep one crayon or marker. Of course, there were a few that tried to sneak an extra one but he or she was almost immediately ratted out by a peer and would give it back with an apologetic and chagrined look. I was extremely impressed by how honest and respectful each of kids were about getting the one that he or she wanted. Many kids would take the snacks home to share with siblings too. They had really innocent and loving hearts and it was obvious that coming to the Compassion site was making a big difference in that area of their lives.
I would be remiss if I did this entire post with more than a mention of how we did all this without speaking more than one word of Amaharic (thank you). Our main translator, Atkelt, was our in country compassion guide, trip coordinator, and primary translator. He used to a Compassion sponsored child and often teaches sunday school. He was great with the kids and is the one in the welcome movie who steps in front of the kids when they stop singing and gets them to say "welcome!" It is definitely a challenge to work with a translator and get used to pausing at the right places to ensure there isn't too much of a break in getting to the point. All I know is that it got a little easier with time and he was the reason any point was made at all. As I muddled through the idea that God makes everyone special he elaborated and drove the point home. I'm pretty sure he added about ten times more than what I actually said in a way that made sense to them because when we asked a few questions at the end they did a really good job of answering the questions. It made me feel good that they did get the point we were trying to make even it if really was Atkelt that made it happen with my ideas and muddled, pausing, reworded English. Big props go to him and the rest of the staff that helped us because without them it would have been a train wreck and with them I can confidently call it a success.
Of course, like any good VBS we started off by singing! We taught them, Allelu, the B-I-B-L-E, and God is so Good in English. By the second day, we could do the standing up, sitting down part of Allelu, allelu, allelu, alleluah, Praise Ye the Lord! I wish I could have gotten that on video but was too busy holding the signs and trying to speed them up. It was really fun and took me way back to my own sunday school days. Definitely the best way to start the day.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Church
Current Location Update: Avon, Illinois
We arrived on a Saturday morning and were able to go to the church service at ET 566 Sunday morning. On Sunday mornings, many people come early before church starts to pray. There is a prayer leader who is praying aloud and many members kneeling on the benches around the room. When it is time for the service to start, the prayer leader starts by leading a prayer rebuking the devil. I was initially surprised by the idea but the more I sat there the more I realized that it made complete sense. Why don't we spend a minute or two praying to make sure the devil is not working in our hearts and minds before we begin worship? It's a simple but powerful thing to do that might make a big difference in how we approach our time together in church. Much of the rest of the service was very similar to any you might attend in the states. There were announcements, singing, an offertory, and sermon. We had translators writing down much of the sermon and passing notes to us about it. I can't even comprehend trying to keep up with our pastor at Windsor Road to do that. After that, it was pretty obvious that it didn't matter that we didn't speak Amaharic because we were in good hands with Fekadu and Atkelt. We stumped them a couple of times with words but not very often.
One thing that struck me a couple of times when we were there was how passionate and selfless everyone prayed. It wasn't just a quiet conversation with the Lord but a heartfelt, passionate plea. I found it inspiring in that it wasn't casual. While there is nothing wrong with that at tines, I think we forget who we are talking to sometimes. God can and is doing such big things all over the world but He wants to hear what you have to say. So don't just pray like you are talking to customer service trying to get them to change your cable service. Pray like it's someone important that you love more than anyone else-because don't you? Pray like it's someone who cares to hear about your day-because doesn't he? Pray like it's someone who can grant you every one of your hopes and dreams-because can't he??
We arrived on a Saturday morning and were able to go to the church service at ET 566 Sunday morning. On Sunday mornings, many people come early before church starts to pray. There is a prayer leader who is praying aloud and many members kneeling on the benches around the room. When it is time for the service to start, the prayer leader starts by leading a prayer rebuking the devil. I was initially surprised by the idea but the more I sat there the more I realized that it made complete sense. Why don't we spend a minute or two praying to make sure the devil is not working in our hearts and minds before we begin worship? It's a simple but powerful thing to do that might make a big difference in how we approach our time together in church. Much of the rest of the service was very similar to any you might attend in the states. There were announcements, singing, an offertory, and sermon. We had translators writing down much of the sermon and passing notes to us about it. I can't even comprehend trying to keep up with our pastor at Windsor Road to do that. After that, it was pretty obvious that it didn't matter that we didn't speak Amaharic because we were in good hands with Fekadu and Atkelt. We stumped them a couple of times with words but not very often.
One thing that struck me a couple of times when we were there was how passionate and selfless everyone prayed. It wasn't just a quiet conversation with the Lord but a heartfelt, passionate plea. I found it inspiring in that it wasn't casual. While there is nothing wrong with that at tines, I think we forget who we are talking to sometimes. God can and is doing such big things all over the world but He wants to hear what you have to say. So don't just pray like you are talking to customer service trying to get them to change your cable service. Pray like it's someone important that you love more than anyone else-because don't you? Pray like it's someone who cares to hear about your day-because doesn't he? Pray like it's someone who can grant you every one of your hopes and dreams-because can't he??
Monday, July 4, 2011
Q & A
Q: Where are you right now?
A :I am in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
Q: Why are you there?
A: I am visiting my good college friend Jessica, her husband, and their darling baby.
Q: How long are you staying?
A: Indefinitely. My van is broke.
Now that we got the current news update about my life, here are a few real questions and answers about my trip.
Q: What was the weather like?
A: The weather overall is very temperate. In a year, it will probably only range from 45-85 in the city. While we were there, the highs were between 75 and 80. We were very comfortable wearing jeans and t-shirts. Our Compassion guide from Colorado thought it was humid. No one in our group noticed. : ) The official start of the rainy season was Wednesday while we were there. It rained Thursday, Friday, and Saturday afternoons but never for very long or very hard. They told us that as they get into July it might rain all day. We were glad to have missed that.
Q: Did you get sunburned?
A: No. The elevation of Addis is somewhere near 7,000 feet and we did notice the elevation when we were running around outside but I never wore sunblock and don't think my tan got much darker. It was probably because the smog created a "natural" filter of the sun's rays. Eek
Q: What is the population of the city?
A: The population is listed at 3 million but the guides told us it was much closer to 5 million.
Q: What would you do differently?
A: I would have liked to see outside the city. The only real disappointment of the entire trip was that we didn't make it out to see the countryside and rural population. I didn't even think about it much while we were there because I was so caught up in the experience but since I've been back I've thought about it a lot more.
Q: What were the accommodations like?
A: It was the American equivalent of a bread and breakfast. It is owned by a Texan who adopted from there. He owns five guests houses that cater to Americans staying in the country for adoptions and missions. I shared a room with one other team member and we had a bathroom for our floor. There was a front desk, computer, hot water, dining room table, and gathering/living room area. Overall, it was much better than I expected.
Q: What was the food like?
A: Traditional Ethiopian food is very spicy. You use their bread called injara to pick up and eat the meats that are prepared in spicy sauces. It wasn't my favorite but wasn't bad either. However, we actually ate more traditional food in the States before we left (once in a restaurant and once for our sendoff dinner) than we did in country. The guest house made us very good pizza, rice and veggies, a spaghetti casserole, eggs, and other similar Americanized entrees. We ate lunch at very nice (for Ethiopian standards) restaurants that make menus with westerners in mind. We could have gotten traditional food but I usually didn't. We didn't eat the vegetables and bread is served with EVERY meal. It's good bread but you are never in danger of going hungry with all the bread that they serve.
Q: What is the primary religion of Ethiopians?
A: 50% of the people are Orthodox. About 25% are muslim and 20% are evangelical christians. We saw a lot of Orthodox churches and visited an especially large one. We paid to go inside and sneak a peak. I don't know much of anything about the Orthodox faith but the people are very devout.
Q: What language do they speak?
A: They speak Amaharic. However, all children learn English in school and by high school most of the core subjects are taught soley in English. Therefore, the educated speak useable English. They use characters in their writing of which there are 216. Our translators spoke excellent English and even translated much of the church service we went to on pieces of paper they passed around. They also said learning our alphabet was a piece of cake because we only had 26 letters.
Q: What was the best part of the trip?
A: Playing with the kids and doing the VBS. They really paid attention and answered my questions really well. Thankfully, our translator often teaches Sunday School and I think he got the point across much better than how I tried to say it. He was great with the kids and often expanded a lot on what I said to help them get the point.
Q: What was your least favorite part?
A: Traveling home. First the goodbyes, then the lines, then the 15 hour plane fight, then more lines, then more security, then another plane ride, and then a car ride. Total it was 25 hours from when we were dropped off at the airport in Addis to when we arrived back at church. Ugh.
Q: Would you go back?
A: Absolutely. In fact, it's already being discussed. Want to come with me?????
A :I am in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
Q: Why are you there?
A: I am visiting my good college friend Jessica, her husband, and their darling baby.
Q: How long are you staying?
A: Indefinitely. My van is broke.
Now that we got the current news update about my life, here are a few real questions and answers about my trip.
Q: What was the weather like?
A: The weather overall is very temperate. In a year, it will probably only range from 45-85 in the city. While we were there, the highs were between 75 and 80. We were very comfortable wearing jeans and t-shirts. Our Compassion guide from Colorado thought it was humid. No one in our group noticed. : ) The official start of the rainy season was Wednesday while we were there. It rained Thursday, Friday, and Saturday afternoons but never for very long or very hard. They told us that as they get into July it might rain all day. We were glad to have missed that.
Q: Did you get sunburned?
A: No. The elevation of Addis is somewhere near 7,000 feet and we did notice the elevation when we were running around outside but I never wore sunblock and don't think my tan got much darker. It was probably because the smog created a "natural" filter of the sun's rays. Eek
Q: What is the population of the city?
A: The population is listed at 3 million but the guides told us it was much closer to 5 million.
Q: What would you do differently?
A: I would have liked to see outside the city. The only real disappointment of the entire trip was that we didn't make it out to see the countryside and rural population. I didn't even think about it much while we were there because I was so caught up in the experience but since I've been back I've thought about it a lot more.
Q: What were the accommodations like?
A: It was the American equivalent of a bread and breakfast. It is owned by a Texan who adopted from there. He owns five guests houses that cater to Americans staying in the country for adoptions and missions. I shared a room with one other team member and we had a bathroom for our floor. There was a front desk, computer, hot water, dining room table, and gathering/living room area. Overall, it was much better than I expected.
Q: What was the food like?
A: Traditional Ethiopian food is very spicy. You use their bread called injara to pick up and eat the meats that are prepared in spicy sauces. It wasn't my favorite but wasn't bad either. However, we actually ate more traditional food in the States before we left (once in a restaurant and once for our sendoff dinner) than we did in country. The guest house made us very good pizza, rice and veggies, a spaghetti casserole, eggs, and other similar Americanized entrees. We ate lunch at very nice (for Ethiopian standards) restaurants that make menus with westerners in mind. We could have gotten traditional food but I usually didn't. We didn't eat the vegetables and bread is served with EVERY meal. It's good bread but you are never in danger of going hungry with all the bread that they serve.
Q: What is the primary religion of Ethiopians?
A: 50% of the people are Orthodox. About 25% are muslim and 20% are evangelical christians. We saw a lot of Orthodox churches and visited an especially large one. We paid to go inside and sneak a peak. I don't know much of anything about the Orthodox faith but the people are very devout.
Q: What language do they speak?
A: They speak Amaharic. However, all children learn English in school and by high school most of the core subjects are taught soley in English. Therefore, the educated speak useable English. They use characters in their writing of which there are 216. Our translators spoke excellent English and even translated much of the church service we went to on pieces of paper they passed around. They also said learning our alphabet was a piece of cake because we only had 26 letters.
Q: What was the best part of the trip?
A: Playing with the kids and doing the VBS. They really paid attention and answered my questions really well. Thankfully, our translator often teaches Sunday School and I think he got the point across much better than how I tried to say it. He was great with the kids and often expanded a lot on what I said to help them get the point.
Q: What was your least favorite part?
A: Traveling home. First the goodbyes, then the lines, then the 15 hour plane fight, then more lines, then more security, then another plane ride, and then a car ride. Total it was 25 hours from when we were dropped off at the airport in Addis to when we arrived back at church. Ugh.
Q: Would you go back?
A: Absolutely. In fact, it's already being discussed. Want to come with me?????
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