Bole Community

This is a sign of a good day in Africa :)

Where to start?  I won't start with our first day in Ethiopia because our team had a tough time with jet-lag so we didn't leave the guest house :(  Kendra and I had a good day catching up and preparing crafts for the week though.  Back here in the states we don't always have time to talk about real things.  With the kids around it's hard to have a complete conversation without interruptions.

We will just skip to the first lovely community we went to in Addis.  The struggling community of Bole is just outside the city and up on a hill.  Surrounding the streets are eucalyptus trees. The day we went the wind was blowing the sweet smell all around us.  The houses were similar to the ones in Korah, the trash dump community, but the space between them and the farm land surrounding them was such a contrast to what I have previously experienced here in Addis.  This was my first trip to Bole community and is a place I would love to visit again.

As soon as we walked through the gate where the church is, a little girl clung to me and didn't let go for a long time.  She was adorable and just needed some cuddles.  There were not a lot of children around so it was a nice way to start our adventures.  We were able to play and visit without being overwhelmed.  In a building next to the church there is a room where a group of women make beads and jewelry for Mission Ethiopia.  Unlike the Mission Ethiopia women in Korah, these women are not as used to visitors.  They were shy but very nice.  Some women in our group joined them to make a few beads, but my little cutie was not about to let me go long enough for me try my turn at jewelry making.  That was just fine with me.

After visiting the room the women work in most days, a few of those same women invited us into their homes.  For most of our team it was their first looks at how a lot of people live around the world and not  from the comfort of their couch watching a documentary, but being welcomed in by the woman living there and being offered a seat on her bed.  Even though our team was small, we still could not all fit into her TINY home.  I'm guessing her home was probably the size of a queen size bed and dresser with no walking room.  She has worked for Mission Ethiopia for three years and two years ago came to know Christ in a personal way.  This was the first time I had ever thought of Mission Ethiopia being an outreach program and I loved it even more.  She asked our team to pray with her in her home.  Her son, who was probably around five-years-old, proudly showed off the few toys he had.  As we started to pray, he handed me all of his toys.  In my hands I held a plastic fisher-price type guy, an old broken baby teether, a plastic horse with matted hair, and a bead his mother had made.  He was so thankful and proud of his toys that it shamed me.  Those would have been the first toys I would have thrown away from my kids DEEP toy box and nobody would have noticed they were gone.

While we prayed, Kendra and I sat on the woman's bed that she shares with her son.  It was more comfortable than I had expected because it was just a mattress on a dirt floor, but all I could think about was her curled up at night with her son surrounded by walls that give little protection and listening to the wind, rain, dog fights, and worrying about the neighbors surrounding her that are disapproving of her being a Christian and aren't afraid to scare her.  What really blows my mind is that she has to pay RENT to live there!!!  How would she ever have a peaceful nights sleep?  Her faith in God is amazing!

The second home we visited was set on a hill and had an amazing view of the farm lands with the city in the background.  She is a widow that still has two young children at home.  When we asked her what we could specifically pray for, her response surprised me.  She replied that life has never been better for her and there was nothing that she needed.  We prayed a prayer of blessing over her home and headed out before the rain came in.  On the way back to the van I could not shake the look on her face as she happily proclaimed that she didn't need anything.  Dirt floors, dirt walls, one bed for her and her kids, a neighbor with an infant that shares a wall who must cry at night and keep them up.  No tv, radio, electricity, kitchen, plumbing, husband, wardrobe, vacations, "me time" at the coffee shop, latest book to read, any book to read, education, retirement, car...

I have SO much to learn about being content!