They washed our feet

We had been with a group of passionate people from all over the world for about 4 days when the pinnacle of our experience occurred. We were attending a small networking and training conference for people and organizations who were working with women in prostitution. The group was made up of a short-term team from Canada providing support for the organizations, African women and men who were seeking follow the call God had laid on their heart to care for “the least of these,” & former prostitutes who had a desire to help others leave the lifestyle they had known, and hated, for too long.

The trainers were: an Ethiopian friend from one of our partner organizations, a dynamic girl working for Samaritan’s Purse, Canada, and a counselor from the United States whom I personally grew to love and admire as the week went on.

Throughout the week we wept during the training sessions that touched the places deep in our heart that long for God’s goodness and beauty. We drank way too much coffee. Those of us who were not African laughed at ourselves as we attempted to participate in the African-led worship. It was an amazing time.

The last evening, when everyone was gathered together, the leaders of the conference went to the center of the room. They said they had a gift to offer us and implored us to accept. The lights were turned off and we had only candlelight to illuminate the room. Small basins of water were brought out along with rags. One of one, each of the leaders went to one of the participants, took their hand, and silently led them to a chair in front of a water basin. Then, they washed their feet.

The counselor I had grown to admire so much came and took my hand. My eyes immediately filled with tears. While I have read about Jesus washing the disciples’ feet and have heard of this act being done in other contexts, I have never myself had my feet washed. It was more overwhelming than I would have expected. I smiled through my tears as I accepted this gift. It wasn’t easy. I know the disciples also had a hard time allowing Jesus to wash their feet. Peter protested, saying, “No, you will never wash my feet.” I imagine the other less-extraverted disciples were thinking the same thing. There is something within us that thinks it’s just not right for someone of higher standing to stoop to such a low level. But Jesus, as he did throughout his time on earth, turned things upside down.

I learned a lot through that simple act of having my feet washed. Experiencing pure humility is impactful beyond words; it grips the heart and leads you to a place where you want to give that gift to others. Jesus guided the disciples to the right conclusion by telling them that he had given
them an example and they were to go and do the same for others. And I hope to do the same for the women and children I have the opportunity to be in contact with most days here in Ethiopia.

Give a Christmas gift that keeps on giving

For several years I have been an admirer of those using microfinance to help those in poverty create their own job and gain income for their families.  Microfinance basically means giving a small loan to an individual or group of people.  I have seen it work from the giver side in America, now I have the opportunity to see it work on the receiver end here in Ethiopia. 

We’re working with World Vision to see if this is a good opportunity for some of our women.  It gives them a hand, not a hand out.  It uses their assets of work ethic, entrepreneurship, desire, etc. and builds on those to give them the opportunity to provide a living for themselves.  When talking with World Vision’s microfinance institution CEO here, he voiced his concern that the poorest of the poor still are not getting help.  Because they operate like a bank and have to give loans to people who are qualified, many of the extreme poor are simply not a good risk. We hope to be able to bridge the gap and help the women we work with, who are part of the poorest unable to even secure this type of loan.  The CEO also said that while micro-loans are a good start, only “savings truly empowers”. So with these loans, many recipients open a savings account and also pay a small portion of the income to obtain micro-insurance – that helps provide in the loss of death or even drought. 

If you’re looking for a way to use your year-end donations to impact lives many times over, you can consider giving to something like this.  Your money is lent out to groups of people who in turn repay the loan, and the cycle continues.  The most common organization doing this is Kiva (www.kiva.org).  Opportunity International, an amazing Christian microfinance organization, also allows donors to connect with specific businessmen and women that touch their hearts.  Their program is called OptInNow (www.optinnow.org).  If you’re interested in investing, not just donating, you can do this at Microplace (www.microplace.com).  This isn’t a secure investment, but your money is lent out to a group of people who return your principal with modest interest in a period of time.

(Click on picture to enlarge)

All of these places have gift cards so you can give a friend or family member a chance to choose a business they would like to sponsor.  I can’t think of a better Christmas gift!!

October Newsletter

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October 2010 Update

Is this heaven?

Last week at our church we celebrated International Day. It was a great time of worshipping together, eating together, and hearing others worship in their native tongues and cultures. It makes me think of what a big God we serve!
Our pastor started off with the question, “Is this heaven?” Then he answered, “NO, this is Addis Ababa.” He further exhorted that if we were still questioning whether this is heaven, we should just wait until Monday morning while we’re driving to work – then we’d know for sure. But he went onto explain that this is a taste of heaven. People from 60 nations were worshipping with us. Many were wearing their national dress – some with colorful scarves and gowns, others with the traditional white Ethiopian dress or Indian saris.

They asked everyone to stand and represent their home country. Within just a few feet of us, there were people representing over a dozen nations. How wonderful to literally join with the Body of Christ from Norway on one side, Ethiopia on the other, South Korea in front of us, a Kenyan man beside them, with others from Malawi, Canada, India, Tanzania and so many more. There were those representing countries where their Christian brothers and sisters are currently being persecuted. It was a powerful ending as we joined together with “every tribe, every tongue, every nation” singing together about how “all the powers of darkness can't drown out a single word when all God's children sing out, Glory, glory, hallelujah, He reigns.”

 

 After the service, we all went outside to enjoy the national food of so many different nations. What a sweet foretaste of what the table in heaven will be like. Some of you may be discouraged to know that I’m thinking heaven isn’t all beef and potatoes. I bet there’s some doro wat, curry, noodles, and some big pots of some sort of stew where an enthusiastic lady pulls out a bone with some sort of meat on it “especially for you”. I’m thinking it’s not all acapella singing out of hymnbooks either. Probably some bongos with women shouting, men chanting and maybe even a little dancing. Whatever it is, I’m sure it’ll be a beautiful tapestry of God’s people worshipping from their hearts in the ways he’s made them.

September Newsletter

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September 2010 Update

Hiking Ethiopia's Countryside

This past Monday was a holiday for Ethiopians and so we had the day off work. A German couple from our small group Bible study invited us to go along with them and some other friends of theirs on a hike just north of Addis Ababa.

We drove about an hour and a half to a place known as Debre Libanos. Getting out of the city is a huge relief—the drive itself was a reprieve from the usual chaos that comes with navigating around Addis Ababa.

Kevin and I, two Swiss, two Ethiopians, and about a dozen Germans arrived and took off for what would be a 5.5 mile, 4-hour hike around a canyon, by a waterfall, and along cliffs. It was gorgeous and a perfect way to spend the holiday.

Here we are getting ready to start out on the hike:

 The kids exploring the waterfall:

 We saw so many baboons around the water area.

 The four boys eating their lunch together. They all attend the German school here.

2 of our best friends

Here's a blog in honor of our two puppies that have grown up so fast since we found them last February. I would not have considered myself a dog-lover before but these two guys have melted my heart!