Day 3 - A learning experience

The way this day started off ended up being sort of an omen for how the whole day would be. We got lost on the way there, and had to practically drown in mud to get to the exact location we were trying to reach when the bus could go no further down the really treacherous roads... It was going to be an interesting (and dirty) day.

So it's a little redundant to call this day a learning experience, when every single minute of every day really was - but this day and this specific situation we were in was eye opening, in not the best way. We were going to a place north of the city. I was really excited to see some of the Ethiopian countryside. I had heard over and over that if you go to Ethiopia and never leave the city, that you never saw Ethiopia at all, so I thought it would be a great day. It happened to be sunday, and the place we were going was a ministry, a Pastor who had supposedly formed a ministry in his small community in the countryside, where he led them in Christian worship and helped them in their dire circumstances. I don't really see the point in sharing every detail about this day, but basically we went, and right off the bat got a weird feeling there. The Pastor kind of rubbed me the wrong way, and said strange things in his sermon, and treated the kids oddly. I was keeping all my observations to myself until after 3 or 4 hours went by and I could tell by the look on others faces they had the same strange feelings. Unlike the orphanage on day one, and the trash dump on day two, where we felt overwhelmed with love and hope for the people we were serving, I felt depressed here. It felt like a total lack of the spirit, almost evil. I don't know what other way to describe it. The kids were acting like animals, probably because they were treated like animals, and many of them were afraid of us instead of dying for our affection like the kids at other places. The parents of the children were wary of us and didn't want to look us in the eye. We kept asking the pastor how we could specifically help them, buying them seeds or goats or even a cow to feed themselves and bring in some more money, but all he wanted was money. It was strange.... I did learn a lot that day though. I saw the contrast of giving service to those who welcome it with open arms and show their appreciation for your efforts, a lot like the last 2 days, verses serving the needy like Christ would even when they don't thank you or show you any respect or appreciation. I was happy to be there serving them after I realized that it doesn't matter if they love us for what we are doing here to help them, we are just trying to do the right thing, the Christlike thing, no matter how they respond. In the end, I know they got a great meal that day, lots of new clothes and toys and a little more love and affection that probably most days. Needless to say I didn't take a lot of pictures this day at all. I don't mean to make it sound like a miserable day, it definitely wasn't. There were some sweet kids, and it was great to see the ones that were really excited about their food/clothing/shoes and toys.

Stace and I, starting the Sabbath off on the right foot, looking like Sister Missionaries. But then we lost some shoes in the mud, it was downhill from there...

The Pastors sweet wife insisted on cleaning our feet.

The team in front of the banner we made with the kids.

waiting to serve a meal to the kids

cute kids waiting in line (this was one of the chaotic places where if there wasn't TONS of structure in how we passed out donations, we would have been ambushed.

fitting this girl with some new clothes.

So, all in all, I learned a lot about truly selfless service that day. I still think about these people a lot. We left there that day with heavy hearts and really, really muddy feet.