After two days of travel, 31 totes of luggage and countless “Has anyone seen Taylor?” moments, we finally arrived! To say this group is a joy is an understatement. I think we have laughed more in the last few days than most groups ever have. The students from SJCS are amazing-good with kids, easy going, not to mention kind and FUNNY. So far, we have had a fantastic time together!!
“The Usual Is Over”-that was the slogan used Sunday morning at Beza International Church in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. As our group scanned the international crowd-faces from India, China, the United States, and of course many countries in Africa-it was a glimpse into the future when every tribe and nation will be gathered together. We were all moved as we sang praise songs together as ONE. It was hard not to become emotional when those who...not only don’t have much...but sometimes have nothing but the clothes on their back...raised their hands in praise and danced. As we were singing, the joy was contagious. Everyone should have the opportunity to experience that raw joy during praise and worship...it was unforgettable.
Sunday afternoon we headed to downtown Addis to play soccer and spend some time with kids who live on the streets. It was a cloudy afternoon (thankfully!) because with the altitude and hot sun, our group was at risk to get tired quickly and overheated. The street kids ranged in age from 4-16...torn clothes, dirty faces, worn shoes (or no shoes at all) greeted us in our vans and crowded around to see who came for a visit. In Ethiopia, any open space becomes a soccer field, and in this case, a large concrete slab became ours. Danny, Taylor, Matt, Stephen, Grace Chester and Jennifer’s girls Meskie and Tsion braved the Ethiopian contingent and began to play. People started to gather and watch the game and the first goal scored was from Team Ethiopia (no surprise there!) After high fives, a team switch (of which a 10 year old boy was chosen to be the goalie instead of Danny...) the kids played some more until it was time to eat.
Time to eat. That’s a saying I’m sure most of us have heard a million times and haven’t once stopped to think about what it really means. It means, first of all, there’s food--someone has purchased it, thought about it, planned it out, cooked it, and set the table for dinner. It means someone was in charge and thinking about you and what you might like or crave. Seen through the eyes of a street child, however--”time to eat” means--for one meal, just one-there’s food. We had the privilege of driving the kids (I think 14 in all, crammed tight into a van) to their favorite restaurant for injera and wat (as much as they could eat!) and a bottle of water. They were tired from the soccer game, but as soon as the food was placed on the table--they literally devoured it in moments. It wasn’t polite...or mannerly...it was raw hunger. And that was OK...because for a moment they were being fed. And hopefully feeling loved...that for once, someone was telling them it was “time to eat”. They didn’t have to worry about where to find food...or how to buy it...or where to look on the street for it. We waved goodbye and climbed into our van, and I thought--I’ll never hear “time to eat” and not be able to think about them again.
Kinds Hearts update is next. Oh how I LOVE that school!!
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