So I know I said that this was going to go up a day after the first one but as you can probably imagine I got caught up in all the preparations for the five month trip. SO this is a couple days late but come on, give me some leniency here, I mean there is a LOT still left to be done and I am only a few days out until the departure date. Now before I go any further let me clarify that this story is not a story about my dreams nor is it a story about my plans and goals because, you see, this story is actually not about me. This story is about the plans and dreams that God places in the hearts of His children and the resulting journey that will come upon such placement. This story is His story and He takes spotlight and center stage. Without Him this story is just that: a story. Thanks to Him this story is now a reality. So now that we have that cleared up let us continue with the Ethiopian trip.
I last left you in the community of Korah on the first day of the African Missions trip. If you recall, I was in the middle of dozens of kids who had to be some of the most loving and joyful kids I had ever come into contact with. So as I stand in what can loosely be called an outdoor sitting area outside of the church, I see all these kids and they grab at me and pull and tug, desiring the physical contact and desiring to just play and have fun. Initially I was a little overwhelmed by the sheer amount, but once the initial shock subsided I decided it was time to play. I grabbed one of the little boys and plucked him from the crowd that swarmed around. Spinning him around and around, I couldn't help but smile and think of how amazing this whole experience was already becoming and how lucky I was to be in the midst of all these kids, just being able to play. I place him on the ground and immediately two more latch on to either of my biceps, wrapping their arms around like a claw gripping to a car in those junkyard scenes that seem to appear in nearly every 80's spy movie. As they gripped tightly around my arms I hoisted them up launching them in the air like human rockets. Praise the lord neither of them let go because that would not have been a situation I would have liked to explain to the people of the community: "Oh the blood gushing from the cut on his forehead? Oh that was because he let go as I picked him up and popped his head on the nearby rock" Yea don't think that would go over very well, although we were there on medical so my parents could have just patched him up ;) Anyway we play with the kids for about an hour or so and decide it's time to head back to the guest house for some much needed rest (jet lag and all). Upon our return I go to take a shower and as I turn the shower knob, I am welcomed by the tingle and jolt of an electric shock.....in a shower......with water starting to fall on my head!!! Anyone who has seen The Green Mile knows that electricity and water do not end well for the conductor of said electricity. As you can imagine this was quite a shocking experience but taught me another African lesson: do not expect the appliances to work like you think they should and always be prepared for a result that may be downright shocking.
The next few days came and went without much incident; in essence those days were filled with hundreds of people coming into the makeshift clinic that had been set up in the church. We saw people who had leprosy and were missing limbs due to it. We saw people who had cysts and people who had HIV, people who had TB and people who seemingly had nothing wrong with them physically but just wanted to be around our team and to build some kind of relationship with us. Many of them were incredibly kind and all would wait for hours just to see the medical staff that had come from America to treat them. On Wednesday we headed up to a school where many of the sponsored kids from Korah were sen to receive education. Around 5 A.M. the team piled into the 2 vans and we headed out. The drive, which we were told was only going to last 3 hours, ended up lasting about 4 and half but it was through some beautiful countryside so there wasn't a lot of complaining. When we finally arrived at the school we unpacked and set up shop in what looked like a pavilion mixed with an outdoor amphitheater. It had the tin roofing overhead and it was all done by concrete so it had a pavilion feel but the way it was set up was like an amphitheater, what with the staircase stadium seating and all. While we set the kids gathered round and sat eagerly in rows, waiting for the attention that they were about to receive. You could see the smaller ones twitching and fidgeting as excitement and anticipation built within them. The older ones, of course, tried to be cool and were gathered in the back together. They talked amongst themselves with the big man in the middle and the rest gathered round. I guess no matter where you go, whether in America or Ethiopia, some things remain the same. It really did remind me of Grease when all the greasers would sit huddled up around the main guy. It was quite comical.
So the medical people start there check ups and mean while, myself and other non-medical people decided to play with the kids. A few of our members pulled out Arts and Crafts and as soon as they did the little ones eyes lit up. If they weren't squirming before, they were now. I am not the Arts and Crafts type so My little brother, his two friends, and I all went to sit with the older ones. It wasn't long after sitting down that the moment many of us had been expecting came. "Do you want to play football?" There was the question and while one of the group was actually on their High School Soccer team, the rest of us were pretty terrible, especially when compared to these kids, but we got up and grabbed a ball and joined in anyways. As we started playing, it became evident just how awful we really were. Even the one that played was having a hard time keeping up with these guys and the physicality of the game was quite surprising. They were running circles around us and within a matter of minutes something else became clear: I was out of shape. These kids were like energizer bunnies in how they could run and just wouldn't stop. I was out of breath after the first few minutes and here they were just going and going and going and after about 20 minutes of this I was done.
I sat down and almost as soon as I did all the older ones seemed to huddle around me. They talked excitedly and laughed with such joy. They asked me questions about my life and about America and I asked them about their life and what home was like for them. Many of them, when asked "what do you want to be?" would reply "solider." Again there are some things that just don't change and boys dreaming of the excitement and adventurous lifestyle of the solider seems pretty much constant, at least where I have been. After a while one of them pulled out a phone and started playing Justin Beiber.... I was at once surprised and speechless. Apparently JB is huge over in Africa and its not with the girls....Its with the guys. I guess there are some things that remain the same and then there are somethings that are vastly different. So being quick on my feet I went and grabbed the iHome that my father and so cleverly thought to bring and my iPod which did in fact have JB on it (yes I know loss of Man points but in my defense it was only three songs and they were his good ones). Once the music started playing, they started singing and dancing, and man could they dance. They were so young and none of them had ever taken lessons or anything. When asked how they danced like that, they said it just came naturally....lucky kids. They pushed me into the circle and I looked like a fish out of water, but they still encouraged and clapped anyway. To look back on it now I realize how awesome it all was. They treated us like rock stars and to them we probably were. They wanted so badly to learn about America and for us to teach them our culture, but what they never realized was that they were the ones who were teaching us. Teaching us just how self-centered our culture is, teaching us how to smile and find joy in the midst of turmoil and discomfort, and teaching us that its not about us, but rather about the community. They really do have a community based mindset and it is this view and outlook on life that makes them so amazing. They live such simple lives and are much happier then we, who, as Americans have everything at our fingertips, could ever hope to be. What made them so happy amidst their trying circumstances? Community and relationship. One can have all the material possessions that their heart could ever desire, but without relationship, it all means and amounts to nothing. This was the biggest lesson that I would learn from them and it was the single most important quality that drew me to them and to the continent they called home.
Once that day was over we again piled into the vans and stayed the night at a hotel about 30 minutes outside of the school. It was here that one of the funniest moments of the trip would take place. The following morning I awoke and low and behold there was a monkey sitting on my balcony. I go to the door and look out and they are everywhere. It was an interesting site to see and one that was a little unnerving given the reputation of monkeys and their aggressive behavior. I would come to find out that same morning that my parents had encountered the monkeys as well except they got up close and personal. It seems that my parents had ordered room service the night before and had food sitting on the table at the foot of the bed. One clever little monkey got it in his mind that he was hungry and decided that he was going to get that food. Now in our hotel rooms we had glass doors leading to the balcony and directly above those doors were windows that slide open. The monkey somehow managed to climb in through that window and get the food. My mom apparently woke up to a monkey sitting on the table eating their food. Needless to say she screamed and my dad, being dad, came rushing out of the bathroom to see what the commotion was all about. Maybe it was the sight of my father in boxers or perhaps it was the ear shattering scream from my mother but something scared the monkey as it dropped the food and bolted back out the window. Great way to start the morning.
The rest of trip went well and pretty much went off without any problems, although we did have a few members get REALLY sick on the fourth or fifth day. We would spend another 5 days there and would even be able to attend an international church on Sunday before we flew out. It really was an amazing experience and it was one that would forever change my life and the path that I was headed down. On the flight home I sat there processing all that had taken place and made up my mind that no matter what needed to be done, I was bound and determined to get back to Africa and to be there for an extended period of time. Little did I know that the journey that God had started me on would be one of faith and trust in him and would be one that would bring me to the point of seriously doubting whether I was even to go. But that is a story that must wait for another time ;)
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