First Days

A huge thank you to all who have covered us in prayer these past 6 days.  We’ve had a relatively smooth transition from home to here.  Twenty-seven hours of travel were not nearly as difficult as we anticipated them being.  The boys slept about seven hours on the first flight and two-three hours on the second.  Their own T.V. screens in the seat backs in front of them took care of the rest of the time.  We got to the guest house very late (actually very early) on Saturday morning, and it was probably 3 a.m. before the boys settled down enough to sleep.  Saturday was just a day for us to rest and settle into being into a new environment.  We left the guest house to eat at a pizza place we’ve always liked here and get Ethiopian cell phones, but other than that we just took it easy.

Sunday we attended the International Evangelical Church here in Addis.  They have an English speaking service and a children’s Sunday school every week, and it was so nice to have the opportunity to worship.  Joshua, Matthew, and I went to one of the children’s classes during the sermon, and it was cute to see how similar it was to our church.  They sang songs, played, had a lesson, made a craft, and ate a snack.  The teacher was a young Ethiopian women who did such a great job engaging the kids.  We will routinely worship with the village church in Bantu, but it’s nice to have this option if we’re in the city on the weekend. 

That afternoon, I was able to visit the local grocery store with Viola Palmer.  She and Jim are leading a medical team a few hours north of Addis this week, and we needed to buy supplies for the team.  It was a great opportunity for me to learn what it looks like to buy for a team and to see what the stores offer for our purposes.  We found two stores I think will supply what we need food-wise with a little creativity.  I was pleasantly surprised by what they had to offer.

Jim and Viola left Sunday evening to head out with the medical team, so we’ve been on our own for the past two days.  Our vehicle for the summer was delivered Sunday night, so we had transportation and the freedom to explore and get out a little.  Yesterday was a really great day in terms of feeling like we were figuring out life here.  We (and by we, I mean Larry) drove to the grocery store, to meet the pediatrician, and to lunch and dinner successfully.  That may not seem like much to many of you, but the traffic here is pretty amazing.  I’ve never seen anything like it.  To the casual observer, it would seem as if there are no traffic rules.  There are rules, and we are learning them, but at times it seems very chaotic.  Pedestrian traffic is constant and everywhere, and yesterday at one time or another we encountered horses, cows, donkeys, sheep, goats, and chickens in the road (literally IN the road, in downtown).   

Today we spent the morning here because Josh woke up with an upset stomach.  It was a rough morning for him, but he seems back to normal now.  We’re so thankful it was so mild and short-lived.  Larry went out this afternoon and bought a fridge, generator, and bed for our house in Bantu.  We are so ready to be out in the village and in our home there.  The guest house here in Addis is wonderful, but we’re ready to unpack, make a home, cook our own food, and just settle in.  Nights are a little difficult in the city with traffic noise, other guests moving about, and lots of barking dogs and screeching hyenas.

Tomorrow we are making a day trip out to Bantu to visit and show the boys the village.  We move out there on Friday!  Thank you for all your continued prayers!