Ten weeks is kind of an in-between
time…not long enough to really move past temporary, but long enough for routine
and familiarity to take hold. Short
enough to keep a few things in suitcases, but long enough for a place to start
to be a home. So, these past eleven days
have been filled with things we didn’t feel were quite finished and saying
goodbye to what has become everyday life for us.
We spent a lot of time this week working
on making scripture more easily accessible to the people in this area. Berhanu and I finished translating the
evangelism course. All I did was type
the translation and help with a little vocabulary; Berhanu did all the hard
work. We were able to meet with all the
servers of the church (elders, deacons, pastors, choir members, greeters, etc…)
on Saturday night and help with the first lesson. Larry spent a lot of time working on the
audio Oromo Bible, and we are so excited about the outcome. As it turns out, about 2/3 of the church members
in this area cannot read. We were able
to download the Oromo New Testament while we were still in Addis, and this week
Larry copied it onto both c.d.s and memory cards for mobile phones. Berhanu has several of each, and he will be
able to lend them out like a library.
People can take a c.d. and listen to it, or they can borrow a memory
card and copy the Bible onto their phones.
He also has a way to connect to the church speaker and play the audio to
a large group. He’s going to begin a
listening program where people can come several times a week to hear the Bible
read.
We spent most of the day on Wednesday in
the car. Bantu is in a region of the
country where many areas are unreached with the Gospel. Wednesday we explored some of the other towns
in this region that could be strategic future areas for ministry work. We drove out to the main road and then headed
farther southwest to the town of Tulu Bolo. Tulu Bolo has a lot of promise; it is
strategically located to reach out to many surrounding counties. From there we drove north 9 km to the town of
Busa. Busa is the county seat of Aanaa
Dawoo, which has a population of about 102,000.
In this entire county of over 100,000 people, there are only 820
believers. Talk about an opportunity. We also drove another 30 minutes down to the
town of Waliso. It’s one of the larger towns in this area with a small
university and a hospital. Waliso is
much more lush than Bantu, and the jungles are beautiful. We discovered an awesome lodge and restaurant
where we ate lunch and watched monkeys.
Friday we traveled by gaarii to a small
cabale outside Bantu called Koccee.
There is a small group of believers there and we met with them and
distributed baby gifts compliments of Theresa Chauvins and The Woodlands FBC
team. After leaving one hut where only
the mother and father are believers, we met some neighbors who are Calluu
believers. Calluu is the ancient belief
of the Oromo people and involves communing with spirits through a Callicha or
Callitti (man or woman Calluu priest).
It is most plainly described as devil worship as people seek to appease
these evil spirits through worship and acts.
We shared the story of Jesus healing the demon possessed man and spoke
about the Gospel and eternal life with Christ to these neighbors. We pray that these planted seeds will take
root as God works in their lives. We had
a really difficult time getting out to the cabale and ended up walking most of
the way, but we felt like we were exactly where we were supposed to be that
day.
Our car official breathed its last for
us this week. The problem (we think) all
along has been a wiring connection and a starter issue, and the starter finally
gave out Monday evening when I needed to head to the ladies’ program. We rented a car for the trip on Wednesday but
were otherwise without transportation until it was time to leave on
Sunday. Car rentals are pricey here, and
we just couldn’t see paying to have one for a whole week. Ten weeks ago, not having a vehicle for
emergency purposes would have been a huge issue for me…God has helped me relax
quite a bit since being out here! Plans
for the day do tend to change though, when everything you need to take with you
has to be carried in your arms or on your back!
We will miss the people the most when we
leave…Nebiyou, Berhanu, Waarkinesh, Taro, Katama, Negase, Morka, Woineshet,
Tesfaye. We’ve shared many times what a
blessing our helpers are to us here, and many others have also made us feel so
welcome. Nebiyou and Berhanu coordinate
everything for us. From translating, to
scheduling, to arranging our routine water delivery, to being our liaisons in
the city and village, we could not have survived here without them. There are many who have been wonderful and
gracious friends to us. We barely speak
the language and are a spectacle wherever we go, so we have been very grateful
for those who have been true friends.
Friday evening we made a special meal
for Taro, Katama, and Waarkinesh. It
meant a lot to us to have the chance to serve them instead of the other way
around. Saturday for lunch, Waarkinesh
helped me make a traditional Ethiopian meal for the pastors and some close
friends in the church. By “helped me,” I
mean that Waarkinesh had me peel onions and roll injera while she did
everything else. It was a wonderful
meal, and I hope it showed our friends how much they mean to us and how
appreciative we are of them.
I will miss the view from our house…this
is one of the most beautiful places. Bantu
is in a valley and surrounded by mountains.
Crops are beginning to grow and everything is turning green now. Several times a day I stop and look out at
the hamlets dotting the hillsides and the possibilities for ministry in
each. I am constantly reminded of Isaiah
52:7,
“How beautiful on the mountains
are the feet of those who bring good
news,
who proclaim peace,
who bring good tidings,
who proclaim salvation…”
We pray that the church here will be the
beautiful feet that bring the Gospel to people in the surrounding
mountains.
This is our last post in Ethiopia, but
we’ll have some follow up after we’re home.
It has been a beautiful time. Ten
weeks is long, but it is not long enough.
How we hope and pray that God has been glorified this summer and will be
with what comes next.
No comments:
Post a Comment