I was lucky enough to lead Sunday school for the children there. There were about 30 children ranging in age from 18 months to 12 years old. About 1/3 could speak English and the rest spoke Amharic. I led a lesson for about an hour and a half in a room about 20 ft by 14 ft. (Warning: No more complaints will be taken about the difficulty of teaching Sunday school in America!) Needless to say this was a challenge for me! A challenge that I absolutely loved and feel infinitely blessed by. I wish I could say I did a great job, but I don't think I did. It was adequate. However, the experience was priceless. I came away far more blessed than any meager knowledge or experience I was able to offer the children. We had a good time together. Through the help of a translator we sang songs . . . On a day like this, Praise Ye the Lord (I am quite proud that I figured out how to somewhat translate that into Amharic! Yesus Getano! Jesus is Lord!) We played the game, Bob the Weasel. We also covered 4 Bible stories . . . The parable of the sower, the lost sheep, the good Samaritan and Jonah and the big fish. At the end the teachers had the kids recite the stories we covered. On sweet boy even orchestrated an action packed version of the good Samaritan. It was awesome! Kevin and I were both so blessed by the children there! We look forward to seeing them again next week!
After the worship services ended we waited outside to greet people. We saw one of the ladies we met two weeks ago. She remembered us and was shocked that we remember her name. This lady has given us a new appreciation for what it means to worship with your whole self. Again this Sunday we watched her white head bob up and down as she sang. Her delicate beautifully wrinkled hands extended high above her head as she prayed. Every ounce of energy she had was put into worship this morning. As we talked with her afterward she let us know what the lesson for the day was (we missed it because we were with the children). The pastor talked about living each day for Jesus and following his way always. Our little old lady friend told us, "that's what I plan to do today and everyday." I totally believe her as well. The way she went out of her way to greet the children there. The way she reaches out to us, the strangers, so delicately and so kindly. We told her that we hoped to worship with her and the congregation again next week. She told us, "I hope to as well, we'll see what God has planned for my life though." Whoa. A woman that has placed her life so much in God's hands can be an example to us all. She asked us to pray for her and for the people here. We will. Will you too? God bless you, my new friend, God bless you.
After lunch we headed back to the guest house with Zebene's awesome kiddos. When we arrived we played football (soccer) with the kids. Wow, they have a lot of energy!
The late afternoon brought time to just relax. We watched Amharic movies with "M^" and the guys at the guest house. Good to just be.
***
On a different note . . . some folks may have seen (or not seen, Kevin's facebook post from this morning. A few more thoughts . . .
Traveling in Ethiopia is an amazing adventure for us. We are blessed by our friends here, blessed by the opportunity to experience our daughter's culture, and blessed to experience different society. With this amazing adventure we have also been extremely humbled. There is poverty everywhere, but traveling outside the US, outside "first world" countries you experience a whole new level of poverty.
Kevin and I have been brought to our knees by the things that we've seen, the people that we've walked by, the missed opportunities we've had to make a difference. There are people that sit on the streets, they sit and wait. Wait for mercy, wait for compassion, wait for anything the people passing by can offer. So many times in the past we've walked by. So many times we've let our agenda or our comfort dictate our lack of response. So many times we allow our second-handed help through other organizations relieve the guilt we feel for just passing by. Our conscience is now kicking us in the gut. The faces of the people we walk by are forever etched in our memories.
But we are still caught. What is the right thing to do? What is the responsible thing to do? What is the Christian thing to do? Those are the obvious questions. However, it goes so much deeper than that. Is our desire to help driven by our own uncomfortableness? Is our willingness to help informed by only our view of what is needed? Is the help that we desire to offer the help that those people need? This issue is much more complicated than the question to hand them money out of our pocket or not. How do we as a global society address poverty? How do we SEE PEOPLE in poverty? So often we talk about poverty in numbers, in statistics, in dehumanizing ways. When are we as a global society going to acknowledge our individual parts and responsibilities in caring for our neighbor.
I don't know the answers to these questions. I'm guilty of not doing what I'm called to do. I'm not interested in pat answers or feel good cliches on this topic. I'm posing these ideas to whomever wishes to listen and to seriously look at these as well. While each person alone can't change the big issues of the world, each person can do their part to affect global systems.
Here are some ways that I can think of right now to do our individual parts...
1. If you are so called . . . adopt. We fully realize adoption is not an option for everyone. If so . . . see #2.
2. If you are able . . . sponsor a child or a family. With that be sure to seek out responsible agencies to do so. Too many times sponsorship agencies abandon a family when there is red tape or there is a substantial amount that goes to over head. Sponsor responsibly. Check out the organization before you sign on. (We can suggest Transformation Love out of Ethiopia!)
3. Be a responsible consumer. When possible buy Fair Trade items. Yes, I know they cost more. They cost more because the person doing the work makes a fair wage. It's worth it. Do your homework on companies before you buy. See if they pay their workers fair wages. Ask yourself if you really need brand name items. On a personal note, I'm honestly not good at checking on the companies we purchase from. However, I am determined to improve.
4. Consume less. When it's hard to be a responsible consumer . . . consume less. Save money and share that money as you can. Wear tennis shoes a little longer before you go and buy new ones. Be less concerned about the latest fad clothing and wear the clothes in the back of your closet.
5. Donate unused items. Find local organizations that having clothing closets and housewares that support people in need. If you must buy something new be sure to responsibly donate older items.
6. Give to others. I should say . . . give to others with a glad heart. When you see people . . . help them. That is the biggest lesson we've learned from our time here in Ethiopia. Help others when you see them in need. Right. Then. So many times in the past I've thought about what that person would do with the money I give them. Would they buy the food they need? Would they buy alcohol, cigarettes, drugs? While people need to give responsibly we also need to remember what we're called to do. In Luke 6 Jesus says, "Give to everyone who begs from you . . . Do to others as you would have them do to you." My responsibility is to give. Once a gift is given it is that person's responsibility to use it wisely. I am to give with a glad heart no matter where I am.
7. Respect people who live in poverty. Don't talk about them like they are a number or a problem or someone you need to save. Poverty is a global issue, but if we're not careful we can reduce the issue to mere politics or economics. When we talk about poverty we're talking about people. People that have families. People that have hopes. People that have fears. People that have love. People that have stories. Poverty is about people. Talk about the issue like you're helping people, not solving a problem. In addition, part of respecting the people is being respectful of their image and story. It is inappropriate to fill social media with pictures of poverty you witness. Pictures posted on facebook with groups of children living in poverty with 1 smiling privledged first world person in the center are only for the building up of that 1 person. They are only for the "like" on facebook. They are only for the accolades of what a wonderful thing that privledged person is doing for the impoverished. We need to respect the images of others and only post pictures that we have permission to post that respectfully represent that individual.
8. Advocate for people in poverty. This means that you have to hear their stories. You have to develop relationships with them. It is hard to advocate for something you don't understand. Relationship building and story telling take time. It takes trust. We must all step out of our comfort zones and meet others where they are. I can guarantee that in listening to others you will always walk away with more than what you can offer to them.
There you go, this is a hard thing to address. It is difficult for me and Kevin to admit our shortcomings. However, this is a big one. Although we try to do our best, to do as God calls us to do, we will fall short. We know we will always fall short. I pray that our hearts will be open to how we can appropriately address what we're witnessing, experiencing, and feeling. It is hard and we hope for your prayers. In the meantime, we will do our best to first . . . love God, and second . . . love others (all others).
No comments:
Post a Comment