Praise the Lord we made it through our first two weeks.
The first project from GGI was setting up a kitchen to feed a group of children breakfast and lunch on Saturdays. Last Saturday was our first. Carole and I thought, this is great…we can do this. How hard could it be. As we set out to make our plan, we got out our pads of paper and started making a list. We got it on good authority that most everyone around here eats bread, or biscuits and tea for breakfast. For lunch, injera with wat, and tea. – we were ready to tackle the job.
First, we needed to set up the kitchen – then feed the kids and hand out their school uniforms and books. We’ll have a wonderful day, we thought, even have candy to hand out, and stay within our budget. Heroes!
OK.. things didn’t go quite as planned.
You see, we live in Addis Ababa, and our mission is at a church in Brayeu – about 45 minutes away. In Addis, they speak Amharic. In Brayeu, they speak Oromo. Our driver and interpreter speaks Amharic. Do you see how this could be a problem? Now… our pastor, Emanuel, speaks pretty good English if you can get past his thick Oromo accent…
We all sat down with our lists and went over everything. You think you understand a person is saying, and that person thinks they understand what you are saying. Everyone on the same page…But no one was on the same page. Not even in the same book. Carole and I with pastor Emanuel arranged for a simple but sturdy table to be built to cook on. We needed a shelf to hold pots and pans, and door for the kitchen with a lock, which needed to be installed before any supplies could go in.
Not knowing how to cook Wat, we decided to hire Buse (a young women who also knows no English) to cook for the first month and teach us.
To save time and stress, we sent her out to buy the food, and some pots. She came back with some really big pots, and what looked like a lot of food. OK Lord, I’m thinking. I’m learning to trust You in all things. Carole and I were the only ones here feeling a little uptight. Everyone else was good and wanted to go get coffee. So, we went to get coffee.
Saturday came. Twenty seven beautiful children were fed the most delicious and satisfying breakfast of macaroni, cooked with lentils in an array of vegetables and bread. We handed out uniforms and schoolbooks. They had their pictures taken. We all played ball until lunch was served. Buse, and a handful of dear sweet women served Wat with meat, injera, beats, cabbage sauteed with potatoes and bread. Carole and I didn’t get to learn how the Wat was made….Because of some confusion, we got there an hour late.
The table and the door is being painted, not to worry. We were over budget. We will do better next time. This is Africa.
Learning to trust Jesus, Sandy and Carole
“My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart and my portion for ever” - Psalm 73:26
