Sorry it has taken me so long to get to this last post, I am writing it from my home in Houston being back in the United States for a couple of days now. My last two weeks in Ethiopia were spent tying up all the loose ends that I had created during the previous 8 weeks of my time there. After returning from our backpacking trip we were all exhausted for a couple of days from our travels so getting up in the morning was a little bit harder than usual but we were glad to be home and back into city life in Addis. The week after returning I spent some time out in Ayat with the kids at foster care. I did a craft with them on Tuesday decorating canvas bags which was very messy but so much fun to see their creativity come out! Ethiopian culture isnt one that necessarily encouraged critical thinking and creativity so its also fun to push the boundaries and let the kids try something new (although the caregivers never seem too happy when the children end up covered in paint!). I also spent time with the infants finishing up footprinting all of the youngest children for their soon to be new families. It amazed me how much some of the kids that I met when I first started working at Gladney had grown in the short 2 months that I had been there! Our house had always been trying to go to a Jazz club on a Thursday night but since the music didnt start until 10:30 (way past our 9:00 bedtime!) we hadn’t made it yet. Thursday night we were determined since a lot of us were leaving that week so we went out to a late dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, Makush, and then headed to the Jazz club. People say that Addis is like the NYC of Ethiopia and
Photo 1: Out to lunch at Castelli’s with the Baers (Me, Emily, Tom)
Photo 2: Out at the jazz club with the roommates!
that night I felt like that was the absolute truth. The crowd drawn by the jazz club was very different than the crowds you see day in and day out in the city. We enjoyed the time together with our roommates and the good music and it was fun to get out and do something different during the week. Saturday I had the opportunity to go out to lunch with the Baer Family, long-term volunteers with Gladney, who I had been working with throughout the summer as a farewell. We went to an Italian restaurant called Castelli’s and had by far the best meal that I had the whole summer together. Their family was such an incredible blessing to me this summer so lunch was bittersweet as we had time to celebrate our friendship and yet after out yummy desserts and coffee had to say our farewells. Sunday we went to IEC church for the last time which ended in teary prayers at the end of the service as we prayed around one of our roommates that was leaving that evening. I think it really hit all of us that the summer was coming to an end and I dont think any of us could truly believe it. We went out to a yummy lunch after church and did some shopping which consisted of walking for about 4 hours through the pouring rain and laughing the entire way. It was truly a day of sweet fellowship with each other that we all drew in life deeply and enjoyed each other’s company.
Monday I did my last day of placements with Travis. It was a day full of joy once again as families got the chance to meet their new children. One family asked if I was Rachael and said that I had written an update on their son and in it I had said he was like a little engineer–the family told me that it was so fitting since the child’s new father is actually an engineer himself! It was a sweet reminder that the updates and photos that I worked on this summer were a blessing to the families. Tuesday I went back to Mother Teresa’s and Moses and spent time with the children there and said my goodbyes. Time at Mother Teresa’s with the kids I worked with two years ago is also so sweet. Their beautiful faces shine unconditional love and acceptance even if they have very limited words that they can communicate. On my last day in Addis, I helped with a training for the caregivers who take care of the children at Gladney. We talked a little bit about attachment and their role in the child’s transition from their care to the care of the adoptive family. It was a nice way to feel like I had some closure and to say goodbye to all of the caregivers at once and thank them for all of their help throughout the summer. Thursday afternoon I spent time with Elisa at the house as we packed up the rest of our things. Elisa wasnt scheduled to leave until the following night but even though the flight was overbooked she decided to try to come to the airport and fly standby. The night was full of emotion as I said goodbye to my roommates through tears, knowing that our little ideal community in Ethiopia couldnt last forever. I saw God move at the airport as Elisa ended up being able to get on my flight because someone didnt show up for the flight so we both boarded the plane together 10 minutes before it was scheduled to take-off and were able to sit together for the flight. It was such a blessing having her with me on the plane as we started to process and talk about our trip and the many things we had experienced throughout the summer. I couldnt help but feel a sense of incredible loss as the plane’s wheels left the ground in Ethiopia. The feeling of physically leaving Africa still makes my eyes well up with tears even as I write this now. We landed in DC 17 hours later and had to say our goodbyes as we left for our separate connecting planes-me to Houston, her to Raleigh. I had to take two more planes to get back into Houston so I was definitely sick of airplanes when I finally arrived safely in Houston.
The culture shock stared in the airport as we checked our email with the incredibly fast internet, I was amazed as the crunchiness of an apple, the cleanliness of the airport bathrooms, and my eyes filled with tears at all of the vegetables that would most likely not make me sick that I could choose from at Subway. The way that people at the US airports dont talk to one another and put in their headphones of their ipods, I realized that as Americans we are missing true deep connections with people that I experienced in Ethiopia on a daily basis. In the world of Iphones, Ipods, Facebook, Twitter, DVR, lighting-fast internet, kindles, text messages, Red-box, and on and on it is easy to get wrapped up in our mindset that we should have everything available to us when we want it, how we want it, and as fast as possible. I went to Starbucks one morning with my dad and was overwhelmed with the multitude of choices and the many ways I could customize my drink….all with coffee that they claim is from Africa but who really knows. Now my aim is to not grow bitter here in the US, to not grow judgemental of the people who dont understand. If you havent seen the things I have seen and dont know any better, how can I hold you responsible? But I have seen these things, and so I am responsible. The lyrics of one of my favorite songs were never far from the mind on my trip back:
“now that I have seen, I am responsible
Faith without deeds is dead
now that I have held you in my own arms, I cannot let go till you are
I am on a plane across a distant sea
But I carry you in me
and the dust on, the dust on, the dust on my feet, Rwanda
I will tell the world, I will tell them where I’ve been
I will keep my word
I will tell them Albertine” (Albertine by Brooke Fraser)
That is my prayer and I hope that you will pray for me–that I would have the courage and boldness to change the things in my life that cant remain after an experience like that. That I would not become idol but do something about the things that I have seen and be called to action in whatever way God calls me. While being in Ethiopia had it’s difficult points, I think the hardest part is now, living in America. How do I embrace living in America and yet not be swept back into old patterns and ways of life that are empty? I’m not really sure what comes next–I know that tomorrow I return to Austin and on the 26th I start my second year of grad school for social work. I dont know what I will be doing in a year, if it will be related to international adoptions, international work, or Ethiopia. As Haptamu, our taxi driver who is more like a father, drove us to the airport he said, “You dont know what will happen in a year, only God knows, all you know is what you are doing today.” I want to live embracing that truth and live it fully. It ‘s a bold calling and I don’t know what it holds for me for the future but I know that life with Christ on this journey is better than anywhere else I could possibly be.
The end. (really just the beginning)
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