Tabata

Story #1: Every time we ride home from Ambo, about 30 minutes into the car ride, Kes Cimdii will turn around and say “Marnie, tabata!” (“Marnie, play!”).  In other words, “Marnie, talk to me!”  The first time he said it, he explained that in Ethiopian culture, when people are together they are very conversational.  He traced it all the way back to the history of the country – most of the people were nomads, so they were forced to come together to find out where the best places to bring their animals were.  Kes says that’s why Ethiopians are so welcoming and conversational now.  I don’t know how true the story is, but I do know that the characteristics are true of Ethiopians today.  And lately, it’s been pretty convicting.  I LOVE the drive to Ambo, mainly because it gives me 2 ½ hours of uninterrupted solitude.  I get to stare out the window at the beautiful landscape, get lost in my thoughts, and eventually lay down the seats and take a bumpy nap (then again, when it’s only 6:30 in the morning, I guess you could just say I fall back asleep).  When Kes first told me to “Tabata”, I thought “Whoa, that’s against my whole philosophy of this Ambo drive”, but I’m SO thankful that he did.  I’ve gotten to have some amazing conversations with him about how he leads his family, learn some new words in Amheric and Afan Oromo, and hear about powerful ways that he’s seen God come through in his life.  I’ve learned a whole new meaning of what it looks like to be reliant on God through Kes Cimdii, and most of that I can attribute to our conversations to and from Ambo (mainly from, because I still like to take my “morning naps” on the way there). 

Story #2: Today (Thursday), Simbo gave up her entire day just to spend time with Brittany and I at the church.  She literally gave up her entire day - I texted her in the morning and said that we’d be at the church from 2:30 – 5:00.  She thought I meant Ethiopian time, which means 8:30 – 11:00 a.m. (I’d heard of different time zones before, but Ethiopia has a different time SYSTEM. It’s serves same purpose as using inches instead of centimeters… it just keeps life complicated)  I got a frustrated text at 11:20 after having missed 2 of her calls. WHOOPS. (I was excited because it was further proof that people assume I’m Ethiopian, but I still felt bad.)  I was also really honored because she left for lunch after having waited for us in the morning and then came back to hang out (AND we didn’t get there until 3:15).  We started talking about random things, and about 5 minutes into our conversation I started looking for things for us to do.  I pulled yarn out of my backpack to finger knit, I almost brought my computer out to go through pictures, and finally, I got a deck of cards (my backpack has become a Mary Poppins bag).  I asked if she knew any card games and she said “Yeah, but let’s just talk! You guys leave so soon!”  Once again, I was convicted of how little I value conversation.  I’m constantly looking for the next thing to DO and have a really hard time simply sitting and BEING with people.  She had traveled 45 minutes just to talk to us for a couple hours, and for some reason I couldn’t fathom why anyone would want to come just to talk.  At home, I love going on walks with people or going on “coffee” dates or to the river because I get to have awesome conversations, but all of those still involve doing something.  She had literally come just to sit on a bench in church and get to know us better so that she could take advantage of the limited time we had together.

Together, the two experiences left me thinking a lot about what it means to value people.  I get so easily consumed with myself and my thoughts and my “Marnie time” (which I know is important, but that’s not the point right now) that I neglect to take advantage of the opportunities I have in front of me to fellowship with people.  So often I’ll think that I’ve covered all the possible conversation topics with people, but I don’t think that’s possible with ANYONE.  We have so much to learn from everybody because everyone has a story and experiences that are different from our own.  I want take as much advantage of this as I can instead of getting so caught up in “Marnie world” that I forget to appreciate the people I’m surrounded with every day.  It’s cool because this isn’t something that is limited to Ethiopia and it’s *hopefully* a “lesson” I can take home (and it’s something I can bring back that doesn’t take up room in my suitcase.  I’m praying for the “Mary Poppins backpack” to come through while I’m packing – turns out trying to come home with just carry-ons is way harder than I expected).

And so this post isn't all my feelings about life... here are some pictures! 

Rudy's Birthdayd! Kes found out it was the
"big day" in the morning, told Misganaw, and
then by the afternoon they had thrown together
a party! 

Misganaw and Tatilu's BEAUTIFUL family

The "conjo" (beautiful) chef

Tatilu and Misganaw

Ayantu's famly!!  Ayantu is 8 and she and her brother Badilu live with their grandmother (Alemitu, far right). When we visited her home, we found out that Alemitu has 10 children - 3 have died and 2 are in prison (one of them was a driver and got in a car accident and was sent to jail - that's the punishment for car accident's here).  She sells local drink to support her grandchildren, because as far as we could tell, she doesn't receive any support from her other kids, who have all left Ambo.   She also makes these BEAUTIFUL baskets that I got to buy from her so I get to have a "piece" of their family in my room! 

Teressa and his family!  Teressa's in the green, and then Mamitu, Tadese (his father), and Hawi (showing off her belly). Teressa's one of the Ambo hooligan's that I've been hanging out with lately.  He is probably THE nicest and most helpful kid I've met yet.  He is constantly carrying my backpack, taking hair out of my mouth when it gets stuck and I don't have a free hand, and helping me with necklaces.  Mamitu (his mother) has been at the church every Weds. and Friday making necklaces (she was there when we first stopped at her home so we had to call her).  I wish I had more time to get to know their family better, but I'm SO thankful for the short time that I had with them.

Bortuqua!!! I wasn't able to go visit her
home because I was doing necklaces,
so she gave me this doll instead! 

Marta!!! One of the Ambo SVO staff - she
also has the biggest servant's heart I've ever seen.

Health screening in Buaryu - all the kids came
to have their yearly check-ups.

Tea and bread after the health screening  - Hannah (left) and :Girum (right)

Hisiyac!!! We met one of the first days we were here, because he was hitting all the girls I was with (not hitting on, literally punching them in the back). I pulled him over and told him I loved him and that he shouldn't hit girls, and I don't know how much got translated, but he hasn't hit anyone since (at least that I've seen) and every time I see him he shyly comes up to me and then gives me a huge hug.  He's 11 and doesn't know how to write - his mother is partially deaf,
so he isn't always able to attend school because he has to work to help support his family.  He's one of the ones
that's just looking to be loved, and if I was able to serve that purpose in ANY way this summer, the summer was a success.  He also tried to teach me how to play a game with the stick and circle that h'e's holding in his hand - you push the circle with the stick and see how long you can keep it going.  A lot of the younger boys play and are PRO'S... I made it about 1 foot.

Euphalum Orphanage - we got to visit on Tuesday:
it was the first time I'd ever been to an orphanage, and it was amazing.  Nothing like I expected, but still really cool.  Each orphanage in Ethiopia is required to work with a non-profit, so these are some HIV-positive women involved in a self-help training group that the orphanage facilitates.  The women live in the orphanage for 6 months where they learn some kind of trade or hand-craft so that they can better support themselves.  It was really cool hearing their stories and hearing about the community they'd developed through the program.