I am behind with telling the story, but the last two days in Ethiopia were meaningful. Here’s the overview.
On Saturday, we headed to EGST (Ethiopian Graduate School of Theology) to try to get WIFI access. I was still waiting to hear from the AirBnB host who asked me to cancel the reservation that she confirmed in order to protect her host rating at the expense of my loosing a cancellation fee. However, the WIFI was down. We heard that it was down throughout the city. One PhD student speculated that there was a big African Union meeting or something, as sometimes they shut down the Internet in the entire region to thwart any protest or terror attacks.
We then headed out for lunch and a bit of a tour. Staffan took me to a place at the top of a small mall. Because this is before Lent, there were lots of weddings (as they are not performed during Lent).
We visited the other evangelical bachelor’s degree program at the school started by SIM (Serving in Mission).
We also visited the SIM headquarters and met a British couple who were described as people of “loving kindness.” What a great description.
We had a dinner planned at the Gihon Hotel and discovered many weddings gathering at the Gihon Park; both places used to be part of the royal palace under the Silassie era.
It was a good time to connect and talk more about the work of EGST.
Sunday started with a tour of some of the sights around the city. There is less traffic on a Sunday morning, so it is a good time for a tour.
The Addis Ababa University started as one of the palaces that Silassie gave to the university.
Then, off to the first Mekane Yesus church built by the Swedes. This was the church where the name was first used–before it became the church body.
It was a two-hour service, but it was never boring. The sermon given by an EGST faculty member was animated during the entire the 40-minute sermon.
The last part of the tour was seeing the first mission station farther up on a mountain slope. However, I only took pictures of the flowers.
I should have taken a picture of a view from the window toward a yellow house. That was the house where Gudina Tumsa was martyred (the one described to me as both the Bonhoeffer of Ethiopia and the Billy Graham of Ethiopia). His story moved me.
In the afternoon, I was able to use the Internet at a SEM missionary couple’s home. Good news! Anya is fine! I hadn’t heard from her in 5 days, which is a little more than my mother’s heart can take. And AirBnB management told me my money was being refunded! What a hassle, but finally resolved.
In the evening, we visited another young couple who are SEM missionaries working with a vulnerable population. We had lots of laughs as we drank tea and nibbled on cheese sandwiches. I’m not really considered to be funny, but there was something about their hospitality and easy-going ways that just made it a fun time.
Then it was off to the airport. Staffan drove me there and walked me to the entrance. He was a gracious host. I expressed how I not only appreciated learning so much about Ethiopia, but I was grateful for the opportunity to get to see him in his other home. I gained a deep appreciation for his years of service, practical wisdom, and deep commitment to the people of Ethiopia.
The flight left at 1:30 am, stopped in Vienna on the way back, and I arrived in Sweden with at least a bit of sleep overnight. I managed the public bus back to Uppsala and rolled my duffle bag for the 25-minute walk back to the apartment.
When I arrived, Anya was studying economics with her friend who lives in town and isn’t away for the sport holiday (skiing week, which would be “spring break” in the USA).
Time to do laundry and repack for tomorrow’s departure to London.
With blessings,
Beth