Hi everyone and happy new year (almost) from Ethiopia
Tomorrow it will officially be New Years Eve 2004 and then Tuesday is New Years Day 2005. Where did all that time go?
It means we have school tomorrow but Tuesday is a holiday to mark the occasion. Today we went to church and the streets were packed with people buying goats (we saw one being put into a taxi with his legs tied together!!) sheep and lots of chickens! They are all buying them for the family celerations of New Year when extended families get together and feast! The staff here at school (about 60 in number) bought two cows, fattened them up and plan to slaughter them after school near the back of the oval!! Stay tuned for photos! Then they will share the meat up between them all and take it home for families to cook up!
We have a pentecostal church right next to our apartment and they love to sing loudly and praise God for large amounts of time. We have been told they will probably sing the New Year in by an all night sing-fest and church service! I guess that's quite a good way to begin a new year - in devoting it to God and praising Him........it's just my Western mindset that says, it would be quite nice to get some sleep too!! I'll keep you posted about what happens
The New Year here could see quite a bit happen. With a new Prime Minister and leader the country will definitely see some change! We pray it will be for good. They will also have a new leader of the Orthodox church (the state religion here) which again could change things for all the churches in the country. Please pray that both will mean good things for Ethiopia and its beautiful people!
We feel privileged to be here, and are so thankful to God for sending us, and to so many of you for helping us get here. We love our jobs, and have begun hearing about some of the ministries our kids parents do - makes it extrememly rewarding. For example today we met Anna's parents. Anna is in my yr 1 class and is originally from England. Her Dad works for TEAR in Addis and works with another English lady and 4 Ethiopians. Together they try to help the poor in the city begin small businesses that will be sustainable.They teach them business skills, accounting etc, and investigate ways they can begin small businesses then help them find investors to begin. Anna's mother is a midwife and training young girls at the Fistula Hospital who will then go out to villages in rural Ethiopia to help women giving birth. For those who have read books about Catherine Hamlin it is her organisation and she works at the Desta Mender site out of town! What a privilege to help Anna while her parents are doing this!
So Happy New Year from over here everyone, and I''ll leave you with
Our top 5 Ethiopian New Years Resolutions for the coming 12 months
1. Learn language, language and more language if possible! We want to feel comfortable out in the community!
2. Remember to use our horns more often when driving (every minute honk at least once!)
3. Wash our hands more to try to avoid the tummy bugs!!!!
4. Learn to go with the flow more and take off our watches....nothing happens on time anyway so why be reminded of this!!
5. Be people orientated instead of task orientated! Things will get done sooner or later if need be, but the relationships around us are what counts!
Happy 2005!
Tomorrow it will officially be New Years Eve 2004 and then Tuesday is New Years Day 2005. Where did all that time go?
It means we have school tomorrow but Tuesday is a holiday to mark the occasion. Today we went to church and the streets were packed with people buying goats (we saw one being put into a taxi with his legs tied together!!) sheep and lots of chickens! They are all buying them for the family celerations of New Year when extended families get together and feast! The staff here at school (about 60 in number) bought two cows, fattened them up and plan to slaughter them after school near the back of the oval!! Stay tuned for photos! Then they will share the meat up between them all and take it home for families to cook up!
 |
| Kentucky Fried Chickens on the roof racks!! |
The New Year here could see quite a bit happen. With a new Prime Minister and leader the country will definitely see some change! We pray it will be for good. They will also have a new leader of the Orthodox church (the state religion here) which again could change things for all the churches in the country. Please pray that both will mean good things for Ethiopia and its beautiful people!
 |
| Guess where these sheep and goats will end up tomorow night! |
We feel privileged to be here, and are so thankful to God for sending us, and to so many of you for helping us get here. We love our jobs, and have begun hearing about some of the ministries our kids parents do - makes it extrememly rewarding. For example today we met Anna's parents. Anna is in my yr 1 class and is originally from England. Her Dad works for TEAR in Addis and works with another English lady and 4 Ethiopians. Together they try to help the poor in the city begin small businesses that will be sustainable.They teach them business skills, accounting etc, and investigate ways they can begin small businesses then help them find investors to begin. Anna's mother is a midwife and training young girls at the Fistula Hospital who will then go out to villages in rural Ethiopia to help women giving birth. For those who have read books about Catherine Hamlin it is her organisation and she works at the Desta Mender site out of town! What a privilege to help Anna while her parents are doing this!
So Happy New Year from over here everyone, and I''ll leave you with
Our top 5 Ethiopian New Years Resolutions for the coming 12 months
1. Learn language, language and more language if possible! We want to feel comfortable out in the community!
2. Remember to use our horns more often when driving (every minute honk at least once!)
3. Wash our hands more to try to avoid the tummy bugs!!!!
4. Learn to go with the flow more and take off our watches....nothing happens on time anyway so why be reminded of this!!
5. Be people orientated instead of task orientated! Things will get done sooner or later if need be, but the relationships around us are what counts!
Happy 2005!
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