Thursday, April 4, 2013


Thoughts & Questions

Wednesday

We spent the morning at CFI again today.  Another good day with the women.  We made necklaces.  They are so creative, and they loved making them and wearing them home.  The kids had a great time.
We went to the drop-in center at Kechene this afternoon and heard the really disturbing news that their American supporter has pulled funding.  Their rent is paid through mid-May.  After that, there is no money.  (At least, not right now.)  The kids have no uniforms, and they are no longer being fed.  After the KG kids (equivalent to our pre-school/kindergarten ages) left, we sat in their empty cinderblock classroom.  KG kids stay at the drop-in center all day, while the elementary kids go to the local government school and come to the center for lunch.  Nicodemus told us that when the elementary school children had come to the center yesterday for lunch, they’d had to tell them that there was no food.  As Peter translated Nicodemus’ words and told us that the kids (150 total, including KG and elementary) were no longer eating at the center, his voice broke.  He stopped speaking and sat quietly for a moment.  Then he began to sob, second day in a row, this time out of grief, not joy.  The room fell completely silent except for the sound of Peter’s weeping as we sat with the knowledge that 150 desperately hungry children were no longer receiving what was likely their only meal of the day.  Soon the room was filled with the sound of quiet weeping.  Many minutes passed.  It takes time to grapple with that kind of news.  Children you recognize, children you just spent time singing and playing with, children who have no hope or resources outside the gates you sit within, just left hungry.  And will again and again and maybe permanently if God doesn’t work another amazing miracle.
 As part of our group toured the compound, it began to rain.  I’ve now been in Ethiopia 5 times, and I’ve never seen it rain.  I stood on the porch of a classroom and looked out over the valley in front of me.  On the opposite hill stood the American embassy.  It’s made of clean white concrete.  In the valley between the dirty, worn down compound I stood in and the beautiful embassy on the opposite hill was only tin roof after tin roof covering hundreds of tin shacks.  And a cemetery with what seemed like hundreds of identical, simple crosses.  The sight was striking. 
It began to hail.  The hail stones pounded and bounced crazily on the tin roof of building to my right.  As we waited out the storm in a dark classroom, the sun broke through the clouds.  A partial, faint rainbow appeared over that valley.  After another good hard rain, the sun shone through again, and I went back to the porch to see if the rainbow had reappeared.  It had, and as I followed it to see if it traced a full arc, I gasped.  I swear that rainbow ended right in the valley in front of me.  I could literally see the colors shimmering in the air between me and the trees below.  The rain finally slacked, and we said our goodbyes and walked toward the gate.  Yet another (yes, the third) rainbow appeared.  Although covering only half the sky, this one was incredibly vibrant.  You could see every single color of the spectrum.  It lasted a long time.  As we drove back to our guest house and the clouds began to break apart, the sunset was magnificent.  God has certainly been spectacular this trip in painting His creation.
These last days have left me with deep questions and thoughts to ponder:
·         Can 30 seconds of stroking a baby’s cheek possibly make a difference in a lifetime?
·         What about 15 minutes of holding a child in your arms?
·         Every child really does need a momma.
·         Do donors half a world away have any concept at all of the impact their giving or not giving really has?
·         Just as we must responsibly give, we must responsibly withdraw giving.
·         God still works miracles.
·         God is totally sovereign.
·         God is faithful.
·         God’s speaks to us through His creation in beautiful, breathtaking ways. 
·         God’s promises are true.

3 comments:

  1. I have absolutely loved reading every post!

    Luv u!

    ReplyDelete
  2. No words yet prayers for this sweet ministry!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Is anything being done to find financial help so these children can eat?

    ReplyDelete