Greetings from Addis! This is Victoria and it’s my turn to give today’s update.
We have enjoyed our time in Addis and getting to know our team better. We ate breakfast this morning with Ray and Laurale, the couple who run this guest home. It was fascinating to hear many of their incredible experiences they have had over the last 38 years they have been in Ethiopia. After breakfast, we were treated to a visit by a man named Mango who brought over many ostrich eggs to sell. We couldn’t pass up an opportunity like this! The eggs sold for 35 birr, which is only $4 in US dollars. Afterwards, we took a drive with Pastor Matheos to Ethiopia’s National Museum. Lucy, the fossilized hominid (basically an archeological discovery that has been identified as the link between prehistoric and modern man) discovered in 1974, was featured here. Many beautiful and intricate paintings, pottery, clothing and jewelry were also on display. It was interesting to learn more of Ethiopia’s history through the museum. We had fun together and many funny photos were taken. (Look for those in a later blog entry!)
Our next stop was the merkato -- East Africa’s largest market. Getting there was quite an adventure as cars are merging and honking from all directions and people and donkeys are walking and crossing the street from everywhere. You could find pretty much anything here, from produce to clothing, paper or possibly even animals. Saturday is the busiest shopping day, so we were grateful to have Pastor Matheos as our guide throughout the market. The hardest part for me was seeing the kids’ faces pressed against our car window, begging for money or selling things like gum or bracelets.
This afternoon, we had the opportunity to relax and continue to build relationships with our other team members. We ended our day with dinner, visiting with a few missionaries staying here and playing many different games together. We have had a great time getting to know each other these last few days, and even though many of us just met this week, to me it feels like we’ve known each other for a long time.
We are looking forward to visiting the International Evangelical Church tomorrow, and starting our work projects on Monday.
