Hi all,
Before jumping into our Lalibela experience, we felt it important to recap last Thursday. As Josh mentioned we all felt pretty discouraged last Monday evening, in part due to the teaching and in part due to the time at “Joy Home” and woodshop. Thursday afternoons mirror our Monday afternoons, so we didn’t quite know what to expect as the girls and guys headed off in our separate directions.
Unsurprisingly, God proved faithful yet again. The 10 girls at Joy Home shyly greeted us and we began to show them how to make pineapple pizza. While the girls seemed interested and helpful, they still were a bit reserved with us. As the pizzas were cooking, we told the girls that we had brought a camera, a photo printer, and decorations for a craft—the girls came alive at this! They scurried to their rooms to get ready for their “photo shoot”, some trying on 3 or 4 outfits to get the right look. Once all the pictures were taken, the girls huddled around the photo printer, watching with joy and giggles as the pictures slowly made their way out of the printer. Konjit, the woman in charge of the girls’ home, told us that these were the first pictures that some of the girls had of themselves. We felt God really blessing our interactions and relationships with the girls and couldn’t wait to return Monday.
The boys were similarly blessed with some good conversations and interactions at the woodshop. For the last hour of their time, there was a project that all three guys, a shop teacher, and some of the shop students all worked on together. This facilitated a time for talking, sharing, and even a few theological discussions. The boys joined us in the minivan with dirt and glue on their hands and big smiles on their faces at the end of the afternoon.
Now on to the Lalibela adventure! Our flight to Lalibela went smoothly. We stepped off the plane onto the gravel runway, smaller than most parking lots in the States, and were surrounded by green hills and lush countryside. After the constant crush of people, sooty black car fumes, and dusty roads of Addis, we all took a couple deep breaths—inhaling the fresh air and the natural beauty that surrounded us. As we drove into Lalibela from the airport, it felt as if we were driving back in time. Straw and mud huts dotted the hills and shepherds looked up from their herds of sheep and goats to smile and wave at us.
We spent the day touring the ancient Orthodox churches for which the city is famous. These churches were built in the 1100-1200s and carved out of the soft red rock of the land. Many of these churches were literally carved from the top down and then the inside of the building was hollowed out from the stone. It’s amazing to think of the manpower and determination that it took to carve these beautiful churches. The centuries-old sanctuaries are still being used as places of worship. It was humbling to look down at the floors of the churches, worn smooth by hundreds of thousands of feet coming to worship across time, knowing that our footsteps were now joining theirs.
We got to see a service in progress with about a dozen priests and clergy chanting in praise to God. Stephen’s highlight of the trip occurred in that dimly lit sanctuary when an elderly gentleman mistook Stephen for a pillar in the church and was about to kiss his stomach. The man was quite surprised when the “wall” moved out of his way! Another of the group’s highlights was getting to travel through an underground tunnel that connected two of the churches.
Overall the trip was awe-inspiring and restorative; it was a nice mini-break as we reached our two-week mark. Thank you for your continued prayers and support as we continue this week with teaching and serving.
~Karen and the rest of the gang
