Falling short

I got home from Africa 22 days ago...22 days have passed and I STILL am not ready to explain my trip.  It's so weird to me.  Normally, I can find words for anything (many would say - too many words at times)...and for this, the most significant trip I have taken, there are NO words.

No words that will explain what we saw, what we smelled, who we met, how we helped.

The truth is, I haven't posted because I KNOW my blog will fall short.  I know there is no way possible to express my experience and my heart to get people to truly understand that journey.  

Knowing that I can't share everything...I am hoping what I really do want to share comes out.  So, here's to non-ramble, heart stirring writing...

Day 1 - Gotta start somewhere

You know what's funny?  I don't really know where the real Day 1 is...between that trip to DC, 5 hours there, 14 hours to Africa, huge differences in time zone, etc.  For me, travel days don't count because I didn't journal them SO Day 1 is Sunday ok? 

We woke up Sunday to breakfast at our guesthouse...wait, first let me show you our guest house.

our "family room"...where coffee was served every morning.  A place to congregate, meet others not on our team, and work together on team projects.

the "dining room"...where we ate breakfast and dinners when we didn't eat out.
It is also the spot of an intensely fun and wild night of pictionary that bonded our team forever.

and then, one of my favorite rooms....our Suite.

it was like girl scout camp only "funner".  1 queen, 3 sets of bunks, another twin, a balcony, and a large "kitchen" that we used as our suitcase storage.  7 girls...lots of snoring, laughing, and welp, a few spiders!

Ladies and gentleman...our shower!  It was an interesting shower...hot water not guaranteed.  See that little white tank on the wall?  That's the water heater you turn on - when there's power!  To the left of the shower the SHINTABIT (Amerak for Toilet!)  I kid you NOT - that word I could remember ;) :)

And, lastly...our view at night.

All in all, I LOVED our guest house!  The first day was a bit of a culture shock..I walked up the uneven porcelain stairs a few moments after hearing the word "no wifi" and had a moment of weakness....it was A LOT to take in.  Probably comparable to an inexpensive hotel or motel here but, the guest house is like a Ritz in Ethiopia and I felt blessed and even a bit shamed to have it "so good" and seeing what was around us.

_________________________

Ok, so Day 1..Sunday.  We went to church after breakfast.  It was one of the highlights of our week!  The Beza church was AMAZING!   It is also an English speaking church and I would assume one of the wealthier churches in Ethiopia.  Worshiping together, in a church full of mostly locals, looking around and seeing the Ethiopians that are doing well financially, seeing families together, watching their culture and our culture mesh into a perfect worship and service...it was the PERFECT way to start our trip!  Oh, that music!!  During tough moments later in the week, I would pull energy from that worship or remind myself of the sweet families I saw that day...not everyone is terribly poor in Ethiopia, not every mother is alone, not every kid is an orphan and that was refreshing to see!  

here is a quick glimpse of some of our worship time...but, it doesn't do that day justice.

As God would have it, there was a missions team singing at Beza that day and guess where they were from....DENVER, CO!  I kid you not!  I traveled over 8,000 miles to see a band play from Denver!  We had a chuckle at that one.

From church we went to lunch...one of my FAVORITE places all week!  It was called Sishu and was very modern and stylish!  They had american burgers and fries and Sprite and Coke in bottles.

Sishu:

After lunch, we went to a village called Bole.  The women of Bole, make beads and I even got to try my hand at bead making!  My bead was good and the women kept it for a necklace!  Mission Ethiopia buys the women the clay and then their job is to make the beads and then Mission Ethiopia sells them for money for the women of the village and their children.  While moms working, the kids get to play outside.

These kids have friends to play with, playground equipment to play on and mommas who love them and work hard to provide what the can.

my buddy that afternoon.

Soccer - it's a Universal language.

After watching the women make beads and playing with the kids we were asked to see two of the ladies homes.  These houses was something I wasn't prepared for.  Dirt floors, walls made of sticks and a mixture of mud and manure and SMALL.  About the size of my dining room.  

One of the women we visited was the mother of my little buddy.  We came in and she asked us to sit down.  Andrea and I sat there, on her bed (blankets on the dirt floor).  It was a moment I will never forget.  Our whole team gathered and asked her questions about herself through our translator.  Then, she asked us to pray for her.  When we asked if there was anything specific she would like us to pray for, her response left me in total shock "nothing, life is so good".  Speechless.

I will talk more in depth about this as my posts go on, but to hear this women so content with her life...it brought me peace.  In a whole new world, seeing a whole new way of living and circumstances I am not even sure how to look at let alone live in and to hear her total contentment and peace...it was aw-inspiring.  This moment has helped me A LOT on my journey post Africa.  If I remember how hard they have it, if I think too long about their beds, their houses, their income, it's too hard BUT, when I remember that this is the only life they have ever known it makes it easier.  They don't know what we have, that kind of living is completely unfathomable for them.  It is something they never think about, never wish for because ignorance is bliss and they are happy where they are.  

 see the house?  it's a duplex.  It did have a BEAUTIFUL view.

End of Day 1 - total and complete aw and success!  

So, how was Africa?

**video at the bottom of the page** sorry for the LONG post!

"So, how was Africa"  The question I have gotten everyday since I have been back.  Also, as I am finding, the hardest question to answer..it leaves me speechless (yes, me!).  

How can you put into words what our trip was?  What we saw?  The remarkable things that happened?  What I learned?  

Honestly, I am still digesting some of it!  

There will have to be a series of blogs about my trip because I am not sure there is a space limit on blog posts but if so, I would max it out.

For today, I want to focus on our group.  The 10 strangers that over the course of 10 days became friends.  From Day 1, I felt super comfortable with every one of them and I know that each one was placed on this trip and in my life for a reason.

10 new friends and lots of laughs was such a huge blessing.  Being half way around the world and away from my family and friends didn't feel lonely.  

We had two mothers on our trip with their kids; Angela and Jesse and Mindy and Kate.  We had two Fathers with no kids, but looking out for us all.  We had two young girls, both in college and already doing such amazing things with their hearts, and then...we had three crazy girls from Colorado.  It truly was a great mix!  

I am not sure I would have ever been bold enough to go on a missions trip, 8,000 miles away by myself...I was SO thankful for Andrea opening my eyes and inviting me on this trip!   10 days with a bestie was WONDERFUL!  We were bunk mates.  She took the top bunk and I took the bottom...watching her legs dangle from above as she woke up every morning and wanted to get down, quickly became my favorite start to the day ;)  No ladder for that girl!  No really, they didn't have one BUT even if it did...she may have chosen to shimmy down anyway.  

April, Andrea's  friend, also came with us!  I can't believe I never met her before!  We are kindred spirits and she kept me laughing each day!  That girl is funny.  I love her honesty and her true interest in learning the culture and lifestyle everywhere she goes.  She was a ray of light on this trip and I am excited to continue our friendship at home!

Angela and Jesse are an amazing team...just how a mother and son should be!  Jesse has an amazing heart for God and this was his 4th missions trip to Africa!  4th!  And, he loves it! He lives so boldy while he is there...he loves Ingera (a main dish in Ethiopia), his family's sponsor kids are his brothers, he is respectful, honest and kind and just a sweet hearted spirit.  Angela is a great mom and was a wonderful leader!  She did a great job rolling with the unexpected, making sure we were all comfortable and safe and really making the trip the most it could be for each of us.  We all have different hearts, and she went out of her way to make sure they were fulfilled in the end.  oh!  and that girl can tell a story!!

Brian and Eric were the men on our team.  They both made sure we were safe and comfortable.  They were also the two that were the first ones I saw on my roughest/most amazing day (story to come later).   Watching the kids with them was amazing!  Watching them lead us (both physically and spiritually through stories or even our bible studies) was an awesome experience.  Watching Eric and Andrea's relationship as sponsor parents with similar goals was great!  What a blessing for Andrea!  

Mindy and Kate...have a great relationship as mother and daughter!  It was fun to see the two of them have fun together!  Having this experience for the first time together...WOW!  What a cool memory!  The story of what brought them to Africa and Kate's passion to go was one of my favorite things to hear.  I loved watching God work through these kids!  No one is too small, too young, too old, to Go Be Love.

And, lastly sweet Brandie and Liz...these two were friends already as they went on a missions trip together last year.  It was refreshing to watch these girls.  They are each on the college path and watching them in that stage of life, take time to give so big to others made me smile.  I was not in that place at that age and man, I wish I was!  They each had their own place...Brandie's place?  Well, its just Ethiopia ;)  Pretty sure that girl will end up there one day and I am so happy I get to see it all play out!  Liz, holding those babies at the orphanage.  It was her place.  Watching her love and hold those babies was precious.  

Each of our teammates brought something to the table for our team.  It was a perfect fit!

So, now that I have given you a mini glimpse into our team...I have to find a way to put our trip into words!  A near impossible task, but I will try!

For now...pictures are worth a thousand words so here is the video montage we made for our last night.  We watched as a group and reflected on our week together.  Each of these pictures is a story to us; a memory and a journey.  I hope this will help give you a quick glimpse into our week...boots on the ground, hearts open to GO.BE.LOVE.

Video too big...shocker! Click HERE to watch!