July 14, 2006

Hi everyone!

Thank you so much for your prayers. We can really feel them. We have been healthy, safe and had many ministry opportunities. Our time here it going by so fast. I can’t believe we only have a little over a week left. I know my blogs are long but I don’t get much time to sit and type. So read what you want, when you want.

The Fistula Hospital

This hospital was set up by two doctors (husband and wife) who had a real heart for the poor pregnant women of Ethiopia who have had difficult deliveries because their pelvis were shaped incorrectly. Through these deliveries they have suffered the death of their baby and a tear in the wall of their bladder and/or rectum. This trauma is enough in itself but then they are faced with rejection from their families and villages because with the tear they suffered in childbirth they now leak bodily fluids and have a terrible smell. This hospital operates on these women and gives them a new hope. The women come from all over for this free treatment. Most walk because they are not allowed on the buses because of their smell. A few are brought by family members or other help agencies. One woman brought a letter with her from her family requesting that she be allowed to have the surgery. The letter was dated 12 years earlier. It had taken her that long to get to the hospital from her village. Thankfully now there are 3-4 other clinics spread around Ethiopia to help these women. In America if this type of delivery happened a C-section could be performed and the baby saved! It is because of the lack of adequate healthcare to the poor village women that this happens to them. We had the privilege of getting a tour of the hospital, meeting some of the doctors and also the founder. The best part was talking with the women who were there¼.some just arriving, some getting prepped for surgery and some recovering. I took a picture of the doctor who gave us the tour with some of the women who were waiting to be admitted. After taking the picture I should them on my digital camera what they looked like. I don’t know if some of them had ever seen themselves. They then all wanted their picture made and wanted to see. I took several and showed them. It was a great joy to tell them “konjo” which means “beautiful”. These women think they have been cursed by God and are unlovable. To show them their picture and tell them they are beautiful was very special to me. They kept telling me “asmestedganarlo” which means ‘thank you”. It told them “no, it was me who thanked them!”. The hospital teaches them that God loves them and they are special to Him. It is not their fault what has happened to them.

The Deborah House

I wrote about these girls in my last blog. Geoffrey, Kara and I did get to go back and teach a Bible study with them last week. Geoffrey taught on Mary and how she was young like them but had a big faith and was used of God just like they could be. The enthusiasm some of them have to read and study the Bible is amazing. When Geoffrey asked if someone would like to pray at the end of our study time, several hands went up. Wow, big difference from the States, where most people tend to look at the floor when asked to pray. They love to tell you their stories and share what God has done in their lives. One girl asked if she could come visit me and tell me her story. I said I’d love for her to . She came to visit and I was sleeping so she made a special effort to come back that night. She started sharing her story in very broken English and I felt I was missing key parts. Marcia (one of our team leaders who knows the language well) walked in at that time. I felt it was a gift from God. She helped translate so I could get all of Tigist’s story. I typed it up later and can share with you if you like. Later I found out that she was usually very quiet and had not shared her entire story with anyone before. I thank God for this opportunity. I was able to talk with her, encourage her and pray with her. God is so good! A few of the girls came up last week too and braided mine and Kara’s hair. We had lots of braids all over and then pulled them back in a ponytail. How fun! It great to just talk with the girls as they worked on our hair. Kara has two special friends, Bethlehem (Betty) and Dearshay. They like to come up and play with her and Garren. They tried to braid Garren’s hair too but it was too soft and just fell out. Kara and I got to go back this past Tuesday with Karen (their regular missionary, she’s from New Zealand and has a really cool accent!) for Bible study. Once again it was amazing to see their excitement and be part of teaching them.

The Bells

We did get to have dinner with Sarah and Vern at their home. It was so nice to be in a real home. The next day Vern took us to the airport to show us the planes he flies. The kids loved being in the cockpit and getting a flying lesson. Vern flys people and supplies in and out of the remote villages. Just that morning he had flown a missionary out of a village and to a hospital for medical treatment. He has a wonderful ministry with the Ethiopian people and missionaries here. The Bells have left for Kenya now to go to their daughter’s high school graduation. We plan to have one more dinner with them when they get back so we can see their children, Kristen and Josh.

Missionary Families

We have met some really nice and interesting family who live here and minister in Ethiopia. There is an instant connection as a Christian. Kara and Garren have made friends with several of the children and have even spent the night in two of their homes. It is so neat to meet people from all over the world.

Salom Children’s VillageThis is an orphanage that we got to visit. It is such an amazing place. They have about 450 children there and are pretty much self-sufficient. They have dorms and a school for the children. All the children attend school through grade 10. They raise cows for milk, rabbits to eat, sheep for thread, they have a huge vegetable garden and they make things like baskets, clothing, bed linens and sell them to the public. They make all the school uniforms and clothes for the children. They also teach each child a trade. One trade is cooking, national and international foods. We had a treat in their restaurant where we were served a delicious 5 course meal¼all prepared and served by the students. It was a great place to see God at work and these children so loved!

Kesley & Garren

She had grown and changed since we have been here. She is talking more and will now repeat words we say. We like to have her say Amheric words. Two of her favorite things to eat are bread (“dabo”) and bananas (“mooz”). Today Garren went out of the compound alone to one of the street vendors (about 60 feet from the gate) to buy mooz for Kelsey. He loved that I let him go alone. He knows too that I prayed the entire time he was gone and thanked the Lord when he returned.

Joy Academy

Two days this week the kids and I have gone to Joy Academy. It’s a school here for children birth to 2^nd grade. During the summer they have a morning program for the children who need it. They have about thirty 2-9 year olds. We got to play with the children and teach them a Bible story. Marcia taught the first day and we taught the second day. We were to teach the story of the wise and foolish man (one built their house on sand and the other rock). I talked with Kara and Garren and they decided that Kara would teach the Bible story, I would teach them a song and Garren would teach and play a game with them. They even came up with a visual for the story. Kara did a wonderful job teaching and Garren did great helping with the visual and leading in game time. They also did great mixing with and playing with the children. I was so proud! It was fun seeing them minister to these kids.

Mercada

This is the largest open air market in all of Africa. One of Geoffrey’s student’s, Asafa, took me and Geoffrey for the experience. We left the kids home with a sitter. It’s the kind of place that you take off all your jewelry before going and make sure your money is very securely hidden. There were so many people and so many booths with so much stuff. I’m glad Asafa was with us to help navigate through everything. It is so overwhelming to be a foreigner (“ferinji”) there. They all think we have lots of money and want us to come in their stores. There are also beggars there who want money from us. It was crazy but also very interesting at the same time. You can buy almost anything there. They have nice clothes stores, lots of shoe stores and then you can go to the cultural side and see all the herbs and spices and cooking things. We saw mounds of butter and cheese where you just scoop up what you want and weigh it and pay for it. Definitely no health code rules here. The dress shops amazed me. They have several dresses hanging up (suits to fancy prom type dresses). Then they have lots of bolts of material. You show them the dress you want and pick out the material you want. They measure you and then make the dress by hand for you. Geoffrey has taken Garren today to see. He told Garren and Kara he would take them one at a time.

Sheraton

We had a touristy moment and went to the Sherton. It is this enourmous and very extravagant hotel. You see how fancy it is and then right outside the walls are shacks and beggars and homeless. It is quite amazing and the people of Addis Ababa are very proud that someone would build something so nice in their city. To me, the money could have been used in a much better way. Anyway¼.they have a very nice, free, playground that we took the kids to play on. They also have a fountain, light show at night. If you’ve been to Las Vegas and seen the fountains at Bellagio, you know what I’m talking about. This of course was a much smaller scale but still nice.

VBS

We are in full swing getting ready for VBS next week at IEC (International Evangelical Church). The kids, Marcia and I are in charge of telling the Bible story each day. Kara and Garren will be doing a skit each day to open up our story time and set the theme for the day and then Marcia or I will be teaching the Bible story. There is lots to get ready¼backdrops, props, costumes, copies, room decoration, supplies, etc. We have been working hard and will have one final meeting this Sunday and then start on Monday. We will have approximately 100 7-12 year olds! Thankfully they will be broken up into 3 groups for story time. Again, I’m so glad to have an opportunity that Kara and Garren get to be part of.

Keep praying!

As I said, we have felt your prayers and are so thankful! Continue to pray for Geoffrey as he teaches. Also, please continue to pray for our health and safety. Pray for us as we teach VBS next week and that the children’s hearts will be open to salvation. Pray too as we begin to make preparation to come home.

Questions/Comments?

You can email us at nancy@thejaneses.com, geoffrey@thejaneses.com or kara@thejaneses.com if you have any questions, comments or just want to talk. If you want to email Garren just send it to my address. He forgot his password! _ We love getting email here!