July 2, 2006

Today we went to an Ethiopian church. The service was conducted in Amharic. When we arrived, there were people standing around everywhere. Of course, we were the center of attention, everyone stared. But everyone here is so friendly. They always smile and nod their heads. We went into the church and got our seats at about 9:30. The people prayed, and a man on stage led in prayer as well. Around 9:45, the choir got up and started singing, and the congregation joined in a time of worship. The people love to sing, and it was amazing to be surrounded by people who love Jesus, praising His name in another language. At around 10:30, another man got up and made a few announcements, and then Steve, our team leader, preached a message through an interpreter. So we did at least get to understand that part of the service! After the message, 8 people came forward to give their lives to Christ, and then the choir sang for another 10 minutes. Church let out around 11:30. Two hours is a typical Ethiopian service.

After the service we went outside and waited for our team to be ready to go. Before I knew it, we were surrounded by about 20 Ethiopian children. They just stood and stared at me. I shook their hands and smiled, and tried to communicate with them. They do take English in school, so they know how to say “My name is...”, “Hi, how are you”, and “I am fine, thank you.” It is pretty fun to hear them communicate like this.

After church we went out to eat with some missionaries, who even paid for our meal. That was a nice surprise. Then we went to their home (at The Press compound) for pie and coffee. We took a tour of the printing press, where SIM prints Bible study materials for all of Ethiopia. Also, the offices were they do radio recordings in different African languages. These recordings are then sent to South Africa and broadcast throughout Africa. It was a nice time of fellowship, but I was very ready to go back to our room and get some rest. Kara and Garren made friends with a missionary family (the Longs - they have three children, 2 boys and 1 girl all near their ages) who went to lunch with us and then back to The Press compound where they live. They had so much fun they even stayed to spend the night. We’ll see them again in the morning.