Back to Ethiopia

That's right. You read the title correctly. I'm headed back to Ethiopia.  I have been given the opportunity to return to Ethiopia to teach at Bingham Academy. (If you are new to reading my blog, I had the opportunity to complete my student teaching at this school earlier this year.  You can go back and read some of the older posts to learn about that experience.)

When I came home from Ethiopia in May, I knew the Lord was calling me to go back.  Through a series of events, I gave up the job that I had accepted and began the application process to return to Bingham.

It was a God thing that I finished my applications, psych testing, phone interviews and paperwork in time.  Even through that process, I have been able to see the faithfulness of our Savior!

I will be returning with SIM.  SIM is a multinational mission organization with over 1,800 missionaries coming from over 60 nationalities and serving in more than 65 countries worldwide by responding to need, proclaiming the gospel, and equipping the Church.

Right now, it all seems overwhelming, but in the midst of all the things to do, I have peace about my decision.

Interested in committing to pray for me and receive my prayer updates while I'm in Ethiopia? Click here.

The past couple of weeks...

The internet at Bingham has been less than perfect, but here are a few pictures from the last couple of weeks.  I can't believe my time here is done this week. So bittersweet.

I'm not sure how you taught the Triumphal Entry,
but I'd say this rocked! When in Ethiopia, use the resources
you have!

Dying Easter eggs

My sweet host family. I have had a great time with these girls!

We had an Easter sunrise service followed by a
compound wide breakfast.

Only the best principals will dress up as Sir
Edmund Hillary (in all the appropriate gear) on
a hot Ethiopian day.

This will never get old.

Loved getting to share a little bit of camp with my kids.

Field Trip

We took our kids on a field trip on Friday to Born Free and Bethel Pottery.

Born Free is an animal rehabilitation center outside of Addis, and they rescue and rehabilitate animals that have been found in the city. We got to see cheetahs, monkeys, and lions, and they kids had a blast. It's pretty spread out, so you trek from enclosure to enclosure with a guide.

Cheetahs! Aren't they beautiful?

Lioness ready to pounce on the kids!

This is Dolo, and he was mostly blind.

Look how close?!

The kids weren't allowed to go see these lions.  Apparently they don't live in harmony and fight a lot. 

Abyssinian Lions: native to Ethiopia.  You can tell by the dark manes. 

We also went to Bethel Pottery, and the kids were able to create their own pottery, run around, and eat lunch prepared by one of the dads.

Injera

Last night, I went to a “cultural restaurant” with a couple of teachers to experience Ethiopian culture and food.

If you don’t already know, this was a brave step for me. Now, I’m not one to shy away from trying new food (except Swiss cheese… Dad, that’s for you!), but my first experience with injera was about four weeks ago.  Let’s just say, you don’t want to try things again after you see them again all night long.  I don’t think it had anything to do with the food itself, but until recently, I haven’t been ready to try it again.

The restaurant was definitely a touristy place, but you did get to experience a little more of Ethiopian culture. There was dancing that represented the different regions of the country, and you all sit around one table and eat off the same tray.  Injera has a very strange taste—kind of like a sour pancake with a spongy texture.  They put different kinds of meat, vegetables, and other stuff on top, and you tear off part of the injera to use like a little grabber with your fingers.  If you had it at your house, you probably would only have one to three different things on top (not sure what you call all of that—mostly just not sure how to spell it.) I enjoyed it more this time, but I’m still not sure I would say it was my favorite food! I love to watch my kids eat it at lunch… They come in with orange faces and hands—so gross, but kind of cute.

American flavored cotton candy and the movies

1. American Flavored Cotton Candy: If you’ve ever wondered what America tastes like, apparently it tastes like pink cotton candy!

2. Going to the movies—Ethiopia style: I went to see Divergent with a couple teachers, and it was quite the fun adventure! I was not anticipating having my bag searched, so I had a bag of popsicle sticks in my purse (#teacherprobs).  The lady gave me a questioning look, and I tried to explain that it was for a craft. (All I could think was that it would be next to impossible to replace the popsicle sticks in this country, so please don’t take them from me!) She let me keep them, but I’m sure she is still laughing at the crazy foreigner! Also, Ethiopians leave after the action is over in a movie.  I was told this ahead of time, and sure enough, when the last action scene was over, half of the audience got up and left.

Life is an adventure, and I’m loving every second of it!

Grade 2 Fun

As of next week, I will be teaching full time. 

Here are a couple of the fun things we have done:

Social Studies: We're learning about Explorers, and to introduce the unit, I wanted the kids to go on a little expedition around the playground.  Originally, I was going to put the message in a bottle (cute, right?), but I never found a bottle.  Instead I just folded it up, taped it to the board, and wrote "Do not open until period 5." It created quite the commotion. My favorite quote from the day? "WHY are we SO obedient?!"

Literacy: To introduce adjectives, I gave each kid a handful of popcorn, and they had to use describing words to tell me all about it. That was a big hit! 

April Fools Day: On April Fools, my teacher took all of the students' desks out of the room and hid them on the playground. "Robbers came in our room last night!!! What do we do?!?" 

Driving: Part 2

Here’s another driving story from Ethiopia…

Information you need to appreciate the story: I live with a family on a compound with several other missionary families. All of the kids go to Bingham, so they have three taxis that go to school everyday.  If I ride the taxis, I ride with the elementary kids (that’s a daily adventure!). 

The other day, we were on our way to school when the kids start screaming that the door is coming open. Now, this has happened in the past, and I was able to reach back from the front seat and close it. No big deal. Well, this time I couldn’t get it to latch.  I was prepared to just hold it for the last 15 minutes, but there was a better solution! (Keep in mind, we’re on a two lane road which actually had been turned into a four lane road, and of course we are on the far side. There was not a way to pull over.) Another taxi driver(#2), who must have noticed our distress, decided to help us out. Taxi #2 pulls up right next to our taxi.  (Also, keep in mind that traffic never really moves too fast because you always have to stop for various reasons.) The driver of taxi #2 sticks his arm out the window, grabs the side door, and slides it shut.  When in Ethiopia, do as the Ethiopians. When your taxi door comes open, ask a neighboring taxi to help you out.