Week 1: Complete
What happened in the last week:
-I arrived in Ethiopia.
-My bags did not (of course). :)
-Then they did.
-4th of July, which Ethiopians do not celebrate. (It's an American holiday...July 4th, 1776 we declared our independence. No one else really has a reason to celebrate that.) We had a party with some American friends. Jen made an American flag cake. We put it on top of a British flag. Hahaha. The girls and Kait made a couple of signs. We lit off a firework (yes, just one). And we each got a sparkler.
-Kait and I traveled the 300-ish kilometers to Nekempte, which is where we are now.
-Since it was the weekend when we got here we were able to have a lot of bonding time with our host family. The parents are Steve and Doretha, the kids are Caeden, Reaghan, Andwynne, and Rowan. I probably spelled all of the kids' names wrong except Caeden. Because he is my student. :)
-We started language school. The language we are learning is Oromo.
-I started teaching Caeden. He is in first grade. And it's a blast.
-Kait and I started a college-aged Bible study for ladies only. It's called Girls Time. And it is awesome. We have a translator!
-I was almost hit my a bjiaj (taxi) today. I didn't hear him coming from behind, so it was probably my fault.
-I have had lots of yummy food.
-I accidentally handed something to a native using my left hand, which is bad, bad, bad. You are supposed to use your right hand. Always. But I forgot twice. Oopsi! I apologized in English. And then laughed. A lot. Because I did the wrong thing, then tried to apologize in a language they don't understand. Hahaha.
Contrary to popular though, I am not sun burned. It is actually mostly chilly here, because it is rainy season. I haven't eaten anything crazy. I haven't seen any crazy food. We have hot, running water (when the power is on). The power doesn't typically go out for days. But our first couple of days in Addis it did. Flashlights and candles are where it's at.
The people are (typically) pretty friendly, at least the people I have encountered. On our language route Kait and I stop at four (afur in Oromo) shops: OMG Business Center (a copy center), a stationary center, a vegetable stand, and a coffee/tea shop. Two of them can speak like 4 words of English, which means we get to figure out what words mean by repetition and actions. Sometimes it's a major fail and we do the whole smile and nod. But sometimes it is a success! Today Kait and I had a blast learning some different words with a couple of ladies and about 6 college-aged guys. They laughed at us a lot, but so did we. It was pretty fun. And the chai is awesome. Today I tried to tell a lady "gala tomee" (phonetically spelled) which is "thank you" in Oromo, but instead it came out "gracias". Yep. Not even the right language.
God is good. Actually, He's pretty great. It awesome to see the ministry that Steve and Doretha have here in Nekempte. Speaking of them, they are awesome. Their hearts of gold beat solely for the Lord. They are doing great things here. Apart from ministry, Doretha has one of the best laughs I have ever heard. The other night we were playing charades and Kait was acting like a bull and Doretha lost it. Hahaha. I am still laughing about it. Steve has one of the best senses of humor ever. Probably because mine is similar. I think he's hilarious. The kids are some of the most precious kids in the world. They each have their own personalities, and each make me laugh a lot. God has definitely blessed the Limiero family. They are very encouraging with my faith, as well. They pray together all the time; we pray together all the time. I am very, very blessed to be a part of this family.
That just skims the surface. Know that my time here has been awesome. Thank you for your prayers. Keep 'em comin'. Please pray for Steve and Doretha as well. Things to keep in prayer:
-Steve is doing a small group leader training
-Kait is teaching English to Oromo speaking students every day at 1:30-ish a.m. Montana time
-Steve, Kait, and I have a college Bible study/hang out time on Saturday's from 2-4 our time, so like 4-6 a.m. Montana time
-Kait and I have a Bible Study with a group of ladies ages 15-25 MWF from 4-6 our time, so 6-8 Montana time
-Doretha stays home with 4 kids and manages the house. She does a wicked awesome job at it. So praise for her hard work, and prayer for continued joy and energy.
-For all of us to be effective in our communications and relationships with the Ethiopian people
-For our language teacher, Kalbessa. He has been a great teacher so far!!
This is long enough! Hope you have enjoyed getting to see what I'm doing now!! If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave a comment. I'd love to hear what you have to say!!
Chow!
*Disclaimer: if anything is spelled wrong or sounds funny, I blame the jet lag and learning a new language. :)
What happened in the last week:
-I arrived in Ethiopia.
-My bags did not (of course). :)
-Then they did.
-4th of July, which Ethiopians do not celebrate. (It's an American holiday...July 4th, 1776 we declared our independence. No one else really has a reason to celebrate that.) We had a party with some American friends. Jen made an American flag cake. We put it on top of a British flag. Hahaha. The girls and Kait made a couple of signs. We lit off a firework (yes, just one). And we each got a sparkler.
-Kait and I traveled the 300-ish kilometers to Nekempte, which is where we are now.
-Since it was the weekend when we got here we were able to have a lot of bonding time with our host family. The parents are Steve and Doretha, the kids are Caeden, Reaghan, Andwynne, and Rowan. I probably spelled all of the kids' names wrong except Caeden. Because he is my student. :)
-We started language school. The language we are learning is Oromo.
-I started teaching Caeden. He is in first grade. And it's a blast.
-Kait and I started a college-aged Bible study for ladies only. It's called Girls Time. And it is awesome. We have a translator!
-I was almost hit my a bjiaj (taxi) today. I didn't hear him coming from behind, so it was probably my fault.
-I have had lots of yummy food.
-I accidentally handed something to a native using my left hand, which is bad, bad, bad. You are supposed to use your right hand. Always. But I forgot twice. Oopsi! I apologized in English. And then laughed. A lot. Because I did the wrong thing, then tried to apologize in a language they don't understand. Hahaha.
Contrary to popular though, I am not sun burned. It is actually mostly chilly here, because it is rainy season. I haven't eaten anything crazy. I haven't seen any crazy food. We have hot, running water (when the power is on). The power doesn't typically go out for days. But our first couple of days in Addis it did. Flashlights and candles are where it's at.
The people are (typically) pretty friendly, at least the people I have encountered. On our language route Kait and I stop at four (afur in Oromo) shops: OMG Business Center (a copy center), a stationary center, a vegetable stand, and a coffee/tea shop. Two of them can speak like 4 words of English, which means we get to figure out what words mean by repetition and actions. Sometimes it's a major fail and we do the whole smile and nod. But sometimes it is a success! Today Kait and I had a blast learning some different words with a couple of ladies and about 6 college-aged guys. They laughed at us a lot, but so did we. It was pretty fun. And the chai is awesome. Today I tried to tell a lady "gala tomee" (phonetically spelled) which is "thank you" in Oromo, but instead it came out "gracias". Yep. Not even the right language.
God is good. Actually, He's pretty great. It awesome to see the ministry that Steve and Doretha have here in Nekempte. Speaking of them, they are awesome. Their hearts of gold beat solely for the Lord. They are doing great things here. Apart from ministry, Doretha has one of the best laughs I have ever heard. The other night we were playing charades and Kait was acting like a bull and Doretha lost it. Hahaha. I am still laughing about it. Steve has one of the best senses of humor ever. Probably because mine is similar. I think he's hilarious. The kids are some of the most precious kids in the world. They each have their own personalities, and each make me laugh a lot. God has definitely blessed the Limiero family. They are very encouraging with my faith, as well. They pray together all the time; we pray together all the time. I am very, very blessed to be a part of this family.
That just skims the surface. Know that my time here has been awesome. Thank you for your prayers. Keep 'em comin'. Please pray for Steve and Doretha as well. Things to keep in prayer:
-Steve is doing a small group leader training
-Kait is teaching English to Oromo speaking students every day at 1:30-ish a.m. Montana time
-Steve, Kait, and I have a college Bible study/hang out time on Saturday's from 2-4 our time, so like 4-6 a.m. Montana time
-Kait and I have a Bible Study with a group of ladies ages 15-25 MWF from 4-6 our time, so 6-8 Montana time
-Doretha stays home with 4 kids and manages the house. She does a wicked awesome job at it. So praise for her hard work, and prayer for continued joy and energy.
-For all of us to be effective in our communications and relationships with the Ethiopian people
-For our language teacher, Kalbessa. He has been a great teacher so far!!
This is long enough! Hope you have enjoyed getting to see what I'm doing now!! If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave a comment. I'd love to hear what you have to say!!
Chow!
*Disclaimer: if anything is spelled wrong or sounds funny, I blame the jet lag and learning a new language. :)
A)Speaking Spanish instead of whatever other language- totally normal... at least I hope it is. Otherwise I am even weirder than I thought.
ReplyDeleteB)I love you, and this is so exciting! The family sounds great; I already can't wait to hear more! You are doing so much it sounds like.
C)I actually really enjoy spending the 4th of July in a different country. Makes me more grateful.
Praying for you!
So proud of you! =)
ReplyDeletethe part about saying "gracias" totally made me lose it!! Miss you so much, beautiful, and I wish I could be there to experience all these things with you. It seems strange not being able to. Love ya, sister!!
ReplyDelete