Sunday Morning, October 29, 2006

 

The Moment of Trust

Onto that sunny curbside we arrived
By ones and twos,
Smiles, hugs hiding secrets untold;
Secret fears, pains, wonderings;
Yet,
Yet tumbled we inside, obediently
Joining the fray; an act of trust this,
Yes, an act of faith, for
This moment we were called,
Timeless, eternally called:
“In us may they see nothing save the glory of the Lord.”

-- by Steve Belton, Addis Ababi

2006-10-29 07:10 Sunday Morning

My first African Morning in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Slept well after our 24+ hour journey (SFO -> Frankfurt; Frankfurt -> Khartoumb -> Addis), remarkably problem-free. We made it through customs at the airport in Addis only stopped briefly because of our bag of dental equipment.

What a blessing that Marshall Michaelean (our dentist) photocopied the story of our hosts Marta and Deme (founders of Project Mercy) for us! Several of us read their amazing story on the plane. Together with Gary and Peggy Ifft, Marta and Deme met us at the airport (at 10 PM in the evening). They must have been surprised by our emotional greetings … but they took it all in stride, attributing every good fortune to God’s grace.

It rained last night; this morning the weather is clear with patchy high clouds; temperature feels like its in the mid-60s. The smell of wood-fires, even in the city, hangs in the air, but there is precious little air pollution today. Walking out in the lobby, one of the first things I noticed was a group of men carrying sticks. In front of them was a small group of donkeys with bales of hay strapped to their backs, all walking into the city. I knew we weren’t in Kansas anymore. Shortly, we’ll head off to church in Addis, then we’re off to the hospital and compound in Yetebon, 2 ½ hours south by car from Addis.