Greetings from Ethiopia!

There is no snow, no decorated malls, no Christmas lights blinking in the night and yet, somehow, as December approaches we still feel the stirrings in our hearts that bring us to the excitement and joy of the season. I was comforted by that this year. Perhaps there is more to Christmas than tinsel, packages and bows as the Grinch discovers by the end of “The Grinch who Stole Christmas.”

In our small corner of Ethiopia the small, artificial “Charlie Brown” Christmas tree is up, the angel brought from home is on the top, our “Grandma Anna” stockings are hung by the fireplace, the carols play from ITunes and even some Christmas cookies will be baked and frosted. The International Lutheran Church (ILC) we attend has the advent wreath and Advent services. Yes, Christmas is coming!

This past year was a good year for our family. Our work with MCC has had its ups and downs but it is always rewarding when we can visit where the real action is and meet the people that are being helped through our partners. Most of our days are spent in the office working on administration “stuff” so it’s always a highlight for us to visit the projects we support. We also have 7 service workers and will add another in January. Working at building a team and providing support for our volunteers is a part of the job that we enjoy. We also spend a lot of time hosting guests from North America, both MCC and other, who arrive for various reasons.

The girls spend their time at school and playing with their animals. We’ve had two litters of kittens and puppies over the past year. It’s been fun for all of us to watch over them as they grow. We’ve got a very cute batch of puppies right now that will soon go to their new homes.

Abigail and Amani entered middle school this year when they began grade 6. They’ve been enjoying the new schedule with a different teacher for each subject and the social events that are planned. They have grown and matured and are becoming beautiful young women on the inside and out.
Amani was baptized this summer in a family service at the lake. We were proud of her decision and it is just one indicator of growing maturity.

Sophia began grade 5 this year and has a teacher she loves. They share the same sense of humour which helps make school more “fun” for Sophia. Sophia still enjoys playing school in her room, enjoys her dolls and her dog, Peanut. They all also enjoy playing on their Nintendos and watching videos. We still try to have a Friday family night where we eat pizza and watch a movie together.

This summer we had some much needed rest and relaxation during our home leave. We spent two months traveling between the United States and Canada visiting family and friends. We really appreciated everyone’s hospitality as we roamed “homeless” for the summer.

We are now more than half way through our term. Ethiopia has become home in many ways and we have a very good community that has grown up around us. When we arrived the local “Mennogroup” gathering of Mennonite and Mennonite related people was about 12 people including our family of five. A couple of weeks ago we celebrated American Thanksgiving together and we had a group of about 45. We feel blessed to be here during a time when there are several families serving with the U.S. Embassy that we know as well as others from various NGO’s that happen to be Mennonites who are here at the same time we are. Of course we have “non-Mennonite” friends as well. We feel especially blessed by many connections we have made here.

Living in this land has helped us all not to take things for granted— basics like electricity and water. I have heard the girls say at various times “we didn’t know how good we had it.” I think that’s true for all of us. Even as we strive to make life even a little bit better for those around us, we recognize that even here, we live “the good life.”

May you all have a blessed Christmas Season and a challenging and rewarding New Year.

Love,
Wanda, Doug
Amani, Abigail and Sophia