Tamara is the other North American MCC’er here in Ethiopia and she lives a block away from our compound. She lives with Maria, an active Orthodox woman who has a dog which just gave birth to two puppies. Tamara invited Amani, Abby and Sophia to come over and play with the puppies. What joy and anticipation there was over the invitation! The girls stayed all afternoon. They came home chattering with excitement, describing in detail the puppies and their activities. After that we were inundated with requests everyday to go and see the puppies. So on Friday Wanda and I joined the girls and went over to see these “incredible” animals, as described by our daughters. There they were in all their glory; two roly-poly puppies, a male and female. They waddled, they fell down. They shook and shivered when they were picked up. And our girls loved them. Ever since then Amani, Abby and Sophia have asked to go over to see them. It’s hard to say no to such animal lovers.
On to Home Improvement: On Saturday the last of the suitcases were emptied out and the contents found a home on shelves. One of the reasons it took so long was that there were shelves and drawers that needed to be cleaned out, in some cases 40 years of items. A rack for the coats and hats was hung by the front door. Amani and Abby’s beds were made into bund beds (they had been asking for this since day one). Sophia’s room was rearranged with the safety board removed from her bed and now she has even more room to play school with her stuffed animals. Earlier in the week we traded our bed for the guesthouse bed (the quality of the beds are the same, but the one we have now is longer by about 4-5 inches. The bed was specially made for an MCC’er who was 6’7”). And we are dreaming about improvements such as kitchen cabinetry (Shawn and Tyler, wanna sell us new cabinets and come over and install them?), new floor tiling, new lighting for the living and dining rooms and other smaller items. Should we buy a TV and DVD/VCR or go without? We’ve enjoyed playing more games and reading but going cold turkey is hard . . .
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Transition Time
John and Holly Blosser Yoder, and their family, are now safely home in Iowa and Wanda and I are now the Country Reps for MCC in an official capacity. There was no special swearing in ceremony, no pomp and circumstance. John and Holly just barely made in on to their flight. The good folks at British Airways held the flight while Ethiopian officials argued that John couldn’t leave without showing his work permit. In the early morning Mekonnen and Yeshi rushed back to the office to get the demanded document but it was clear they wouldn’t make it back before the flight was scheduled to leave. Praying hard, Yeshi pleaded with the official and then his boss, to let them go. She promised to bring them the permit, they were only minutes away. And the boss said yes! One last brush with bureaucracy, a fitting ending in some ways.
So what does one do in that first week in office? We had just spent two weeks with John and Holly in a whirlwind of activity, meeting important folks who we will be working with in the future. It all felt overwhelming. Where do you start? Start simply, start slowly. Recover from the frantic pace. Sign papers at the bank to authorize our signatures on checks. Register at the Canadian and US embassies. Deal with money transactions as they come through the office. Learn how to get around the city. Where the grocery stores are. The churches are.
Ah, the embassy visits. A study in contrasts. First to the Canadian embassy. Like all embassies there was a high wall with barbed wire on the top. There were guards at the entrance and security procedures. When we showed the guard our passports he told us to go over to the metal door in the wall and we were let in. We went through a metal detector and had to leave our cell phone and Wanda’s purse. The guards were relaxed and friendly, almost apologetic for using the wand on us. They smiled at our girls and clipped visitor passes on our tops. We walked the grounds of the embassy unescorted to the office to register. The grounds reminded us of home; a well manicured grounds with evenly cut grass (grass is hand cut here with the cuttings sold). The guards showed our little family to the door and by their smiles and friendly gestures it seemed that they were thanking us for coming.
Then we went to the U.S. embassy. Mekonnen, chauffeuring us on that morning, pointed out the embassy as he drove past. No stopping here. Huge cement blocks lined the high wall of the embassy. Electronic surveillance. Nervous guards who yelled and pointed their guns at anyone slowing down or stopping their vehicles within a ½ block of the compound. The sidewalk was closed on the embassy side of the street. One needed to park a block away and walk on the opposite side of the street then cross. I flashed my U.S. passport and we went through the same screening as before. But there was to be no walking the grassy compound. Once inside the walls, we could see the beautiful grounds from beyond a iron gate but we were let to offices just inside the walls. The guard with the large machine gun scowled and waved me upstairs to the consulate room. It was a large sterile room with the smiling faces of George Bush, Dick Cheney and Condolezza Rice looking down on us (sorta reminded me of the faces on Cirith Ungol in The Lord of the Rings). The guards were unsmiling but fortunately the workers behind the teller windows were kind and helpful. Good to know some people can act friendly in this fortress (like Americans I know and love).
So the transition is complete. Well not yet. Not until we can drive the vehicles. Not until we can converse in Amharic. Not until we can find our way around Addis and to our partners locations. Not until we learn and master the MCC International Development Database and all the financial accounting that comes with it. Not until we master grant writing, and we can teach our partners the skill. Not until we become comfortable in our relationships with our partners and this culture. Come to think of it, our transition may never be fully completed . . .
So what does one do in that first week in office? We had just spent two weeks with John and Holly in a whirlwind of activity, meeting important folks who we will be working with in the future. It all felt overwhelming. Where do you start? Start simply, start slowly. Recover from the frantic pace. Sign papers at the bank to authorize our signatures on checks. Register at the Canadian and US embassies. Deal with money transactions as they come through the office. Learn how to get around the city. Where the grocery stores are. The churches are.
Ah, the embassy visits. A study in contrasts. First to the Canadian embassy. Like all embassies there was a high wall with barbed wire on the top. There were guards at the entrance and security procedures. When we showed the guard our passports he told us to go over to the metal door in the wall and we were let in. We went through a metal detector and had to leave our cell phone and Wanda’s purse. The guards were relaxed and friendly, almost apologetic for using the wand on us. They smiled at our girls and clipped visitor passes on our tops. We walked the grounds of the embassy unescorted to the office to register. The grounds reminded us of home; a well manicured grounds with evenly cut grass (grass is hand cut here with the cuttings sold). The guards showed our little family to the door and by their smiles and friendly gestures it seemed that they were thanking us for coming.
Then we went to the U.S. embassy. Mekonnen, chauffeuring us on that morning, pointed out the embassy as he drove past. No stopping here. Huge cement blocks lined the high wall of the embassy. Electronic surveillance. Nervous guards who yelled and pointed their guns at anyone slowing down or stopping their vehicles within a ½ block of the compound. The sidewalk was closed on the embassy side of the street. One needed to park a block away and walk on the opposite side of the street then cross. I flashed my U.S. passport and we went through the same screening as before. But there was to be no walking the grassy compound. Once inside the walls, we could see the beautiful grounds from beyond a iron gate but we were let to offices just inside the walls. The guard with the large machine gun scowled and waved me upstairs to the consulate room. It was a large sterile room with the smiling faces of George Bush, Dick Cheney and Condolezza Rice looking down on us (sorta reminded me of the faces on Cirith Ungol in The Lord of the Rings). The guards were unsmiling but fortunately the workers behind the teller windows were kind and helpful. Good to know some people can act friendly in this fortress (like Americans I know and love).
So the transition is complete. Well not yet. Not until we can drive the vehicles. Not until we can converse in Amharic. Not until we can find our way around Addis and to our partners locations. Not until we learn and master the MCC International Development Database and all the financial accounting that comes with it. Not until we master grant writing, and we can teach our partners the skill. Not until we become comfortable in our relationships with our partners and this culture. Come to think of it, our transition may never be fully completed . . .
Friday, July 13, 2007
We Are Here
They say you should do lots of writing when you enter a new culture. Write in a journal, a blog, email, letter, anything. Why? Because those first days, weeks and months are the times you can “see” things that will become normal to you later on. So allow me to offer some random impressions as well as a recalling of events upon our arrival.
John and Holly Blosser Yoder, outgoing CR’s, had a full schedule planned. We were glad to soak up as much information as they could provide in 10 days before they left, but it looked like a lot to 5 tired bodies. Our internal clocks were ticking on the wrong time. Wanda and I found ourselves waking up between midnight and 3 a.m. for the first couple of nights. We tried in vain to go back to sleep but ended up turning on the light and reading something. The girls did surprisingly better on that adjustment. We explored our new house that night and the next day. The mornings are cool and the evenings can be as well if it has rained a lot. There is no heating of any kind so one has to wear layers of clothes. That first night the house felt cold and clammy. It’s hard not to feel a bit depressed and homesick in that first night state of mind.
The MCC house is in a compound about the size of a half a football field. Inside the gated wall there is our house, two ship containers back to back (one is a storage shed, the other a guest room), MCC offices, parking area for the 4 MCC vehicles and a nice little garden area down below the house. Everything is green right now, plenty of daily rain. There are always one or two “guards” at the gate by day and by night (no weapons, mostly deterrent). They screen visitors at the gate and open it when a vehicle comes and goes. Yeshi is our housekeeper and comes weekdays. She arrives after breakfast and starts housekeeping; washing the dishes, making beds, straightening up, cleaning floors, washing and ironing clothes, making meals. She makes the evening meal and puts it in the refrigerator and leaves about 4:30 p.m.
The house itself feels a bit “dark” on the inside. We are used to bright lighting and single bulbs from the ceiling in the middle of a large room has an old movie feel to it. The area immediately around the bulb is fine, but large pockets around the room remain dark. There aren’t as many electrical outlets and it may be just as well. That first night we tried to plug in two space heaters to warm up and off went the electric! John thought it was just a normal cut and it may have been but the power stayed off. Eventually we checked the circuit box and found out it was us.
Our first order of business the next day was to see the school the girls were going to go to. Bingham Academy. It was a 15-20 drive from the house. By day we could see Addis. I think the traffic and roads struck me the most. To us westerners it looks like there are no rules on the road, it seems total chaos. But in fact rules exist, it is only that they are informal, not codified. For example, the road is shared by buses, minibuses, taxis, trucks, cars, SUV’s, people, donkeys, horses, goats, sheep and the occasional chicken. Traffic flow reminds me of people who are all trying to exit a movie theatre, there is no lineup, everyone is moving forward together. But one by one they squeeze through the door. As long as your vehicle’s nose is in front of the other’s you are given the right of way. People and animals walk into traffic and vehicles casually steer around them.
I had seen this before in Cairo but this has been a new experience for Wanda and the girls. Another new experience will be the “supermarkets” I don’t expect to see any supermarkets that resemble a Zehrs or Buehlers. But we will be shopping in a “Seven Eleven” supermarket that is slightly larger than a 7-11 or Avondale.
The weekend and week of July 7-10 we were on the road south of Addis. Not only does Ethiopia have mountains but beautiful lakes and large tracts of farming land. John and Holly want us to meet as many MCC partners with them as possible before we go so we headed for the Boricha project way down south, an 8 hour ride. No 4-lane highway here but a decent 2-lane outside of Addis. We stayed in at the Norwegian Lutheran Guesthouse; a series of little efficiencies built on the side of a hill overlooking Lake Awasa (get your map out or go to Mapquest). Mosquitoes were present so we were taking our malarone pills. They say there are hippos in the lake but we saw none, nor heard any. But the girls saw lots of wild roaming monkeys and exotic (to us) birds.
We also went through Nazret (Nazareth in English) on the way back and stayed overnight at the Safari Lodge, which was neither. It was located in the heart of a city of 300,000 and was a motel. But it did have a pool and the girls did jump in. It was too cool to stay in long (I managed 15-20 minutes) but they played around the pool.
In all the places we stopped the girls stayed back at the motel or guesthouse with someone watching them. All the projects are time consuming with lots of adults talking about things uninteresting to 7-9 year olds. That has been the way we’ve handled it here in Addis this week as well. John and Holly knew a family with two daughters who agreed to watch our girls this week while we go all over the city meeting church and project leaders. So our girls have stayed away and played far from the boring action of MCC activities.
Much more could be said but that is it in a nutshell. Again, I will try to post at least once a week (which may be longer) but may post shorter observational blogs during the week. It all depends on how much time we have and what our internet situation is . . .
John and Holly Blosser Yoder, outgoing CR’s, had a full schedule planned. We were glad to soak up as much information as they could provide in 10 days before they left, but it looked like a lot to 5 tired bodies. Our internal clocks were ticking on the wrong time. Wanda and I found ourselves waking up between midnight and 3 a.m. for the first couple of nights. We tried in vain to go back to sleep but ended up turning on the light and reading something. The girls did surprisingly better on that adjustment. We explored our new house that night and the next day. The mornings are cool and the evenings can be as well if it has rained a lot. There is no heating of any kind so one has to wear layers of clothes. That first night the house felt cold and clammy. It’s hard not to feel a bit depressed and homesick in that first night state of mind.
The MCC house is in a compound about the size of a half a football field. Inside the gated wall there is our house, two ship containers back to back (one is a storage shed, the other a guest room), MCC offices, parking area for the 4 MCC vehicles and a nice little garden area down below the house. Everything is green right now, plenty of daily rain. There are always one or two “guards” at the gate by day and by night (no weapons, mostly deterrent). They screen visitors at the gate and open it when a vehicle comes and goes. Yeshi is our housekeeper and comes weekdays. She arrives after breakfast and starts housekeeping; washing the dishes, making beds, straightening up, cleaning floors, washing and ironing clothes, making meals. She makes the evening meal and puts it in the refrigerator and leaves about 4:30 p.m.
The house itself feels a bit “dark” on the inside. We are used to bright lighting and single bulbs from the ceiling in the middle of a large room has an old movie feel to it. The area immediately around the bulb is fine, but large pockets around the room remain dark. There aren’t as many electrical outlets and it may be just as well. That first night we tried to plug in two space heaters to warm up and off went the electric! John thought it was just a normal cut and it may have been but the power stayed off. Eventually we checked the circuit box and found out it was us.
Our first order of business the next day was to see the school the girls were going to go to. Bingham Academy. It was a 15-20 drive from the house. By day we could see Addis. I think the traffic and roads struck me the most. To us westerners it looks like there are no rules on the road, it seems total chaos. But in fact rules exist, it is only that they are informal, not codified. For example, the road is shared by buses, minibuses, taxis, trucks, cars, SUV’s, people, donkeys, horses, goats, sheep and the occasional chicken. Traffic flow reminds me of people who are all trying to exit a movie theatre, there is no lineup, everyone is moving forward together. But one by one they squeeze through the door. As long as your vehicle’s nose is in front of the other’s you are given the right of way. People and animals walk into traffic and vehicles casually steer around them.
I had seen this before in Cairo but this has been a new experience for Wanda and the girls. Another new experience will be the “supermarkets” I don’t expect to see any supermarkets that resemble a Zehrs or Buehlers. But we will be shopping in a “Seven Eleven” supermarket that is slightly larger than a 7-11 or Avondale.
The weekend and week of July 7-10 we were on the road south of Addis. Not only does Ethiopia have mountains but beautiful lakes and large tracts of farming land. John and Holly want us to meet as many MCC partners with them as possible before we go so we headed for the Boricha project way down south, an 8 hour ride. No 4-lane highway here but a decent 2-lane outside of Addis. We stayed in at the Norwegian Lutheran Guesthouse; a series of little efficiencies built on the side of a hill overlooking Lake Awasa (get your map out or go to Mapquest). Mosquitoes were present so we were taking our malarone pills. They say there are hippos in the lake but we saw none, nor heard any. But the girls saw lots of wild roaming monkeys and exotic (to us) birds.
We also went through Nazret (Nazareth in English) on the way back and stayed overnight at the Safari Lodge, which was neither. It was located in the heart of a city of 300,000 and was a motel. But it did have a pool and the girls did jump in. It was too cool to stay in long (I managed 15-20 minutes) but they played around the pool.
In all the places we stopped the girls stayed back at the motel or guesthouse with someone watching them. All the projects are time consuming with lots of adults talking about things uninteresting to 7-9 year olds. That has been the way we’ve handled it here in Addis this week as well. John and Holly knew a family with two daughters who agreed to watch our girls this week while we go all over the city meeting church and project leaders. So our girls have stayed away and played far from the boring action of MCC activities.
Much more could be said but that is it in a nutshell. Again, I will try to post at least once a week (which may be longer) but may post shorter observational blogs during the week. It all depends on how much time we have and what our internet situation is . . .
Travelogue
The Roth Amstutz Odyssey began on Monday morning, July 2. The vans were packed full of luggage. The Ohio summer sun shone brightly, the morning air was fresh and clear. Both the Roth and Amstutz families were gathered and ready to drive with us up to Hopkins International Airport in Cleveland. We made a brief circle and said a prayer and we were off.
The biggest questions were about luggage: would the luggage, especially the 2 boxes, make it all the way to Ethiopia without damage and without being lost? Would they let us check out 10 huge pieces of luggage/ boxes all the way through from Cleveland to Addis Ababa, in spite of our 24 hour layover in Frankfurt? Were our pieces overweight, in spite of weighing them on our small bathroom scale (we knew the one box was overweight, would they let it pass)?
The officials at United seemed slow and uninterested in customer service (we’ve enjoyed Southwest and West Jet too often). We were given good news and bad news; yes, they would check our luggage all the way to Addis, but some pieces of luggage were overweight. In the end we were charged $100 for our overweight baggage but the luggage was on the plane and we were on our way.
Chicago O’Hare International was unpleasant. The area where we were to sit and wait on our layover was hot. The air was motionless and the sun beat into the waiting area. My mini-crisis came when we were ready to board a member of the Lufthansa airline staff said I couldn’t take my carry-on on board. I just brought in on board from Cleveland! I made the quick decision to not argue the point. Wanda threw a pillowcase at me and I quickly stuffed a few of my belongings I would need at the hotel in Frankfurt. I spent the next two days wandering around with a half-full pillowcase in tow.
Chicago-Frankfurt will be a flight to remember, a night which will live in infamy. A lesson for our family; don’t bring the maximum carry-on on board: backpacks, Barbie “purses”, dolls, blankets, etc. We all brought too much stuff on board. We were strewn across one whole row of the plane. Getting in and out of our seats for any reason took effort. In addition, the boy in the seat in front of me decided to recline his seat fully from the beginning. The back of the seat was in my face the entire trip. Yes, I know, simply ask him to move it forward. But I played the part of a long suffering good guy. It only made me grumpy.
Our little party of five entered the Frankfurt airport in the early morning at 6:45 (German time, our bodies were still at 12:45 North American time) dazed and confused. The girls instantly noticed smokers in the airport. They seemed to be smoking everywhere! But it was only at designated spots. We made our way through customs with our carry-ons hanging out everywhere upon us. I worried about my checked carry on and our luggage. But a very nice Lufthansa woman assured me that it was all in a secured holding area, not to worry. I decided to take her at her word, we were all too tired to care. Next was to find a shuttle bus to our hotel. I used a phone to call our hotel’s front desk and she told me one was coming. But I was either too tired or she was not clear enough, anyways we waited at the wrong area for about 45 minutes until I called again and realized we needed to be about 300 meters up the terminal. Everyone took the whole fiasco well but Abby. She had had enough of snafus and was mad as heck and wasn’t gonna take it anymore . . . *sigh*. Yes we found the shuttle and the hotel and by 10 a.m. we were in our hotel.
So we slept. Ideally we should have stayed awake the whole day but if there is a bed in your room and you can’t think of a reason not to lie down on it . . . Thank the Lord for Andy and Manuela Martin who came up by train from Basel to keep us company for the evening. They provided us with an excuse to get out. We walked and talked and eventually found an Italian restaurant on a street corner. The pizza was great and I got my good German beer (I ordered “ein gut Deutsche bier” which got a few laughs. Apparently the phrase “good German beer” is redundant, because all German beer is good). Andy and Manuela were only with us for 4 hours but they lifted all our spirits so much, hanging out with friends was very heartwarming.
Our final leg of the journey to Addis Ababa actually went pretty well. The flight was better and when someone reclined their seat in front of me, I did what any good “passive-ist” would do, I reclined my own seat fully. I did feel sorry for the woman in front of me. The man in front of her was quite large, over 300 pounds easily and he started it, reclining his seat back fully. Fortunately the Lufthansa attendants made him raise his seat upright for the meal, so the woman did hers and I did mine. He never reclined it back again. We saw Addis by night as we landed at 8:45 p.m.
There was lots of good news at the end of the journey. All of our luggage arrived, including my carry-on bag and all its contents. Thank you Lord and thank you Lufthansa! We were also met by the folks who were coming to meet us; John Yoder, Tamara Hayes, Mr. Mekonnen and Ms. Yeshi. The only hiccup was that the airport officials wouldn’t let our girls in without visas. So we ponied up $60 and got 15 day visas for the three. But late that night we were in our new home, exhausted but happy to have arrived.
[Apologies to all those who have waited anxiously for word of our arrival but we have been in full gear since we arrived. We were gone from Saturday until Tuesday down south seeing important projects and meeting partners we will be working with. I’ll be adding blogs in the coming days to ‘catch up’ and then hope to blog on Sundays so you can count on at least once a week, Mondays, a blog from us. Feel free to comment on our blog at the end of each entry.]
The biggest questions were about luggage: would the luggage, especially the 2 boxes, make it all the way to Ethiopia without damage and without being lost? Would they let us check out 10 huge pieces of luggage/ boxes all the way through from Cleveland to Addis Ababa, in spite of our 24 hour layover in Frankfurt? Were our pieces overweight, in spite of weighing them on our small bathroom scale (we knew the one box was overweight, would they let it pass)?
The officials at United seemed slow and uninterested in customer service (we’ve enjoyed Southwest and West Jet too often). We were given good news and bad news; yes, they would check our luggage all the way to Addis, but some pieces of luggage were overweight. In the end we were charged $100 for our overweight baggage but the luggage was on the plane and we were on our way.
Chicago O’Hare International was unpleasant. The area where we were to sit and wait on our layover was hot. The air was motionless and the sun beat into the waiting area. My mini-crisis came when we were ready to board a member of the Lufthansa airline staff said I couldn’t take my carry-on on board. I just brought in on board from Cleveland! I made the quick decision to not argue the point. Wanda threw a pillowcase at me and I quickly stuffed a few of my belongings I would need at the hotel in Frankfurt. I spent the next two days wandering around with a half-full pillowcase in tow.
Chicago-Frankfurt will be a flight to remember, a night which will live in infamy. A lesson for our family; don’t bring the maximum carry-on on board: backpacks, Barbie “purses”, dolls, blankets, etc. We all brought too much stuff on board. We were strewn across one whole row of the plane. Getting in and out of our seats for any reason took effort. In addition, the boy in the seat in front of me decided to recline his seat fully from the beginning. The back of the seat was in my face the entire trip. Yes, I know, simply ask him to move it forward. But I played the part of a long suffering good guy. It only made me grumpy.
Our little party of five entered the Frankfurt airport in the early morning at 6:45 (German time, our bodies were still at 12:45 North American time) dazed and confused. The girls instantly noticed smokers in the airport. They seemed to be smoking everywhere! But it was only at designated spots. We made our way through customs with our carry-ons hanging out everywhere upon us. I worried about my checked carry on and our luggage. But a very nice Lufthansa woman assured me that it was all in a secured holding area, not to worry. I decided to take her at her word, we were all too tired to care. Next was to find a shuttle bus to our hotel. I used a phone to call our hotel’s front desk and she told me one was coming. But I was either too tired or she was not clear enough, anyways we waited at the wrong area for about 45 minutes until I called again and realized we needed to be about 300 meters up the terminal. Everyone took the whole fiasco well but Abby. She had had enough of snafus and was mad as heck and wasn’t gonna take it anymore . . . *sigh*. Yes we found the shuttle and the hotel and by 10 a.m. we were in our hotel.
So we slept. Ideally we should have stayed awake the whole day but if there is a bed in your room and you can’t think of a reason not to lie down on it . . . Thank the Lord for Andy and Manuela Martin who came up by train from Basel to keep us company for the evening. They provided us with an excuse to get out. We walked and talked and eventually found an Italian restaurant on a street corner. The pizza was great and I got my good German beer (I ordered “ein gut Deutsche bier” which got a few laughs. Apparently the phrase “good German beer” is redundant, because all German beer is good). Andy and Manuela were only with us for 4 hours but they lifted all our spirits so much, hanging out with friends was very heartwarming.
Our final leg of the journey to Addis Ababa actually went pretty well. The flight was better and when someone reclined their seat in front of me, I did what any good “passive-ist” would do, I reclined my own seat fully. I did feel sorry for the woman in front of me. The man in front of her was quite large, over 300 pounds easily and he started it, reclining his seat back fully. Fortunately the Lufthansa attendants made him raise his seat upright for the meal, so the woman did hers and I did mine. He never reclined it back again. We saw Addis by night as we landed at 8:45 p.m.
There was lots of good news at the end of the journey. All of our luggage arrived, including my carry-on bag and all its contents. Thank you Lord and thank you Lufthansa! We were also met by the folks who were coming to meet us; John Yoder, Tamara Hayes, Mr. Mekonnen and Ms. Yeshi. The only hiccup was that the airport officials wouldn’t let our girls in without visas. So we ponied up $60 and got 15 day visas for the three. But late that night we were in our new home, exhausted but happy to have arrived.
[Apologies to all those who have waited anxiously for word of our arrival but we have been in full gear since we arrived. We were gone from Saturday until Tuesday down south seeing important projects and meeting partners we will be working with. I’ll be adding blogs in the coming days to ‘catch up’ and then hope to blog on Sundays so you can count on at least once a week, Mondays, a blog from us. Feel free to comment on our blog at the end of each entry.]
Friday, June 29, 2007
Roller Coaster Ride
Our journey begins in earnest today. This is our final day at Akron in our Leadership Orientation. I have often thought of a roller coaster ride as a metaphor for acting on significant decisions in my life and the metaphor came back to me this week. You know how a roller coaster ride feels. You spend all that time waiting in line in anticipation. You are excited and brag to your friends that it's not a big deal, you've done roller coasters before. Sure this one is bigger and badder than the last one but you can handle it. As you get to the platform you look up at the first hill, you could change your mind right now and walk away. But you don't. Then it's your turn to get into the coaster. Again, you feel some trepidation and you could get up and go with some excuse (I have to go to the bathroom, so sorry). But you stay and the attendant straps you in. Even now you could shout, "Stop!" and the safety conscious attendants would stop and let you out.
But then comes the moment when the coaster pulls away from the platform and the click-click-click begins, taking you up that first huge hill. You are locked in. No turning back. Doesn't matter how you are feeling, you've gotta go through with it . . . and that first hill is a doozy. But the ride is exhilarating, exciting and upon exiting the ride you want to go again.
So we are at the platform of the roller coaster station. It's exciting and scary to think about. Soon the click-click-click of the beginning of the ride will happen, Monday is only 72 hours away. We are not locked in yet, but all the plans are in place.
We leave Akron with many great memories. All these people in the photo have become good friends in a short time. But like those days of schooling (university, seminary, etc.) when you live, work and play intensely for a period of time, the day inevitably comes when you must say good-bye and scatter. We are all assigned places around the world; Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, India, Syria, Ethiopia, Jordan, West Africa, South Africa, Washington D.C. and here at Akron. As Billy Joel once sang, "I've loved these days". The lunches where we got to know each other better, the daily devotionals, even the long sessions full of valuable information that overwhelmed us in the end (in computer terms, "memory almost full").I cannot finish without a mention of our trip to the Material Resource Center near here. MCC still sends material aid to where it is needed. Our partners (local folks in all the countries we are in) ask and we try to respond. Pictured below is a ship's container on a semi truck full of education kits, over 40,000, for Liberia. When a container is full, staff and volunteers at the MRC will gather to say a prayer for safe passage and a blessing upon the contents, that it may get to those who need the aid. We saw so many amazing things (30,000 cancer kit binders to be thrown away were salvaged and turned into more education kits for children around the world) and heard so many amazing tales (MCC blankets being sent to Darfur to the delight of the people. The story is told that initially the leaders said no to the 12,000 blankets but after a promise of quality and the rep of MCC, they relented. They were used to a non-descript UN thin, blue-gray blanket. When the thick, hand-crafted brilliantly colorful MCC blankets arrived they were stunned. Now they are asking for more . . .) we feel privileged to be a part of such a quality NGO (non-governmental organization).
Remember us as we travel on Monday (Cleveland-Chicago-Frankfurt, Germany on July 2-3. A 24 hour layover on July 3. Leave July 4, Frankfurt-Khartoum, Sudan-Addis Ababa, Ethiopia at 8:45 p.m. on the 4th).
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Chasing Fireflies
Summer is here, with the longest day of the year. Nightfall comes late, creating a dilemma for conscientious parents; should you let your kids stay up well past their bedtime in order to chase fireflies? After all, the days are long and they get up early. No one likes a grumpy child the next day. But we let Amani, Abby and Sophia stay up past sunset into the dusk to chase the lightning bugs that are twinkling all around the Welcoming Place compound. Their friends join them and there is laughter and cries of joy as the children run to places where a tiny light blinks in mid-air for a second and disappears. In the cool of the evening the adults relax in 10,000 Villages chairs (made of bamboo wood and fashioned like a hammock on a frame) and enjoy a time of non-study. (inset photo: Renate, Amani, Nathan, Sophia, Abby)
Week 2 is now past. For the children there was more of the same; mornings with a short devotional time (singing and sharing and praying), then either a special speaker, crafts or an MCC video. In the afternoon there were the field trips; going to a large central market, or to a pretzel making factory or to the Lancaster Cultural Heritage Center or a 10,000 Villages tour. Learning about MCC or Mennonites/Amish and even the history of all the above is part and parcel of their education. But when the afternoon is done, they are happy to be finished. In fact, Wanda and I see less of them than when we were back home in St. Catharines. "Do you know where the girls are?" "No," is not as worrisome here. They are playing with their new friends either around or inside the buildings or they have found an open computer and are playing games on the internet (yes, we do monitor that).
And our daughters have made new friends. There is Nathan and Renate, children of our friends Marcellin and Esther who are going to be CR's in Zimbabwe. There's Annika and Faye, children of our friends Larry and Gayle who are going to be CR's in Bangladesh. There are other children coming and going as well. We got to meet Holly and her children Jacob, Nicholas and Suzanna coming back from Ethiopia. Suzanna quickly fit in with our girls (there are alot of girls running around here!). There is plenty to keep the children busy but there are times when Sophia or Abby or Amani will pause and think of what they left . . . and there have been a few tears.
As for Wanda and I? It feels like we sit all week long. Eating, sitting and sleeping. But good stuff happening in the sessions. How to fill out forms, who to talk to in the Akron offices for various and sundry problems, how to get around in the new financial programs for MCC countries. But the bulk of the week was with Jan Schmidt who walked us through how to deal with conflict in relationships. Jan, a professional consultant on conflict resolution in business and church, shares leadership in a consulting business in Winnipeg. Sessions were intense, focused, interactive (role-playing) and creative. We were exhausted every afternoon but we learned alot. Then on Friday Bob Herr and Judy Zimmerman came in to introduce us to the new MCC Country Planning System. They are walking us through the vision, the mission and the manuals that talk about it all. They aren't done with us yet. We'll see them next Monday and Tuesday.
Wanda and I got fresh insight on the MCC Ethiopia position this week thanks to Holly coming in. As we ate meals together, she gave us valuable insight into the program, the people and the position of Country Representative. John and Holly did great work over the past 4 1/2 years, we'll have big shoes to fill.
We've got Skype up and running! Thanks to a little help from a friend, we can now call and see Mom & Dad over the internet, even from Ethiopia (depending, of course, on the quality of the internet connection where we will be)! It was a most accidental connection. I was in bed with the computer on to download some photos from my camera and suddenly the Skype program popped up. The wireless service is weak on the MCC campus so I never expected my computer to connect, we use landlines for a stable connection. But there was Mr. Anderson and my Dad trying to connect, sounding like an old scratchy intercom connection. I quickly took the computer over to the Meeting Place and plugged in a landline connection. After a few glitches and false starts last night we talked for about 30 minutes. I think this will be fun.
So we are ready for the weekend. Saturday will be catch-up day for Wanda and I. Filling out yet more forms, making up another To-Do list for next week, going out to buy a few needed items yet, play some Frisbee golf with the girls. Sunday we plan to go to church at Akron Mennonite, then a picnic lunch with friends JW and Deb Sprunger. We found a great pizza place and plan to take our friends out to supper there. We've also got an invitation to go to an MCC house for strawberries and ice cream. Ah, these are the days . . .
Then comes next week. More sitting, eating and sleeping . . . and preparing mentally for next weekend when we will be packing to fly to our new home in Addis Ababa . . .
Week 2 is now past. For the children there was more of the same; mornings with a short devotional time (singing and sharing and praying), then either a special speaker, crafts or an MCC video. In the afternoon there were the field trips; going to a large central market, or to a pretzel making factory or to the Lancaster Cultural Heritage Center or a 10,000 Villages tour. Learning about MCC or Mennonites/Amish and even the history of all the above is part and parcel of their education. But when the afternoon is done, they are happy to be finished. In fact, Wanda and I see less of them than when we were back home in St. Catharines. "Do you know where the girls are?" "No," is not as worrisome here. They are playing with their new friends either around or inside the buildings or they have found an open computer and are playing games on the internet (yes, we do monitor that).
And our daughters have made new friends. There is Nathan and Renate, children of our friends Marcellin and Esther who are going to be CR's in Zimbabwe. There's Annika and Faye, children of our friends Larry and Gayle who are going to be CR's in Bangladesh. There are other children coming and going as well. We got to meet Holly and her children Jacob, Nicholas and Suzanna coming back from Ethiopia. Suzanna quickly fit in with our girls (there are alot of girls running around here!). There is plenty to keep the children busy but there are times when Sophia or Abby or Amani will pause and think of what they left . . . and there have been a few tears.
As for Wanda and I? It feels like we sit all week long. Eating, sitting and sleeping. But good stuff happening in the sessions. How to fill out forms, who to talk to in the Akron offices for various and sundry problems, how to get around in the new financial programs for MCC countries. But the bulk of the week was with Jan Schmidt who walked us through how to deal with conflict in relationships. Jan, a professional consultant on conflict resolution in business and church, shares leadership in a consulting business in Winnipeg. Sessions were intense, focused, interactive (role-playing) and creative. We were exhausted every afternoon but we learned alot. Then on Friday Bob Herr and Judy Zimmerman came in to introduce us to the new MCC Country Planning System. They are walking us through the vision, the mission and the manuals that talk about it all. They aren't done with us yet. We'll see them next Monday and Tuesday.
Wanda and I got fresh insight on the MCC Ethiopia position this week thanks to Holly coming in. As we ate meals together, she gave us valuable insight into the program, the people and the position of Country Representative. John and Holly did great work over the past 4 1/2 years, we'll have big shoes to fill.
We've got Skype up and running! Thanks to a little help from a friend, we can now call and see Mom & Dad over the internet, even from Ethiopia (depending, of course, on the quality of the internet connection where we will be)! It was a most accidental connection. I was in bed with the computer on to download some photos from my camera and suddenly the Skype program popped up. The wireless service is weak on the MCC campus so I never expected my computer to connect, we use landlines for a stable connection. But there was Mr. Anderson and my Dad trying to connect, sounding like an old scratchy intercom connection. I quickly took the computer over to the Meeting Place and plugged in a landline connection. After a few glitches and false starts last night we talked for about 30 minutes. I think this will be fun.
So we are ready for the weekend. Saturday will be catch-up day for Wanda and I. Filling out yet more forms, making up another To-Do list for next week, going out to buy a few needed items yet, play some Frisbee golf with the girls. Sunday we plan to go to church at Akron Mennonite, then a picnic lunch with friends JW and Deb Sprunger. We found a great pizza place and plan to take our friends out to supper there. We've also got an invitation to go to an MCC house for strawberries and ice cream. Ah, these are the days . . .
Then comes next week. More sitting, eating and sleeping . . . and preparing mentally for next weekend when we will be packing to fly to our new home in Addis Ababa . . .
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
"I Feel Like a Crumpled Chip"
It is early Monday morning and Amani, Abby and Sophia are still in bed. We are at the MCC Welcoming Place, a series of buildings to house international MCC workers who are taking orientation sessions before leaving on assignment. It was a long drive on Sunday from Kidron, Ohio to Akron, PA and we arrived after 8 p.m. The girls were pumped, no getting them to bed before 10 p.m.
Now Wanda is waking up the girls. As she sits on Sophia's bed and strokes her hair, a still-tired Sophia says, "Mom, I feel like a crumpled chip at the bottom of the bag."
That about says it all folks. The last week has felt just so for all of us . . . I have felt like a crumpled chip too. The selling of so much of our worldly possessions. The checking off the list of all the things MCC asked us to do (shots and medications at the health clinic, forms to fill out) to leave town as well as what we needed to do to leave town without a posse coming after us for unpaid bills . . . Then there was the move-out and we weren't as ready as we should have been. Thanks to all those wonderful volunteers who came out to help us pack the UHaul . . . and sorry about the chaos.
We struggled with feeling sick and tired. Sometimes all at once. Deadlines drove us, especially Friday, June 8. So when, by a miracle (it seemed), our UHaul truck and grandma/ grandpa Amstutz' minivan pulled out of 1 Woodcroft Ave. at 3:30 p.m. we breathed a sigh of relief . . . but not for long. Would U.S. customs officials let us cross the border? The answer would be "yes" for me and our daughters. But Wanda was crossing without any status. A call to the border earlier in the week confirmed our fears. The official said that it would be the border guard's call; we could be pulled over and questioned or even denied entry and have to turn back. So we prayed as we approached the bridge.
Wanda and I felt that, given our recent run of luck, we were just a likely to be kicked back to Canada as to enter the U.S., a 50/50 chance. As the diesel engine chugged down to the border crossing on the American side, I decided to choose lucky 7. An older man awaited us. He asked us the normal questions, then asked us for proof of our story. We handed over a file of documents we had put together to convince them of the truth of our story. We told them about my parents in the minivan behind who had our 3 daughters. Then in a sudden gesture, he gave back our file and passports and waved us through, "you may go."
I was stunned. I almost asked for clarification (what did you say?). But recovered my senses and drove away and waited for the minivan. We were shaking like leaves in the wind. Deliverance. A "Gott Kann" story for our little family. How and why did he let us go without further grilling or documentation? I don't know but I was convinced in that moment it was the hand of God.
Our adventure wasn't quite over. We weathered severe rain storms through New York and Pennsylvania with the window on the UHaul wide open. I couldn't get the a/c or even the vent to blow anything but hot air so it felt better to feel the cool rain and the cool air rushing in on us. The UHaul made it to Kidron that night. Exhausted but content to end the day with the goodness of a shower, clean bed and quiet place, everyone rested. The next day we not only had to unload the UHaul but put everything out and re-sort items. The rushed packing meant items that should be together were scattered all over; kitchen ware, workbench, electronics, children's stuff, etc. But the day was beautiful. Sunny, warm but low humidity. Unfortunately we ended up with sunburns because we neglected to lather up in the morning (Wanda is suffering more).
We have finished our first day of orientation at MCC. We felt like crumpled chips but today some life returned. Bit by bit we shall feel more ourselves. We miss all our friends in St. Catharines (thanks to those who are writing Amani, Abby and Sophia. They'll be writing back one of these days) and family.
For now, we are in good hands and go to our rest tonight in peace . . .
Now Wanda is waking up the girls. As she sits on Sophia's bed and strokes her hair, a still-tired Sophia says, "Mom, I feel like a crumpled chip at the bottom of the bag."
That about says it all folks. The last week has felt just so for all of us . . . I have felt like a crumpled chip too. The selling of so much of our worldly possessions. The checking off the list of all the things MCC asked us to do (shots and medications at the health clinic, forms to fill out) to leave town as well as what we needed to do to leave town without a posse coming after us for unpaid bills . . . Then there was the move-out and we weren't as ready as we should have been. Thanks to all those wonderful volunteers who came out to help us pack the UHaul . . . and sorry about the chaos.
We struggled with feeling sick and tired. Sometimes all at once. Deadlines drove us, especially Friday, June 8. So when, by a miracle (it seemed), our UHaul truck and grandma/ grandpa Amstutz' minivan pulled out of 1 Woodcroft Ave. at 3:30 p.m. we breathed a sigh of relief . . . but not for long. Would U.S. customs officials let us cross the border? The answer would be "yes" for me and our daughters. But Wanda was crossing without any status. A call to the border earlier in the week confirmed our fears. The official said that it would be the border guard's call; we could be pulled over and questioned or even denied entry and have to turn back. So we prayed as we approached the bridge.
Wanda and I felt that, given our recent run of luck, we were just a likely to be kicked back to Canada as to enter the U.S., a 50/50 chance. As the diesel engine chugged down to the border crossing on the American side, I decided to choose lucky 7. An older man awaited us. He asked us the normal questions, then asked us for proof of our story. We handed over a file of documents we had put together to convince them of the truth of our story. We told them about my parents in the minivan behind who had our 3 daughters. Then in a sudden gesture, he gave back our file and passports and waved us through, "you may go."
I was stunned. I almost asked for clarification (what did you say?). But recovered my senses and drove away and waited for the minivan. We were shaking like leaves in the wind. Deliverance. A "Gott Kann" story for our little family. How and why did he let us go without further grilling or documentation? I don't know but I was convinced in that moment it was the hand of God.
Our adventure wasn't quite over. We weathered severe rain storms through New York and Pennsylvania with the window on the UHaul wide open. I couldn't get the a/c or even the vent to blow anything but hot air so it felt better to feel the cool rain and the cool air rushing in on us. The UHaul made it to Kidron that night. Exhausted but content to end the day with the goodness of a shower, clean bed and quiet place, everyone rested. The next day we not only had to unload the UHaul but put everything out and re-sort items. The rushed packing meant items that should be together were scattered all over; kitchen ware, workbench, electronics, children's stuff, etc. But the day was beautiful. Sunny, warm but low humidity. Unfortunately we ended up with sunburns because we neglected to lather up in the morning (Wanda is suffering more).
We have finished our first day of orientation at MCC. We felt like crumpled chips but today some life returned. Bit by bit we shall feel more ourselves. We miss all our friends in St. Catharines (thanks to those who are writing Amani, Abby and Sophia. They'll be writing back one of these days) and family.
For now, we are in good hands and go to our rest tonight in peace . . .
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