Mission Trip "Changed 2011" Part 10

BreAnna's Journal from Sunday, Jan. 23 :

-“How was Ethiopia?” A few more hours and I will be answering that question. How do you answer that question??? How do you explain to people that it was incredible but horrible; heart-wrenching but joy-giving? I will remember Ethiopia for the people. I will remember the Christians at Beza International Church that are excited to see God work. I will remember our drivers and translators…our protectors. They were always there for us, smiling, full of the joy of Jesus. I will remember the people who lead the ministries going on there. Their stories humbled me. Americans, in general, would look at them and call them crazy. They have absolutely nothing as far as materials go, but they had Jesus. These people “get it”… they get that true living begins when you give all you have for something bigger than yourself. And I will remember the street kids. I pray that each night as I go to bed that I will remember the kids who live on the streets. Children are starving and dying in Ethiopia, we can’t ignore the cries of those who have nothing. If we ignore these children we don’t really obey the Bible. I will not forget the ones in Ethiopia who cannot speak for themselves. The babies and toddlers who have stopped crying, stopped responding to people because no one is there for them. You read the stories, you watch the documentaries, you know the facts; but it takes personal involvement to “get it”. When you walk into a room filled with metal cribs and little babies crying and getting no response, and other babies lying there who don’t show any emotion, you cannot but hurt. When you spend 20 minutes playing peek-a-boo with a little baby and wonder if anyone ever has, or will, do that with him again-you hurt. You remember and you advocate. You become “one of those people” who cries when you tell stories about the plight of the orphans. You become “one of those people” who others don’t really “get”. And I will remember the beggars. I will remember their persistence in asking for money, their desperate pleas. No matter if giving to them may have enabled the “beggar epidemic”; you can’t forget their looks of despair.

In closing, I will remember the Ethiopian people. Although some of the poorest people on earth, they were also some of the happiest. I have much to learn from the people of Ethiopia. I will remember.