Making Changes

I made it to Ethiopia! Getting here was about two seven hour plane rides and a 12 hour layover in London (it could have been worse). The first thing when i got here (Addis Ababa) was checking into the guest house where I will be in and out of the whole summer. In African standards it is a really nice house with a kitchen, four bedrooms, several bathrooms and a living room with a TV. I have also been at the office the last few days getting oriented and meeting the staff. The staff here is great. It has just been tough learning the names of everyone, especially the national staff whose names are much different than the average American name. As far as what I am doing, the first month I will be touring around with the other interns to see the various projects around the country. There are a wide variety of projects ranging from HIV/AIDS prevention in the city to water and food distribution projects in the country. After the first month I will be spending most of my time in the southern region. I still am not sure of the specifics of what I will be doing. I just know I will get to be very involved with the projects down there. Most of them revolve around getting people food and water.

For now I am in Addis Ababa, the capital. It has lots of stores and shops and restaurants like any city, but there is no question I am in a developing country much different than America. Many buildings are run down, the streets are not marked, and it does not take long to see people in poverty literally laying on the side of the street begging for money. Many are blind or cripple. Children, many homeless or orphaned, are eager to beg foreigners for money. The culture here is beautiful but incredibly different too. It is very unique and unlike any other in the world. It is part Arabic and part African. In general Ethiopians are very proud of their heritage and history. They have many traditions and practices that will take me a long time to understand. Their clothing, language, customs, and food are very different. They love coffee (not unlike addicted Starbucks Americans) and claim to be the creators of it. For some, every morning or for certain circumstances, they perform a coffee ceremony including brewing fresh coffee and pouring three cups. The food is very different too. The main dish usually involves injera, which is like sour spongy pancake type bread. You typically sit around with the other people and eat food communally. You grab a piece of the injera and use it as your utensil to pick up the food placed in the middle to eat. Basically you eat with your hands (every child’s dream). Meat and lentils other spiced foods are placed in the middle for people to share and pick up with the injera in hand.

If I have learned anything it is that change is a good thing (even if it feels way outside my comfort zone at first). I am in a completely different culture with people I have never met for more than a week. In the past I have usually at least known someone closely when I have travelled or worked. Now it’s just me and strangers, soon to be friends I hope. But the point is that it seems uncomfortable for a little at the beginning, and a bit lonely. But that uncomfortableness and change is a good thing. It means I am being stretched and changed. When left on my own, I am prone to stick to routines and what is comfortable. Those are good things to an extent, but it means I might miss out on all the adventures life has in store for me. I am learning that when I am far out where I have never been before, even alone, my view of life and my purpose and God is expanded. That is a wonderful thing.

Jesus said that he came to give us life to the fullest (John 10:10). I believe that with all my heart. I don’t think there is a single person in the world that does not want that. Everyone wants life to the fullest, it’s just that most people don’t look to Christ to have it. Or they do not choose to follow God when He calls them somewhere else. Jesus also said that anyone who wants to follow him must be willing to give up everything (Luke 14:33). Those two statements are not contradictory when viewed in the right perspective. Why? Because life to the fullest is a life lived with God. Life to the fullest is not so much an ends but a process of going through life with God. It is a process of ups and downs and it begins with Him living inside us. The excitement and liberation comes from living life with God, walking with Him, and talking with Him. It certainly is not based on circumstances because a life with God involves giving up the temporary things in this world and trading them for His plans and eternal things. There is another problem though. Its hard for us to see His plans or eternal things unless He breaks us free from that which ties us to the world. This is a difficult process that involves change, growing up, moving on from the past, and looking forward to the new things God has planned for us.

God is a God of excitement and change. While He never changes, because He is perfect (Hebrews 13:8), the way He grows us and teaches us is through change. Change helps grow us up physically and mentally and closer to Him. This is an exciting process because it means breaking free of past addictions, idols, and comforts. When we pray for adventure and freedom and life to the fullest He gives it to us. However, it often does not come in the way we expect. We would like it to come in the form of some sort of comfortable bliss that lasts forever. Some sort of lifestyle or event that makes us feel brave and bold and on top of the world all the time. That is not realistic. We as humans are broken, scared, and prone to mediocrity. Therefore the path to life to the fullest and growing closer to God often takes the form change, moving on, and uncomfortable and sometimes overwhelming new circumstances.

There are two verses pertaining to this that God put on my mind lately that have brought me a lot of peace about change. The first is Isaiah 43:19. It says, “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See I am doing a new thing! Not it springs up’ do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland”. Basically saying that God always wants to move us forward. He paves a way for us through the tough times (the desert) to lead us to new places. New places and new experiences, even when they can be tough, are the avenue God uses to live a life to the fullest. AKA get us where He wants us and bring us closer to Himself. When you think about living a life with God it really is God teaching us new ways to trust Him through different circumstances and situations. Our role is to not dwell in the past but be hopeful of the future and move on to the new place God calls us. It can be scary but there is hope and peace in Christ. The second verse is one of comfort. Isaiah 48:17 says, “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.” That is the Lord saying that he knows and teaches us what is best for us. He does this by directing our lives. He knows what is best and we should trust Him in that. Therefore the best thing for us is to just listen and obey. Verse 18 goes on to say that “if only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, your righteousness like the waves of the sea”. We will never regret living a life trusting in God and His plan because he gives peace (despite our circumstances) and righteousness (another way of saying a right and good relationship with God) for those who listen to Him. That often means following Him into new places and uncharted waters. But that is life to the fullest!

Hello!

I recently graduated from Virginia Tech with a degree in Public and Urban Affairs. I concentrated in Global Development and minored in International Studies. Soon I will be doing an internship with Samaritan’s Purse for five months in Ethiopia helping with relief and development work. After a week of training, I will be flying out on June 19^th. I am excited to follow the Lord overseas right now and serve Him wherever He may call me after. I will use this blog to share what I am doing and what God is teaching me. I would like to ask for you prayer but more importantly please pray for the lost and broken of this world. I know Gods heart is with them.

Psalm 140:12 “I know that the LORD secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the needy.”