here is the first installment of my ethiopia retro diary (or retro "journal" if that sounds more masculine)...
day #1:
i'm going to skip the flying and travel portion of the trip. we sat on planes for a long time. the end. when we arrived in addis ababa, ethiopia late at night the city was a sea of black. almost eerily dark for a city of 4 million people. turns out not much of addis is turned off during the night or doesn't have any electricity to turn off anyway. the next morning i was awakened by chanting prayers echoing from the nearest mosque. i groggily walked downstairs, and after i came to the realization i was actually in ethiopia, i began enjoying some fresh brewed coffee, waffles, and authentic mango juice. not exactly the third world i had imagined in the darkness. however, that imagining would become reality a few hours later as we drove through the city.
on our first day we met our translator, Yoseph, who would be our translator for our entire stay. a lot happened on this first day but it was mostly just one big sensory overload that i can't quite contain with words. so instead of listing this thing i saw and that thing i saw, i want to tell you about my newest friend, Yoseph. here's his story. may it inspire you as it's inspired me and may it make you say “only God” as it's made me say the same thing.
Yoseph grew up in addis ababa. his mother was a prostitute and consequently he never knew his father. when Yoseph was young, around the age of 10, his mother died from AIDS (his age and the time frame of all this is a little scattered in my mind but the details are strikingly clear). Yoseph was now an orphan. he lived on the streets for around 3 years doing what it took to survive. after he had lived on the street for these few years he was found and taken in by christian children's fund (now known as child fund international). he was given the case number 485 and was soon sponsored by a man in pennsylvania (a man who still doesn't know the impact he had on one boy's life). Yoseph's sponsor provided him with food, shelter, and an education. through this process and the influence of those at CCF Yoseph found Jesus. he knew that the rescue that had taken place in his life could only be attributed to Jesus and he committed to following Him for the rest of his life. Yoseph went on to finish college (where he studied marketing) and through all the education he received, he learned a valuable amount of english. Yoseph, now 29, has a wife and a 4 year old son. although he makes a living as a translator at the ethiopia guest home (where we stayed) he also spends his time pouring back into the kids on the very same streets he survived. his passion and goal is to start a ministry called Case 485 that ministers to the children on the streets of addis as well as pastor a church (i think we're kindered spirits!).
Yospeh shared this story with us the very first day we were there and i only grew to admire him more as i got to know him throughout our stay. i can't tell you enough how amazing of a man he is and how much I appreciate his heart and his friendship. my goal is to make my life count for the glory of Jesus like my friend, Yoseph, is doing. in fact, let's all make that our goal.
0 comments:
Post a Comment