THE MILLENNIUM

"Today, once more, when Jesus comes amongst his own, his own don't know him! He comes in the rotten bodies of our poor: he comes even in the rich choked by their own riches. He comes in the loneliness of their hearts and when there is no one to love them. Jesus comes to you and me and often, very, very often, we pass him by." -­Mother Teresa

The Millennium
On New Years Eve us forengies went out to celebrate the turn of the New Year. We walked around for a while, soaking in colors, crowds and craziness, and then we watched the fireworks show from a hill in our neighborhood. It lasted almost 30 minutes and was one of the best shows I have ever seen!

Here is an article about the millennium celebration:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6990298.stm
And here are some images:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/6990473.stm

Since Ethiopians celebrate with large meals, last Saturday we had a Cherokee Millennium Celebration with 3 sheep and about 60 guests, two of whom where a HUGE answer to prayer. Elsabet and Mekedes are two women around my age who I met walking home from town on Wednesday. They are my first GIRL friends here, and after work calms down a little, I hope to spend more time with them. I was so excited they came to celebrate the Millennium with us.

One of the big projects I was a part of this summer is called the Cherokee Ethiopia Education Program. Through this program, nine 11th grade Ethiopian students are studying in various high schools in the States for one year. These intelligent students are from backgrounds of poverty. 7 of the 9 families of these students came to our celebration, and it was very special to see how excited they were for their sons and daughters. Goodness! I am so thankful for being a part of a group that is having such a positive impact on so many families.

The Health
Hmmm. Last Thursday I started feeling rather sick. I was in bed for most of the weekend (outside of the Millennium Celebration) and it is a week later I am still trying to get over this cold. So, sickness has slowed me down. I am feeling a bit behind on learning Amharic and exploring Addis, but these things will come with time. The different germs I am being exposed to at work at not helping, but hopefully I will feel better soon.

The Jesus
Kate and I had house Church together last weekend. It is such a blessing to be here together ­ she is a huge encouragement to me, especially after 5 very difficult and challenging days of work this week. Anywhoo, we listened to a VERY powerful sermon called Risk and the Triumph of Love by John Piper, and are both learning so much about what it means to follow Jesus in our new environment in Ethiopia. I have been encouraged in many different settings to BE JESUS to those around me, but this week Kate and I had our eye opened. After talking about Matthew 25, we are praying that we can treat others like they ARE Jesus. This is not a new concept, but a very encouraging and humbling way to go through the day.


The Job
I am working at a Mother Teresa's Missionary of Charity Orphanage in Asco ­ the second orphanage I wrote about in my last blog. Rob Shields, anther UNC grad, and I are teaching 5 days a week. He is the school PE teacher, and I am still trying to find me niche. We take 3 taxis to work, which is 45 minute commute from home (totally about $0.60 roundtrip a day). The best part of the morning is passing a herd of donkeys on the way to the bus station.

There are 450-500 HIV+ kids that live at the orphanage only 5 full time nuns who are in charge, and a collection of teachers and volunteers who run the school. During the weekdays the kids are divided by grade level -- there is the Montessori school, KG and Primary (1-4 grade) and then the other kids go to off campus to public school. I was placed in the Montessori school in the mornings to help teach English and the Primary school in the afternoon to help with English and Art.

As I said last time, things are a lot more messy and complex than they seem. My first week was extremely frustrating. I am still trying to figure out what my "job" is, and how to be effectiveŠor what that even means. The "Montessori school" is rather misleading. There are 60 children with 2 teachers in one room. They are divided between pre-k and kids too old to be in the nursery. These kids are in this one room for most of the day, (outside of play time and lunch) and there is crying, screaming, yelling and hitting going on every moment. There are so many levels to these frustrating  problems ­ first and most obviously, the kids do not have parents, therefore, discipline is relative. The kids are swatted with a stick or branch at the teacher¹s discretion and therefore the kids see no problem with being violent with each other. Second, teaching is SO very different in Ethiopia especially with this many children. There are a few songs and games, but for the most part, education is strict memorization: the teacher says a word or letter or phrase and the students scream that back to the teacher. There is very little room for questions, discussion or other interactions. This makes my job as a teacher very frustrating.

On Tuesday I planned to take 5 kids at a time outside to work on colors. I had a handful of lessons planned. First, we would review the colors in Amheric and in English. Then I would give then each a piece of colored Cray paper to glue on the corresponding colored poster. After this project, I had a game planned, then some review and then I was going to read a book on colors to the kids. WOW. This lesson could not have gone worse. Before we even glued the cray paper to the posters one kids ran off with the glue and another took the posted in a corner. Then a child started crying b.c his piece of red cray paper was a bit smaller than his neighbors. The kids used the color game to hit each other over the head, and no one sat down to listen to the book so I know there is a need in the Montessori school, but each day I leave I question if I have the strength and courage to go back. There are so many things running through my head, especially since I have little direction and less structure and lots of unsanitary and frustration conditions. The younger kids basically sit on the floor the whole day and put small pieces of whatever they can find in their mouths. There are so many different things to focus on ­ the 10 screaming kids, the 1 who wants to learn, the 3 who want to hold my two hands, the 4 who cry if they cannot sit in my lap, the 2 in the corner hitting each other, the one who just ate a cracker covered in ants, the 6 who are playing a game, it just seems like chaos and it is overwhelming and beautiful at the same time. Even though the conditions are pretty horrible, I know that if this orphanage was not here and struggling for survival and improvement, these kids would be sleeping on the street. So, that is what I think about in the mornings.

If you have any teaching experience, I would LOVE your advice and suggestions.

Another big frustration is that Asco does not allow photography inside the compounds. Since one of the main reason¹s I decided to go to Ethiopia was to work on a documentary and also teach photography, this aspect is a big point of contention. I am hoping that I can either find another school or organization to teach photography, or maybe with time the Nuns will allow me to do my project.

Outside of all those frustrating aspects, the kids are really beautiful. They all call me by my Ethiopian name, Falikalik, which is really fun to say. When we are not in class, I play with them and teach them silly things like the dumb and dumber dance and how to do cartwheels.

I am trying to figure out if I should stay at Asco 5 days a week, or maybe split up my time. I will give it one more week and more prayer and then make a decision. Regardless of the crazy situation, I am excited about the opportunity to love and encourage so many children.

The Contact
We do not have a mailing address (we might get one ib the next month but I am not sure yet. So, if you want to chat, feel free to email me. I do have an international cell phone if you would like to call, its 251.09.13.20.45.47 ­but this would probably be VERY VERY expensive.

"Beautiful are the ways of God if we allow him to use us as he wants."
­Mother Teresa