Another week is speeding by (oh, and Happy Halloween–or whatever you call this day!)

Over the weekend I started typing a post I was going to title something like “Ears and Vegetables”, not because they go together, but because they were both a part of my week!  Last week I think I saw the inner parts of more ears than in the prior two months combined.  Everyone seemed to have complaints—pain, hearing loss, itching, burning . . . I cleaned a couple of ears out, but I didn’t get anything fun out of them!! ☺ On Saturday I set out to buy fresh produce.  I miss some foods that just aren’t available here (diet coke, fajitas, and cottage cheese to name a few!), but I also really enjoy all the cheap fresh fruits and vegetables that are readily available in Addis. I bought spinach, tomatoes, cucumbers, leeks, lettuce, pineapple, bananas, bell peppers, and cilantro—and then had to get it all home while crammed into a public transport “minibus”!

But now it’s into another week and I’ve moved past all the ears and veggies☺ My coworker Alemu, who is the main nurse at the Lideta project site, is at the Bole site this week.  So, most of his crazy busyness will fall on me, Derek, and whoever is around to translate!  It’s at these times that I most wish I could speak Amharic fluently!  The past couple of days have been full of seeing patients, making home visits, inventorying the pharmacy, preparing to teach community health workers, wishing the TB proposal would get approved soon, and watching Friends.  Ha, the last is definitely not a part of my work activities, but it does provide a much-needed mental break from everything else.  Before I first came to Ethiopia, my good friend Michelle (who spent awhile in Africa as well) said that my laptop would become my “home entertainment system”!  How right she was!  I feel immensely blessed to be living now, in the era of computers and phones and internet (even though it’s horribly slow!).  I’ve got another post in my mind, because I want to take you with me on the home visits I did yesterday.  I can’t find the words yet, but I hope to soon.

So, for a cheery ending to what has been a beautiful day here in Ethiopia, I will share with you my latest joke.  I realize some of the humor will be lost on you, but hopefully the sheer absurdity of it will still make you laugh!
Q: How does a donkey cross the Ring Road?? (the most modern road in the country, I think—it’s a 4 lane divided highway complete with guardrails and a couple of overpasses that encircles most of the city).
A: Well, of course!  It climbs up the steps, trots across, and clambers down the PEDESTRIAN CROSSWALK over the Ring Road!!!
This scene made me stare in almost disbelief when I first saw it; I had never considered how animals could cross the road with the cement barriers and guardrails.  It’s even more fun when there are multiple donkeys, they have 5 ft wide packs on their backs, and they are trying to get past all the people walking and the beggars sitting along the crosswalk!

Just musings over dinner

I’m sitting in a westernized sandwich/soup/coffee place listening to country music. I’ve already heard “The way you look tonight” and “Wind beneath my wings” this evening, and the music is making me want “home”.  I call Addis home, and I mean that when I say it–I live here, my stuff is here, my work is here, I have a church and friends and a life here.  But there’s a part of me that will always want my other earthly home–the place where I have friends (and family) I go way back with, where life is easier and I’m not surrounded by screaming brokenness all of the time.  I just read this quote today and it made me pause:

Nobody tells you when you get born here how much you’re going to love and how you’ll never belong here.  So, I’ll call you my country and I’ll be lonely for my home.  I wish that I could take you there with me.

–Rich Mullins

So I remind myself that even if I were there right now, I would still long for my real home.  Life seems to be all about longings–they aren’t all bad, but the struggle is to set your mind to living and pushing toward the longings.

Life is rich, even with the longings for what I haven’t been given.  Today it was the clear blue sky, cool breeze, and bright smiles of beneficiaries that reminded me how sweet life is.  I’m not the most optimistic person on the face of the earth, but I’m glad when I’m reminded that even in the middle of hardness there’s a reason to sing.  Even if it is country music in the middle of Africa!  Now “Goodnight, Sweetheart” just came on–I think that’s a sign.  Hope you all have a peaceful day and night!

Again and Again

And with your final heartbeat
Kiss the world goodbye
Then go in peace, and laugh on Glory’s side, and
Fly to Jesus
Fly to Jesus
Fly to Jesus and live!

Tigist passed through the valley of the shadow of death and flew home last Monday night. Her death brought intense grief to the project, as she was a dear friend of many other beneficiaries. Truly, though, this time I’m so grateful that we do not have to mourn as those who do not have hope–Tigist had the greatest Hope of all. I along with several other coworkers went to her funeral–it was an experience that is imprinted on my memory. Grief is expressive here in ways we don’t allow in the West–and so the anguished wail of friends mourning their precious friend’s death is still reverberating through my mind. My coworker Derek wrote this post after the funeral–it shares in more words than I have right now about the day after Tigist died.

Then, this Monday night Shiferaw died. His death is discouraging–he’s been so sick since he joined the project about 5 months ago, and there have been many times we thought we would lose him. But over the past few weeks, he seems to be rallying; he was able to talk again, and eat a little. I could see hope growing on his wife’s face–maybe, after all, he would beat the odds of HIV, TB, and poverty. Suddenly, though, the battle for his life was over–and there are no second chances.

I hesitate sometimes to share these stories–I don’t want to present a “sob story” of life here. But this is the reality, the truth of life and work with this project. It’s hard to press on, but we don’t always have Monday nights that usher death in. We are given many, many good days. The CityLife team has visited many beneficiary homes, seen more than 100 patients in clinic, made beaded jewelry in girl’s group, assisted support groups with income generating ideas–all incredibly helpful activities to the project in general and to the beneficiaries specifically. This morning as I sat at my desk reading through our TB/HIV research proposal again, Fozia came to visit me. She’s about 4, and always has a sweet (albeit dirty!) smile waiting for me!! We chatted about her cough and trip to the health center, and of course I (the queen of candy) gave her a dum dum to suck on. Fozia is a visible reminder to me that we are here to keep on fighting for life. One day we, too, will get to kiss this broken world goodbye–and then our joy will be made full.

Lyrics by Chris Rice 

Another week

Just thought I’d update while I can:-)

The team from CityLife Boston arrived last night–no problems getting meds, lab supplies, etc through customs, so that is a huge praise!  Today was spent organizing the supplies they brought and going on home visits.  They will be here for about 2 weeks, and during that time we’ll do many more home visits, 5 days of clinic, girls and boys groups, support group business skills assistance, and a myriad of smaller activities.

A beneficiary and precious friend, Tigist, is dying.  Death is ugly, no matter how sterile we succeed in making it–especially in the West, because here you have no way of covering the terribleness.  This afternoon I went to the home she is staying in–there is only one bed in the room, and Tigist was curled up on the bed under a blanket.  She is weary.  I fought off tears as I took out the IV we had put in this morning.  Her moans of pain shook my soul.  I want to make it better.  I long for the end to be peaceful.

We are still waiting for approval from the national research institute to get the TB/HIV research project initiated.  Now that we have all the lab supplies here we are anxious to get started, especially since Derek is leaving in December and he needs to be here while we are doing all of the specimen collection.

I moved again Saturday (yes, that’s like the 4th or 5th time since April!!)–this one I hope is permanent!  I’m glad to be unpacking boxes but think that I should seriously downsize.  The first night in the house I only had a couple of small blankets, so then I was actually glad I hadn’t downsized in the clothes department.  I finally got mildly warm after 2 pairs of pants, 3 pairs of socks, and 5 shirts!

The sun is still shining.  It does wonders for the soul.

That’s my week, as viewed from Monday.  Hope you have a good one!

Wind of Change

Yesterday when I stepped outside, I immediately felt the difference in the air.  It was cool and crisp . . . and very windy.  But the wind was different from wet rainy season wind, and suddenly I remembered last October.  One day the wind showed up, and it blew for several days–and while it blew the rain ran away over the mountains and just like that rainy season was gone.  SO yesterday all day the wind blew, and I was happy–and it didn’t rain.  I checked the weather forecast–sure enough, it’s supposed to be clear and sunny . . . and COLD at night.  It will start dropping into the 30s most nights now that the cloud cover is gone.  Today I woke up to bright clear skies–not a cloud in sight!  I felt for just a moment like I was on the Texas/Oklahoma plains in the middle of a windy pasture:-)  As I was thinking about the wind, John Denver’s “Windsong” came into my head–it’s probably one of the lamest songs of all time, but today it’s stuck.

The wind is the bearer of bad and good tidings
The weaver of darkness, the bringer of dawn
The wind gives the rain, then builds us a rainbow
The wind is the singer who sang the first song

(For all you non-John Denver people–probably the majority of my readers–that’s the best verse, I promise!)

Today I feel like the wind is bringing the rainbow and song:-)  So happy windy day to all of you!