Waning days of Addis Ababa R & R

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March 5, 2013

Big spider morning, yucko!  The thing jumped on my ear, I thought perhaps it was a mosquito and was very shocked to see a big spider when I brushed at it.  A very persistent big spider I might add, clung to my clothes until I finally managed to haul it off me and SQUISH it, with great delight I might add!

I think I forgot to mention many moons ago the God orchestrated happening of meeting an acquaintance on Facebook who told me, “I never go on FB!” which led to my having company through the ordeal of the plane back to Malakal from Juba in January.  The chance meeting also had a lot to do with my move to the new home in the two rooms at the Mission 21 Guest House.  It is so wonderful when I can actually SEE God’s hands in things, even though I know that they are always there.

As the friend with whom I am staying and I walked down the street this afternoon to find lunch somewhere I was again struck by how easily I come to take paved streets for granted here in Addis Ababa.  In my mind’s eye I could see the dusty and unpaved streets of Malakal, and all of the potholes.  In the 2 ½ years that I have lived there now always during the dry season there is talk of the roads being paved, and it has not yet happened.  The roads being paved would help with drainage during the rainy season and with the dust during the dry season. 

I also realized this morning as I gazed out of the glass windows in the house where I am staying that in Malakal I have only seen one glass window.  In the Guest House where I now live in Malakal I have two rooms.  One is an older room and one is a newer room.  In the older room the window is actually glass.  In fact it is so glass that it has a curtain hanging over it.  The window in the new room has the usual mosquito mesh over it with a metal piece over that for protection against break ins and then finally two metal shutters that close and shut to keep dust out.  Glass could be problematic in such a hot climate without having power and therefore access to fans; however I do wonder if the amount of dust would be diminished inside of the houses.

Here in Addis Ababa the weather is generally milder than in Malakal and therefore glass windows are helpful because an open air house would be awfully darn cold with the colder nights.  While this year the March weather is warmer than usual, in the past I have longed for a space heater to take some of the chill off.

March 8, 2013

Yesterday I literally watched a man on the sidewalk here in Addis Ababa carry a lamb over his shoulders.  I was seriously thinking about The Good Shepherd.  I realize that he was probably taking the lamb to slaughter but it gave me great pause to consider the lost sheep that Jesus carries every day.  It was a sweet thing to contemplate…..there are not herds of cattle here in Addis Ababa as there are in Malakal but as I go by car on the odd day I see markets where lambs or goats are kept to be sold….and the streets usually smell absolutely terrible as the animals are not kept clean or in sanitary conditions.  I feel very sorry for those who work with that all day every day.

Blessings,

Debbie