I’ve been working at the Y for a little over 2 months now, and I still like it. Things are going well, and my schedule is pretty much set now. Last week, I saw that a lady who checked in had an Ethiopian name. She had already walked around and was gone when I noticed her name, so I didn’t get to speak with her then, but I knew what she looked like. The next day as she came in, I got really excited and began a conversation in Amharic! It was really fun to use the language the otherwise was fading inside my brain. She seemed fairly neutral that day about me knowing the language and having been to her country, so I wondered if she’d become so Americanized that I was a nuisance to her. The next day she came in and greeted me with a big smile, and told me she told her family, adn they were all happy to hear about me. She said that I should come to her house someday for some Ethiopian food. It was great to hear that I wan’t annoying, and it was encouraging to feel connected to the international side of myself.
This next story is what makes the world REALLY small. Today is Easter, and Trevor and I sat in the gym during the 11:00 service. When we walked into the gym after the music I noticed immediately that a lady in the back row was wearing the traditional holiday clothing for Ethiopians! Bro John was sermonizing on the screen so we couldn’t just start a conversation right then and there, so we had to wait until church was dismissed. The whole time we kept trying to think of how to say things in Amharic. “How do you say Easter?” ” I don’t know!” “Why don’t you remember?” “Why don’t YOU remember?” We were paying really close attention to what John had to say, obviously. When we finally were able to approach them, we didn’t even really speak Amharic. We ended up talking to them for quite awhile. It turns out that the church they usually go to sold the building they were using for an all Amharic speaking service and they were looking for somewhere else to meet. I believe that this was a divine appointment. How many other churches could they have gone to, or they could have gone to one of the other 3 services Sagemont was holding. We just “happened” to all be there at the same time? No…God did this. I gave them info to talk to our education minister, and we gave them our names and email address. This could truly become a ministry that we can really dig into. Can you imagine? Here is yet another reason why I believe in God. This is exciting. Pray for me that I don’t let these opportunities slip from my hands. This is so cool.
