A Fresh Start in Ethiopia

Dear Friends and Family!!

I am so so sorry it has taken me so long to write you! LOTS has happened in the past
couple of weeks. First of all, I have gotten a fresh start here in Ethiopia. My new
family is amazing. God knew what I needed. Thank you all for your prayers and your
e-mails. I seriously love hearing from you guys. Know that you are in my prayers. I'll
break up my e-mail in sections to make it easier to read…

Family: My host mom has become my “mom” (don’t be jealous mom, no one will ever replace
you!), my boss, and one of my closet friends. I love her so much. Our personalities
really connect. : ) I have two younger sisters- a 7 year old and a 4 year old. They are
still fascinated with me so every time I come home I usually find them both in my lap or
tugging at my arm to come play with them. My host “dad” is great as well. He seems to
be a wealth of knowledge and I love sitting with him after dinner, drinking chai or
coffee and talking with him. The electricity issue in the city is starting to get better
(the city is run by hydro-electricity and this year there has been a shortage of water so
they have been turning off the electricity at different times throughout the city. When
I first got here it was every other day…now it’s maybe once a week) so that’s nice. They
also usually have running water…although we lost water for about 5 days…it’s back now and
I’m ready to take a shower! My home is my haven. I love it. Oh also living in the house
is “mama” who is my host dad’s mom. She’s in her 70’s (which is rare here considering
the life expectancy is 43!). Also we have a girl in her mid twenties living at the home.
She was born in the country and came to Addis a while ago. We are becoming good
friends. We laugh and joke constantly. And there is a maid (which is very normal here),
she just arrived and is super sweet!

Internship: So most mornings I wake up around 6:30 am, have breakfast of dabo (bread) and
boona (coffe) around 7, then leave around 7:30 for the school ( I usually stay there
until 5)! My host mom runs a primary school. So like I said…I wasn’t planning on it, but
in the past two weeks I have become a computer teacher! I teach grade 3-6 on Tuesdays and
Thursdays. I LOVE the community at Destiny Academy. The teachers (Ethiopian teachers)
have become good friends of mine. There are a couple of foreigners working there…but I
keep my distance. Haha just kidding…but I do find myself connecting and growing closer
with the Ethiopians. Today one of them said that soon I will become a Habisha
(Ethiopian). : ) Anyways, I am supposed to do an internship at that other place that I
originally started with…but I don’t wanna work there anymore. I feel sooooo needed at
Destiny! I love feeling needed. People need to feel needed. Anyways, everyone at
Destiny wants me to stay full time. So on Friday I am going to go talk to my other
boss…I’m bringing Amber so maybe she can take over for me….we’ll see. If I’ve learned
anything this trip it is to trust God. He has guided me thus far…so I’m praying and
trusting that my internship will work out. Pray for me about that!

Daily Life: So I finally have a cell phone that works. Which is nice. I have been able
to make friends and connect with people. I’m starting to really feel at home here. I’ve
learned to take the mini buses by myself and I am finally learning the city. Although
Lofto (where I live) is not right in the center of the city, it is MUCH closer. The mini
Bus system is great. One guy hangs his head out of the side door and yells the
destination like- “PIAZZA, PIAZZA, PIAZZA” and…if I’m going to Piazza, I get on that
mini bus. They are also really cheep…only 2-4 bir…which is 20 to 40 cents. There are no
street signs anywhere, so I just have to learn how the city looks…which has been a little
nervousing at times….but so far it’s worked out. People are SUPER friendly here.
Seriously, I feel like everywhere I go people help me, or want to go to coffee…(which is
a common daily activity). Just now actually a guy sitting next to me wants to go to
coffee (haha don’t worry…I’m being safe!). Honestly, Ethiopians are known for their
friendliness. They are not violent people. I asked my friend why that was and she said
because if they do anything violent…the government will just out right shoot them.
Seriously…the military just walks around with machine guns…So no one wants to take that
risk. The only risk I really have is for my stuff to be stolen…but even that…especially
where I live…isn’t too much of a concern. Anyways, I’m starting to feel more
independent, which is SUPER nice. I’m making friends, I love my internship, I’ve been
able to see Amber more (which has been a huge BLESSING….we are good support for
eachother), I love my family, I’m adjusting to life. Things are good. I’m loving
Ethiopian culture sooooooooo much! One thing I love a lot is...every morning I wake up
and have NO IDEA what the day is going to be like. I feel like every day is SOOO
different. I was talking to my host mom about it and she said that is definitely
Ethiopian culture. It's hard to plan anything...I just "go with the flow" most
days. I didn't think my personality would like that...but actually I LOVE it. I think
because I love surprises so much...each day is a surprise for me...who am I going to
meet? where am i going to go? who am i going to talk to? It's always a surprise. : )

Food: I forgot to tell you guys last time…but I did try a piece of raw meet. It was
ok. It didn’t make me want to eat anymore….haha. I love the cooked meet though. Goat
is one of my favorites!

Health: I haven’t been very healthy, which is a bummer. So pray about that. When I
was with my other family, they fed me fish and I got BAD food poisoning. I threw up a lot
and I was in bed for a whole day. And now it seems about once a week or more I have
diarrhea. : ( If I get it again soon, I may go to a doctor. But we’ll see. It seems
like getting sick is common around here. Luckily my mother packed me with an ample
supply of meds. I am very thankful for that!!!

Money: So just to give you a perspective on money from a U.S. stand point- I can get a
plate of spaghetti, yummy bread, vegetables, a coke, and a macchiato (which are amazing
here) for 15 bir…which is $1.50!! : ) But for the people living here, the economy is not
doing well. Prices of everything continue to rise. MANY people are out of work. It’s
sort of a joke that Ethiopians just “sit around.” For instance, Amber doesn’t have an
internship yet so she hangs out with friends and practices her Amharic (she’s better then
me for sure!), and her friends tease her that she is becoming a “true” Ethiopian. But
it’s really not a laughing matter. It’s serious, people are struggling a lot. The
beggars and street children are overwhelming. Also the other night some friends and I
went to an area in the city where the prostitutes are. We walked down the street and saw
many girls standing around waiting to be picked up. Wow, it hit me hard. Many of the
girls are 14…15…many of them come from the country hoping that they can find a job in the
city…but realize that they can’t. Thus their option is to sell themselves…pray for the
people.

PRAYER Requests: So pray for my internship…if I should work full time at the school or if I
should also work at that other place. Also as my mom has reminded me…since I am starting
to settle in and get “comfortable”….and I am kept VERY busy at the school, it’s easy to
just set aside my school work (which I have a lot of)…so pray that I keep on top of
things, and that God will continue to open doors for me. I am learning the language but
I am STILL looking for a consistent language partner. So pray about that. Also pray for
my health!!!
I feel like there is so much more I could tell you!! But I’ll wrap it up. Thank you so so
much for your prayers. God is soooo good. I have experienced him and felt him in such
powerful ways here. He’s got my back for sure. : ) I miss you all a lot. Know that you
are in my thoughts and prayers! Keep me updated on your lives!!

In Christ,
Dana