Missionary Visa's, Ethiopia etc.

Josh in the Empress' seat at Holy Trinity Church

Jacqueline, Heather, Karalee and Josh trying out the pulpit in Holy Trinity

Holy Trinity Ethiopian Orthodox Church in Addis 

A little Sheppard boy!

Standing on the rim of Mt.Wenchi, an old Volcano in Ethiopia

A couple of weeks ago we  took a week long trip to Ethiopia, we had a very good reason to leave Kenya, but no real reason to go to Ethiopia. Allow me to explain this in a little more detail.  When we arrived in Nairobi six months ago we were given a 3 month tourist visa.  When that first three months was over, we were permitted to renew for another 3 months from within Kenya.  The immigration laws here in Kenya state that if you are still on a tourist visa after 6 months, you must leave Kenya and return to start over again.  You not only have to leave Kenya, you also have to leave what is known as the “East Africa Community”.  The EAC is comprised of the countries of Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya.  You may not travel to any of these countries for the purpose of renewing your visa.  So, that explains how we ended up in Ethiopia. We simply went to the next closest place with the best available airfare at the time we needed to make a decision.  

So, we have applied for our resident alien status here in Kenya.  Our application is for what is known as an “E” class permit, A.K.A. a missionary permit.  Both Jennifer and I have been approved, and we will soon have the paperwork in our hands!!!  Josh is approved by default when we are.  Like everything else in Kenya, this is a slow process.  but once we have been given the paperwork we will be residents of Kenya for 3 years.  This is great news as it gives us the green light to move forward with the bigger plans and goals of Mission:180.  We have several possible locations and parcels of land on our radar right now for the childrens homes we are here to build.  This means we are going to have to find some $$$ for the purchase of land.  We are not worried about this in the least,  as I always say, “God’s will, God’s bill”.

Back to Ethiopia, it was a very interesting place to visit, the city of Addis is larger than Nairobi, and even higher in elevation.  Ironically, the traffic is way better in Addis, even though there are more people.  The reason for that is that the government of Ethiopia has imposed a 240% duty on all vehicles imported into the country, and being that no vehicles are produced in Ethiopia, they all have to be imported and the cost of purchasing a vehicle is rather restrictive, even prohibitive to most people in the country.   The taxi cabs are hilarious, they are these 30 year old Lada’s, and Datsun’s, and some Toyota’s.  We stayed in a guest house that was on a fairly steep hill, and every time we got picked up by a taxi, we had to walk to the top of the hill, because the cars could not climb the hill with us in them.  Please reserve comments regarding weight!  LOL.

Ethiopia is steeped in history, and in fact, as I write this, I realize this is the first country I have visited that is mentioned in the Bible, both the old and new testaments in fact.  This is a fact that all Ethiopians are very proud of and it is deeply ingrained in their culture.  The Ethiopian Orthodox Church actually teaches that they are the keepers of the original Ark Of The Covenant, and they claim to have it now.  Every single Ethiopian Orthodox Church has an inner sanctuary, a “Holy of Hollies”, and in each of these is a replica of the Ark.  It was very interesting to learn about these aspects of their culture, and it is fascinating that so much of their national identity and even their laws and government are dictated by their religion.  What is not so cool is that this church routinely persecutes any other “christian church”, as false.  By persecutes, I mean they go so far as to kill people claiming to be Christian but not part of their church. 

Then there is the Muslim community, they routinely persecute everyone who is not Muslim.  So Ethiopia is a very religious country, and much of its history and national pride is wrapped up in religion.

Everybody raves about Ethiopian food, and quite frankly I am confused by this.  The staple food, a bread made with a kind of wheat called teft, (not sure how that is spelled), and fermented with yeast.  I thought it was gross.  Sorry to all my friends who are fans of this food....but I just don’t get it. 

While we were there, most of us got quite stomach sick, even to the point of being bedridden in serious pain.  We are pretty sure it was something we ate.  However, this is expected when traveling in the developing world.  Ces La Vie.  

On a bright note, one thing we loved about Ethiopia are some new friendships we made.  We were able to connect with some fellow missionaries from Canada.  J & T, you were very gracious hosts, and very  helpful to us in a time of need.  We are so grateful, and we all enjoyed meeting you and getting to know you.  It was also great to visit with your folks.  I took away some great advice from some wonderful peers.  I also had one of the top 5 cups of coffee I have ever had.  I am a coffee fanatic, and believe me when I say that is a big compliment.  It was also great to learn how to roast green coffee beans in a frying pan.  Thanks for the lesson.  I am a better coffee drinker for it.  

So, from my perspective, Ethiopia was an interesting place to visit, and I would welcome a visit with our new friends from Ethiopia any time.