Day 6

I arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Monday morning, local time. It's now Friday morning and I have had a crazy week.

Addis is a fascinating place. The best way to describe it is organised chaos. The city is pretty hot and dusty, but the people are amazing. They are friendly and helpful, and love to practice their english at every opportunity. Amharic is a very difficult language to learn, but the locals are stoked every time we attempt to speak it!

There is just so much to learn here. Right from the moment I arrived in the country, I have felt Jesus allowing situations that stretch and challenge me. There was no one to pick me up at the airport, which may or may not have been my fault! No problem, though, people were very helpful and I was soon on the way to SIM's HQ.

After a quick tour of the compound, Leila (my coordinator) sat me down and told me that I will no longer be going to Makki as the situation as changed. This came as quite a shock as I had been planning and preparing for Makki for a long time. I really had my heart set on it. She told me I would now be going to Langano, which is about 4 hours south of Addis. Apparently it's a stunning place and there is a huge need there. They see between 80-150 people per day! It will be quite different to what I was expecting in Makki, but will have it's own unique set of benefits and challenges.

Although I know there is huge need there, I realised very quickly that it was more about God wanting to make it very clear to me right from the start that I need to be flexible. Nothing here is set in stone, and to be effective to Him, I need to be able to let go of plans and be willing to follow where He leads.

At first I was really gutted about the change, but I'm staying positive and now I'm really looking forward to Langano. We leave on Sunday, all going well. I will go with Nancy, an American nurse, and will join one other down there, so there will be three of us.

I have been getting frustrated sitting here with very little to do, and really wanting to do what I came here for. It's probably my own fault, though. I made the mistake of praying for patience, so I guess now I'm in a situation that requires patience. I should know by now not to pray such things!

I will more than likely be unable to email from Langano, so this may be my last update for awhile. I'm sure I will have stories to tell in a few weeks time when I come back up for a break.

Please pray for unity with the team down there. They are all Americans, so I'm sure I will be challenged! Also for eyes to see what's going on around me, to see opportunites, and the faith to follow His leading.

Peace

Rowan