Today we leave the hotel about 7:45 a.m., headed for a full day of visiting project sites in the Central Gibe Synod.  After driving for about one hour and forty five minutes, we arrive in the community of Ejaji, where the synod offices are located.  As we pull into the synod compound, it is clear that it is a beehive of activity this Saturday morning.  In one part, a group of volunteers are working to replace the roof on one of the buildings and in another part, a group of about of about 20 farmers are gathered to be trained on the making of “Hans” carts.  

So named after a missionary from Finland who, in the early ‘90s, introduced these carts in the area for the first time.  They are a simple cart with two car wheels/tires attached and pulled by a single horse or donkey.  They usually have a place for 4-6 people to sit as well as place in the back to carry whatever it is that the farmer needs to carry at the moment.  These carts were in widespread use where ever we went in the area.

After a quick cup of coffee we set off to visit 4 completed projects and one prospective site for next year. Two of the completed sites, Gida Abu Sardo and Dire Areyu, were completed this summer, so we did not visit them in June, and two other sites, Dire Hujuba – 1 and Kara Garjeda were visited in June.  As we made our way to the first site at Gida Abu Sardo, we had a pleasant surprise.  As we passed the community’s Mekane Yesus church, a youth choir (teenagers) had just finished practicing for tomorrow’s service.  They came out to check out the 4 strangers making their way past the church.  After a bit of coaxing, we were treated to a very upbeat hymn they had been practicing.  We were all clapping along with the choir and we very much enjoyed their hymn of praise.

We made our way another 500 yards or so through the corn fields to arrive at the Gida Abu Sardo water project.  There we exchanged greetings with the community and they shared their thankfulness and gratitude for the blessing of clean water for the community. They shared that previously the spring had been very contaminated and they were sharing the water source with the animals and livestock in the area.  The head of the water committee also shared that the stomach sickness among the children had decreased dramatically since they had started using the clean water.  

This theme of thankfulness and gratitude was consistently repeated by the community members at all three of the other sites as well.  And each community realizes how blessed they are to have the clean water, and they hope and pray that other communities surrounding them that do not have clean water, will get it soon.  As always, the opportunity to share these moments with the communities are the highlight of the trip.

The two sites that we had visited in June, Dire Hujuba – 1 and Kara Garjeda, have been significantly improved by the community.  When we saw the site at Dire Hujuba, the site was experiencing a significant drainage issue as excess water was not flowing away from the water collection point. With the help of DASSC/CGS, the community has installed a drain line that is about 36 meters long that now directs the excess water away from the collection point and into a local river, making the site much cleaner and safer.  At Kara Garjeda, the community has significantly expanded the fencing to enclose the wash basin and the newly added livestock watering trough.  A pipeline has been installed between the reservoir and the trough to allow the farmers to fill it directly from the reservoir.  It was great to see the community engaged in improving the sites to make them better for everyone in the community.

After the visits to the completed projects we made our way to one of the proposed sites for a new project in 2011, Dire Hujuba -2.  After experiencing the highs of sharing the blessing of clean water with the communities in the morning, this site brings us crashing back to the reality that most people in rural Ethiopia do without clean safe water every day.  

This community water spot is shared with animals and even though it is spring feed, it is highly contaminated.  The water is a greenish gray color and covered with a layer of slime and moss.  And with the trails that led to the spot, it was clear that it was in regular use by the community.  Moments like this make us better advocates for the people we serve in Ethiopia and Sierra Leone.

We head back to the CGS office to share lunch with the staff.   They had prepared a special lunch of Doro Wat (chicken cooked in a spicy beriberi sauce), ingera, beets and greens.  And a special treat….fresh homemade potato chips!  It tasted great and we were all hungry from all the morning exercise, so it really hit the spot!

As we were winding up our time with the staff, we were able to present the 50 dresses (hand made by the ladies of Faith Lutheran in Austin,TX)  to Emana Jetto, CGS DASSC Director and Mekonnen Mosissa, CGS Executive Secretary. They will give them to the Social Committee of the synod, who will work with local congregations to insure the clothes go to those in most need.  They promised we would get some pictures to share with the ladies at Faith Lutheran when they are distributed.

We said our goodbyes to the staff of CGS/DASSC and expressed our gratitude for the past two days.  As we drove back to Ambo, the group reflected on the fact that today was our last day in the field for this trip.  Tomorrow we will be making our way back to Addis for some meetings and preparing to head home on Monday.  We shared some of the emotions we have felt over the past two weeks…..joy, thankfulness, awe, helplessness, resolve, gratitude, and many more.  The days have been packed with experiences that will take some time to sort out, but we all know that our lives have been blessed by the people of Ethiopia.  As we arrive back at the Ambo Hotel, the Spirit provides just the right ending to the day with a beautiful, warm amber sunset settling over the western area we had just left.  

Fittingly, over dinner, our group expressed our thankfulness for our time together  by sharing another one of Pastor Lynnae’s devotions.

More tomorrow……

Dick Moeller