“You know, our church is very slow on inviting ‘Farenje’
(foreign people),” Zakarias said as we huffed our way 3 miles up the hill in
Addis Ababa. “Because of the language difference but also because many of the
white people’s content is not good, in the area of inviting foreigners, our
church is very strong (Zakarias’ word for suspicious and strict).” I stopped to
catch my breath and take in the panorama of Addis surrounded by mountains and
crowned with Coptic churches. “You know,” he continued, “these people are very
slow to open their hearts to strangers but once they trust you, they are really
wonderful. So I know God’s favor is on you guys because the people, they really
like you.”
We could tell God was doing something because in our first
two days of seminars the attitude of our participants has changed dramatically
from skeptical cordiality to warm welcome and genuine excitement. People were
telling Dave they “really felt something like the Holy Spirit” when he was
teaching. Even Zekarias breaking from his cool calculating demeanor, leaned
over wide-eyed and whispered “Whoa. He is… wonderful.” Though of course if you
know Dave, you know he’s implacably humble (which is part of what endears
everyone to him.) I’m neither humble nor wonderful but I felt my sessions went
well and were generally well received.
I've been thinking a lot about how Jesus said, “take my yoke
upon you and learn from me for I am gentle and humble in heart,” and how those
of us who aspire to ministry have take on a dozen other yokes besides the easy/light one Jesus offers. We imagine we
can outgrow the humility and self-sacrifice Jesus modeled in favor of big
successful ministries. Sitting there in a tiny coffee shop sipping tiny
espressos with deep-eyed pastor Melki today, we wondered aloud together why
discipleship has been so widely abandoned worldwide. And I nearly teared up as
I shared that fear… that in spite of what we read in the gospels, we tenderly
lay it aside as just a bit too idealistic or unattainable… and follow the model
of the successful pastors in big churches instead, surrendering love-filled
discipleship on the altar of “impact”.
Everyone we talked to agreed that discipleship was the
church’s number one issue--especially as a rapidly-growing church of young
believers—and that the teaching met a very real felt need. In turn they paid
close attention to the material and were unusually astute in the group
exercise.
One pastor who frowned seriously through most of the day
issued a sober invitation for us to teach 91 pastors he works with in the far
western rural parts of Ethiopia. (We’d be getting closer to the people I love,
the Fulani. Yes please.)
Zekarias, when it was clear that we would NOT be extending
our tickets an extra two weeks for additional seminars (Debra, I guessed you wouldn't be happy about that one), asked us to pray about coming again in May.
Urgh….. dare I pray about it?
The real proof for me that we are “in” is that after
attending the seminar, the pastors changed their Sunday plans and asked us to
preach. Knowing their distrust for foreigners, we felt this was a huge step for
them in trusting us.
Ethiopians as I've said, have shown themselves to be
dignified. They’ve insisted on treating us to classy restaurants and paying for
everything that touches our lips. While more suspicious and reserved than other
Africans, their hospitality is genuine and they treat us as equals (refreshing
in light of the exaggerated deference we sometimes receive.)
THESE Ethiopians are a particularly exciting group to work
with because they are well outside the range of groups WDA would normally train.
It really is only through a “fluke” seating assignment on a plane and
God-nudges on both sides that we've received favor and open doors with this
group, which is usually inaccessible to people like us. I think that’s
absolutely a crazy-providential God thing. We've all thought so from the
beginning.
Should a good missionary confess to a day spent soaking in natural hot springs? Maybe I'm not a good missionary... but after swimming in an olympic sized pool of warm mountain water surrounded by monkeys and palm trees... Zekarius took us to a "shower room" where huge pipe dump a gallon per second of untreated near-scalding spring water. Then we went to a smaller pool where 3 levels of nearly-unbearable but incredibly relaxing water effective gelatinized all 3 of us. As is his custom, Zekarias took us to a restaurant where the waitress brought him a full kilogram of raw steak cut fresh from the cow 20 feet away. As is our custom, we asked her to please cook ours!
By the way, Zekarius told us this morning that we are the 3rd and 4th white people he remembers being allowed to preach in the Full Gospel church in Ethiopia during his 17 years there.
2nd seminar starts tomorrow. Hoping for another good response and good implementation after we leave!
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