Mission Ethiopia: On the Field Report #2

Peace to all in America from Anne and Loretta.

Yesterday, we spent the day at Gefersa Rehabilitation Center. It was a 45-minute ride to the country on very bumpy roads, seeing many donkeys and goats along the way. Gefersa houses over 150 mentally ill patients. Someof the patients are former doctors, Air Force pilots, teachers, electrical engineers, and family members of some very prominant public figures. It was very sad to find out that there are only 17 psychiatrists in the entire country of Ethiopia, and there is a great deal of mental illness that is untreated (over 30 million mentally ill people in this country). In fact, there are only 2 facilities that care for them--1 hospital herein Addis Ababa and Gefersa.

The first day here, Gefersa planned a special lunch-time meal for us--a great honor. In fact, when we arrived, the slaughtered sheep was hanging from the tree while they gutted it and drained its blood. That was quite a shock for our citified American eyes! We were just counting down the moments until lunchtime. It was really very good (Anne and Julie took 5 "no-thank you bites" and then barfed behind the barn--not really, but they didn't dig it much). We spent our work time at Gefersa painting 4 newly constructed shelters (covered gazebo-like areas that allow the residents to get outside but not in the sun). Ellen and Katie painted a beautiful mural on the wall inside the building where the residents eat; it was a nice addition to a relatively dark area.

We all spent a lot of our time talking with the people there. It was surprising that quite a few of the residents spoke some English. We were fortunate to have a couple of people there with us who could translate so that we could learn about the lives of some of the people and how they got there. We made many friends in just the 3 days we were there. We were still able to communicate with them with smiles and hand gestures. They enjoyed having us there; they were very grateful for the work that we did there. We are very sad that this was our last day there; we won't forget them and hope that some day we may be able to return for a visit.

Today, we had a special treat. The Prime Minister's wife (they call her The First Lady) came to Gefersa to tour and share a "coffee ceremony" with us. She was a very beautiful and gracious woman who was very appreciative that we traveled so far to help her people. She asked if we could have lunch with her later in the week; we don't have it scheduled as of yet, but we are hoping to have that opportunity.

Our time here has been very rewarding. It is hard to believe that we only have 2 more days left. We are happy to be going home to see our families and friends again, but are very sad to leave this country that has SO much physical and spiritual need. Our team has shared some very tough experiences and prayed together for God to help us. We also ask that God can help to to carry these intense feelings home with us as we use this amazing experience as a springboard for sharing God's love and grace with others in our day-to-day lives. Some of us do this very well already and will grow more after this trip. Others of us, however, have never been comfortable sharing our faith and "engaging people with Jesus" and perhaps this experience will help us to develop those skills.