First Impressions

Teeth rattling, bone jarring bumpy roads... that's my first impression of Addis Ababa. For my fellow travellers to Nogales, Mexico, you will understand. The next morning, in the light of day, I came to realize the road conditions are the result of miles of road construction, requiring detours over places that should not have been used for roads, even temporary roads! I'm sure the residents of Addis will breath a sigh of relief when the ring road construction is complete. Then again, as more people acquire their own cars, I'm thinking the government is going to face a never-ending need for infrastructure to accommodate the increased traffic! Ahhh, the joys of modernization! 

BEFORE ...

... and AFTER ...

We chuckled as we turned off the main road onto a side street marked with a Canadian flag! Our guest house was situated across from the Canadian Embassy Residence. Nice to see something familiar so far from home.

I'm not a stranger to jet lag. Even though we arrived late at night and it had been over 50 hours since I slept in a bed, I wasn't surprised when I felt wide awake again at 4:00 AM. As my mind came to consciousness, I realized I was hearing the distant sound of chanting over a loud speaker. It brought an immediate smile to my face. In Nogales we were always roused by the sound of dogs barking and the water seller, doing his rounds with roof-mounted speakers announcing "agua!" accompanied by loud cheerful music. I suspect what I heard first this morning in Addis was the Muslim call to prayer. When that ended, the birds slowly began their morning chorus. Then another chanting started, this time closer and louder. We soon became accustomed to hearing this early morning ritual of Ethiopian Orthodox priests chanting the scriptures over public loud speakers for hours at a time (singing in the ancient language of Ge'ez, to people who do not understand Ge'ez at all). 

My husband and I had been assigned to a little room at the back, detached from the main house. It was big enough for bunk beds, with room for a chair at the foot and about 3 feet of maneuvering space beside the bed. Don't forget to factor in our carry-ons and two large suitcases. Our toilet and sink were in a room on the outside of the house, with a door (which would not lock) that opened to the back patio. Our shower was in a similar room beside the first. (This door wouldn't even close properly.) The hot water tank was suspended from the ceiling in a corner of the shower stall, plugged into a receptacle located high on the shower wall. (We saw this practice often, much to the amusement of my electrician husband.)

After spending a few early morning moments with my Bible and journal, I figured a shower was definitely in order. Aside from having to exterminate the two black spiders in the shower stall (a good use for shower flip flops), I would rate the experience as "delightfully refreshing." My first attempt however at using my power converter with my blow dryer blew the converter's fuse. 

Thus began my time in Ethiopia. Learning about unfamiliar morning sounds. Realizing anew that the "facilities" in developing countries are not as plentiful or up to the standards we are accustomed to. And knowing that I would be "roughing it" with no hair appliances for the next three weeks! 

Wheels and Tour

I'm a detail person. I like lists, itineraries, reservations, and concrete plans. Organizing a mission trip to a place I've never been before is a challenge because I can't visualize how everything is going to fall together. 

One of my planning concerns was the logistics of transporting the team. Debre Zeit church leaders promised a van for our ministry time, but I somehow had to get the team from the airport to guest house, guest house to Debre Zeit, 50 km south, and back again to the city. In addition, we were trying to organize with Compassion to visit our sponsored children in a town 80 km north of Addis. The best time in our itinerary for this was mid-way through our two weeks in Debre Zeit. Team members encouraged me to plan for it and trust God to provide a way to make it happen. That was a tall order for me.

Z was highly recommending that we add 3 or 4 days at the end of our ministry for a tour of the northern historic cities of Bahir Dar, Gondar and Lalibela. Internet searches provided a few possibilites but our e-mails to tour operators remained unanswered. E, who was already in Addis visiting family, did some investigating, but was also frustrated in her attempts to find the right company for us. 

But as usual God had everything in control, and in His timing He provided the perfect solution to both problems.

E's brother told her of a young man, a member of his church in Addis, who was operating a new tourist business. E contacted Eskinder and he became our angel sent by God to take care of ALL our travelling needs. He met us at the airport and said his job wouldn't be done until we were back on the airplane going home. He certainly became our friend over the next few weeks, and some of us are still in contact with him through Facebook and e-mail.

Eskinder was invaluable to us. For a very reasonable fee, he provided a van, driver and his personal services whenever we needed him during the next two and half weeks. 

• He transported us to Debre Zeit and back, twice during our stay, enabling us to orchestrate the Compassion visit with no problem. 
• When we wanted to do some souvenir shopping, he took us to a good market, personally guided us through the maze of stalls and assisted in bargaining. 
• When some of our camera cards filled up, he took us to a photo shop where we could transfer the photos to cd's. While at the camera shop, we smelled something delicious baking nearby. Eskinder went to investigate and came back with the most mouth-watering donuts I have ever eaten. 
• When my cameral died, he took it for repairs and returned it to me in working order a week later. 
• Whenever we requested a special stop, he would cheerfully figure out a way to make the detour happen. 
• He was always available by cell phone whenever we had questions or wanted to make new arrangements.
• And when we had eaten our fill of Ethiopian food, he took us to a steakhouse where they served the closest thing to Canadian food that we had eaten in two and a half weeks!

We never felt unsafe as Gashaw, the van driver, professionally navigated the busy Addis traffic. He knew many short cuts through the complicated maze of side streets to get us where we needed to go.

The main focus of Eskinder's business is organizing tours to Ethiopian tourist destinations. He purchased the flights, lined up the ground transportation and local guides, reserved hotels and restaurants, and put together for us an all-inclusive northern tour to suit our schedule. So at the end of our ministry, we set off to play "tourists" for a few days. (And to make sure there are no misunderstandings, let me say that this and all other personal-enjoyment aspects of our trip were at our own expense.)

I'll share some stories about our tour at a later time.  I just want to emphasize here that Eskinder is such a conscientious host. Z decided at the last minute that he would join the tour, and somehow Eskinder managed make it happen. That meant securing seats on very full flights and finding alternate lodging for Z at one town, but he did it! Although Eskinder did not join us on the tour, he phoned Z at regular intervals to make sure we were being well taken care of. When we confided in him that the van driver in Bahir Dar had been a little fast and inconsiderate on the roads, we found a new driver waiting to take us to Gondar the next morning.

I recall my stress levels in September prior to leaving, and realize how foolish I was to worry. I have to humbly ask God to forgive my lack of trust. Hopefully next time I will remember how He provided above and beyond all we dared ask for.

And if you ever need a guide in Ethiopia, please seek out our friend at ethiopiantour.com.