Recap: The End

Alright, so there you have it folks. If you've read this far, I congratulate you. You've suffered through my tiresome recaps on our trip. Another trip will be leaving soon, and I'm horribly jealous of them. I miss the Smiths dearly and pray for them often. Our team has one more meeting left to close out our time. I pray that after 2 months and all sorts of other changes in life, we will still get back together and remember our time with the Smiths, and still be moved to pray at the very least for them. And for you, the reader, I pray that some day you will follow suit and go yourself. If not Ethiopia, then somewhere...anywhere. There so much out there, so much need. But don't just go for a one time experience. Go to be a part of God's mission on Earth and i the nations. You won't regret it. Don't believe me? Then ask any of us: Heather, Steven, Chad, Shelley, Robert, Josh, Ruth, Victoria, Jessica, or Justin. They'll tell you all the other stories that I couldn't write out. In fact, even if you do believe me, go ask them. The story of the Smiths, of SIM, of Ethiopia and all that God is doing over there needs to be heard. So go ask, go listen, go love. Just go.

Thanks for reading this. I'd love to hear your comments. So comment accordingly.

And, as always, thank you for your support of our team, our church, the Smiths, and Ethiopia.

Paul Golangco.

P.S. For more stories from Ethiopia, be sure to check out the Smiths' blog at www.smithsinethiopia.com. You'll also get to see some pictures of our team in action.

Recap: Review of Ethiopian Airlines

So we flew Ethiopian Airlines getting to Ethiopia and on our way back. I'll go ahead and say it now...I wouldn't do it again. First off, we weren't aware of the 15lb carry on limit for our 2 bags. Some of us skirted this by having a laptop with us, but for the most part, we had to pay extra to check in our extra bags. I will say that Ethiopians are some of the most beautiful people in the world, so having an all Ethiopian crew wasn't too bad. However, when it comes to service, I was a little frustrated. Maybe it's just a cultural thing, but the flight attendants didn't really make an effort NOT to hit you when walking past. In fact, if you were sleeping, and it was time for a meal, they would actually shake you to wake you up and ask, "Chicken or beef?". Then they would unlock your track so that it comes down in front of you, all while you are trying to wake up and figure out what's going on.

I found out on the flight why they had the weight limit too: The overhead compartments couldn't hold much weight reliably. So my overhead would open up every so often if I didn't slam it shut. Maybe it's because my 'laptop bag' actually weighed about 40lbs. It was nice that each seat had its own screen for watching movies. However, you couldn't really select the movie you wanted to watch. They just streamed the movies on different channels, so if you didn't one of the 4 movies playing when it starts, you just have to wait until it's over to start from the beginning. Lastly, there weren't any personal air vents, at least on one of our flights. The whole cabin just had 1 temperature. So when someone complained that it was too cold, they turned off the A/C and we just sat through a stuffy, sweaty hour dealing with the heat. They eventually turned the A/C back on so that we could cool off, but it was pretty miserable. Maybe it was just our flights, and supposedly, EA just bought a new fleet of planes, but I don't know if I'd ever choose to fly with them again. I might reconsider that statement if I could be guaranteed not to be shaken awake when meals come by.

Disclaimer: I know I might sound a little whiny and entitled and spoiled. I probably am. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful for the blessing it is to travel internationally. And I'm amazed that we can even fly. All I'm saying is that if I fly, I'd just rather not do it through Ethiopian Air. I supposed I've had worse experiences, like flying in an uncompressed 20-seater while having to sit on my own luggage. So I can't complain too much. At least my seats on Ethiopian Air came with seat belts and floatation devices. Someday, when my luggage has its own seat belt and can float, I might change my mind on that.

Recap: Back in Addis

After a long and tiresome week of working, we made our way back to Addis. Although I say it was a long week, it went by entirely too fast. I'm pretty sure everyone on our trip would've gladly stayed a few more weeks, at least. But alas, we had to go home. Ruth and Robert had actually gone back to Addis a day early with Amanda to meet with the Compassion children they sponsored. It was during this time that Robert got sick. He seemed to have it worse than the rest of us, but was able to experience the market with us. We went to a 'cultural experience' restaurant for dinner that night where we watched some amazing Ethiopian dancing with live band. Victoria was even brought on stage to dance. She held her own like a champ.

The 2 days we spent in Addis were for some much needed R&R and reflection. I wish we could have had one more day to really digest and work through what we had experienced without having to head home to a world of distractions. What we were able to work through and talk about was so encouraging to the soul. A lot of the team struggled with where to go from there. Several wanted to move. Some wrestled with matters of theology. But all of us were just grateful. Grateful to the Smiths. Grateful for the experience. Grateful for God's grace. Grateful for God's blessings whether in Ethiopia or America. It was hard to fly out of there because of the bond we now shared with Shane and Allyson and Hannah and Mia and Moses. But they come back to the States in December, so we look longingly for that time.

Speaking of the Smiths, during our debrief, Shane and Allyson got to share with us how they felt things went. It was at this point that the burden on my back lifted. Allyson expressed how they felt so loved and cared for and how we were such a life giving team. To hear that come from her lips affirmed all the work and effort that we had put forth for the past 4 months. From the beginning, our team talked about how we could take care of a thousand patients and build a thousand buildings, but if we didn't love on the Smiths, then our trip was a failure. By Allyson letting us know that we loved them so well, she let us know that all of our efforts, all of our planning, all of our energy was successful. Between that and hearing the hearts of our team shifting to international missions, my desire to never lead another trip completely changed. It was then that I felt like all the work was worth it. It was then that I didn't feel so burdened by what wasn't done. And although there were times when I felt like I was failing as a leader (which was sometimes an accurate feeling), being able to be a part of how God is loving on His children and molding their hearts is something that I wouldn't mind being a part of again.

I'll have to end this recap series in another post, but I'll end this one just by saying thank you for all of you that have and continue to support each member on this team. It impacts more than you know, not only for each member of this team, but for the Smiths in Ethiopia as well.

Recap: Random Adventures

So amidst the daily task of the medical and construction teams, we were able to get out and experience a little bit of life outside of the compound. It was always an adventure and a great memory for those that got to go. So here's a little recap of what all happened.

Fish Fry:

For lunch one day we got to go just outside of the compound (on the other side of the container bridge) to eat some fresh tilapia. For about $6 USD, a lady went and caught about 32 tilapia and fried them for us. And it was AMAZING. I tried to fry some tilapia when I got home and it just didn't taste the same. One of the hard parts about eating there was that this lady was just frying the fish under a tree with everyone else around us. We drew enough attention as it was being Americans. But for us to be eating as much as we were, there was a little bit of a commotion. On top of that, we attracted the dogs. This might not seem like a big deal, but when 90% of all dogs there test positive for rabies, it was nerve racking. This was probably the only time I was actually scared. I had 3 or 4 dogs licking their lips around my ankles. I tried to ignore them, but the thought of getting rabies just plagued my head. But I just kept on eating, and that helped take my mind off of things.

Getting Gas:

After getting one of the water pumps up and running again, it was discovered that the compound was out of gas for the pumps and generators to run off of. So Pirtle and Josh rode out with Shane to pick up a barrel of gas. They stopped at the market where their senses were blown away, and not in a good way. Imagine a lot of body odor, mixed with sweat, mixed with rotting food and you have an idea of what was going on. Then, of course, as they were sticking out in the crowds, a torrential downpour came upon them. So they took shelter in a barber shop and just hung out for a while. After the shower passed by, they were back on their way with a new appreciation for refrigeration.

Famine Relief:

SIM was providing Maize seeds for some famine relief. I got to go with Robert, Chad, Amanda and Laura to take pictures. Otto Bruhanu was leading it up, so it was good to see him again. After being as much of a distraction as possible with my cameras and crawling all over the place, the mayor of the town invited us to grab some drinks at the 'bar' next door. So we sat and had sodas while he and his friends had some beers. It was kind of weird to be sitting and having drinks with the mayor while poor and starving locals were outside collecting maize seeds for planting. After some intriguing conversation, we were heading back home with a slight pit stop (by pit stop, I mean Laura got stuck in the sandy road and we had to get her out).

Bishangari:

One of our treats was to go out to the Bishangari Resort, about 30 minutes outside of the compound. This was a totally different scene than what we were used to with rocky, craggy beaches and lush accommodations. We actually got to see other Westerners at the restaurant, as well. Flat Stanley also accompanied us out here to take pictures with us. It was a wonderful evening to just relax with the Smiths.

Coffee Ceremony:

Ethiopia, being the birthplace of coffee, has a long standing tradition of making coffee the way it was made originally. This meant that the beans were picked, roasted over an open flame, pounded to a grind, then served with popcorn. The process usually takes a couple of hours. But Yonas had us over and used previously ground coffee to serve us. So we just got to hang out with him and his wife and talk. This was one of my favorite times because we got to learn so much about Ethiopian culture with a very educated Ethiopian. Plus, Yonas is one of the friendliest, most lovable people I know.

Hunting:

We brought Shane some new crossbow bolts for his crossbow, so of course we had to use them. The baboons were mean and large and needed to be scared off. But they were also smart, so it wasn't easy to pin one. After some walking around, Shane, Chad, and Victoria shot off a few bolts at baboons and warthogs, but with no luck.

Termite Mounds:

Another source of great entertainment, anywhere in the world, is blowing stuff up. Since termites build such great, cavernous mounds, a little gasoline and a match goes a long way. So we all drove around and experimented with the right amount of gasoline that it takes to make a mound exploded. Justin, Chad and Shane got great explosions, while Amanda, Pirtle and myself just had some good fires. If you're ever near a good sized termite mound, you should really try this.

Recap: The Construction Team

So the other half of the team spent time working on the facilities of the compound. Our focus was on the girls' school room, the Smith house, and the Beach House. Given the circumstances (difficulties in communication, construction missionaries being gone, Ethiopian 'handywork'), I think we were as prepared as we could've been. That still didn't keep us from feeling like we could've done more.

Justin, for the most part, spent his time in the Smith house working on all the electrical work. He got their veranda lights working and fixed their washer. The washer's cut off valve had malfunctioned so that Allyson had to manually turn off the water whenever she was doing the laundry. Justin, in his awesomeness, was able to rig it so that she didn't have to constantly monitor it. Allyson was ecstatic about this and just started doing tons of laundy, just because she could. Robert, our painter, along with Pirtle were a great help in geting the girls' school room painted a lovely sky blue with a white epoxy flooring. Meanwhile, Chad and I, and any combination of the other 3, banged our heads on the (uneven) walls of the beach house. Trying to get anything level was near impossible, especially with the house always shifting on the sand base. So trying to get an upright shower installed was quite the frustrating task. We got the job done for the most part, however, minus some missing hardware and a little bit of grouting that we ran out of. Thankfully, I think the Smiths or the other teams coming through will be able to finish it up without much of a problem.

This was all just our planned work on the compound. Looking back, it was often hard for us to see how much of an impact that we made, especially compared to the work of the medical team. But some of the unplanned tasks that we ended up helping with included working on the water pumps (not any small task when they are buried under layers of mud), trying to retrieve a broken key out of the ignition of one of the only land rovers, flipping over broken refrigerators (somehow that fixes them), installing car decks, driving a couple hours to get gas, and helping with famine relief. Plus, a good chunk of this time was spent just hanging out with Shane, which he was incredibly thankful for. So with all that in mind, we were able to do quite a bit. It was just less focused than we expected.

A lot of times I get asked about why we couldn't just hire African workers to do the jobs that we do. Until you get over there and see what it takes to get the job done, you might not understand. But local labor is very unskilled, and the skilled labor from Addis is expensive and hard to get. This way, we were able to come and bless the Smiths in this small way and provide for them in ways we're not totally sure If anything, we made Allyson's life just that much easier.

Recap: The Medical Team

So almost 10 weeks after being back in the States, I figured maybe you've lost interest enough in the trip to stop returning to read this blog. Or maybe you've gotten all the details from some of the others on the trip. Well, that's good because I don't really have a lot left to say. The next 5 days for us were pretty basic. So I'll just give you a quick rundown of some things the medical staff did.

The medical team worked in the clinic doing various tasks, like training the new Ethiopian nurses (thank you, Josh), prenatal care, and general medicine work while some of the nurses would take the afternoon off to hang out with Hannah and Mia (much needed girl time for them). On Tuesday, I was able to work with Shelley and Victoria at the Malnutrition clinic. This was one of the few times throughout our time that I was able to be amongst the locals. It was also a time when I had to reconsider my photography. On this day, I felt I was just taking pictures for great pictures. But I wasn't connecting with the people I was shooting. The language barrier and my inability to print off enough pictures kept me from really being able to tell their stories or give back to them. I had to put away my camera for the most part because it was more of a barrier to me than an aid to be with those at the clinic. Instead, I actually was able to help chart for the nurses. So my small drive to be medically helpful was filled by just doing that.

Throughout the week, there were 4 deliveries that the nurses were able to help with. Unfortunately, it's shameful for the women to 'expose' themselves for this section, let alone with a male present, so Josh, our PA, couldn't take part in any of this. Thankfully, however, Heather works in Labor and Deliver, so she was right at home. Another part about Ethiopian childbearing is that the mothers don't make a noise during delivery. Sure they scream afterwards, or really just a long grunt, but again, it's against their culture. Funny story...during one delivery, one of the nurses was getting ready to play catcher, so she went to grab a birthing blanket. And just that quickly, as soon as she turned back around to get in position, there was a newborn baby sprawled out on the ground. Talk about a quick and easy delivery. Don't worry about the child being on the ground, the mother was too. Really I think they were on a mattress, so no harm was done.

In Ethiopia, childbearing is a huge blessing, so the more children you have, the more blessings you have. It's fairly safe to assume that any women of child bearing age is pregnant or just had a baby. We met one man who had 3 wives and 31 children between them. Needless to say, that family stays busy. And speaking from simply a longevity perspective, the more children you have, the higher your chances that at least one will survive to adulthood to continue your bloodline. We had at least 1 still born, and one of the twins that came to the clinic didn't live much longer. And not too long after we left, there was another childbearing death. So anything you can do to increase the chance of your family line surviving, you try.

Outside of that, the medical team saw a little bit of everything: ear infections, STDs, possible leprosy, some never before seen stuff, TB, all sorts of bodily fluids, etc. It was really encouraging to see everyone really getting into the mix so easily. For the most part, they were all totally comfortable in that setting, and very much in the groove. I loved to see them being so much of a help to Allyson and the clinic staff, but more than that, I loved being able to hear how God moved in their hearts that maybe they could be doing this more long term. If you're still reading this, be sure to send some encouragement to the medical folks that went on this trip. I'm not sure any of us really know what kind of an impact that we had on the Langano compound.