I am embarrassed to see that my last post was from last year.......please forgive me. I hope you will enjoy this one though.........
We just came back from 2 weeks traveling in the bush. Tom and I went with a 4 man film crew from LA and our missionary friend Dr. Malcolm Hunter. The purpose of the trip was to film interviews and to re-create scenes of the early evangelists that first shared the Gospel with the nomadic tribes here in southern Ethiopia 20-30 years ago. The primary purpose of making this film was to first of all to give glory to God for the sometimes miraculous ways in which He orchestrated the spread of the Gospel amongst these primitive tribes-and also to pay tribute to these early men and women of the faith who endured incredible hardship and sacrifice-sometimes even unto death-for the sake of Jesus.
There were seven of us in all-we went in 2 trucks and took an enormous amount of camera and film video equipment. I was so excited to spend time with other 'camera geeks' like myself! haha These guys were so professional and have already worked many projects in Hollywood-but they are also strong, christian young men who want to make a difference with their work. So they were very excited to be making a film about this subject.
It was a very rough and challenging 2 weeks. Sleeping on matts under mosquito nets, with only the stars at night.....cooking by campfire......no water to clean up with only bottled water to drink.....(at least we all were stinky together!) ........but it was really wonderful too. We had experiences that no other person in the 'civilized' world will ever have.
One night in particular stands out for me. We drove for about an hour off the main road deep into the bush to a small village called Mino Geltie. We have been there many times before to visit an evangelist named Cheneke and his wife, Masalech, but never have spent the night. This is also the same village where we brought the wheelchair for the crippled boy named Uree. You can read about him in our blog or on Facebook. Anyway, the 7 of us spent the night in the Chenekes compound. We spread out our sleeping mats side by side in preparation for sleep later that night. But first, we shared our campfire cooking skills with each other. Kurt and Nathanael made rice and beans and we had mango flavored water to drink. Masalech shared some very fine hot bush tea and honey mixture served in gourds for us to drink. It was delicious! Then as darkness fell, a few more villagers shyly joined our circle. Dressed in animal skins and beads, some of the men and children in western type clothing-nevertheless once the music starts we are all just the same---just people. Sharing a love for music and song. On a previous trip we had brought a boombox for Masalech to play her beloved christian music tapes-and so now she brought it outside her hut and played the songs of her faith. It was a beautiful night-so many stars- and the music sounded so beautiful in the night air. Mike and Nathanael each started playing some native bongo drums and a couple of 'egg shakers' and before we knew it we were all singing and dancing under the moonlit sky---praising Jesus! After a while, Malcolm read from the Bible (using his headlamp) and gave a short teaching lesson to the people in their language. We prayed together and then everyone drifted back home to their huts and we to our mats. Then something very special happened. Cheneke, the quiet soft-spoken evangelist, kneeled down and started to wash our feet. All seven of us. In the spirit of Jesus in the Bible....it was a very humbling experience. Then we laid down on our mats. There was a full moon and it was so bright we were all joking about how we needed sunglasses in order to fall asleep. A cool breeze drifted over us and then Tom got out his ipod and played the song "How Great Thou Art"........we lay there, the seven of us, side by side, listening to that great hymn, under the twinkling stars and the full moon and truly were filled with the glorious prescence of God. It was a very special moment for us all and something I know I will never forget.
We drove many miles over very rough roads -sometimes you could not tell which way to go because it was only a path through the bush. We came to the hut of a man named Gersho.
He is a smiling, great big barrel- chested man with a great big faith as well. He and Dr Hunter were old friends and the genuineness of their reunion was evident. He invited us into his hut and served us honey coffee(complete with honeycomb AND bodies of bees.) It was served warm and in a gourd that was passed around --I found the best way to 'filter it' was to drink it through my teeth. That kept me from swallowing the bee debris floating in it. It actually tasted much better than it looks or sounds! The film crew went to work filming Gershos story as he re-told it to Dr. Hunter. He faced and endured persecution and imprisonment for his faith in Jesus. --which one of us today could actually say that we have suffered for Jesus? As we heard these many stories from Gersho and others like him, we were more and more humbled by how these men only 20-30 years ago endured such terrible persecution and yet continued to share the story of Jesus with others. What is it about Jesus that inspires such devotion--and where is that devotion in our western culture today?
My faith felt insignificant and shallow next to these people.
Many of these amazing stories have been written down in a book called "Warriors of Ethiopia" by Dick McLellan. You should read it!!
We spent 2 nights with an evangelist named Berhanu and his wife Nigist. He not only is raising his own children, but has taken in several other children who have no parents, and one young woman who was kicked out of her home and tribe for believing in Jesus. Every night this man leads his family in song and worship and teaches them from the Bible.
He does many things to assist the small church in his village and is always smiling and helping others. He also travels to other evangelists and helps them in any way that he can. He only makes $28 per month from the church and he hasn't been paid in 3 months.......
One night when we were in Turmi, a christian named Alfa and his wife had us over to their house for roasted goat. It was quite a feast! He really knew how to roast the meat stuck on a stick which was then stuck in the ground next to the fire. Somehow it wasn't burned at all and we dived in to savor this delicious meat- hoofs and all! It was a great time and we all posed for pictures each one of us eating goat ribs and hoofs! It's not everyday that you get THAT in LA !! haha They also served us a type of bread made from sweet potatoes. The moon was almost full and the night ablaze with stars. We sat around a table and shared this simple meal with only the light of the moon, the fire and a few headlamps some of us wore. Then we each had a sweet mango for dessert. His wife brought out a photo taken of her before she became a believer in JC. In this photo she wore 11 metal bracelets around each wrist and ankle and metal rings around her neck. These are permanent rings that the woman never takes off. They can only be cut off. She was a young woman when she first heard the gospel preached and immediately gave her life to Jesus. She became such a strong believer that she took off her rings and declared that she would never marry any man who was not also a believer. She was beaten by her family and others-ostracized by her tribe, but she remained strong in her stance. She would NOT marry an unbeliever. Eventually, she married outside her tribe because there were no men in her own tribe who were Christians. She married Alfa who was from a different tribe, and they have been a wonderful example of a christian marriage to everyone they come in contact with. Now they run a successful milling and trucking business and have a respected place in the church and community.
Another thing that stands out about this trip was the very first day that we started out. We had a short meeting talking about logistics, etc...Then Kurt asks for prayer that somehow we would find someone who has a little bit of acting ability and could help the crew find other 'actors' to re-create some of the stories from the book. We knew this would be difficult-how are you going to drive into a strange village and find someone who can act and speaks some english?? I myself thought that was an impossible request.
But guess what? As we were finishing with our prayer time, a young man came walking up to us and introduced himself. His name was Bereket and he had traveled from Soddo town all the way to Addis (where we were) because he had heard that a film crew was coming and so he was offering his help and assistance to us! He was an artist, and also active in his church drama group. We just stared at him with our mouths wide open.............how about that for God's perfect timing??????? ( and yes, he rounded up plenty of extras for the filming!)
I dont know how the final product will turn out--and it will take a year to do all the post production work- but we will let you know when it's finished.
I do know that Kurt, Tyson, Mike and Nathanael were not only very professional in the execution of their jobs under extreme conditions, but they were great guys too!
So- we made some new friends, and had some amazing experiences in the bush together. And we will pray that the ultimate message of this movie- God reaching out to the nomads-the forgotten people of Ethiopia- will be made, His power and glory will amaze people, and draw all people closer to Him.
T
