This morning I woke up praying as I ran that God would give me opportunities today to interact more intentionally with some of the women that I come in contact with today. So I started by just smiling at some of the women I passed as I was running (I’ve been told it’s not culturally appropriate to make eye contact with the men or say hi on the streets). The reaction was mixed….some women just looked the other way, others sorta smiled, one raised their eyebrows in a friendly way & cracked a smile. Then there were a few kids on their way to school and they were excited and said “HHII”. This was fun for me—I like to see their reactions and wonder what they think about this strange ferenji out running in their community.
This morning it also felt good to be out and actually know where I was. I’ve always had a pretty good sense of direction and sense being here its been a strange feeling not to really know where I was or where anything is…..so as I was running I looked up and saw a “round-about” that I remembered-I had been there on Monday to get groceries. I know it may sound strange but it was a comforting feeling to me to “know” where I was and that I now know I can walk there and know where I’m going :) (maybe that’s a little of the control freak in me).
This morning I was excited b/c Feleckech was going to take me shopping. The stores are so small, I hope I can get a picture at some point of it-many of you wouldn’t believe me when I told you that was a store :) but they really have all you need. Next she took me to the market-this was so cool. We walked across the main street here, down a side street and turned into a very narrow alley…and there were tons of fresh veggies and a lady sitting up kinda on top of the stand handing out the veggies and another lady down lower at our level helping and taking the money. This was such a cool experience. I got lots of more accepting looks—this made me feel good—I wasn’t one of the normal ferengi’s going to the touristy stores, but I was in their domain (this is how I felt atleast, not sure what they thought), or maybe it was b/c Feleckech was with me….she really feels like family already! But we got our veggies and headed back to get fruits at another stand on the street—then to get eggs at this little shack-it was just such a neat experience…we then had to pay someone 6 birr to help us carry it all home (that’s about 10 cents or less in dollars—but a lot of money here). It was just a really cultural experience for me!! Loved it!!!!
The kids, Cindy & I then went to IEC (the school where the team is teaching) as they let out of their morning classes. He principal and academic dean gave a neat little ceremony to say thank you and presented Vic with a really neat picture and certificate for his dedication and work over the years. Vic was the 1st academic dean here at IEC..he and Dr. Strauss founded the school almost 30 years ago. The classes each gave really neat gifts to each of the members to say thank you—it was a neat time! The staff then took us all to an Ethiopian restaurant. It was delicious and so much better than our experiences in the states! Jacob LOVES injera-it was fun to watch him eat and actually use it correctly and eat properly 
…this means you scoop up the meat or beans by holding the injera in your hands and use it like a spoon…the injera is sorta like a tortialla but spongy!
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The restaurant was near our house so the kids and I walked home and stopped by the bakery we go to each day to get rolls for breakfast tomorrow. The same girl was there and she smiled real big when she saw us come in. I decided I was going to try to talk to her, but this is challenging b/c she doesn’t speak English, so I had learned to say “thank you” earlier this week and my mind was blank, so I decided to just ask her and she was sooo excited that I was wanting to learn….so thank you is Amesegënallô (pronounced as: amay-saygi-nah-lou). It was fun to interact with her and I look forward to going back tomorrow and I want to learn something more so I can speak to her :) As we continued home there was a lady that saw us coming and smiled real big and said “Hi” and she grabbed her son and said something….I stopped and said “Hi you speak English?” She wanted to know where we were from and then she told me she had learned English when she lived and worked in Abu Dhabi and speaks several languages..her English was great! We talked for awhile and found out her son was Amir—he had the best smile and was so happy-she too just smiled and was so excited to be speaking English. I hope to see her again tomorrow…I’m not sure if she lives in the area or not, but I was thankful that God allowed me to interact with the locals in such an encouraging way today!
I had read yesterday a devotional on “women and the great commission”, and this is what got me thinking about being more intentional with those women that are in my “sphere of influence” each day. As a mom and feeling so busy and overwhelmed at times w/caring for young children I find this can be challenging at times. I’m thankful for the conviction that I feel and the desire in my heart to reach out to these women even in the most simple ways as I was given the opportunity to today. One comment that I read stated “ ‘going’ into all the world doesn’t necessarily mean leaving your home and family, but it does mean making yourself totally available to serve wherever, whenever, and whoever He directs.”
My prayer is for each of us is that we DO make ourselves available EVERY DAY to serve as God directs in each of our sphere’s of influence!