I wrote this sermon in Nairobi and it is an attempt to wrestle with the fact that as a church, we are a global family of believers. So, in some sense, we are all tied together across continents and languages and ethnicities. This sermon presents three issues that we need to pay attention to as a global church.
Please note that I've posted new pictures in the "Ethiopia III" photo gallery and the "Kenya" photo gallery.
Well, I said goodbye to Ethiopia on Thursday. On Wednesday, I left the college and spent a good day in Addis, drinking lots of Macchiatos and doing some shopping. Once again, I'm struck by how cheap Ethiopia is. I went to buy an Ethiopian coffee pot, thinking I would be spending at least $10, but I ended up paying 6 Birr (0.75). If you are looking for a budget travel place, Ethiopia can't be beat, but you do need to be willing to put up with less than ideal tourist infrastructure.
I spent a bit of time with Woudineh talking about his and Shewaye's plans to do PhD studies. There is one other man in the US from Meserete Kristos College doing a PhD. He is quite a bit older, and will get limited use out of his PhD when he returns. Now is a good time for Woudineh and Shewaye to study, as they are young and will be able to use their learnings in Ethiopia for a long time after they return.
The challenge, of course, is funding. PhD's don't come cheap. This is a major barrier in a country with out a lot of economic resources. There are some options to study in Africa - Kenya now has a PhD program, as do Universities in South Africa. The cost savings aren't as great as you might think, as tuition is still expensive and cost of living in those countries are not a lot different than the US. US/UK PhD's are still seen as better products. African theological schools still have some significant ground to cover if they want to compete with their Western counterparts.
So, I will continue to work with Woudineh and Shewaye and with partner agencies in Canada to help secure them the opportunity to serve. If you are looking for a great way to partner with the Ethiopian Church, help with training leaders!
On Thursday morning I left, with some degree of sadness, to Kenya. I am visiting a friend here, Rev. Stephen Mairori, who directs and organization called ICM (International Christian Ministries).
ICM is an organization that does leadership training and development in Kenya. They operate a large seminary in Kitale (Western Kenya) and do other seminars and courses around the country. Stephen and I went to school together in California. I have appreciated getting reconnected with Stephen and his family and learning about the issues the church in Kenya faces. I also had the chance to see some Kenyan wildlife.
Kenya is a very different place. It is much more developed economically than Ethiopia, and is a much more open and free society. The church is also a huge presence in the country. Many politicians are Christians - but you would necessarily know that from the way they act on TV!
I fly to Kitale later today to see the seminary and rural life in Kenya. I hope some day soon to return to Kitale to teach at their seminary. They offer all their programs as intensives.
I'm beginning the sad process of saying goodbye to my students. I had a very good conversation with Yimenu and Haymanot tonight over a macchiato. They are due to graduate in December and return to their congregations to serve. They both serve in the North, Yimenu in Bahir Dar and Haymonot in Gonder. The challenges they face returning are immense. They are under paid by their churches, the Orthodox Church is actively trying to stop their work, evangelism is slow and difficult, and poverty is crushing. I felt very guilty talking with them, knowing that the problems I will return to will pale in comparison. This truly has been a perspective shattering/changing experience.
The simple financial pressures on pastors is staggering. Many in the rural areas make 600-800 Birr/month ($70-$90). 150 goes to the government, 300 to rent, 300 to school fees for their children, 50 for food. There is nothing left. Subsistence, and a fragile one, is all people can hope for. And pastors are well paid! My tendency is to want to give money and send money. But, I know that isn't a real solution. I can't give all my students money, yet they all have significant need. So, what to do?
I had a person approach me for money today - interestingly not an Ethiopian. It left me feeling very conflicted. Yes, I could help, yes I have the money, but is it right, is it fair? Is this they way to go? I find this so difficult.
Yet, in spite of these conflicted feelings, I have also had my eyes opened to the possibilities, too, of churches partnering together. Churches in North America can be a big help in many different ways - training, teaching English, money, micro-financing, etc. The challenging is how to do that using sound development principles. And, often times the "middle men organizations" - in this case the denominational office - can be a hindrance because local politics can prevent effective partnership. But, what I do know is that in spite of the problems, there seems to be at least some possibilities for partnership. I hope that over the coming months I can explore this topic in greater depth with my home congregation, MCC, and friends in the Meserete Kristos Church.
May God grant me, us, the church strength as we seek to work together to extend his Kingdom and work for a more just future.
Please check out the "Ethiopia II" Photo Album. It has some new pictures from the last couple of weeks.
This weekend, I had the chance to get into the rural area and visit Sodere, a small resort area develop around a set of hot springs. I had a wonderful time soaking and swimming in the warm water. I left feeling very clean, cleansed and refreshed. I also ate lots of good food, including a wonderful hamburger at a place aptly named in Oromofiya, Bargar Kwiinii (Burger Queen!). Never have I been so happy for a hamburger and a coke. And all for 17 Birr ($2). Needless to say, my stomach returned to campus a much happier organ. I even managed to eat some injera and wat today. Monday is spaghetti night, so I've managed to eat two meals today at the college!
Sodere was full of monkeys. Zillions of them. They are really like very intelligent squirrels with opposable thumbs. It was fun to chase them around and feed them and try to avoid having them poop on you. Also, much to my amazement, we ran into some wild pigs up in a football field. They looked just like the pig out of the Lion King. And to make my Africa wildlife experience complete I saw what must have been a giant Ethiopian woodpecker-like bird. I asked what kind of bird it was, as I received some incomprehensible reply in Amharic. So, it really wasn't much help!
Class discussions have been especially rich today. I have learned a tremendous amount about the church in Ethiopia and the major issues that it faces. The presence of the Orthodox Church here for at least the past 1600 years makes this a unique context in sub-Saharan Africa. Most of the rest of Africa doesn't live with a sense of history. Rather, because of traditional beliefs, life is much more mythical and ahistorical in the rest of Africa. But because of the presence of the Church, Ethiopians are much more time and history conscious. In that way their thinking is more "western" than African. But in many other ways they are typically African - especially around the importance of community, dialogue, elders, deferring to leaders, and a relaxed sense of time.
I had them identify the problems in the church and they again identified problems that are prevelant in the West: the gap between theology and practice being the major one. Lack of connection between faith and belief manifests itself in many ways. Leadership is a problem here in a way that is common in other African nations. Leaders tend to focus on status, and using their power for selfish gain. This is why the college, particularly Shewaye Yalew (Woudineh's wife) is focusing on leadership and servant leadership in her teaching. Interestingly, while HIV/AIDS is a problem here (about a 10% infection rate), it is not an overwhelming or dominant problem as it was in Zambia. Ethiopia's lack of a colonial history helps it, but in many ways Ethiopia has been "colonized" in more subtle ways. The huge presence of foreign NGO's here (partly as a result of the famine in the 80's) has brought the problems of dependence on Western aid and developed a culture of dependence. The US, USSR, and Israel have all invested billions of dollars in military equipment, which has come at a political price. Constant war with Somalia and Eritrea has also created their share of instability in the country. This, coupled with crushing poverty, a tremendous gap between rich and poor, and an escalation in the cost of living all make the issues here very "African" in nature.
I'm struck by the commitment and humility and joy with which my students apply themselves to learn theology, in the hopes of securing a better future for themselves. I feel a little like a charlatan, peddling coloured water labeled as cures, but I don't know what else to offer. Somehow, I hope, by giving these people the tools to articulate theology and wrestle more deeply with the Bible they might find ways of tackling some of their problems. In the very least, I hope I can encourage them to stay in Ethiopia, rather than fleeing to "the lands of opportunity." As I said in an early post, only Ethiopians can solve Ethiopia's problems. And the constant brain drain does not help this become a reality.
On Wednesday I will leave Debre Zeit and MK College, at least physically. A part of my spirit will always remain here with these very special students. I'm off to Kenya next, to visit friends in Nairobi, and experience yet another slice of Africa.
As I write the thunder is rumbling across the plains. Rainy season has just begun and brought with it gray skies in the evening and all manner of new and interesting bird and insect life. I am struck by just how strange things are here - in a way it's like being caught in a Dr. Seuss story. I drove to Debrezeit in a "gari" - a horsedrawn cart of sorts, by a driver with one eye that looked ahead, and the other all swollen and looking right at me! Last night I a moth landed on my desk. I took a book and swatted it and it exploded into a mass of dust. All afternoon the Orthodox church has been droning their music over their loudspeakers, again reinforcing the surreal feeling of being here. This coupled with the fact that the food isn't agreeing with me too well and my blood sugar is pretty low! I wonder what land I'm trapped in!
I am finding my trouble with the food hard to handle. I am one who really wants to honour other cultural traditions. When in Ethiopia I want to do as the Ethiopians do. But with food, I just can't. My body won't let me. I have begun to develop a deep and abiding aversion to injera, the local bread. She is a cruel mistress. It's not that I feel sick all the time, just sick when I smell or taste injera, onions, and some of the spices they use in wat (stew). So, I feel frustrated and I feel that I'm being culturally insensitive, but there seems nothing I can do about it. Other Westerners who have visited Ethiopia have had similar experiences, so I don't think my experiences are unusual. The college is in the middle of nowhere and so going out to eat is not an option. Right now, if I had to murder for a hamburger, fries and a big glass of beer, I probably would!
I have just hit the midway point of my African adventures. And what adventures they have been! I have learned a great deal so far, and have been blessed richly by the culture and the people here. The friendliness and care that people have exhibited towards me has been humbling. Again, I'm struck with how much good there is here in Africa and how we need to hear more good things coming from this continent.
I've had the chance to talk at greater length with some of the staff at the college regarding the political, economic and social issues that the country faces. Politically, while their leader, Meles Zenawi talks a good line, the country is run as a dictatorship - and a semi-fascist one at that. There is extensive censoring of television, radio and print media (which works well, because even if you have SatelliteTV, it is all in English). Internet is prehistoric. There aren't many Amharic programs outside of Ethiopia. Unemployment is also a major problem.
And even though there are Universities, Colleges and Training Institutes everywhere you turn, the quality of education is not monitored. There are not professional standards as we have in the West. Many of these programs have low standards, as they are simply trying to attract as many tuition paying students as possible. (MK College is run very differently. Students work hard and apply themselves. They complain, but that's to be understood. So far the quality of engagement has been good).
In many ways Ethiopia is isolated, and geographic, language and cultural factors have all contributed to the isolation. Many Ethiopians who can are simply choosing to leave and seek better opportunities in the US or Canada. That has further led to a sense of sadness, especially amongst those who care deeply for their country. When Woudineh was last in Canada he spoke of the need for opportunities in Ethiopia. He is right.
So again, I am thankful for all of the opportunities that I have in Canada, I am humbled that it was pure chance that I was born in Canada, and my resolve to help people in Ethiopia gain some opportunities to improve their country has been strengthened.
For those who are interested, I've just uploaded a bunch of photos to the "Ethiopia" photo album on the right. Most of the pictures are from my weekend visit to Addis Ababa, a city of improbabilities! I'll explain more in a later post, but I must rush off to get ready for lecture.
I should tell one very funny story. In class on Friday, I made the statement that, "this is a big issue in theology." My students all looked perplexed. "A big issue?" they asked, "what is a big issue?" "You know," I said, "big." "Big?" they answered. Finally, after one student pretended to be a beggar, I realized what was going on. I asked them how they pronounce the word b-i-g. They said beeg. The "i" sound as in big, they can't differential it from the "e" sound as in beg. Amharic doesn't have comparable vowel sounds! And because they learn English from other Ethiopians, they are never asked to try! So, now I know not to make a "beeg" issue out of the word big! Ah, teaching students in a second language is fun!
Read at Kaldis café, the café that Starbucks evidently copied its ideas from:
Ethiopian legend tells the story of Kaldi, the Ethiopian goat herder, thought to be the discoverer of the magical properties of coffee. He was so amazed at the dancing of his goats after they had eaten some berries from a nearby shrub, that he decided to try some of the ripe berries for himself. The pleasant stimulating effect they produced led him to share his discovery with the local people. Coffee soon evolved into an important religious drink, helping the priests stay awake during long hours of prayers.
Even though Im a Mennonite, and dont really support the canonizing of saints, I think that there should be a worldwide petition to create St. Kaldi, the patron saint of stimulation. And, yes, now I know how these Ethiopians can regularly stay up for all night prayer sessions!
Spending almost a week with Lois Braun and Siggi Holzhauer, MCC Country Representatives for Zambia, I gained a much more indepth perspective on MCC's philosophy and their impact. Coming in, I was certainly a big supporter of Mennonite Central Committee, but leaving Zambia, I'm even more supportive of their vision and approach. MCC doesn't directly do anything in Zambia. Everything works through a local partner agency. MCC provides support, accountability, etc. to its partners, but it does not directly fund programs. While at first glance this approach seems slow and awkward, it has the best chance of making a long-term difference. It also means that as MCC volunteers come and go, there is some consistency between programs.
As I talked with Siggi and Lois, they mentioned that they've seen many examples of approaches where Western agencies are highly involved in program and service delivery. And these programs seem to suffer from a lack of leadership, are characterized by a great deal of conflict, and are often out of touch with local needs. Orphanages seem often to be run this way, with disastrous results. This was one thing about the orphanage at Makeni Centre that impressed me. Zambians were the ones making the decisions there.
The challenge with MCC's approach is that local partners are not going to necessarily behave in the most efficient, or effective manner (at least by Western standards). I certainly saw evidence of this in one project in particular. The way the partner was running it seemed slow and inefficient. But, MCC is present and can work with the partner to slowly improve.
In the West we talk so much about Africa. Stephen Lewis speaks of our responsibility to Africa. But no amount of Western guilt or Western aid are going to fix things like poverty and HIV/AIDS. As I've been in Africa now two weeks, I am convinced that Africa's problems are ultimately hers to solve. Certainly, as Westerners (and increasingly Easterners) we need to be involved giving support and aid, but we cannot fix the problems here. It's no different with a personal problem, a marital issue, a church conflict - these must be solved by the individual(s) involved.
I should also put a plug in here for MCC's Global Family Program (search on Global Family at www.mcc.org). This is a monthly sponsorship program that assists in projects around the world. It is similar to World Vision/Compassion Int'l. But again, MCC's operating philosophy is at work here again. First off, they don't use "the picture of a child" approach. This approach puts a Western individualistic orientation on cultures that are really communal and family-based. Rather, you support a project - most often a school in a slum area. And again, these schools aren't big, beautiful Western schools. These are locally run, struggling institutions. But, again, MCC believes that coming alongside is always better than imposing our solutions. Ultimately, this approach is Biblical and Christ-like. God did not force a solution on humanity; rather Jesus became one of us, and gives us the power to offer hope and healing to the world.
Peter Schmiechen: Saving Power: Theories of Atonement and Forms of the Church
James Alison: Raising Abel: The Recovery of the Eschatological Imagination
Hans Boersma: Violence, Hospitality, and the Cross: Reappropriating the Atonement Tradition
Raymun Schwager: Jesus in the Drama Salvation: Toward a Biblical Doctrine of Redemption
