Getting Ready for a Birthday Party
As I mentioned in a few of my Ethiopia itinerary posts, I missed my daughter’s, Miranda’s, birthday because it was my last day in Ethiopia. (I drank a soft drink called Mirinda in her honor that day.)
Miranda and her friend Lindsay decided to have a joint birthday party between their two birthdays to celebrate. That joint birthday party is today, and I’m certainly NOT going to miss THIS!
They have a big day planned. They’ve invited over forty of their friends. They’ve asked some people to plan some games for everyone. Everyone will eat pizza and cupcakes. Then, when it gets dark, we’re all going to watch a movie outside using a projector that they’ve borrowed.
Yesterday, while we were getting ready for the party, we had to test the cupcakes and the projector outside. It was so much fun hanging out with our friends and getting ready for the party. It was almost a party getting ready for the party!
Anyway, I wish we could invite all of you to join us today. I think it will be a great day to celebrate these two young ladies.
Weird Few Weeks
This last few weeks – especially since I returned from Ethiopia – have been really weird for me. Not as weird as the hair on the sheep in his pic, but weird nonetheless.
There are several things that I want to write about, but I haven’t wanted to stop and write. There are other things that I’ve wanted to do instead… which is weird for me… but good I think.
I’m reading a book that I will review next week, and I’m still working on a post about internet ministry – whatever that means.
But, what else will I write about? I don’t know.
Ethiopia Trip Report
Here is a list of all of my reports from our recent trip to Ethiopia:
We Were You Apostles – Ethiopia Report 1
Teaching Church Leaders – Ethiopia Report 2
Thinking About Culture – Ethiopia Report 3
Building Relationships – Ethiopia Report 5
So, we went to Ethiopia to teach church leaders, to teach prisoners, to teach villagers, to teach teenagers… No. Not really. Those are some of the things that we did while we were in Ethiopia.
We went to Ethiopia to build relationships. We went to Ethiopia so that we could get to know our brothers and sisters better. In the process, we taught. We also learned. And, for a short time, we shared our lives with one another.
We walked together and worked together. We ate injera and wat together and we drank buna (coffee) and chai (tea) together. We shared a bowl of fandisha (popcorn). We sat together and talked about their church and our church, their struggles and our struggles. We talked about evangelism and discipleship and Scripture and missions.
Where we agreed, we encouraged and strengthened one another. Where we disagreed, we loved and accepted one another. We worked together in Christ, not in ourselves and our ability to agree with one another.
It’s true that we probably saw the best of their culture. We did not have to work for a living while we were there. We did not have to worry about where our next meal would come from. We did not have to be concerned about being beaten by our neighbors for proclaiming Christ.
They showed us their best by serving us and showing us hospitality. In the process, we grew to know and love one another. Connections were made that will remain forever, whether or not we see each other again on this old world.
However, those relationships that were built also strengthen the resolve to see and work with one another again. I now know some people who live in Alaba, Ethiopia. Already, I wonder how they are doing. I wonder what is going on in their lives. I wonder what Nigussie is planning. I wonder what Martha is cooking. I wonder how Rani is doing in school.
Because of our personal relationships with them, we’ve also begun to connect the church in Alaba, Ethiopia to our church here in North Carolina. We know the people that we’re praying for. When they need help, we know their names and faces and cares and struggles.
For Danny and me, our number one complaint was that we could not communicate better. We wish that we knew Amharic better or that they knew English together. So, we spend alot of time learning each other’s language. When (If God wills) we go back to Alaba, Ethiopia, it will be that much easier to communicate and get to know one another even better.
We learned that we all had needs and desires. We learned that we all had strengths and weaknesses. We learned that we could learn from one another. And, together, we were able to encourage one another to trust God.
People are important. The people who are part of our church in North Carolina are important. The people who are part of the church in Alaba, Ethiopia are important. The people who live and work and shop next to me are important. God cares about them all.
On this trip, God helped me understand a little better about how much he cares for people, and how important it is for me to build relationships with people – especially people who are different than me.
The Church in Alaba – Ethiopia Report 4
Most of our time in Ethiopia was spent working with the church in Alaba, Ethiopia. Primarily, we were working with churches that were part of the Kale Heywet (Word of Life) denomination. However, we found out that various denominations (as well as individual churches) often work closely together in Alaba. In fact, the Ethiopians were surprised at the amount of division between churches in America.
The picture at the right shows a map of Alaba Special Wereda (sorta like a county). The pink area in the lower part of the map is the city of Kulito, where we stayed. All of the crosses represent churches, both in the city of Kulito and in the villages areas of Alaba.
The churches that we worked with had a group of leaders called Evangelists. These people are primarily educated and given responsibility over several churches in the Alaba area. Also, each Evangelist would have a specific ministry responsibility, such as men’s ministry, women’s ministry, youth programs, etc. Most (perhaps all?) of the Evangelists were paid full-time by the church. (The picture at the left shows Danny with some of the Evangelists. I’ll explain why this is one of my favorite pics at the bottom of this post.)
Each church would also have a designated person that they called Pastor. (However, the main church in Alaba did not have a Pastor. One of the Evangelists carried out this role as well.) This person would be given responsibility for the spiritual leadership of each church. (The church could be small or large, with a building or no building, city or rural.)
Each church would also recognize or appoint Elders. These are older men in the congregation who have both organizational and spiritual leadership roles in the church. They are all volunteers and are not paid for their service to the church. A group of older women would oversee various women’s ministries and prayer ministries. (I don’t know if there was a specific title for this group of women.)
The picture at the left shows two of the Elders. The man on the left is Gurach. He started the Alaba church in his home in the 60’s and faced much persecution because of it. They had land taken away from them several times, and often had to take people out to the villages to meet. The man on the right is Desta, the head elder.
In their culture, it was very important for the churches to have a building, although all churches did not have buildings. The ones that did were recognized as an official organization by their local government (which means that they have certain rights). We talked with them alot about their buildings and the significance. It was great that we could disagree about some things (such as buildings) and yet continue to work together.
They did understand the difficulty of trying to build fellowship and community with such a large group of people. As I understand it, over 2000 people are part of the main church in Alaba. They try to make up for this by having Zonal Churches – small groups of 20 or so that meet weekly in homes. However, they continue to struggle with problems due to their large size. I think the fact that Danny and I were able to come to Ethiopia and minister with them even though we are part of a small church helped dispel some myths about smaller churches.
Not all the churches in Alaba are huge like the main church. In fact, we also spent time in the Zobechame Church in Alaba. This is a small group of believers who rent a house in Alaba. Because the Ethiopian sit so closely together, they are able to pack many more people in this house than we would in America. But, because of the similarities with our church back home, Danny and I both felt more comfortable in this setting than in the main church. (The video below shows some of the singing during the Zobechame Church meeting.)
Church meetings in Alaba, Ethiopia were very similar to traditional western church meetings. The main difference would be the length of the meeting. The meetings start early in the morning (as early as 7:00 a.m.) with prayer and singing. During this time, different people will lead in prayer and singing, and the congregation will also pray to themselves at times.
At some point, one or two people will lead in additional singing. Sometimes this will be accompanied by a choir. The main church in Alaba has several choirs. Usually, this time of singing is accompanied by a keyboard or guitar (or perhaps no instruments).
After about an hour of singing, someone will preach. While we were there, we preached. I also learned that normally different people will preach. The evangelists may preach – or the pastor – or one of the elders – or even a member of the church who is not an official leader. I like this change to the traditional western style of only one person preaching week after week. Since we are always the ones preaching, I do not know what style of preaching/teaching they use.
As in Western churches, the people sit in rows and participate by singing together and praying (usually to themselves). Only the person designated to speak on that day is allowed to speak. They do have some tongues speaking, but it is usually more like praying or singing and done quietly.
There was one youth meeting on a Sunday afternoon where I made the teenagers sit in a circle instead of in rows. I know it was easier for the teach that way. I also encouraged them to participate by asking them questions. However, they were not always quick to respond, since they’re not accustomed to taking part in their church meetings. Plus, I told them, we are family, and this is the way we sit with our families. (It just so happened that our church in America was getting ready to meet at exactly the same time, and they would also be sitting in a circle like this.)
(Now… as to why I like the picture of Danny with the Evangelists above. In Ethiopian culture, people will often share chairs or sofas. If there’s not a place to sit, a person will walk up between two people and start sitting. The two people will shift to give the new person room to sit between them. That’s exactly what Danny did just before this picture was taken, and the two men on either side of him shifted. So, the three of them are actually sitting on two chairs.)
The video below shows a short clip of singing in the Zobechame Church in Alaba.
Singing in the Zobechame Church in Alaba, Ethiopia from Alan Knox on Vimeo.
Pray for Dave Black
A week ago, Danny and I returned from our 2 week trip to Ethiopia. On the same day (but a different flight), Dave Black returned from over a month in Ethiopia. Today, a week later, he leaves on a 10 day trip to an unspecified country in the Middle East.
Dr. Black shared some of his travel plans and opportunities with us and others while we were in Ethiopia. God has given him opportunities to go to places and speak to people that most Christians are not given. He is just as amazed with those opportunities as we were. He simply desires to be obedient in whatever opportunity that God gives him. Please pray for him over the next 10 days as he seeks to obey God while traveling in this country in the Middle East.
But, God gives all of his children opportunities to serve him by serving and loving others. We are responsible for the same thing: be obedient in any opportunity that God gives us. So, as you’re praying for Dr. Black, also pray that you and I and all of God’s children will be obedient in every opportunity he gives us.
Thinking About Culture – Ethiopia Report 3
While thinking about our recent trip to Ethiopia, I have to write a post about culture. But, hopefully, this post will help you understand more than the food and living conditions. Instead, I hope it helps you think about your own culture better.
You see, there are good things and bad things about any human culture. There are good aspects of American culture and there are bad aspects of American culture. This is true of Ethiopian culture as well.
I learned alot from the Ethiopians and their culture. I learned about service. I learned about hospitality. I learned about being content working within the roles of your society. I learned about the importance of greetings and welcoming people.
While we were in Ethiopia (Alaba, especially), we were served as if we were kings. While this was often disconcerting, it was also necessary to give them opportunities to serve. We also looked for opportunities to serve them, but we had to allow them to serve us as well. This service often took the form of hospitality, with various people offering us food, coffee, or a place to sleep.
(By the way, Ethiopian food is outstanding! We enjoyed (almost) everything that we ate and drank. One warning… watch out for the long green peppers, especially if they still have the seeds in them. Oh, and the buna (coffee) with salt and butter takes some getting used to.)
I’m glad that most of the songs that we heard were original Ethiopian tunes, and not American tunes with Amharic words. We even met a guy who wrote and recorded music for the church. Of course, this also meant that we didn’t understand the songs that the people were singing. But, I was glad that the Alaba church was creating their own music.
Greetings are very important to the people of Ethiopia. When someone comes into a room, he or she will greet every person that is already there. Often, the people who are in the room will shift seating positions to give the newcomer a place to sit. This creates a very welcoming and accepting atmosphere.
Men and women have specific roles in Ethiopian culture. And, they are content with their roles. Do not misunderstand what I am saying. I am not saying that they accept their roles begrudgingly. I’m saying that they find contentment and joy in working within those roles. The woman who prepared our meals for a week was one of the most joyful people that I saw while in Ethiopia. Work was not a burden, but a blessing.
However, culturally, the people do not confront one another. If there is a problem, they will tend to ignore the problem, even in relationships. Thus, we heard (though did not witness) about sin that was not confronted. This was sin that was obvious to the people involved, and affected the life and ministry of the church involved. (It was not in our area of Ethiopia.)
So, in all cultures, including Ethiopian culture, there are good things and there are bad things. In any culture, the church must learn to operate within the culture, but not to allow the culture to dictate a way of life for believers. Unfortunately, I think the American church lives more according to “the American way” than to the wisdom of God.
I hope this trip to Ethiopia helps me to think about my own culture, and how I live within this culture but do not conform to this culture. I am a citizen of the kingdom of God and must live as his child.
In the video below, you’ll see (kinda) many of the people who gathered on our last night in Alaba. There was a big party and feast. Unfortunately, part of the video is very dark. There was only one light bulb for the whole room. They seem to like things darker than we do.
Get together / party on our last night in Alaba, Ethiopia from Alan Knox on Vimeo.
Learn Greek
This afternoon, I got an email from my good friend Dan (from “The Ekklesia in Southern Maine“). As he mentioned in his post “Weekly Update: 08.01.10“, Dan is contemplating starting a Greek study group. So, in his email, he was simply asking for suggestions and encouragement.
Similarly, my good friend and fellow world traveler Danny (from “learning…“) (not to be confused with Dan, which I did in a comment on Danny’s blog) is also planning a Greek study group when he moves to Virginia in a couple of weeks. (But, I’m still in denial about that move, so I don’t really want to talk about it.)
What about you? Why not start a Greek study group yourself? Even if no one joins but you, you can learn (or learn more) New Testament Greek. Begin with an introductory grammar, or if you know a little Greek, begin with a book like 1 John.
There are so many resources available (either for purchase or free online) to help anyone learn Greek. Also, if you get started and have some questions, send me an email… I’ll be glad to help.
If you know Greek or you’re learning Greek (either on your own or in school) leave me a comment. Also, if you’re interested in learning Greek – and are interested enough to put some work into it and study – leave me a comment also.
Let’s encourage one another as we study the New Testament together.
Teaching Church Leaders – Ethiopia Report 2
My primary responsibility while in Alaba, Ethiopia was to teach a class for church leaders. The class was held for three hours in the morning and three hours in the afternoon for five days.
Several different types of church leaders were represented in the class – men and women; paid and non-paid; city and village; established and non-established; evangelists, pastors, and elders. (In Alaba, an “established” church has a building and is recognized by the local government as an official organization.)
In order to attend the teaching sessions and to receive money for lunch each day, the attendees had to pre-register, read 1 Corinthians twice (the book that I taught during the session), and memorize 1 Corinthians 2:1-10. I like this passage because Paul reminds his readers (and us) about the important of the wisdom of God. In fact, living according to the wisdom of God became the theme of my teaching sessions.
At the beginning of each morning and afternoon session, three of the students would recite the memory passage. As they recited, others would follow along in their Bibles. If someone stumbled on a word, the entire group would say the word quietly. These leaders had no trouble memorizing 1 Corinthians 2:1-10, and they had no trouble understanding the importance of relying on the wisdom of God instead of human wisdom. I think this was important for them to think about, because education is very important in their culture. At times it seemed they put too much emphasis on formal education, especially when it comes to leading the church and teaching Scriptures.
Throughout the week, we stressed living according to the wisdom of God in different situations, and how the wisdom of God often looked different than the wisdom of the world. I encouraged these church leaders to teaching and live according to the wisdom of God. But I also reminded them that any believer can live and teach according to the wisdom of God because every believer is indwelled by the Spirit of God. Thus, I hope these leaders will take this back to other Christians in the church in Alaba.
Also, I would begin each morning session with a short lesson on church leadership. Each lesson would begin with a passage of Scripture (Acts 20:28, Hebrews 13:7, 1 Peter 5:1-3, etc.). We would talk about the importance of caring for God’s people as opposed to being busy with administrative or organizational work. We would also talk about the importance of serving and living as an example for others to imitate.
In the middle of each morning and afternoon session, we would have a coffee (buna) break. The entire class would be served coffee (mixed with butter and salt), tea, and kolo (roasted grain). During the breaks we would stand or sit around and talk with one another. While I wish I was able to communicate better with them, this was some of the best times of the teaching sessions for me. This is where they would usually talk about the lessons we had been learning and would put them in their own cultural context.
If I could change anything about these sessions, I would have begun with a more interactive format. I had originally planned to teach using dialog or discussion, but I ended up changing to a mostly lecture format. (I chickened out, to be honest, because they were accustomed to lecture teaching.)
While some topics in 1 Corinthians were difficult to teach because I did not know their culture or customs very well, one part of 1 Corinthians was easier to teach. When the Christians prayed in this area, they all said “Amen” at certain points based on what the person said. For example, whenever someone said, “Thank you for…” everyone would respond “Amen.” Thus, it was very easy to teach the importance of interpreting tongues (understanding what another is saying) and especially Paul’s illustration in 1 Corinthians 14:16.
This was a great teaching and learning opportunity for me. While I learned from the students, I think I would have learned more if I had made the teaching more interactive. (I did change some things later when I taught a group of teenagers.)
By the way, we were in Ethiopia during the rainy season. It rained almost every day that we were there, and often rained all day. Of course, this also meant that the temperatures were mild (well, mild for us but extremely cold for them). The video below shows the rain and mud. But, at the end of the video, you’ll see part of my class as they are gathering one morning.
Rain, rain, rain in Alaba, Ethiopia from Alan Knox on Vimeo.
We were your apostles – Ethiopia Report 1
This is the first official report that I’ve published on my blog about our recent trip to Ethiopia. For the last few days, Danny (from “learning…“) and I have been putting together pictures and videos in preparation for a presentation report to our church yesterday.
It was important to me to make a report to our church before I reported to everyone else via the web. Why? Well, because, through the work of the Holy Spirit, the church sent us as their representatives to the church and people in Alaba, Ethiopia.
Our church has been involved with the church in Alaba for several years. A few years ago, someone gave us a large amount of money. As we were praying and trying to decide what to do with this money, several suggestions were offered: buy or build a building, buy some land, pay a pastor, etc. At the time, we were all still struggling with our understanding of the church and the role and function of the church and church leaders.
About a week after we received the money, Dave and BeckyLynn Black visited with us and told us about their work in Ethiopia. After further prayer and discussion, we decided to give the money to the church in Alaba so that they could buy a truck. The truck would be used to carry people and supplies as needed. It would also be used as an ambulance to carry sick or wounded people to Addis for medical attention. (By the way, we used the truck while we were in Ethiopia.)
The next year, the Black’s returned to our church and invited us to go to Ethiopia with them. Several of us wanted to go. I especially wanted to go. But, the timing was not right, and we felt that God was not directing us on this trip. However, we continued to support their work and pray for them and the people of Ethiopia, especially the church in Alaba.
Last fall, the Black’s again returned to our church. Again, they invited us to go with them. Twelve people indicated that they were interested, but the Black’s could only take a few. So, after much prayer and consideration, Danny and I were chosen (by God and by the church, I think) to go to Ethiopia.
You see, in reality, we went both as God’s representatives and as representatives of Messiah Baptist Church, a people who already love and prayed for the church in Alaba, Ethiopia. We were apostles (messengers) to the church in Alaba from our church (Messiah Baptist Church).
During our first few days in Ethiopia, Danny and I discussed this passage from Philippians:
I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need, for he has been longing for you all and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill. Indeed he was ill, near to death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. I am the more eager to send him, therefore, that you may rejoice at seeing him again, and that I may be less anxious. So receive him in the Lord with all joy, and honor such men, for he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me. (Philippians 2:25-30 ESV)
No, neither Danny nor I came close to dying. But, like Epaphroditus, we were sent as messengers (apostles) by our church. I’m sure that many, many more members of our church would love to have gone to Ethiopia to love on and care for and teach and learn from their brothers and sisters in Alaba. But, they could not all go. So, they all sent Danny and me “to complete what was lacking” in their own service and love for the people of Alaba.
We were their apostles… their messengers to the church in Alaba, Ethiopia. And throughout our trip we continually reminded ourselves and the people that we met that we represented many, many people who loved the people of Alaba.
Here are a couple of videos of the main church in Alaba and the Zobechame church in Alaba sending their greetings back to our church in America.
Alaba Church #1 sending their greetings back to the church in America from Alan Knox on Vimeo.
Zobechame Church in Alaba sending their greetings back to the church in America from Alan Knox on Vimeo.