looking out our Addis back window

This is the view out our back window, overlooking our local neighbourhood here in Addis Ababa. You can see the difference between the multistorey buildings in the background, and the corrugated iron structures in the foreground, both of which are housing. At various times of the day, the air becomes filled with plumes of cooking-fire smoke, as people prepare their next meals. In the afternoon, the sun sets behind the far buildings, in the west.

For those of you who are Australians (or Portuguese) you will probably recognise the eucalyptus/gum trees. They are everywhere throughout Ethiopia, probably because they are quick growing. It makes me feel very at home!

For those of you who have joined us recently, you may be wondering *where* I am and *why*?

We are currently in Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia, for a three month period. We’re about halfway through. We are here because my husband is volunteering at an international school, and our kids are attending that same school while we are here. The opportunity came up to do it, and we thought that it was too good to miss. We thought it would be an eye-opening and life-changing experience for all of us.

It has been. I have loved being here. Right from the very beginning, when the idea first arrived, we felt God nudging us towards it. So we decided to apply to go, went through the process, and here we are.

The whole exercise has been a faith-building exercise. We have seen God answer our prayers again and again, in so many ways.

I have loved seeing a new culture. Three months is long enough to really get a feel for a place, and short enough to be going home soon anyway if you really can’t manage it. But I am pretty sure that a big part of me will feel sorry to leave here.

As is my passion, I have particularly loved learning about the embroidery and textile heritage here. To see how cultural motifs are used within embroidery has been lovely. While the skill is not always of the highest standard, you can see that Ethiopians are very proud of their cultural heritage. Particularly in the rural areas, wearing traditional clothing is very much still a part of every day life.

I had planned to arrange to teach some embroidery lessons at the Fistula Hospital to some of the patients while here. For a number of reasons, that hasn’t happened yet, and I am not sure that it will. However, I still would very much like to visit the hospital to see both the embroidery work that they do there, and the amazing medical miracles of curing fistulae. (No, that does not mean that I want to see an operation…!)

Last night we asked the kids if they have enjoyed being here, for the length of time that we have been here (we have previously travelled with them, but the longest period has been 3 weeks). They have, and so have we. I would love to do this sort of thing again, either here, or elsewhere in the world. We’ll just have to see where God leads us…