And now, finally, an update about how my month in Ethiopia was. This was an article that I wrote for our seminary newsletter. Enjoy!
Ever since my childhood, I had romantic visions of being a missionary to
In Addis, their mission houses about 400 patients, including men, women, and a children’s orphanage. Just outside the city in Asco, the sisters also have a dedicated AIDS orphanage, where they have about 400 children from infant to eighteen years old. They have a wonderful clinic, a school, and weaving looms where the children can learn how to make scarves and cloth to sell for themselves. In Jimma--which is in the southern highlands of
In my whirlwind tour on the day I arrived, I was immersed into the reality of the poor who lived there. Tuberculosis and AIDS were the most common ailments, while many others suffered from fungal infections, cancer, mental disease, and relapsing fever. Many of the children were physically or mentally handicapped, while others were suffering from cancer or serious burn wounds. Part of the house was also a dedicated emergency room, where the more serious cases from the streets were brought. On average, a few people died every day—deaths which were probably not even preventable with better medical facilities.
My responsibilities as a volunteer were to assist in any area of the house that needed it, whether it was handing out meals at lunch, feeding those who couldn’t feed themselves, playing with children, doing physical therapy, signing patients into the emergency room, or bandaging wounds. The most rewarding ministry work for me was doing massage therapy with Tuberculosis patients in Jimma. Even though I only knew a few phrases in the local language, I was able to communicate through my hands that I cared for their needs. In addition, I was filled with joy knowing that this was the body of Christ in the poor that I was soothing.
While much of the ministry is one of simple presence with the poor, part of the experience is also sharing experiences with the other volunteers. People from all over the world gave their time to help the sisters: nurses from
However, the most profound experience during my stay with the sisters was perhaps the most unpleasant. For my first week I was violently ill—most likely because of the water—and was bedridden in-between what I liked to call “moments of purgatory.” I was frustrated that I had come all the way around the world to serve the sick, and here I was being yet another patient for the sisters to serve. Yet, the Lord was doing two wonderful things for me in the midst of the illness: I was getting much needed rest (since I never seem to take the time to do it on my own), and the Lord was giving me a greater sense of solidarity with the sick. The wonderful thing (in retrospect) was that as I loitered around the toilet, praying for a quick death rather than the pain I was experiencing, I would hear patients from the Tuberculosis Ward making noises outside which sounded like they were in far worse pain than me.
One of the mud huts that the poor lived in.
Sister Servita, mother superior in Jimma
Aids orphanage in Asco
Chapel of the sisters in Addis
Also, if you were wondering and/or praying for my exams, I wanted to say thank you because I passed all my classes and did very well in many of them. They grade on a scale of 1-20 over here, with 10 being a passing grade and rarely giving scores above 17.
Please continue to pray for me, as Lent will surely be a time of purification to finish the icon by the deadline in April. Speaking of Lent...its almost here! May each of us receive the grace to follow the Lord in the way of the cross during these 40 days. I'll try to update more regularly, especially with a post of pictures of the big icon of the immaculate conception. It was just finished today by our teacher, Fr. Paul, and will be soon blessed and placed in our chapel. It is absolutely stunning.
Until next time...
