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| Harrisonburg First Church Visits Ethiopia January 19 - 31, 2004 |
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Three members and two pastors
of Harrisonburg's First Presbyterian Church (HFPC) departed recently for
Ethiopia - cradle of humanity, birthplace of coffee, legendary land of the
Queen of Sheba. We took with us open minds and hearts and returned
brimful with wonder. The purpose of our visit was to establish ties with Jima's Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus (EECMY) by signing a fellowship agreement that would bind us as spiritual brothers and sisters in Christ. Our time in Jima was well spent. |
| John Sloop, Senior Pastor
at HFPC, connected in ways he never expected to the people of Jima.
They appreciated his humor as well as his more serious side. Once,
after having preached for 45 minutes and sat down, he was asked to get back
up and preach some more, every preacher's fondest dream. Another time
after preaching, two teenage girls told him they wanted to commit their lives
to Christ. And when John found himself asked to carry in his lap a
wandering roadside chicken, he knew he was accepted as a brother. |
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Rob McClelland, Youth
Pastor at HFPC, got off to a slower start. When he addressed several dozen
Jima University students and began his talk with a dating analogy, he felt
instinctively that he was losing his audience. They shuffled their
feet. They turned their faces away. Someone hinted to Rob that
dating was not an acceptable practice among respectable Ethiopians, and Rob
was able to revise his talk. He improved, though, and on being asked
to preside at an impromptu healing service that included the casting out
of a demon, he handled himself with grace and poise. |
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Bill Kilby, a Harrisonburg pediatrician, spent a day with Dr. Yosef
Mamo, Chief of Staff at the Jima University Medical Center and an elder
in EECMY. Bill's tour of the hospital included a visit with a woman
with end-stage rabies, a woman who was so hydrophobic that she flung out
her arm to ward off a bottle of water. Bill presented about 6000 doses
of prescription medicines from HFPC as well as two pulse oximeters and two
stethoscopes - much needed in this small, antiquated hospital that serves
a community of 2-3 million people. |
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Howard Simmons, a deacon
at HFPC, was our official photographer, taking more than 1300 pictures with
his digital camera. We called Howard "Mr. You You." Everywhere
we went, children would spot our pale skin and follow us, shouting, "You,
you, you, you." These were friendly greetings and Howard would grin
at them and call out, "You, you," right back. He was popular wherever
he went. (This is the only picture in which Howard appears in front of the camera, sitting next to Yadeta) |
| "I am an elder at HFPC
and I suppose I was the token woman on the trip," says Jean Kilby.
"My time spent speaking with the women's groups of both the main church in
Jima and the outreach church touched me in ways I'm only now beginning to
appreciate. Women in Ethiopia are reserved and hesitant to speak in
front of men, and I value their openness with me. I also represnted
the iCARE Steering Committee on our visit to the Gore Children's Home before
we left Ethiopia." |
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There is no way to sum up this trip - a summary indicates an ending, and the marvelous spiritual gifts we received on our African journey are only now manifesting themselves. Who knows what all will come of it? All photos, with the exception of one, were taken by Howard Simmons. |