On Friday night we went to a special Jewish ceremony at someone’s house. This man is an American, and he adopts children with specific medical issues so that they can be on his health insurance and receive medical services in the US. Although he was out of town, there were still many people at his house this night for the ceremony and to gather as friends. One of the people there was a professor from George Washington University who had spent the past 20 years or so living in Addis and teaching at the local university. He was a very interesting man – opinionated, conceited, but honest – and he said something very interesting that caught my attention. As I was telling him why I was there and about the state of despair the mental health field was in he said something along these lines: Yes, this is true, there is much work that needs to be done in this field. However, it is so far behind because up until this point we have simply been trying to keep people alive. Now that we have that a little more under control, the mental health field can follow.
I had never thought of it that way before. We are so spoiled with resources in the US that I take for granted all the labor and progressive steps that people before me had to take. Now that disease, AIDs, malaria, and other health issues are being controlled, the mental health field can finally take center stage. Any takers? Ethiopia could sure use some help, and I know they would welcome anyone.
I decided that I would take advantage of my time here in Ethiopia and spend the weekend exploring. My roommate, two med students from Florida, and I hoped on a plane to Lalibella, Ethiopia for the night. It was spectacular! I wish that I could post photos, and I will try after this JUST IN CASE the internet decides to be friendly. We were picked up at the airport by our tour guide and quickly driven up a steep winding mountain side… and I mean QUICKLY! I tried to take photos out the window, but many of them look like a blur. This area was so beautiful, and it was truly old Ethiopia. The people lived in small huts made of sticks, rocks, and branches. There were children herding cows and goats, and adults walking donkeys down the road with sacks tied to their backs. There were also many men and women with large bunches on their backs – carrying them up and down the mountainside.
The main attraction, however, was not the fascinating lifestyle that we were so lucky to observe. Instead, it is a series of 11 churches built out of the rock. (If all goes right, there should be a photo in this post!) The story is that the angels came down to help the king create these churches, and they were carved out of a single piece of stone. Believe what you will… but there must have been some sort of divine intervention to create these magnificent churches! They truly are cut out of the rock, and the insides are beautiful. I can’t imagine all of the work that went into carving these churches from the ground down… hopefully you will be able to see what I mean when the pictures post (they are of the same church).
The scientists have of course come to examine these churches, and have verified that they are indeed one piece of rock that has been carved down. How they did it? Well, besides the angels, there are chisel marks on the walls signifying that a hammer and chisel was used for this great task. – unbelievable.
Tomorrow I will be back at the school teaching them how to use the supplies that I brought and helping them set up their classrooms. They have no tables at this point, only chairs… so we have quite a bit to round up. Thank you to everyone for your continued prayers!
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