Paul and Rebecca Mosley in Ethiopia: November 2022

It is the last day of the month and the last opportunity to get two blog posts in. I am reviewing posts from 12 months ago, and it could not be a more stark contrast to the way life is going this year. Last November and December, we were looking forward to spending our first holiday season in Ethiopia... that is until we began hearing about the relentless march south of the TPLF toward Addis. It was during this week a year ago that we left the country and spent 4 weeks back in Tanzania.

While the current peace treaty is tenuous, we are extremely grateful to be able to spend Thanksgiving and Christmas here for the first time, and I think we are making up for the year missed, with the current festivities.

One of the things that we appreciate about this season is the preparation, which can be as good as some of the events. November can be a busy month for work and kids as well are deep into the second term, preparing for tests.
Oren has had the added burden of college applications, and he has managed to get two of about seven he intends to send, in already. In fact, he received his first acceptance letter to Messiah University in Pennsylvania. I think a decision about where to go is still several months off.

David has been diligent in school, and with his Saturday morning guitar lessons, but has also added drama to his extracurricular life. He auditioned for the school Christmas play, "A Charlie Brown Christmas" and is playing the lead role of Charlie Brown!

He has also half-heartedly joined Rebecca and I in a Christmas choir led by our friend Lori K. Rebecca and I have been part of choirs, for years, and in the past 4 years in Tanzania, we enjoyed being part of a Christmas program. Being part of a choir here for the first time makes us feel 'at home' and less like newcomers. We do now have several vibrant communities that we participate in, and it is good that one of them includes singing. There are actually quite a few excellent voices and musicians among the mission community in Addis, and I think we will sound quite good when we present at the Anglican church in a few weeks.

Our staff has been extremely busy with field visits, but we did manage to all be together in the office last week for a traditional American Thanksgiving dinner last Thursday. We enjoy very good fellowship with our professional staff and there are usually 4-6 of us around the compound at lunchtime during the work week. Our cook prepares food for all of us. Several weeks ago, we all had a discussion about American Thanksgiving, and they were very keen on taking part.

Rebecca took on the task of preparing a number of traditional dishes, including sweet potato casserole, pumpkin pie, mashed potatoes, and stuffing. Our cook Yeshi bought two large chickens and with the help of our accountant Eyerus and bookkeeper Hannah, a veritable feast was prepared for lunch that day. All of the office staff were in attendance and we had a good time explaining the mythology around the first Thanksgiving, and how it was declared a national holiday during the American Civil War.

Ethiopians really like the idea of the holiday as they do observe days of Thanksgiving for religious rituals around receiving a blessing, and even have a Thanksgiving day song that they shared with us--another chance to practice our Amharic.

Speaking of Amharic, we still go about once per week, and we have become fairly descent at reading, but fluent conversation is still not easy even after more than a year of study. I am not sure how far past December we are going to be able to go.

I should mention a second 'feast' the Sunday before our office Thanksgiving. This was actually a potluck that happened after Sunday service at our house. This was the weekend of The Great Ethiopian Run, an annual event that closes many roads in the city including the one in front of our church. We have hosted our congregation at our house twice before, as we do have a fairly big back yard. Rebecca and I got up early and set up chairs and an altar and we had a fairly large gathering of about 70. People brought food, and we shared a potluck afterward. It was a nice change from the normal church routine, and a good way to end the church year. (the next Sunday was Advent.)

The following Sunday (after our office Thanksgiving) we actually had a third feast! This time with our small group which has a mixture of American, as well as various European and African members, all familiar with American Thanksgiving. This was quite an impressive event with several families contributing haute cuisine versions of real turkey, sweet potatoes, a cranberry salad, a lentil stuffed pumpkin, stuffing, multiple other sides featuring various vegetables, and pies, pumpkin, apple, lemon tarts, all with artistically rendered crusts.

We sang some Thanksgiving songs and Christmas carols. It was a memorable dinner and really authentically in the American tradition, but made richer by sharing with such an international group of friends that have been with us through the last 18 months and helped us pray through some of the worst times in the past year.

In some ways the number of feasts might have seemed excesssive, but as I said at the beginning, given the place were were exactly 12 months ago, it is good to have the chance to be thankful with a number of friends, Ethiopian, American, and even others.

Our tradition, after Thanksgiving day, we put up our Christmas decorations. We have a suitcase that we have taken from country to country with our essential cresche sets and ornaments. We also found that former MCC Reps left a really nice tree and quite a few Christmas lights. On Saturday evening we put up decorations with the help of Bereket, Oren's friend who lives in the neighborhood. It was good to share the event with him, Bereket,along with a friend of David's had a sleepover, so we had quite an event-filled weekend.

Rebecca and I did get a bit of respite on the Friday before all the activities by taking a half day off and going up to Entoto park and walking the full 14 kilometer path that goes through it. It is about 10,000 feet above sea level so it is quite a workout. It also has some very nice vistas that overlook the city where we rested and took some pictures. No dogs allowed, so we weren't able to take the them with us. But it was nice that the kids were in school and we could enjoy a walk alone as a couple.

Work in the office has been very busy, but Rebecca and I have had at least a few weeks with out extensive travel. Next week, I will be out on the road again with Mesfin to see some projects in formerly occupied territories of Amhara. We are also in the midst of budgeting for the next fiscal year. Life is busy, and all of us feel under the pressure of deadlines, but it was good to have some opportunities for reflections and thanks.

A peace treaty has been signed! That’s the big news here in Ethiopia. Members of the Federal government met with representatives from the TPLF in South Africa and on 2 November, they signed an agreement to work towards peace, both by laying down arms and laying down weapons of propaganda. There are many details to work out, but we are praying and hoping, together with our Ethiopian colleagues, that finally, this nation can begin to recover from two years of war. Beyond the direct impacts of the conflict (property destruction, displacement, and hunger), the entire national economy has been hit hard. With 32% inflation in the past months, basic staple foods have become unaffordable for many people. We need stability and relief and are praying hard that it happens.

The timing of this agreement was quite serendipitous. Exactly a year ago, the conflict took a very dangerous turn. We met with friends that weekend, remembering how it was the anniversary of the day that many missionaries learned they were required to evacuate. It is a huge relief to all of us that there will not be a déjà vu conflict again this year.

David working on a costume sword

Aside from these momentous national events, we have had a couple of weeks of “Normal,” for which we are very thankful! Yes, there have been several visitors who have passed through, including a short-term volunteer working on developing a program for better English-language instruction at the Mennonite Seminary nearby. Do we know any experienced ESL instructors who are looking for a 1-year assignment in Ethiopia? Especially mature adults? Let me know! We have a fascinating position opening soon.

I must admit, the week after my major illness, I was still only operating at about 50%. I think that somehow, I had a few meaningful conversations with my colleagues, and we managed to submit the information for our monthly financial report. I needed a lot of naps that week and it’s interesting and scary to experience that post-viral brain fog people talk about. Very, very unsettling.

Sad little party :-(

The big event of our week was pulling off a decent celebration of David’s 14^th birthday. The poor kid turned 14 on October 29^th, a day when none of us had much energy to celebrate. That was the day that my migraine finally lifted after a week, but just barely. Oren was laid up on the couch with a very swollen and purple ankle. Paul wasn’t feeling great either after his trip. David went to youth group and had a nice time playing table tennis with friends. Right afterwards, he joined other kids at the neighbouring mission compound for a Halloween trick-or-treat party. He’d spent some time that day making a nice cardboard sword and developed a simple Frodo costume. He came home and we had planned to have a little cake in the evening as a mini family celebration. Unfortunately, the stomach virus hit Paul and Oren as evening fell. In the end, Oren’s friend Bereket helped me have a sad little celebration for David with a singular gift (Pass the Pigs), and a few funny rounds of the game, in between caring for the sick.

David admitted that he had very low expectations for his birthday, but we were glad to learn that several of his good friends could join us for a party the next weekend. So, over the course of the week, Paul spent time fashioning his special annual birthday piñata. This time, he celebrated the current Minecraft craze by creating Steve.

Steve piñata

On Friday night, I made an awesome chocolate cake, made with half hazelnut flour. Saturday afternoon, Paul set up the cross-net game again, and David’s friend Seth brought over another outdoor throwing game called Kubb. Two other kids came over, one with older siblings for Oren to hang out with. Between the yard games, I also assigned the 8 of them to do a very silly photo scavenger hunt, pretending they were entomologists investigating rampaging giant worms and finding other wildlife. I was amazed that a group of teens from age 12 to 18 were able to get along so well together and have fun. Before dinner, we gathered around piñata Steve and the kids took turns trying to bash him – honestly, it didn’t take long before he spilt the candy. By that time, the parents of David’s friends showed up and we enjoyed a good dinner of grilled chicken, roasted vegetables, and salad. (May I add that grilled chicken -- though normal and easy in North America -- is a total splurge here in Ethiopia, where inflation affects us too. We are considering switching to soy chunks as an affordable protein alternative. Prices are crazy!)

As it happened, that Saturday was also Guy Fawkes Day. Our British friends brought along a bunch of sparklers to mark the occasion, a very festive touch. It’s a little hard to explain to non-Brits why anyone would celebrate someone who tried to blow up parliament… Anyway, the sparklers were nice! And then there was cake, and some very thoughtful gifts from friends, and the kids then piled back outside to play Midnight Mafia, while a few of the parents continued hanging out and chatting. We were glad to enjoy such a nice evening ourselves with people we like, and David had a great time too.

From photo scavenger hunt -- finding worms!

I wish I could say that we left illness behind in October…sadly, we did not. The day after his fun birthday party, David came down with a bad cough and fever that kept him out of school for most of the next week. Paul was not doing great either. But we were in very good company with many, many people in our community. In fact, by Thursday afternoon we got a message from the kids’ school: so many teachers had come down with various viruses that it was impossible for them to find enough substitutes to cover classes. The entire Secondary school was closed on Friday.

Nevertheless, an inter-school volleyball tournament had been scheduled for Friday afternoon, and somehow, that was not cancelled. Oren headed to school after lunch to support his team, even though his sprained ankle prevented him from actually playing volleyball with them. Paul, David, and I also went to the school a bit later to practice with our community Christmas choir, directed by our friend Lori.

Bingham volleyball team

After singing, I stayed on to watch Oren’s team play. It was some incredibly exciting volleyball, with lots of close plays. Oren’s team went to the final game and played some very disciplined volleyball (bump, set, strike) over and over. They probably should have won twice as fast, but in the end, they did win. They were so funny doing their school victory dance, all in a huddle, rocking back and forth and getting to the chant of Anbessa! Lions!

Our final big event of the past two weeks: welcoming our Accountant Eyerusalem back to the office after maternity leave. Wonde and Hana took the lead in making sure Eyerus’ desk was well-decorated with balloons, flags, a card, and lots of potted plants. I provided flowers and a tray of eggs.

Welcome back, Eyerus!

For this first day back, we especially requested the Eyerus bring her son Jeremiah along with her. He patiently sat through his first MCC staff meeting as we shared the news, caught up, and enjoyed a chocolate cake made by Yeshi. Eyerus’ husband is now working in Canada, so we especially want to make sure she knows how much we appreciate her.

Along the way in the past weeks, there were interesting meetings with partners, lots of reviewing reports, and even more tedious preparation and signing and stamping of official letters, memos and MOUs. Not much to write about.

Perhaps the most alarming work event was the temporary loss of our organizational stamp. We took it along to stamp a new MOU with a partner across town. The next day, it was not in my work bag or Paul's suitcoat pocket. We searched the house and office and couldn't find it. The car had been taken to the mechanic, but when we could finally search it, it was not found. Perhaps it had fallen out of the car as we picked up and dropped off a number of David's schoolmates after the meeting? We began to contemplate life without a stamp -- we couldn't authorize any bank transfers, write any official letters to partners, pay salaries... we probably couldn't even write a valid letter to the charities to request a replacement stamp, if we couldn't stamp the letter...might as well just close the organization, pack up and go home. In this type of bureaucracy, you absolutely cannot function without a stamp. About an hour before we were ready to report the loss to the police, Paul remembered something. When we had gotten home from our meetings, we heard our little cat mewling from under the container. It had injured its leg that day and seemed to be stuck. Paul had knelt down to coax the cat out. When he checked that spot again, there was the stamp, lying on the ground. It must have fallen out of his pocket at that point. Phew!! It's good to celebrate the small things, too.

And another celebration -- Oren received his first college acceptance letter this week!

More news next week! And now for some bonus photos...