I absolutely love Africa. I am intrigued by it's countries, people, cultures, and history. Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, and Egypt are some of the countries that often bring me to my knees in awe. Ethiopia tops my (ridiculously long) list of
places I hope to visit before I die. Ethiopia and her beautiful people have captured my heart and snuck deep into my soul.
There is a saying that goes something like... once your eyes have been opened, you cannot pretend you don't see.
I have seen. I have read and I have learned. I have felt and I have cried. I am shocked, appalled, and horrified. I am moved. Most importantly though, I am called to action. It is not a mistake that God has laid this burden on my heart. He has put in his request. God has laid his challenge before me.
The images of starving children and their real-life, current stories have shook me to the core. As I started reading the facts about HIV/AIDS in
There Is No Me Without You , I thought Melissa Faye Greene was referring to past decades. I couldn't believe that those numbers on my page, depicted the current situation in Ethiopia. But they do. You can imagine my astonishment when I came to that realization. For most of that novel, I felt nauseated. I literally heaved throughout Ms. Greene's description of Ms. Teferra's discovery that a baby girl had died in her home during the night. I still hear those words in my head daily. Daily.
The mothers' desperation. The children's raw pain... physical and emotional. So many children. Babies. Toddlers. School children. All alone in a adult world, struggling to survive. Mothers, fathers, grandparents, and children are dying everyday in Ethiopia from illnesses that could be maintained, cured, or prevented in the US. As described in
There Is No Me Without You, a child with a milk allergy almost starved to death. Literally. He was starving and death was imminent... from a milk allergy. My words are always inadequate and inelegant. I wish you could feel what's in my heart. I wish you could feel how my chest feels tight and heavy right now. I wish you could see how I wince at the thoughts that I will never erase from my mind, and would never want to. Because we have to care. Maybe it's easier to turn the other cheek when the people dying are half a world away, in a distant country, speaking a foreign language. But they are people suffering, tortured and we. can. help.
I love Ethiopia because it is beautiful and it's people are one of the most evident displays of God's hands at work. I love Ethiopia because it is rich with faith and love. I love Ethiopia, because God put the love in my heart. I will always love you Ethiopia. You have changed this girl so very, very much. And I thank you.
