This afternoon, I was surprised to see Eychule at my front door. How did she just do that after giving birth less than a week ago? She looked fresher than I did. Well she had come to sell some beadwork to me so that she could walk 10km to Dibate tomorrow for market day. (Hmm....so do I buy the items or not? I don’t want her to walk to town tomorrow. Then again, she has to walk home, uphill....so maybe I should buy them.)
Well, I did buy them and she stayed on. We chatted in my basic Gumuz and since it was nearly 1pm, I decided to invite her in for lunch. I was happy to atleast have familiar food on the menu. Injera and pumpkin stew which she ate heartily along with my kids. Rolf was having an elder’s meeting for lunch so when they arrived, I served them too. I then served them coffee.....with salt! Yes, this was my first time to serve it Gumuz style. I have always served it with sugar in the past as many Ethiopians and Sudanese do. Actually sugar is nearly impossible to find in the market in Dibate. There is a huge shortage in the country presently.
After that, Eychule said the time was over and she needed to go home. It was a good reminder to me that as long as there is food on my table, I can bless those that come to my door. It isn’t always easy to know what to do though as there are a lot of people who come to our door.
An hour later, our guard came asking for water. This is always a sign that they are hoping for some leftovers. It sounds strange to say that but it is a cue we picked up on fairly quickly. The injera was gone but some bread and pumpkin stew was still in the house so our children were happy to serve (they thoroughly enjoy serving people.)
The day is now done and it is a quiet evening. Thank you for praying.
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