A Gumuz-style Christmas

 Christmas is celebrated throughout Ethiopia on January 7^th by Protestants and Orthodox. But the Gumuz still have little experience in celebrating Christian holidays. Last Christmas, we were at a conference and the Gumuz were unable to celebrate due to an outbreak of violence. Yet we believe, it is important for believers to celebrate the birth of the long awaited Savior.   It is reminds us not only of how Jesus came to earth but why he came to earth. It is an opportunity for us as believers to share the good news (just as the shepherds did so long ago) with all we meet.

Our hope is that Gumuz celebrate Christmas in such a way that it continues long after the foreign missionaries leave. Because of this, we spend time discussing different ideas but the decisions are in their hands. Advent Sundays were celebrated by teaching from Isaiah and the book of Luke and singing songs that corresponded with the text.  They presented short dramas on several occasions such as the angel coming to Mary.

Due to our emergency exit from Gesses, they were on their own for the final preparations.Yet in many ways this was good.  It would be done Gumuz-style which is often more spontaneous than we would be comfortable with.

In the end, we weren't disappointed.  The Christmas story was preached and the songs were sung with enthusiasm. Towards the end of the service, the drum was carried out by two women on a long pole and the service went into the open air.

 

              Carrying the drum out of the church and into the open air.

 

                                            For the next 2 hours, the Gumuz men and women sang and danced, running up and down the path singing the good news of Jesus. In traditional celebrations such as a wedding; men and women sing separate songs simultaneously running, jumping, and whistling. Sweat pouring down their faces, they stomped their feet, shouted and trumpeted. How sweet it was to see them celebrate Christmas in this way – from the heart!

 

The women's dance.

 

Two separate songs being sung simultaneously:  a song of Mary and the song of the shepherds.    

The men traditionally carry sticks along with them as they run up and down the path.

The time ended by drinking a roasted barley drink. The goat they now desired could no longer be purchased but there is always next year.  The church is still young and members come from different villages but they are forming a fellowship; that worships the Lord gladly.

Celebrating Ethiopian Christmas with our Staff

We had planned to celebrate Christmas with our staff on Monday, January 5th two days before the actual holiday.  But arriving home late Saturday night, we wondered if it would happen since numerous preparations need to be made ahead of time such as buying & grinding grain (a job we had given to one of our staff who we later found out was quite ill), fermenting the flour for atleast a day in order to make it into injera and then finding women to make the injera.  Although we had left money for one of our staff to buy a goat, we weren't confident that had happened.


But it all came together in the end.  We were able to pick up the ground grain at 7pm as we passed through the town it had been purchased in.  The grinding mill was strangely open at that late hour and the grain already ground.  Sunday afternoon, we discovered the goat had indeed been purchased (although the staff member who had purchased it had travelled to another town and not told anyone whether he had actually bought the goat or not.)

 So the feast was on.  Ladies prepared the batter and began baking the injera on a hot clay pan Monday afternoon and Joel, Rolf and one of our staff slaughtered the goat. They "enjoyed" raw liver and other seered innards as is custom for those who prepare the meat.

The women spent the afternoon cutting up the meat and preparing stew.  Around 5pm, our staff, their wives, children and a few extras gathered together to enjoy a spicy goat stew with injera.  Sweet coffee ended our time of fellowship.

Their bodies may be dusty but they are patiently waiting for their plate of goat stew with clean hands.

A goat costs about $40 so although goats are wandering all over Gesses, they are only slaughtered on special occasions.  More often they are used to pay for debts or a court case. Because of this, meat is not a regular part of their diet due and every part of the goat is consumed except for the hide, the horns, and the hoofs.

The semi-digested intestine contents (until the point at which the contents turn into feces) were squeezed into a cup and served to Joel and Rolf.   The stomach and intestines are then washed and served as an appetizer or dessert. For this celebration, it was dessert.

Small bones were consumed, the marrow was sucked out of larger bones, innards were cleaned, cooked in the blood of the goat and passed around for dessert.  After the kids and spouses returned home, the men (including Rolf) sat around the fire, laughing and talking together consuming the last item on the menu:  goat's head.  Picked clean, the evening ended with singing and flute playing.

Nothing wasted.  There are no leftovers to pack away.  And I wonder if our staff didn't enjoy their Christmas feast even more than you or I as they tossed a few remaining bones to the dogs and lay out the goat hide to dry.  

New Year's Eve - Joel's Day of Courage

I grew up bringing in the new year with fireworks. My dad bought a box or two and no matter how cold it was outside, he would set them off. I remember always feeling somewhat fearful that one would go off before my dad left the scene. Then we all run around outside with sparklers shouting happy new year.

But here in Gesses, New Years' has been more of a time of reflection. A time to reflect on our calling. A time to reflect on whether we still believe in what we do and where we live. A time to reflect on the past, present and the future.

This year, we were looking forward to hosting another missionary family that work with the Gumuz people. We were all anticipating good food, fellowship and seeing in the New Year with some games and fun and a big bonfire eating traditional New Years' Cookies.

Dec 30, Tuesday Joel headed off to the Gumuz boy's Bible soccer club as usual.  Rolf joined him as he wanted to take some pictures and also needed to meet with the leaders during scrimmage time.   We are thankful he was there.  After an hour, Joel fell backwards landing on his wrist.  It was immediately obvious that his wrist/lower arm was broken and they headed home.

          an hour before his accident

Thanks to a great mission, many different people in SIM helped by making a flight booking, arranging guesthouse booking, calling the SIM doctor who referred them to the Cure hospital and offered to host the girls and I for the night in Bahir Dar.  Without all that extra support, I would have had to make numerous phone calls with difficult network.  The Cure doctor even called me to ask questions and give advice until they arrived in Addis.

So instead of planning a New Year's party, I was splinting a broken wrist, preparing and packing for a road trip.  After about 3 hours of sleep, we left Gesses at 6am,  travelling 4.5 hours on bumpy, dusty roads so that Rolf and Joel could make the 1 pm flight to Addis.  After checking in at 11:30am, they flew out at 1pm and they made it to the Cure hospital around 3pm where they were expecting him,

  

at Bahir Dar airport en route to Addis Ababa (45 minute flight)

While Joel was facing his fear of needles and particularly an I.V. needle, we were at a very, very cold swimming pool catching colds.  Joel faced his fear with courage and we are proud of him!  Because they had to set his wrist, they put him under and then cast it.  

Meanwhile, the girls and I spent New Year's Eve at the Coleman's home (another SIM Canadian family who live in Bahir Dar).  Since the Coleman family also enjoy New Year's Cookies as part of their tradition, we did manage to get that one tradition in.  

 

So our New Year ended with Joel's Day of Courage and began looking forward to our reunion.  Rolf and Joel just got off the plane and now we are heading back to Gesses!  

When a Family comes our Way

Visitors rarely come to visit. When they do, they tend to be adult men. We have had a few women but very few children. We are just too far off the main road. Yet, our children LOVE visitors....especially children their ages. So, when our friends decided to come and visit, the countdown began.

Not only did this family visit but they took public transport to get here since they don't own a vehicle. This 12 hour journey is challenging even when driving in one's own landcruiser but change that to a bus filled with people speaking a foreign language, only 3 predetermined stops, LOUD Ethiopian music and carsickness and it is not a pleasant experience at all.

Our friends made us proud. They boarded their bus at 5am, travelled until 2pm at which time they were picked up by Rolf at the bus drop off, and travelled 3 more hours on dusty, bumpy hours. They arrived cheerful and without complaint though they were surprised just how far away we actually are. I believe the welcome wagon made it all worthwhile.

Since family visits are so rare, we had a full weekend planned. In between activities, the ping pong table was busily being used by the boys and and the girls were knitting.

HIGHLIGHTS.....(apparently I didn't take many pictures so will update more when I get them from our visitors!)

SOCCER CLUB and VILLAGE VISIT

The boys joined the Gumuz boy's soccer club for several hours of soccer. The girls/ladies watched for awhile and then went to visit a Gumuz village where we were immediately welcomed to sit down for keya and a visit. My friends were so thrilled to see “our people” coming to visit and for the first time I felt “normal” in their eyes. Yes I do belong.... to a people. Yes our children do have friends. Instead of the usual observation of our children interacting as siblings or sitting in church, they saw all the excitement that happens between friends.

HIKE & RIVER

Saturday morning we got up early and took a hike from our mountain top to the next mountain top. The view is worth the 45 minute climb. Of course we brought snacks along to encourage the hikers and gave them the burst of energy needed to descend. Thankful for a safe climb and that the 10foot tall elephant grass had mostly been burned away allowing us to hike more easily.

After lunch, we stuffed the 14 of us into our landcruiser and headed to a river 5km away. Although it is now dry season, the river was still flowing though it was more like a stream. We splashed around, explored and sat in the sun. A beautiful haven during the heat of the day. 

GUMUZ CHICKEN LUNCH

One of our favorite Gumuz meals is roasted chicken. Everyone enjoyed seeing the process of preparing a chicken meal from scratch. (Well not everyone watched the actual slaughter). From live chicken to meat roasted over coals and guts boiled in its' blood. Every single piece is eaten including the bones except for the toe nails and the beak. I think we all voted that our least favorite part of the chicken was the kidneys.

THORNS, STITCHES & HURDLES

One must include the painful highlights as well. Although we brief visitors on the potential dangers: poisonous snakes, scorpions and thorns into barefeet, there are no guaratees that a visitor will go unscathed. I decided early on that wearing shoes outside our house was not a battle I was willing to face. But they are not allowed to complain about thorns and there are some nasty ones. Their soles are tough but not impenetrable. All weekend it seemed we were digging out thorns from kids. Infection sets in quickly. One of the boys had a red streak up his leg by morning since a thorn went unnoticed overnight.

Then came the gift of sorghum cane (like sugar cane). It is rather dangerous stuff and I have cut my hands and mouth on numerous occasions in my attempt to get the sugary pulp from inside. We heard a shrill scream from outside and in rushed our friends' daughter with blood pouring from her thumb. It all seemed dramatic until we observed just how deep and long the gash was. An hour later, Cherie (an experienced vet) had put in 7 stitches and she was back in action. Anyone want to come and visit?

The men put up hurdles from bamboo for the kids to practice on. With Bingham field days a month away, it was time to decide who would sign up for the hurdles race. Great fun to race against each other (peers) instead of just siblings.

CHRISTMAS FUN

Saturday night we played Christmas charades together, enjoyed hot apple cider, Dutch Christmas cake, the children's Christmas drama, cookies and treats. No one was happy this was the last night together.

GESAS SUNDAY

You wouldn't want to leave Gesas without enjoying a Sunday morning service. Drums and dancing to Gumuz Spiritual songs, sermon and a drama and then getting to know the men and women in small groups after church. The women always love to meet our visitors.

Our lunch and coffee, it was time for our visitors to pack up, jump some more hurdles and begin their journey back to Addis.

Rolf and Joel took our visitors to Injebara (3 hours away) where they would be picked up by the bus the following morning.

I imagine it took a few days for our visitors to recover from the weekend but we are sure that they will fondly remember our time together just as we do. Friends bring life to this place and allow us to take a step away from all the stresses of ministry that can so easily consume our life.

No, we are not a vacation spot.  It's hot but we have no beaches or resorts nearby.   The people we live among manage to survive in these harsh mountains but it is not easy.   If you visit, you won't go away feeling refreshed in body.  It might take you a few days to recover.  But I believe that if you were to visit, you would see life just a little differently than before.  

Sonia is FOUR, November 28th, 2014

 Four is a pretty big number. It's hard to show on a little hand. Four brings out some fierce independence and so I find that the traditionally called “Terrible Threes” is replaced with a more challenging year – the “Fiercesome Fours”. Yet, at the same time, I know it will be a year of beautiful growth in such a little life. If that naturally selfishness can be smoothed and replaced with a heart for others, that fiercesome independence will mold our little girl into being “Fabulously Four” or “Fantastically Four” Ready or not....here we come!

Sonia, you bring so much life to our family. Your constant enthusiasm for EVERYTHING can be jawdropping . “LOOK mom, I am holding Wings (our chicken). WOW mom, we are having MASHED POTATOES for supper. This is SO yummy. You have a way of drawing everyone into your recent discovery. Kalia, LOOK at this BUG! Joel, I saw a BIRD flying into that hole! Ariana, I got CANDIES! Nadia, look at my PICTURE! EVERYONE come and see how interesting my life is!” If you were here, she would love to show you her life!

So you can only imagine how unbelievably fun her birthday was. In fact, the blood was pumping so fast from breakfast to supper that there were a couple of meltdowns in between. 

            Her highlight was definitely receiving a handmade cradle from her brother Joel.

Life through your 4 year old eyes Sonia is worth seeing. If we could bottle up your passion and enthusiasm for life, I believe we would have a whole lot more joy-filled moments. Of course life is not all easy and we know that you are going to get a whole lot of cuts and bruises in life but you bounce back quickly and see the beauty in the ashes. 

Your sweet prayers bless us, those you pray for and are an offering to the Lord.  

We love you Sonia. Thank you for bringing such joy to our family. Love your greatest fan. Mom

If Mary was a Gumuz girl.....

Leading up to Christmas, the Gesas church took a break from preaching from the book of Acts and returned to the book of Luke.  As Rolf began to discuss the upcoming Sunday Scripture on the angel's visit to Mary (Luke 1), he asked the ministry team (that he was meeting with) what would happen to a Gumuz girl if she was found to be pregnant. They had an immediate answer as this has obviously happened on numerous occasions.  If she refused to answer, her hands would be tied behind her back. Metal would be pressed against her ear and a rope tied around her head. She would be beaten until she answered.

So, what would have happened if Mary was a Gumuz girl?  She would have been tortured and beaten. She would have been taken to court, accused and judged harshly likely resulting in death. Maybe this is not so different from the acceptable stoning treatment in traditional Jewish culture, but somehow it came alive for us living here in Gesas.  Our Western worldview cannot fully grasp Mary's world but the Gumuz immediately understood the harm that could have come to her.

Although we are not given the details, we do know that Mary was saved from this.   “Because Joseph was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.” Mt 1:19  He had the right to take her to court but did not plan to and then something even more amazing happened.

God had planned out perfectly who the mother of Jesus would be and he arranged that her husband would be from the line of David.  So to ensure that Joseph was in on God's plan, He sent an angel to Joseph to let him know that Mary was truly going to give birth to the promised Savior: Jesus.

There will have been those who refused to believe that one so great could be born to one so humble yet the prophecies were being fulfilled. The Savior would come from the line of David.  The Savior would be born of a virgin. And angels proclaimed it all to the world.

Mary said, “I am your servant. May it be to me as you have said.” Luke 1:38 

She fully submitted to God's plan knowing it would not be an easy life to live. Yet in her youth, she humbly accepted the call to be the mother of Jesus.

A Kruse Christmas in Gesses

Many of you have asked what Christmas is like in Gesses. Although I have likely written about it in the past, since I have no access to the internet to check, I may repeat myself.

After 10 Christmases spent in Ethiopia, we have formed traditions very different from our own upbringing. This is mostly due to separation from our families, shopping malls, Christmas programs, and living in a completely different climate. Every year, I am pleased that our children have the opportunity to celebrate Christmas for what it is: honoring the birth of Jesus. Though, every year, I am saddened by the separation from family; it is a sacrifice we are willing to make.

December 1^st, we decorate the house with a small tree, nativity sets and an advent calendar. The children create dozens of snowflakes that hang in our open porch. Strangely, these large paper versions of snow remind Rolf and I of home and possibly prepare our children for some future winter Christmas.

Christmas tunes fill the air, the children begin practicing Christmas pieces on the keyboard and we begin baking. The baking continues until either the butter or sugar supply runs out. This year it was the butter supply.

For the past couple of years, we have had the privilege of celebrating Christmas with another missionary family. This makes the celebration extra special. This year, from Dec 18-21, we hosted a Canadian family who are serving in Addis ababa and a Canadian man and his son who are hoping to join SIM Ethiopia in the near future. With this visit in mind, the kids and I prepared a Christmas drama and baked a variety of Christmas cookies.

We had a lovely Christmas celebration on the 20^th together. The children presented the drama we had put together called: “The Redeemer Has Come” and since we needed some extra shepherds and wisemen, the visiting children joined in. We drank hot apple cider, ate a meal together and played games. It was a sweet time.

On Christmas Eve, our colleague, Cherie prepared a full chicken dinner and the children held a gift exchange of handmade presents with Cherie. The children's skills in woodworking, knitting and crochetig came in handy!

Christmas day, we had our traditional birthday pancakes followed by “The search for the Christmas stockings”. As usual, Rolf and I wrote out clues in the form of a poem and in an orderly fashion, each one took his/her turn in finding their stocking hidden in a specific place. This is particularly easy considering our warm climate. Stockings were hidden in treehouses, a chicken coop, work shop, along a lane and on a motorcyle. The goal is to find the stockings before the chocolate melts! This year stockings were filled with chocolates, candies and yarn.

After enjoying some baked goodies, I made our “traditional” Mexican meal for lunch followed by a dinner of Mennonite Periski (pockets of dough filled with a ground beef mixture, baked and served with ketchup and mustard).

That evening, we gathered around a blazing fire, singing Christmas carols and drinking Christmas tea. We usually enjoy some caroling with lanterns but ran out of time. But Christmas is not over. We are now preparing to celebrate Christmas with the Gumuz believers. The Christmas story is being told each Sunday, Gumuz Christmas songs are being sung and on January 7^th, a goat will be slaughtered, maize boiled, and coffee roasted.

Although Christmas may look different in Gesas, the purpose remains the same: to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Emmanuel, God with us. Our prayer is that as we hear the story of the long awaited Savior, we would be filled with hope. Hope that one day soon, our Savior will return a second time. This time, to take us home.