This has been the quickest and most
abrupt re-entry that I have ever experienced in 20 years. Living in
rural Ethiopia among the poorest in the country requires several
points of re-entry along the way. Our 12 hour drive from Gesses to
Addis is one of them. Disconnecting from village life as we travel
through villages and towns before arriving in city society. Our
time in Addis and Toronto where we connect with fellow missionaries
gives us time. Time to wash the dirt off our feet and the stress
from our faces. Time to socialize with other missionaries which
prepares us to speak in more formal settings in North America. Time
to re-enter Canadian culture slowly and intentionally.
But here we were travelling at 100km/hr
from the Winnipeg airport to our small town in Manitoba. Here we were
after 10 hours of challenging road travel and 30 hours of air travel,
driving on smooth, empty roads. My eldest daughter said: “I still
feel like I am in Ethiopia but I am in grandma's car.” Exactly.
Physically we were here but emotionally we hadn't arrived.
Then within 36 hours of arriving, we
were attending the funeral of my grandmother, interacting with large
numbers of people, singing, sharing memories, crying and laughing
together, watching my grandma's casket lowered into the ground,
eating pickles and cheese, fresh buns and sliced ham. Familiar and
yet so foreign. Emotionally still in both worlds.
Pictures flashed in my mind: weeping
with Gumuz neighbours, watching a body wrapped in a white cloth and
lowered into a freshly dug narrow grave, eating goat meat, sipping a
fermented sorghum drink, sharing words of hope to those who mourn
without hope.
God's grace. By God's grace we were
able to engage emotionally and physically into the celebration of my
grandma's life. We cried, remembered and sang. For this weekend, we
were here: heart, body and soul. Re-entry experiences were happening
too quickly to process but that could wait for later.
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