Who would have ever thought I would be teaching English to Ethiopian seminary students? God definitely has a sense of humor. When the dean of students came to my house and asked me if I would like to teach at the seminary I would not give him a direct answer. I said, “Let me think [...]
“We’re showing the Jesus film on Friday nights at sunset. You’ve got to come over and see the crowds!” my friend Sidney kept reminding me. Each time I planned to attend, something seemed to always interfere. But this time, I was determined to go. It was Sidney’s last week in Soddo before she went back [...]
In February we were invited to the wedding of Tigest, one of Mark’s OB nurses. The wedding ceremony was in Hwassa, a city about three hours from Soddo on a beautiful inland lake. The wedding was full of delightful surprises for us.
Now for Syntayoo. His story was more complicated. His mother died four years ago and his father abandoned the family. He had been living with his uncle and small brother but the uncle drove him out. He helped out on a farm with another family but when his legs got so bad that he could [...]
When Mark came home at lunch time and told me he had triplets to deliver I couldn’t my excitement. Quickly I looked through our stash of baby blankets, hats and newborn clothing to see what would work. Not knowing if we had boys or girls I set aside three girl blankets and hats and three [...]
Since returning to Soddo Christian Hospital we have been quite surprised by the recent changes to the hospital compound. There are two new houses under construction, a new playground, a covered lapa near the surgery for patients to wait, another covered lapa at the rear of the new guest house, a new ceiling on the [...]
This is a video I made about our lives in Soddo.
Continue reading about Scenes from Soddo: A 6 minute Video of Soddo 2011
Mark enjoyed raking leaves with Grammy and Grandpa Being back in the states with our grandkids from Johannesburg, S. Africa has been so much fun. Raking leaves in chilly November was magical!
Getting sick on a hospital compound has certain advantages. I discovered them first hand last week. Subtly an inner ear illness had been creeping up on me over several months like a cat crouching in the flowers slowly inching up on his victim before the final pounce. My pounce came with a vengeance last Tuesday [...]
It was raining and I was muddy and exhausted. A few feet away my home beckoned to me but my mind was wandering. I walked past the Grays house, thinking about Paul Gray in the hospital in Addis Abba and wondering what strange illness he had that would spike fevers to 103 for over seven [...]
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