Mass and Home Visits in Meki

Sunday, July 17, 2011
(Hamle 10, 2003, ec)


Sunday mornings do not begin quietly. At five in the morning the Orthodox Christians began their liturgy, broadcast over multiple loud speakers. Their liturgy is 3 hours long and all chanted in Geez. Geez, like Latin in the Roman Church, is not longer spoken outside liturgical settings. The other main difference in the Orthodox and Roman liturgies, is the the Orthodox congregation remains standing for the entire service... all three hours.

The Catholic service began at a more reasonable time: 7:30. Men on the left, women on the right. The women cover themselves in a gauze-like cloth, usually white. The Mass was in Amheric. The Mass is recognizable none-the-less. The real difference came at communion time. The priest came in front of the altar, one of the altar boys accompanies him with a candle indicating the Divine Presence. Another altar boy holds an umbrella, resplendent with velvet, glitter and fringe, over the priest and the Blessed Sacrament. The women ululate both at the beginning and the end welcoming Jesus among them.

Hello everyone! This is Lizzie Fenske taking over for Brother Chuck. Yesterday we got to visit an orphanage in Meki. It was a short walk from the hostel and when we arrived the kids greeted us with smiles a mile long. We got to see their rooms which were brightly colored, full of stuffed animals, and had beautiful murals all over. The children were amazing. This particular orphanage is sponsored by a company in Spain. Each of the children we visited have a sponsor family in Spain that support them. They were mystified by our cameras and for our entire visit one of the little girls, Cha-Cha, entertained us by wearing all of our sunglasses and stealing our cameras. This experience was truly amazing. To see kids that have nothing be delighted and full of joy because of our presence made this trip all the more real for us. Note: Mom and Dad, I didn't take home a child yesterday but, I have one all picked out for us .

After the orphanage, we were separated into 3 groups and went to 3 different student's houses. Each of us had very different experiences ranging from an Ethiopian dance party, learning to milk a cow, and experiencing traditional coffee ceremonies and conversation . This was a highlight for the majority of the group. We were treated like royalty and the families were incredibly hospitable. After dinner, the entire group gathered to hear the story of one of the girls staying in the hostel. She told us that at the age of 14, her father wanted her to stop her education and get married. She felt differently and wanted to become a doctor. Her father eventually abducted her along with her sisters. After awhile, her brothers saved her and brought her to Meki Catholic where she told her story to Brother Betre. She hasn't seen or heard from her family in 2 years. She now is one of the top girls in her grade and plans to attend a university in the future. To hear this story from a girl who is our age was hard but it made us realize the amazing cards we have been dealt in life and the fact that we need to do more to help those in need. The group is getting along very well. No one has gotten sick yet and we are all enjoying the Ethiopian cuisine. We all miss you and love you guys! (Love you Mom Dad Patrick Claire Grace and Grover!!)

Jake:

After Mass we walked further down the street to the Meki Orphanage. I was very scared for all of my traveling companions, because my brother Alex had previously described to me some African orphanages where children lived in appaling conditions. I didn’t want a bad experience to traumatize my friends. I was very surprised when we arrived at the orphanage to see that it was a colorful place full of smiling children and adults. The children lived in bunkrooms plastered with beautiful murals. The children, who ranged from ages 4 to 12, explained to me that donor families in Spain sponsored the orphanage. Many of the children had visited Spain to visit with their donor families, so they could speak Spanish, English, and Amharic very well. One girl, Chacha, immediately grabbed my sunglasses off my face and started running around. We started to connect with the children using physical games. We would swing the children around and they would shout “Lela,” which means again in Amharic. The children also loved to play with the girl’s cameras and take pictures of their friends and the animals that lived on the orphanage. At one point I looked up to see Chacha, only five years old, dragging a full grown bull around by a three foot leash! Needless to say, these children were living great lives in this orphanage. As we left, Mr. Dols warned us that all African orphanages would not be so happy and cheerful.

After lunch we decided to go on some local house visits. I decided to go to the house of a young man named George. We walked to his house where we sat outside and began a coffee ceremony. George was extremely proud of his sister, who had just graduated from Meki Catholic School. He ran inside to grab her diploma and proudly displayed it to us. George also introduced us to his other sister, who was #1 in her third grade class. We passed around barley, popcorn, and peanuts to munch on while the coffee was prepared. After we drank our coffee, my friend Lindy Wirth started handing out Mint Altoids to everyone present. George’s grandmother, who was sitting on the ground in the corner, was very gracious. She did not speak a word of English, but immediately started saying a blessing over us for giving her a simple mint. Lindy saw that the grandmother was enjoying the mint, so she gave her the whole tin! The grandmother said more blessings, and George translated the blessing. She asked God that all good things would come to us in our future.

Before we left, George showed us some of the livestock that his family owned. We all got a chance to milk the cow. On the side of the cow’s stall, I saw that many cow pies were stuck against the wall. I asked George about it, and he said they were drying out. I asked what they were used for and he said, “We use them to make the bread.” Some of the girls in my group almost threw up until George explained that the cow dung was burned as a fuel to make the bread, not as an actual ingredient.

George helped us find our way back the MCS compound. It was pitch black outside except for the headlights of cars and motorcycles whizzing by. George held my hand the entire way home. I thought this was strange, until I remembered that it is part of Ethiopian culture for men to hold hands walking down the street; it is a sign of brotherhood and loyalty. Once I understood, I was happy to be participating in a culture different than my own.

After dinner at the hostel, one of our hosts walked Haley Fischer and Lauren Lavelle through preparing Ethiopian coffee. While we drank, she introduced herself as Lobey. She told us her personal story and why it was important that MCS had a girl’s hostel. She was born in a rural town outside of Meki. Her father did not believe in education for women and arranged for her to marry a man she didn’t know. After much begging, Lobey convinced her father to take her to Meki to tour MCS. Her father said no and abducted her. With the help of her brothers, she escaped her father’s captivity and walked back to MCS, where she now is the #1 student in her class. Her story made me understand how messed-up gender roles and traditions can be in other countries.