Last Day in Ethiopia

Thursday March 15, 2012

This morning we went to Mt Entoto, which is the highest point in Addis. The altitude is around 12,000 feet. All I know is we were pretty high up, and it gave me a horrible headache. What blew me away the most was the sight of women carrying huge bundles of wood up and down this incredibly huge mountain. I wanted to cry for them. This was their "norm." The way they made a living. The only way they could eat and feed their families. Our driver told us they would walk up the mountain in the mornings and come down with the wood by early afternoon. Sometimes, they would make two trips. I see why Ethiopian women don't live long. You add this hard labor to sickness, poverty, and disease..... It just was almost more than I could take in. :(  While we were at the top of the mountain, we took a tour of the original palace of one of the greatest kings of Ethiopia. The views were amazing. We had hoped to also get outside the city to see some wildlife, but by the time we were done and stopped for lunch, Levi was just really needing a nap. (So were mommy and daddy!)

Today was our first official tough day. Levi has decided that he doesn't really like that he has discipline and protection in his life right now. I can't imagine how overwhelming it must be to go from a "free for all" and "fight for yourself" lifestyle to a normal, somewhat structured life with parents. It felt like we were saying, "No!" all day long, and I couldn't think of a "yes" every single time to replace it with. Here's an example of our afternoon.....

“Don’t hang your head and neck out the window when we are driving. It’s not safe.”

“ Don’t put as many bites as will fit into your mouth whenever we eat. Slow down.”

“ No, we don’t spit “loogies” in places like the Sheraton fountain or at the dinner table.” Ugh.

“Don’t run away from us when we go out. Stay close to Mommy and Daddy. We don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Don’t run into the road.” (He truly doesn’t understand danger.)

“We don’t throw trash down everywhere. We use a trash can.”

“Don’t hang over the balcony."

"Don't put food in your pockets.”

Bless his heart. It is so hard. We’re trying to give him freedoms. We go down the street to play soccer in the big yard of our sister guest house. He can run and play wherever he wants to. He gets to order his food when we go out. He picks his clothes out himself. Today, he was quite cranky towards us though, and preferred our driver who is a sweetheart of a man. He’s a grandfather and just oohs and aahs over Levi. He also speaks Amharic to Levi, which Levi obviously prefers. It’s Levi’s safe place, and understandably so. 

Today, we stopped back at the Sheraton to treat our driver to lunch, and I have to say, it’s just a comfort spot for me. It was so nice to have American food-something that looked and smelled familiar. As much as I love trying new foods and enjoy lots of ethnic foods, I just do not like Ethiopian food. At all. I don’t like the smell of the spices or the texture of injera. It actually gags me. Therefore, I have lived on so many carbs from noodles, granola bars, potatoes, and fruit this week, I feel like I could explode. Having something familiar was my comfort after the past week. I get just a teeny tiny glimpse of what Levi is feeling. Isn’t it just nicer to go with what is familiar or what feels good, even if it’s not good for you? Am I the only one who feels this way? How many times have we given up something, only to go right back to it, whether it’s a bad habit, addiction, fattening foods, dangerous relationship, etc? Each time we go back to familiar or where we feel secure out of habit vs what is best-what is GOD’S best. We forget that God is always looking out for our best interest and we can trust Him so much more than ourselves. He’s not setting boundaries or limits to keep us from good or fun, but to protect us from harm and show us Himself in fresh ways. He wants us to seek Him rather than ourselves. He loves us so much.

Levi has a long way to go. So do I. Despite what we see and know as Levi’s good in leaving this lifestyle he’s known, it’s still comfort to him. He would prefer all he has ever known rather than having to change it all, or have it changed for him. All his bad habits are all he knows. They are survival and protection as he knows it. What he doesn’t yet know is they are false securities. Lies. The things he has put into place to keep himself safe won’t work. He is going to have to let go of this and this independence he has built and learn to trust. This reminds me of him swimming for the first time, and Sean teaching him to float. It was a great trust lesson for Levi to trust that His father is holding him up, and will never let him go-even moreso, his Heavenly Father. Levi will have to learn what is true despite what he has experienced in his short little life and despite what feels right to him. He will learn that following his heart leads to destruction, but listening to the voice of God and trusting Him leads to joy, security, and safety. He’s been a survivalist and these behavior traits aren’t indicative of his character. It’s just a habit he learned in order to cope with where he was. Bad habits though. I’m seeing myself in a lot of Levi already. It’s obedience into a new place- a more spacious place of freedom. I think he’s gonna fit in perfectly here with the McKenzie family as we all learn together what it means to let go of the old and trust God with our new life.