Lost in Translation: Tongue Twists and Triumphs in Ethiopia
Our first day of language school! (Aug 2024)
From Egg Hunts to Hospital Visits:
The street outside of our guesthouse is always bustling. There are tire shops, people walking to and fro, and tiny little shops called souks that sell everything from cooking oil to stationery. If you need eggs, you can usually go down to the one lady at the end. If you need matches, the guy on the left. Ambo, the Ethiopian equivalent of La Croix sparkling water, you go to the guy down the hill.
Today we need eggs. Luis, Emma, and I take a stroll down the busy street doing our best to avoid potholes and puddles from the recent rain. We get to the souk with the eggs and ask if she has any today with our limited Amharic. After she nods yes, she of course asks us how many we would like.
I look at Luis and quickly admit that I don’t know the word for twenty. Luis quickly says, “I don’t either.” In the three seconds where we quickly panic, Emma chimes in with “haya” the word for twenty! The lady smiles, nods, and says “haya” approvingly. In our shock, we quickly look at Emma and back at the lady as she starts to bag the eggs. Then she says something and points to Emma that we can only assume means “that’s a smart girl” as Emma beams.
On the way to the souk
It's easy to feel dumb in these moments or maybe inadequate, but honestly, all I could feel was relief and a sense of pride. You want your kids to shine and do better than you could… and apparently, it starts much sooner than you think!
It seems fitting that this happened the day before we started Language school as it highlighted the importance of learning the language to better interact with and serve the Ethiopian people.
Aug 19th – As the kids started their first full week of school, Luis and I found ourselves beginning our first week of language school. We’re diving into Amharic, which is just one of over 80 languages spoken here in Ethiopia. Let me tell you, learning a new language as an adult is both humbling and stretching! On day two, I counted up the number of words we had been exposed to—about 120. And, full disclosure, I had to step out of class that day as tears started streaming down my face. They were asking us to recall what we’d learned, and my mind just went blank. After a few splashes of water on my face, I managed to pull myself back together and return to class. (Tom Hanks may say there's no crying in baseball, but apparently, there’s a bit in language school!)
Then on day three, things took an unexpected turn. Luis woke up at 3 a.m. with pain in his right lower side—the kind of pain that, as a surgeon, had me immediately concerned for appendicitis. We decided to wait it out a bit, but when he started sweating and looking pale, my alarm bells were ringing. Back home in Myrtle Beach, I’d know exactly what to do—what hospital to go to, which colleagues to call for help. But here? Here, I didn’t even know which hospital to go to. It’s amazing how small things you take for granted can feel like big losses when you’re in a new place.
Thankfully, my parents stepped in to help get the kids off to school, and our neighbor kindly drove us to the Nordic Clinic (a full hospital with an OR and ICU) in the early morning hours. By the time we got there, Luis was feverish and still in pain. The clinic staff were incredible—so kind and attentive. The hospitalist even let me use their ultrasound to take a look at his abdomen. While we waited for blood tests and the radiologist, prayers for Luis were pouring in from friends and family around the globe. By some miracle, his pain started to subside, and the test results came back negative. No surgery needed, thank God! I’m so grateful he didn’t have to undergo surgery only two weeks into living here.
PAACS Spiritual Retreat - As the week came to a close, we had the chance to join a spiritual retreat with the PAACS team—general and orthopedic surgery residents, their families, and the attending doctors from Soddo Christian Hospital. It was a weekend of much-needed rest, community, and reflection. Pastor Ed, the spiritual dean, led us through Romans 12, and after everything we’d been through that week, verse 2 really hit home: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind…” It was a reminder to keep perspective, even in the middle of so much change.
And now, here we are—a full month in Ethiopia. We’re slowly settling into our new rhythms: international school for Daniel, Emma, and Isabelle, mornings with my parents for Joshua while Luis and I tackle language school, and then the afternoon switch so my parents can head to their own language classes (they’re pretty amazing, by the way—learning their fifth language in their 60s!). As hard as learning Amharic is, I’m strangely thankful for starting this journey in a position of humility. There’s so much we can learn from the Ethiopian people, and I don’t want to miss that by focusing only on what we bring to the table.
As we work to transform our tongues, mouths, and ears to communicate better with the people we’re here to serve, I’m reminded that Christ also came to this world in humility—born as an infant into a poor family, dependent on others to care for Him. Thank you, as always, for your prayers and support.
Praises:
This one is huge: in the past month we are officially 100% funded!!! Thank you all for your support to those who joined us from the beginning to those that joined our support team this month. We are so grateful for each of you.
Kids starting school and getting into a rhythm.
Luis recovering (sans surgery)!
Things to Pray for:
My parent’s visa. They are currently on a tourist visa. Please pray for a long-term visa option. They are a huge blessing to our family, and I believe God has a plan for them to reach and serve the people of Ethiopia.
We need to get the kids' birth certificates and our marriage certificate certified by the US State Department and the Ethiopian embassy in order to obtain our long-term Resident IDs (please pray that the bureaucratic process will be speedy).
The language learning process: We will maintain our approach of humility, tackle it with vigor, and be fully invested in the process. (And get through the hard days!)
If you want to learn more about how to help us on this journey, please click the link below!
