Settling In
by Margaret Winstead
As we come upon our 3 months of being here in Addis, life is beginning to look more routine. We get up, the boys get ready for school, home for lunch and homework and they still want to play video games, much to my dismay. Our puppies are getting bigger. We have figured out how to feed them leftovers or make a batch of rice and vegetables with lentils and chicken. Our kitten is growing too, and he eats the same things as the dogs. Even the way we feed our pets is different. As I think about how different our daily routine is, it is even hard to describe. I am challenged to find ways to explain it. As I write I hear the loudspeaker from the Orthodox church a few blocks away praying. I hear the hum of our water tower pulling water up so it can enter the house with water pressure. I hear a different language being spoken in our street, and horns honking. I have learned how to turn on a generator so when the power goes out (it often does) we can keep our refrigerator running. There is this lovely breeze from my open window since we do not have air conditioning or heat here. Which a positive is that when the power is out we don’t have to worry about either freezing or burning up as we did in Memphis. God has offered me time at home to learn to be content and spend time in the word. At first, it seemed frustrating being in the 2nd poorest country in the continent of Africa and to be spending most of my day at home. The boys are home half a day and I am mostly cleaning up, learning to cook, shopping for food, and putting away laundry. But God has given me the gift of loving and serving my boys and Steve this way, and He is giving me more time to read and study than I had before.
In my study time, I am reading through the book of Psalms. A psalm each day. It is a magnificent picture of who God is and His mighty works He has done. Each day God reminds me of His character- He is Steadfast, Strong, Mighty, Faithful, Righteous, Holy. He is a Refuge, Shield, Fortress, Rock, Help, Deliverer, Shepherd, My portion forever. I began this journey through the Psalms in November as we began to say goodbye and transition to our new life. I have walked this rocky path of transition to Ethiopia with the Psalms as my guide. How perfect is God’s word. I see deep anguish in David and a hunger and thirst for God and His holiness. I see crying out to God for victory and deliverance. Along with a strong and continual call to praise Him among the people. To declare to others what He has done, to praise Him because He is worthy! How beautiful for the Lord to have set me on this journey to Ethiopia, to a place completely new and foreign with the Psalms as my daily reading. As all of my surroundings are new and different, new smells, new sounds all night long, new friends, new food, new driving rules (or lack of rules), a new language, new ways of cooking and cleaning, new routine, new school, and new church. There have been many tears and frustrations and a longing for something familiar. God is steadfast. He is my familiar. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He is my rock that steadies my step. I can depend on Him. As we have left all things familiar, I am seeing, tasting, knowing how God alone satisfies my every desire.