Thursday, August 29, 2013

The Tiatia Family in Ethiopia…who are we and what are we doing here? Part 2!

Right now it’s hard for me to talk about the next member of our tribe because I miss him so much!  He performed in a talent quest just two nights ago and I am reminded of all the small things in his life we will get to miss out on.  Like his first steps as an independent adult.  He’s sixteen now and not quite as adult as he needs to be, but adult enough to be a part from us and know the importance of still staying connected to us. 

We came here unsure of how we would educate our children (a seemingly foolish life aspect to be ignored) but we were assured that it would all be sorted when we arrived.  So we forced Jamal into a school and a grade that he didn’t belong so that at least he would get some education and social interaction.  Fairly soon Jamal was asking out.  He had discovered how far advanced the students were here in their academics and how far behind in their English.  At last, I was called into school because Jamal was disturbing the class.  “We don’t have time in our 45 minute classes for students to ask questions”, the vice principal told me.  “Either he learns to be quiet, or he needs to leave.”  I understood Jamal’s predicament as I was the same in a school I was accustomed to.  To get full understanding, I would always ask questions.  We had given him three months and it didn’t seem to work so we decided as a family to pull him out and home school him and join the Bingham home school program so we could access some materials. 

Some people called Jamal my shadow for that first year.  Not really out of choice for this handsome 14 year old, but more out of lack of other cool people to hang around with.  This for me was a catching up for all the times I neglected to spend time with him in New Zealand.  All those times he had come home and gone out again to hang out with his friend Johnny and we authorized it because it suited our lifestyle.  And all those times I had come home and gone out again to be with friends, or at church.  Now there was no Johnny.  Now there were no church commitments.  There were very few kids in town his age who even spoke English, let alone understood his culture. 

The place, therefore, where Jamal was able to shine was when he joined forces with visiting short term teams who did small projects around the city.  From laying the foundation of concrete at the school, to assisting with activity days in the sports to helping buy souveneirs at the markets for decent prices.  Jamal is such a social being who loves to lead.  He became involved in our English service by playing guitar which he improved in so much over his time here.  He often entertained visitors with his dancing skills and helped us curb the chocolate cravings by baking some good chocolate brownies. 

Eventually Jamal was able to go to school at an International school in Addis Ababa that we were introduced to through friends of our pastor.  It was a Greek school that was started by the Greek community in Ethiopia.  I am half Greek so that was good for me.   They also taught from the Cambridge curriculum so that was a big bonus.  As it fit into our budget at that time we enrolled him and we had friends who were able to transport him to the school every day, an offer that ended up changing when Jamal decided he was confident enough to catch public transport.   He loved it so much he said to me one day that when he was in New Zealand he couldn’t wait for the weekend but now he didn’t even want the weekend to come.  He made good friends, caught up with his academics and got to show off his dancing skills (something he missed doing on a regular basis.  

Although Jamal never gave up his desire to go back to New Zealand, he definitely made his own mark while he was here.  He came here having never had read a whole book, and left reading many just in one year.  He came to Ethiopia a disconnected son and left a part of our family and our mission.  He left New Zealand spiritually dependant and left with his own personal convictions.  In New Zealand he always wanted to be paid for any work that he did, and yet he returns with a collection of service duties performed for free and a servant heart.

 Now he continues his journey in New Zealand with his grandparents and Aunty and Uncle where he is able to go to school in the system that will hopefully take him into a good tertiary education.  His residency there will force some more frequent trips back or trips for him to come back and help in some way.



Asaua is the head of this family.   We met when I was 16 and little did he know then that 10 years prior, I had committed to going to Ethiopia.  We were young and stupid and drank and partied and fought and then, we got pregnant and decided to wake up and get married.  Our lives changed dramatically when we decided to invite Jesus into the mix as not just a religious event, but as a major part of our lives.  Even before that though, Asaua volunteered at an after school club at his church for 7-9 year olds.  And he loved it and the kids loved him.  He had done this for a couple of years I think by the time I met him at the age of 17.  Soon I was to find out how good he was with kids as my little brother and sister and then nephew hung on to him like a big brother.  Almost like a dad. 

So in this young couple both from dysfunctional families, (he with a father who was an alcoholic and I with a father was bipolar) was this common love of children divided between a visionary (me) and a vision builder (Asaua).  Asaua has been just that here.  I see the big picture, he works on the minute details and makes them happen.  He has been helping to build not only the vision that WE came with, but the vision that others here have.  And he does it by connecting with kids that extends beyond the boundaries of language. 

 Before we came to Ethiopia, Asaua had two dreams of him on a field surrounded by Ethiopian kids but he came here under a Social Work internship.  As interns we really just came to fill gaps where we and the organization recognized as suitable for our giftings.  Asaua had been teaching Alternative Education for ten years and within that had taught Literacy and Numeracy but mostly enjoyed connecting with the kids on a relational level through sports and activities.  So the gap was identified in the school for a sports teacher and it was a gap that he could fill.  As newbies to this country, this school and this community, we took plenty of photos.  While going through the photos one day, he realized the work he was doing was a fulfillment of those dreams. 



My dreams also existed but started a long time before.  I had images of me standing at a table with a pot full of food serving people lined up for miles.  This was after I saw the graphic images of starving children in the famine of 1984 and wondered how such an injustice could occur in a world full of food.  What was planted in my heart at that tender age of six stuck and has still never left me.  I heard it said “Let what you love, be how you love” and I love to cook and so I love to feed people.  That is my expression of love.  And so here now almost two years into our trip I am thankful for the opportunity God has given for us to fulfil this dream as a family unit.  I have had some opportunities to feed and to cook for people but I have also had many opportunities to feed people spiritually by sharing the word of God, to discouraged mums, hungry Christians needing to hear the message of grace and to rural churches set on hills.  I love it.

Right now, we are in a phase of transition where we are making way, building capacity for the next phase of our journey.  We are now officially missionaries under Ethiopian Evangelical Mekane Yesus Church, which translates into the Camp of Jesus church.  It is based on Lutheran foundations but exudes the faith filled and Holy Spirit filled beliefs of the New Testament church.  Here we are looking to start a development project working to rehabilitate prostitutes and help orphaned children.  We are also working alongside a school who's new owners have a common vision to ours.  One thing we have learnt over the years, is that if it's a God vision, it's a shared vision and if it's a God vision, it's a resurrected vision.  The school owners and the leaders of the church share visions that we have to help develop the city of Debre Zeit and the children and families who reside within.  To give you more information on what the future will unfold, you will just have to keep following!  


17 
Learn to do right; seek justice.
    Defend the oppressed.
Take up the cause of the fatherless;
    plead the case of the widow.

 Isaiah 1:17



Thursday, August 22, 2013

The Tiatia Family in Ethiopia…who are we and what are we doing here? Part 1

Two years ago we set sail from Auckland, New Zealand, the only home we had known as a family except for a year we spent in Rotorua.  South Auckland to be exact.  Otara, then Takanini were places that we called home.  Our first boy was born on the North Shore as that is where we resided as 19 year old parents, Michelle from Glenfield and Asaua from Otara.  Shortly after his birth we gave our lives to Jesus and moved to where that dedication was made- Flat Bush, South Auckland where we served in Children’s Ministries and eventually youth ministry. 

In the meanwhile, two babies came at the same time!  Beautiful little girls, the ones I had longed for after having a boy and being limited by the amount of clothes I was able to dress him up in.  They never looked quite as pretty as the girls dresses I would see in the shops.  Two and a half years later, we had another boy to balance out the family. 

Not long after the girls were born, in 2001, a couple who were missionaries to Ethiopia for 10 years then Kenya for 15, came and visited our church on what just happened to be our Missions emphasis weekend.  They shared slides and spoke of the years they spent serving God in Africa.  I (Michelle) grabbed my first opportunity to speak to the wife of this couple and told her of my long desire to go to Ethiopia as a missionary.  She said to me, “They need missionaries in Ethiopia!” and a large lump formed in my throat at the very thought of it ACTUALLY becoming a reality and all I could say was “Well, you need to convince my husband of that” to which she replied, “No, we need to let God convince your husband of that.” 

So there we started a conversation and a journey of understanding what and how and when and if God was really calling us to Ethiopia.  After one more baby and ten long years of growing and learning and discerning and waiting, we set sail for a place called Debre Zeit.  The both of us had come on separate trips to Ethiopia.  Firstly myself, with a group called the Mocha Club accompanied by 12 others from the States and Canada.  I visited a ministry called Women at Risk in Nazaret who worked to rehabilitate women who had been involved in commercial street work.  Then we visited a church in Ambo who were working to reach out to Street kids who numbered about 100.  That trip changed my life forever.  I wrote this poem as a result in my frustration of what to do from there. 

“New Flower”*
I was six years old when God gave me the dream
Through images of poverty like I’d never seen
Children crying – so hungry and poor
Death stealing the lives they knew once before
To go to Ethiopia a dream had come true
Though I feared the long flight over the ocean blue
To know a world that was close to my heart
To make a difference and give a fresh start
But nothing could ever prepare me to see
The raw streets and culture that was before me
The eucalyptus scaffolds, the pavements of mud
The beggars, the markets, the horses that trod
On the street with the people – so many there were
But where they were going, I could not answer
HIV/AIDS so many had carried
Fistula relief was why women tarried
So long and hard their journey began
With labors that left dead babies in hand
Nazaret prostitutes number five thousand
Living for money but lowering the standard
Women At Risk reaching them slowly
Offering hope and love to the lowly
Healing and forgiveness is what I had witnessed
Knowing God’s love now through Grace and Forgiveness
The Street boys in Ambo so dirty and torn
Not just their clothes but the families in which they were born
No dad or mum to kiss them goodnight
No house to call home, no hope in sight
So broken and hungry but kings of the street
Orphaned and lonely no shoes on their feet
But hope was given as we entered their vision
For education, restoration, love and provision
What a blessing it was to be Jesus to them
To serve and feed, to show love through men
But now I have seen my heart breaks much more
Each life I have touched I feel responsible for
To bring them more hope? To bring them home?
To bring out my heart, to touch yours alone
So what would you do if you saw their pain?
Would you come back empty? Would your trip be in vain?
Or would you want to change the world One Soul at a time
That was my Ethiopia trip 2009
In April of 2010, Asaua came for only 8 days and spent his time in Addis Ababa visiting different ministries including similar ones to which I had visited.  He too came back with the conclusion that we had to do more than just a short term trip but when we would go and what we would do was still a mystery.  After doing some searching on the internet, we found an organization that seemed to fit our vision of working with orphans and street kids as well as women.  It was able to accommodate our needs as a family and also our financial needs, so it seemed.  We contacted them but then left the idea for a while until one morning Asaua woke me up at 5am on a Monday morning.  You can read about that here .  He told me that we have to go to Africa.  So we made arrangements, sold our house, our car, all our furniture and belongings that we had held so ridiculously dear and we moved into Asaua’s parents house for a month.  During this time we worked as much as we could to raise the extra money we needed but we still left New Zealand short of the deposit we needed to pay the organization we were coming with.  And also fully short of the monthly commitment we had made to pay.

So for two weeks we took our kids on a journey to see what it looked like outside of New Zealand.  We visited family in Melbourne, hung out with my cousin and her daughter in Kuala Lumpur and then spent two nights in a hotel in Dubai paid for by old friends.  During that two weeks, God fully came through and provided for us to stay in Ethiopia.  He has continued to do so in so many different ways.

So for almost two years now, this has been home.  We have met so many different people, run into so many different embarrassing situations, fumbled in so many conversations and been blessed in so many different ways.  We went from the known to the unknown, the comfortable to the uncomfortable, from familiar relationships to total estrangement.  But we knew without a doubt that this was God’s calling for our life and our season to make a change in other people’s lives outside of ourselves. 

And it’s been a journey that sometimes feels like is still in it’s infancy stage.  We learn the language like an infant, by totally immersing ourselves around people who speak it.  So we sound like babies with funny accents.  We have learnt the culture and seen how similar it is to that of our Samoan culture where relationship is so important, but we are still challenged by the different systems and processes that exist.  We have seen great need yet we feel like we haven’t even scratched the surface on helping to make a difference in that place of need.  We have met babies who were struggling and who are now toddlers walking around and laughing with their friends. 

And we have all had a different part to play in this journey.  I just wanted to introduce you to our family, in case you don’t know them and how they have served in this place.  This is our mission team: The Tiatia Crew.


Wesley is our youngest and came here when he was six and just turned eight.  As a cute six year old, living in a culture where physical affection is part of the norm, he was smothered by anyone and everyone who wanted a taste of his cuteness.  Still now his character draws people to him and he loves to just ignore them and just get in there and play.  He has made some good friends here and loves to join in where he can in being a part of what’s going on.  His friends age from 7-12 as his maturity level is higher than most.


Matthias is now 10 but came when he was 8.  For the most part, when people see him walking on the street, they will say “China!” which means they think he is Chinese with his straight hair and round face.  But he has adjusted and doesn’t flinch at it.  He also has made some great friends here at school and from our church service.  Matthias loves the local food and says that if we ever move back to New Zealand we have to take back as much as we can.  He loves to get involved in making food when we have guests and even just cooking for our family which normally takes a lot longer as most foods have to be cooked from scratch.  He has also grown so much spiritually since we’ve been here and prays and reads his bible from a place of passion. 


Lydia is the second of our twins who graces the stage of our English church service every Sunday with her beautiful singing.  She is now 12 and a half and counts down each day till her 13th birthday.   She has gained a love for horses through our South African friends who have horses and a cow and chickens on their farm in Koka.  She has also gained a love for photography and has taken over my instagram account to display some of the beauty she has captured.  She is a girl who sees beauty all around her and often points it out to our unseeing eyes.  She has also been a big part of our ministry and is always willing to help  out especially when it comes to working with children. 

Kiara is the eldest of the twins and is at least five centimetres taller than Lydia.  I always have to tell people that they are twins and always receive a shocked reaction because they look so different.  Kiara is great with people and especially children.  Her heart exudes through her smile and her welcoming hugs.  Out of all our children, she has probably been the one who has most caught the vision here as her own.  She has a dream to build a village to house orphaned children and get them off the street.  She knows what it looks like, what she will call it and she plans to be a part of looking after the children in it.  She is superbly artistic and is constantly putting out works of art that blow me away.   I have seen her take control of a class full of children in a way that totally eluded me and she totally excels in that area.



So they are the youngest four of our team here in Ethiopia.  I will let you know about us older three in Part 2!

Thursday, August 8, 2013

The Mass Exodus

Last week I went with my Ethiopian sister to go and watch a movie in Addis Ababa.  I had to go into town for a short visit to the dentist and so I thought I’d use it as an opportunity to catch up with her.
 
Checking out the line up on the movie list, nothing really appealed to me at that time in the English speaking movie section. However, since we had planned to see a movie, there was an Amharic movie on at that time so we thought we’d go check it out.  Not knowing what to expect- thinking there wasn’t even going to be subtitles and nervous about being the only one in the cinema not laughing at the funny parts, I was so happy to see the first English subtitle pop up at the bottom of the big screen. 

Triangle.  The English interpretation of the movie title- Soset Me'azen

It began with a group of Ethiopian asylum seekers walking through the Egyptian desert, one wife talking about how her husband blamed everything that went wrong in their life, with the country of Ethiopia itself.  She was part of the six main actors who we followed through their journey in search of a better life in America. To do this they risked life and limb to cross Egypt, travel by boat across the rough Mediterranean sea to Italy, illegally boarded a plane to Mexico then after a long drive up North, had a five day walk by foot and truck to Los Angeles. 

Along the journey they suffered many struggles; an attempted rape, malnutrition, dehydration, bribery, a dust storm that killed one, the death of one man’s wife (had to get the tissues out for that one), and a hijacking of their plan at the end by the American’s who took them into the country. 

The thing that amazed me about this movie is that this happens all the time.  The movie is a collaboration of many stories people have told about their exodus out of Ethiopia.  It is a mass exodus.

I remember telling my friend in New Zealand before we came here about my strong desire to go to Ethiopia.  She was like "are you crazy?  Everyone is trying to leave that country and you are trying to move in?!"  I didn't know how right she was.

Desperation.  We’ve seen it so many times here.  It leads people to go beyond their limitations to find something better, reach for something more.   It lines the immigration steps every day, all day.  4000 women every day are there to apply for visas and passports so they can go to the Middle East to work as modern day slaves of many kinds. The thing that frightens me the most is that these women are living on a word of a man they do not know about a country they do not know where they speak a language they do not know. 

My friend here volunteered some time at the Refugee and Returnee Services in Addis Ababa and she said that some women who returned from these countries took three to four months to regain consciousness after being drugged for such a long period of time.  Used as sex slaves under the disguise of   house slaves.  And I say slaves because these women only earn around USD200 a month- maximum!  For a job that requires 24/7 labour.  That is worse case scenario, I know, but why risk your life, your dignity, your self worth?  Desperation.



Recently the news here promoted the news story from the Australian government who announced that any asylum seekers who try to enter Australia by boat will now be deported immediately to Papua New Guinea.  How ironic that this news comes out at the same time as this movie.  That it’s broadcast here in Ethiopia to send a message to Ethiopians who might be getting ideas about illegally trying to enter the land so wide that is called Australia. 

Why does this desperation exist?  Why must it exist?  There’s got to be some hope at the end of the tunnel.  And I would like to say that hope is Jesus- because it is-but even within the church I hear stories of women going to Arab countries to work as slaves, and men risking their life to illegally travel out of the country in hope for something better. 

It’s a breaking free from the bondage that is set here by governmental policies, a need to be satisfied with the land flowing with milk and honey that defeats the dry barrenness that can be perceived to exist here. 

I wish I could say I empathize; that I understand.  I have had tastes of it here and there and I know the frustration of living in a country that’s so far behind in so many ways but I can not say that “I know how it feels.”  I have a country I can escape to at any time.  Many countries I can go to without having to go through a rigorous Visa process.   

But I see Ethiopia as a land of opportunity and potential.  It's economy is growing and it's landscape is beautiful.  The people here have hospitality built into their DNA and have so much to offer the world.  If only they would see.  If only the world would see beyond the poverty.  If only the government would see beyond their current policies.

I think some people are getting it.  I have met some well off Ethiopians here lately.  Some who have lived overseas and have returned because of the prospective business potential Ethiopia holds.  The lifestyle here is more suitable for them.  The return on investment is getting higher and higher.  They have a vision for the country and for their lives that involve the country.

Over the last few months while Asaua was away, the option of moving back to New Zealand seemed like a logical move to make.  But in my mind, I couldn't imagine living back there.  I like it here.  I really do.  I think that if I had an option of where I would bring up my children, that right here is where it would be- even outside of the calling.  Last night even as I was talking with my husband about our kids, he said, these four that remain here with us, they really like it here.  Yes, they miss New Zealand and our family and friends but life here is adventurous, it's exciting (too say the least) and it's good for our family.  We feel spoiled and blessed to be here.  So let's stay.

 

Pray for this beautiful country.  That within it, there would be a contentment and a realization of the potential it holds. And as Psalms 68:31 says...that

Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God.