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February 1999
Dear Friends,
The theme of our last letter—way last "summer,"
sorry!—was "waiting in patience." The theme of
this one might be "waiting upon the Lord" (Isaiah 40:31)
who knows and sees and understands much more than we. God, the
One who does not faint or grow weary: God, the One who is able
to give power to the faint and strengthens the powerless.
Much of what we had hoped to be able to report in our next (i.e.,
this) letter, we are not able to. But, we did finally move to
Gatcheb! Not in August, but in mid-October. So, for the remaining
weeks of 1998 John was carpenter, plumber, and electrician—doing
those things that have helped make the house more comfortable.
He built kitchen cabinets, drawers, and cupboards, rehung the
sink, installed rain gutters, and so on.
In the midst of trying to settle we have had some interesting
adventures. The end of October we traveled to Aira in western
Ethiopia, with our colleague Henoch Alemayehu, to attend a workshop
for Bible school teachers. It was very practical and worthwhile,
learning about syllabus and lesson-plan preparation. The adventure
was in getting there. The shortest route had been closed by a
landslide caused by heavy and continuing rains. So, we had to
go back via Jimma, usually a five-hour drive. But because of the
rains and mud and trucks stuck in "car-nivorous" pits,
it took us 12 hours. The next day we headed west to Mettu to meet
up with the director of the Bible school there so we could tandem
with him over new (for us) territory to Aira.
A half hour out of Mettu we followed Qes (Rev.) Matti off onto
a track (which he called "a road") and soon found ourselves
slipping and sliding through elephant grass higher than the Land
Cruiser. We stopped briefly at a clinic to drop off some supplies
and pick up a guide for the rest of the journey on this so-called
"road." We continued about six kilometers beyond the
clinic on the muddy track in the midst of tall wet grass. To cut
a long story short, our vehicle got stuck in the mud, wedged up
against a tree, it started to rain, and Qes
Matti got stuck trying to tow us out. At 6 p.m. the decision was
made to hike back to the clinic. We arrived, 12 of us, most unexpectedly,
just after dark and were treated to the unspeakable Ethiopian
Christian hospitality—fed supper, feet washed, given a place
to sleep—12 unexpected guests!
The next day the sun was out. We hiked back to the vehicles
and with some digging and putting on chains and towing we managed
our way through the elephant grass, across a bridge where it had
been recommended that all but the driver alight, and on to Aira,
arriving only half a day late. The return trip three days later,
gratefully, was uneventful.
In December, John and the Bible school vehicle were enlisted
to help take a group of government and church evaluators into
Tulegit, where PC(USA) mission co-workers John and Gwen Haspels
work with the Surma people. Due to lack of space, Anne remained
behind as John headed off in convoy to Tulegit, about 160 kilometers
south of Mizan Teferi. A week later, on a return trip to spend
Christmas with the Haspels, Anne did get to share the experience
of fording the Dima River (thankful for the Land Cruiser's snorkel,
which we had not ordered) and follow the tracks of the road the
Surma built under John Haspel's direction. "Just follow whichever
tracks look most recently used," was the advice we got.
We have never seen ourselves as "pioneers," but these
trips to Aira and Tulegit gave us a taste of the life that many
others, including the Haspels, live.
We are a bit reluctant to make projections, but invite you to
join us in hoping and praying that this year:
- We may learn to see more of what God is doing rather than
focusing on the disappointments and unfulfilled hopes and expectations.
- We will get out to a few parishes for a week's training session
with evangelists and others who preach and teach.
- We will see how to make progress in Amharic.
- The Bible school facility can be made ready for residential
courses beginning in September 1999—a few windows and bathrooms
built, a water supply located, staff hired, one or two more
teachers made available, furniture purchased, students called,
lessons prepared.
Thank you for "waiting" with us.
May you know the power, strength, and constancy of the God who
does not grow weary or faint.
Blessings,
John & Anne Wheeler-Waddell
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