Sunday, April 20, 2008
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Updated Pictures
We've recently discovered a restaurant close by that has free high speed internet access, so I was able to load all of our pics from the last couple of months into our photo website. If you're interested in checking them out, here is the website: www.elsamorrell.shutterfly.com . I have to warn that they are mostly of our kids--what can I say, they just keep doing such darn cute things all the time.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
The Longest Prayer
I didn't know what I was asking. I really didn't. And in hindsight, if I had known that by asking a guest to pray in our home that it would be a 25 minute event--speaking in tongues included, as well as a mini-sermon--I believe I still would have asked him to do so. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
Last night we asked our nanny, Tizita, her family and also one of her sisters (who is a language teacher in our language school) to come to our house for dinner. Hospitality in Ethiopia is foundational to their culture--they bring forth amazing meals from seemingly nothing, and they are some of the warmest and most gracious hosts you will ever encounter. Tizita has already had us over for a meal at her house, and so I wanted to have her and her family over to eat at our house as well. We had a great evening together, eating and watching the kids play together, and before they left, I asked Berhanu (Tizita's husband) to pray, which is a common custom in Ethiopian culture.
Caleb asked me later if I had any idea what we would experience when I asked Berhanu to pray, and I replied truthfully that I had no earthly idea that we would get what we got. Being a good Free Methodist-raised Christian, I expected a heartfelt "Thank you, Lord, for the time we've spent together, the food we've shared, and please bless this family".
Oh no.
Berhanu stood up, began chanting in Amharic, and for the next 25 minutes, prayed, sermonized, blessed us, praised God, gave thanks, beseeched the Lord on our behalf, and spoke in tongues. Oh, note here--seeing as it was all speaking in tongues to me (my Amharic, although coming along, was only able to make out a few words that I knew), I had no idea until later when Caleb told me that what I had just experienced (for the first time in my life!) was hearing someone speak in tongues.
Now all of this still could have been taken as quite a normal event. But seeing as we have two children under two who are not used to 25 minute prayers, Berhanu's prayer was competing with Elsa and Ezra's shenanigans. Elsa went back and forth between telling everyone to "Wake Up!" and mimicking Berhanu's stance and intonations. Yes, I'm sure all of this made such a great impression on our Ethiopian brothers and sisters--their children, of course, were sitting beautifully still and quiet.
Although it was hard to keep from laughing at our oh so reverent child, I learned something. Although so different from the way that I approach my Father, it was beautiful and passionate and so heartfelt. And I know this home was blessed by the words and pleas uttered on our behalf.
So, yes, even though I didn't know what I was asking, I would ask again. Pray on, Berhanu, pray on.
Last night we asked our nanny, Tizita, her family and also one of her sisters (who is a language teacher in our language school) to come to our house for dinner. Hospitality in Ethiopia is foundational to their culture--they bring forth amazing meals from seemingly nothing, and they are some of the warmest and most gracious hosts you will ever encounter. Tizita has already had us over for a meal at her house, and so I wanted to have her and her family over to eat at our house as well. We had a great evening together, eating and watching the kids play together, and before they left, I asked Berhanu (Tizita's husband) to pray, which is a common custom in Ethiopian culture.
Caleb asked me later if I had any idea what we would experience when I asked Berhanu to pray, and I replied truthfully that I had no earthly idea that we would get what we got. Being a good Free Methodist-raised Christian, I expected a heartfelt "Thank you, Lord, for the time we've spent together, the food we've shared, and please bless this family".
Oh no.
Berhanu stood up, began chanting in Amharic, and for the next 25 minutes, prayed, sermonized, blessed us, praised God, gave thanks, beseeched the Lord on our behalf, and spoke in tongues. Oh, note here--seeing as it was all speaking in tongues to me (my Amharic, although coming along, was only able to make out a few words that I knew), I had no idea until later when Caleb told me that what I had just experienced (for the first time in my life!) was hearing someone speak in tongues.
Now all of this still could have been taken as quite a normal event. But seeing as we have two children under two who are not used to 25 minute prayers, Berhanu's prayer was competing with Elsa and Ezra's shenanigans. Elsa went back and forth between telling everyone to "Wake Up!" and mimicking Berhanu's stance and intonations. Yes, I'm sure all of this made such a great impression on our Ethiopian brothers and sisters--their children, of course, were sitting beautifully still and quiet.
Although it was hard to keep from laughing at our oh so reverent child, I learned something. Although so different from the way that I approach my Father, it was beautiful and passionate and so heartfelt. And I know this home was blessed by the words and pleas uttered on our behalf.
So, yes, even though I didn't know what I was asking, I would ask again. Pray on, Berhanu, pray on.
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