Making Memories with Marshmallows - A Guest Blog by Alyssa Bawden
Written by Elsa (a.k.a. Alyssa Bawden) --- Wednesday 27, 2015 --- Ethiopia 2015
As this week has gone by, God has been showing Himself in a vast array of ways. Today, being our third day spent with the students of Ekklesia, we have gotten continuously stronger in relationship to these students and teachers of this blessed school. As we entered the school this morning, the kids lined up within their designated class lines and walked inside singing their daily chant. The chant includes “We are Ekklesia, number one Ekklesia, wherever we go, people always know, who we are, so we tell them, we are Ekklesia, number one Ekklesia . . . “ and so on repeatedly with that order of words in a combination of both English and Amharic.
As the children lined up within the room designated as their lunchroom, they took a seat and our team put on a small skit revolved around the story of the lost sheep, later incorporating the students, which created so much laughter and giggles throughout the room. Brings a smile to my face every time I hear their laughter. :) We sang a few songs with actions and got the students all riled up for playing outside.
Outside, the kids taught us their games of tag, racing, hand games and dancing, and intense jump roping. I am personally embarrassed by my skills, or lack thereof, of hopping over and through a loop of rope that the Ethiopian children seem to make look so easy. This time is flying by every single day because of how much of a blast we are all having getting to know these kids. We spent a total of about 3 hours outdoors, and we enjoyed every minute of it. During this time, I was proudly able to down 3 water bottles of water and finally go to the bathroom in “the dreaded hole” as was named by some of the team members still planning a way to master relieving themselves once their bladders are full!!! Ask for a photo of these holes and you will soon discover the excruciatingly difficult times that have been made by attempting to use these things. Not the most pleasant of events to occur, but if you’re in Africa, you have to give it a go! :)
Last thing on our agenda was making a sheep out of marshmallows and pretzel sticks. Let me tell ya, the instructions made it look so much easier than it was, but after getting my hands gooey from the melting marshmallows sticking onto pretzel sticks, it was finally the time we all were waiting for: the reaction on the kids faces to the taste and texture of the marshmallows and pretzels. The kids have never tried them before. This was history in the making!!! :) Most of them loved it. Some of their faces scrunched up at the first bite, not expecting a soft mushy texture of the marshmallow. But I’m hoping through this they were able to make memories that are life lasting.
Overall, this week has been amazing. I cannot imagine myself being here still today on these schools grounds working with these kids and the adults. Even though I am here as of now, 7 months ago I thought it would be crazy if I even considered going on this trip. I am so glad this trip is happening, though. Yes, I have laughed, I have cried, I have been overwhelmed beyond great lengths, but God has constantly been answering prayers each day through the smallest things, and He has taught me so much about myself through both the children of Ekklesia and my team members.
Honestly, I encourage everyone to go on a trip such as this one, whether it be in the states or on an entirely different continent. Go on a trip that will put others and God before you every day. You will see amazing changes in your minds, actions, and heart that you never imagined were there before. Going on this trip is both a hardship and a blessing: a hardship because it has placed me in a vulnerable state where I am forced to trust God with everything I am and that is the most difficult thing for me to do, and a blessing because of God’s amazing work on this earth that is so unbelievably impossible from our perspective.