Today was the day the adventure really began. I was blessed to preach at a small church here in Addis Ababa. Pastor Bahru, who works for MKA Ministries, picked me up around 11, and we made our way through the city.

There is so much to see for someone who is used to a rural setting. As we drove, I saw everything from upscale clothing to people selling plastic stools on the side of the street. At one point, there were small shops on one side of the street and a market for sheep and goats on the other. I understand that this market is particularly busy this time of year because this is wedding season, and they are purchased for use as part of the feasts. They are also used as a part of the Christmas and Epiphany celebrations, which contributes to this being a busy time of year.

When we arrived at Temple of God church, I met the pastor and some other people who were very welcoming. The young lady who was going to be my translator was in this room as well, and she was curious if I had ever spoken with a translator before. When I told her I had not, she told me this was her first translating experience as well.

After a miniature cup of coffee served to me from arguably the coolest coffee server I’ve ever seen, we made our way to the worship space.

The congregation had been singing for quite a while when we joined them, and they sang for probably another ten minutes after we arrived. As I was listening to them sing in a language that I did not know, my mind went to thoughts about the beauty of the body of Christ. Even though I don’t know these people and we don’t worship in the same language, we are united to Christ in his death, resurrection, and ascension, and so we are united to one another. While we don’t sing the same songs or in the same way, one day, we will be around the throne together singing the anthem of heaven: Worthy is the Lamb who was slain!

When a short time of prayer finished, I was invited to come forward. I introduced myself, and I informed the people that I was blessed to be there worshipping with them this Lord’s Day because our Ruling Elders had decided against having worship because of the weather. There was a visible look of disbelief as I watched the translator tell them it was -25 degrees Celsius.

I asked the translator to read the text from Genesis 29:1-30 for me in Amharic instead of me reading in English and her translating.

To prepare, I went through my sermon and hit enter to start a new line every two sentences. I also edited it for language that I thought might be unfamiliar to the translator. Until you go through something you have written with that in mind, you don’t realize just how often you speak in slogans and slang!

It was interesting to observe people as they listened. You can’t normally do this when you preach because you’re moving on to the next sentence instead of watching the congregation listen. You could see which people were listening closely in both languages. Sometimes, people were nodding at both my statement in English and the translation.

From observing the congregation and Pastor Bahru, it was obvious that the translator did an amazing job. There was only one time when she asked me to rephrase something. I am disappointed that I will be preaching for a different congregation on the next Lord’s Day because she was such a joy to work with. I would work with her again anytime!

After the service, I had a few good conversations with people who introduced themselves to me. A young man named Nathan had some great questions for me and was a blessing to me.

On the car ride home, Pastor Bahru confirmed for me what a great job the translator did.

When we got back to the hotel, Samuel and his daughter were waiting for us, and we headed down the street a way for some fine international cuisine: Pizza Hut and Cold Stone Creamery.

We truly live in a global world when I can be halfway around the world, and the amazing, greasy Pizza Hut pizza and Coke Zero (Coke No Sugar here) taste exactly the same. The small cup of coffee-flavored ice cream from Cold Stone Creamery tasted like it had the last time I had it.

I am feeling very grateful for today. It was a good opportunity to settle into speaking to people who don’t have English as a first language. It was also a good day to review the coming week of teaching with Samuel and review my content.

Tomorrow the class begins and I anticipate that I will be learning from the students more than they are learning from me.