Today, I want to share some highlights of my whirlwind week in Addis Ababa from February 18-24. (Next week I’ll share about my current activities in Lusaka, Zambia.)
This was my first time back in Ethiopia since Marilyn and I completed our missionary service at the Ethiopian Graduate School of Theology (EGST) from 2010-2014.
My goal for this week was to seek opportunities for future ministry in Ethiopia, through teaching and also in my newer ministry as a professional leadership coach. Since I retired last year, my hope is to spend one month annually serving the global church in Africa.
I went with a few appointments scheduled but lots of open time. However, my calendar filled up as the week progressed! Most days I started around 7:30am and kept moving from meeting to meeting until I ended the day with dinner with friends. It ended up to be a packed but immensely rewarding week.
Joyful Reunions and New Connections
Monday
I stepped off the plane at 7:30am Monday morning and moved through the familiar customs and immigration hall, which hadn’t changed a bit since we left Ethiopia in 2014. It seemed strange to need a visa rather than show an Ethiopian residency card.
A driver from Mekane Yesus Seminary (MYS) picked me up and took me directly to the campus. MYS is the flagship theological institution of the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus (EECMY), our partner denomination and one of the two largest Protestant bodies in Ethiopia. We lived adjacent to MYS for four years in an EECMY compound and had several friends and former EGST students on the faculty.
I enjoyed meeting with the President, Vice President of Academic Affairs and Dean of Theology about how I might serve MYS in the future. The President was formerly on the EGST faculty with me. They extended an invitation to do some teaching in 2020.
Tuesday
At noon I was warmly welcomed as a guest at the weekly EGST faculty and staff lunch. What a joyful reunion to see many of my friends still on the staff after these almost five years!
The fulltime staff has about doubled since I was at EGST, to now number around 50. In 2014 just as we were leaving, EGST completed a new seven-story building that was under construction throughout our entire tenure. We left Ethiopia before it was occupied, so it was amazing to see the state-of-the-art classrooms, computer lab, greatly expanded library, many more offices and even an in-house café all in operation and filled with life.
In the afternoon I lead a training seminar for small group leaders at World Vision Ethiopia, perhaps the largest World Vision unit in the world with 300 headquarters staff and another 1,400 scattered around the country. These leaders facilitate Bible studies that meet in every department during working hours each week.
Wednesday
I returned the next day to preach at the weekly World Vision chapel service at 8:30am. It’s always a privilege to speak to people who are on the front lines making such a significant impact across Ethiopia. Afterwards I had tea with the WV pastor and Director of Faith and Development about how we might partner together to expand their small group ministry.
I then hurried back across town for an 11:00am coaching meeting with the two founding leaders of the Institute for Christianity and the Common Good (ICCG). This new NGO is focused on bringing “neighbor love” into the heart of many issues who face young Ethiopian leaders. They hope to build on early successes such as conducting seminars around the nation with young leaders sponsored by the US Embassy.
Thursday
As happens so often in Africa, as I was ending my meeting at MYS on Monday, on the spur of the moment they invited me to return preach at the Seminary Chapel service Thursday morning. The chapel looked exactly the same as it did five years ago when I officiated at a wedding and preached there. I had more opportunity to interact informally with faculty leaders who took me to lunch afterwards at a restaurant Marilyn and I often frequented—another “reunion” with our past life in Addis.
Thursday afternoon I had several appointments catching up with friends and EGST faculty colleagues. Altogether, I had eight different such meetings scattered in-between coaching or speaking events.
One meeting was with Nega, a young man we met at church almost our first Sunday after moving to Addis. We “adopted” one another over the next four years, and learned a great deal from him. Nega is nine years older now, with a wife, baby and very responsible position after having earned an MA in Leadership from Mekane Yesus Seminary and another MA in Social Work from Addis Ababa University.
Friday
EGST honored me with a gracious invitation to present the monthly Academic Seminar Friday evening from 5:30-7:00pm. These monthly events gather students and faculty around a 60-minute presentation intended to stimulate thought and discussion, followed by 30 minutes of questions from the audience.
My topic was “The Transforming Power of Coaching for Christian Leaders.” I presented decades of research from the business world on the power of coaching to improve both leadership and organizational life, then described how the same coaching principles can transform Christian leaders.
The highlight of the evening for me was how many of my former students from EGST who graduated years ago attended to see me again. What a joyful and emotional moment for me! After the lecture, all my former students gathered for a photo together.
Saturday
I began my last day in Addis sharing breakfast with one of my closest Ethiopian friends. He and I and another Ethiopian friend met regularly in a triad small group for much of my time in Addis.
At 11:00am I hosted a workshop presentation about coaching for young Ethiopian leaders invited by my friends at ICCG. The 15 attendees were an inspiring group spanning the spectrum from an ad agency to several non-profits caring for children.
I then hustled on to another coaching presentation, this time at a lay leader training session in large local congregation. I’m always glad to get deeper into Ethiopian culture and a sure sign is when not enough people know English so that an interpreter is needed. It was an interesting experience to test out ideas with a lay audience.
From the congregation, I just made it back to EGST for another workshop at 5:00pm duplicating the morning event. Again about 15 young people attended from all walks of life, united in a desire to make a difference in their society.
I also had a major surprise! All week I had been talking to groups about the Ethiopian Ethical Coach project, created by world class coaching professionals to raise the bar of effective leadership across Ethiopia by training younger leaders in coaching skills. One of the ten young adults chosen for this year-long program was in this group! It was fascinating to meet him and hear about his experience—I hope to keep in touch with him.
Final Reflections
I’m still assimilating the impact this week had on me. Connecting with so many friends and former students was deeply rewarding. About five of my former EGST students are now on the expanded EGST staff working in various capacities. What a joy to see how they are making unique and varied contributions.
A year ago EGST began its PhD program. I dropped by the special study room reserved for PhD students and discovered one of my former students is now in the program. As she began telling me who else was in the program with her, I joyfully discovered that five of the six entering PhD students were in my classes some years ago. I knew and remembered them.
The traffic congestion and especially smog from auto and bus exhaust has, if anything, gotten worse in Addis. But standing on the balcony atop the seven story EGST building, the hills in the distance (looking through the haze) still look green. The shoeshine boys are still on the same corners (although not the same kids), packs of boys still play soccer at an empty parking lot near EGST and the guards and staff at EGST still offer friendly greetings whenever I meet them. (Upon seeing me, one guard rushed forward and embraced me like a long-lost brother!)
Serendipities abounded during the week. Friends invited me to lunch at a restaurant that I discovered was Marilyn’s and my favorite for special occasions—only it had moved to a different part of the city! While we were eating, a guy came to our table I didn’t recognize and greeting me warmly. He had not forgotten me—I had married him!
As someone still trying to find my place and slowly make friends after our 2018 move to a new city, a new church—new everything!—I came away from Addis Ababa feeling I had returned “home.” I hope the connections I made will blossom into new opportunities to make a difference for God’s Kingdom in one of the fastest growing churches in the world.
Next week I’ll share my experience teaching at Justo Mwale University in Lusaka, Zambia, where I’ve been engaged for the last 10 days since I arrived here Sunday, February 24.
Blessings, my friend! I see that you are still positively impacting those around you, and making a difference in God’s kingdom. It’s exciting to hear about positive movement in Christianity. Keep it up! Please say hi to Marilyn for me.