Lie to me?

I have to admit I really like the whole blogging world and I think it is going to stick around :) I read a few and what I have come to realize is that people love blogs that are authentic. People dig people who are honest and forthright. This caused me to ponder and ask the question. "When did it start being cool to actually be honest"? Is honesty such a lost art that it is now refreshing to be honest? I think the answers in regards to the blogging sensation has to do more with being honestly candid. Being willing to share how bad things are - at times when often times we tend to put a smile on our face - is just refreshing. It is real. It is honest. It is life.

So...that made me think of life in Africa and answering the one question everyone will ask when we see people in the States. "How is Africa"? Ok, here is my answer:

Life in Ethiopia can be frustrating at times. It drives me crazy when I drive and people run out in front of me and seem not to care that I almost took their life. It makes me batty when people yell "forenge" (foreigner), as though I had forgotten. I don't like the fact that the vehicle we bought here would have cost 1/4 of the price in the States. Nor do I like the fact that the vehicle tends to break down a lot and the parts are never guaranteed to be in stock. "Three months" they tell me, knowing full well they no one has any idea when the actual parts will arrive. I get aggravated when people ignore me in line at the grocery store and cut in front of me and I get livid at times when people drive down the wrong way on the road because they don't feel like taking the time to drive the actual route. I can't stand the smog nor do I understand how taxi's can drive with smoke pouring out of their tailpipe and no break lights, but if I turn my lights on at dusk everyone freaks out. These things drive me insane!!!

But...I would not trade it for anything. You see, all these things tend to happen the majority of the time but wrapped around these frustration are some wonderful events. I smile when I see Jackson playing with kids from different cultures knowing good and well that when Amanda and I were kids we would have never known anyone from Ethiopia. I take joy in driving into the city in the morning and seeing the sun peak over the mountains. I am thrilled to be apart of a church plant where people from a variety of cultures sit and share with each other knowing they have nothing else in common apart from Jesus Christ. I am humbled to see our neighbor Hanna baptized and watch in amazement as God just continues to grow a church full of people who just want to serve Him. I love learning about the culture over a good meal with our Ethiopian friends and I enjoy spending time with missionaries who experience the same "culture shock" that we have experienced. These things bring me great joy!

Here is the point. Life (anywhere) can have it ups and downs, good days and bad. The Christian life is that way often yet so many times we don't want to let anyone know that. We are happy to say that life in Africa is fantastic but we don't want to share our hesitation for coming when we have our head over a toilet after eating some bad food. "That is just a bit too honest", we tell ourselves. Well, I am thankful that we can be honest and share our struggles because that is really what being a Christian is about as Galatians 6 puts it. Sharing our burdens, lifting each other up. Being willing to sit with each other in the good and the bad. You see, life in Ethiopia can be fantastic at times and really stinky (literally) at other times. But through all the good and the bad I am extremely grateful that God has given us the opportunity to grow and experience life in Ethiopia. He has taught us many things since we have been here, but one of the biggest is this: Regardless of how good or bad our days are, He is always, always faithful. And for that lesson, my day just got a whole lot better.