Category Archives: power outages

Slow Down!

developing nation, Ethiopia, power outages, water

Well I’m not a soccer mom any more, no baseball, football or basketball practices to run to, no ballet, art or piano practices that cause me to rush around and occupy my time. But there is bread to be made, meals to be planned, eggs to be collected, goats to be butchered (jk)… My point is wherever you live, this hemisphere or the other, things come along to occupy your time and keep you busy and overwhelmed! The tyranny of the urgent!

“Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will care for itself, each day has enough trouble of it’s own.” Matthew 6:33

One of the things I’m still adjusting to, after all this time, is how different the Ethiopian culture is from my own. I’m hard wired to be task oriented and efficient to the extreme, while Ethiopians are much more relational, every greeting includes questions about your family, their family, their well being, your well being and so on and so forth! It can be exhausting! Like a typical American, with check list in hand, I like barreling thru my day checking off the items one after another (lol)!

Well, you really can’t do that here, for a lot of reasons. For one, there’s the obvious 3rd world problems, power shortages, water problems, weird IT connections etc… But hey, my 1st world mind set is also a problem and causes delays and hang ups! Who says I have to be terrorized by the “urgency” of the day, barreling along crashing into things (lol).

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, through prayer and supplication, make your request known to God, and the peace of God will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus! Philippians 4:6,7

It’s time to slow down, wait on God and move in His power, guided by His peace! I am always surprised how much can be accomplished in a God directed day!

Advertisement

Going once, Going twice, Sold!!

developing nation, power outages, , , , ,

It’s that time again, time for Fire Over Africa’s Annual Auction and Raffle. On Saturday, November 2nd at 3pm at Shiloh Church Oakland, join us for a terrific time biding on Auction items, enjoying delicious refreshments and fellowshipping with great people. Everyone agrees, it’s a wonderful event and an exciting way to support the amazing people of Ethiopia and the great programs of Fire Over Africa.

Jim and Kris Kelly attended the Auction last year and won a trip to Newport Beach! Kris had this to say! Kris Kelly Kris Kelly 2

Last year, at Fire Over Africa’s First Annual Auction, my husband I won a trip to Newport Beach, all expenses paid!! It was great!! We stayed in a lovely little boutique hotel right along Pacific Coast Highway and the weather was great.

We love the California coast, but had never been to Newport Beach. It was just the break we needed and the perfect time for it.

Thank you, Fire Over Africa, for a lovely weekend with my Sweetie!!!

Make plans to attend the Auction and Raffle this year we’ll have door prizes, great music, refreshments and more! It’s shaping up to be a wonderful time, you won’t want to miss it!

We have great prizes:

1st place prize is an iPad
2nd place prize is a flat screen TV
3rd place prize is an iPod

Oh, and you don’t have to be present to win!! But come out to the Auction, it’s a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon!

Raffle tickets can be purchased at Shiloh Church, or online at: http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07e88t3xsk89ca5b54&llr=hbknpdeab

Also check us out on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/532782400132380/

If you have any questions contact me:
Felecia 510/541-2318 or felecia.munson@gmail.com

… and they’re off!!

developing nation, Ethiopia, power outages

P1060411hippos 2 023

I was standing in my daughters kitchen when suddenly that white noise, you know, the constant hum of running electricity went silent… suddenly I asked my husband, did the power just go out? You see living in Awassa has caused me to consider that as a real  possibility …that the power went out, not that a fuse blew or anything like that. I’m referring to the frequent power outages we experience living in Awassa. In fact one of the first phrases I learned was “mebrat yelum” , and it means no lights, or no power.

When we were building our house, power outages were a serious problem. It was out every other day. No kidding, if you had power today you knew you wouldn’t have it tomorrow. For a season it was on one day and off 2 days! Do you know how hard it is to get a job done when the power is out every other day… it was crazy. It was crazy for the whole city, everyone was complaining.

All my food in the freezer kept melting. I asked a friend how she survived, she said her freezer was covered in permafrost so all her stuff never melted. Of course we had a new freezer, and that was not going to be a solution for me… so my great old American ingenuity kicked in and I filled tons of small water bottles and stuck them in the freezer!! My stuff never melted again.

They are there to this day… we still have power problems, but I just take them in stride, and nothing as severe as back then! I’ve had dinner parties with no power, my daughter has done homework by candle light, and sometimes we just catch up on our sleep!

Yes life in our little sleepy town of Awassa, Ethiopia has been an education in more ways than not… and thank the Lord, I can really say I wouldn’t have changed a thing… I love Awassa!!