Where Is Your Marriage Certificate?

OK guys. It's time for you all to come clean. Are you really married? Can you prove it? Or have you just been saying it for so long that you believe it?
     Jane and I have been chasing the elusive temporary residency status for over two years now. Well, actually, I finally got residency through our company last October. Jane, however, still needs to be "residency-ized."
     We thought we had it handled last October when she applied as my wife. Since I am employed at the business,Jane can have residency that allows her to be with me (nice touch, that!). But we found out that we need proof that we are married.
     Any fool should be able to take one look at me . . . and then at Jane . . . and then at me . . . and realize that the only reason such a fine woman would share her life with me is if she were married to me. Clearly she must have memories of what this relic was before the renegade hoards of time and gravity took their ugly toll. However, here nothing suffices unless it is stamped, signed, notarized, stamped, certified and, oh yeah, stamped.
     Since we had a trip scheduled to the States in time for us to bring back a certified marriage certificate, we did just that. Certified by the DuPage County Clerk with all the attendant seals and stamps.
     When we returned to Addis Ababa, we learned that the certificate must be certified by the United States Embassy here. Jane went down there and found that our poor County Clerk has no pull at all. The certificate must be certified by the state government in Springfield. So we got a one month extension to Jane's visa (not hard, but time consuming) and asked our son to get new certificates from the Country Clerk, send them to Springfield to be certified (again) and then send them to us here.
     That process continues even as I write this, but -- Jane's visa extension expires tomorrow, February 2. So today Jane asked for another extension, which she obtained . . . along with a verbal warning that this is the final extension. If she doesn't have residency in thirty days, home she goes!
     We are pretty certain we can get the certificates here in time, thanks to Express Mail International. All it takes is a Customs Declaration and $44.95. When the certs do arrive, she can take them to the U.S. Embassy and have them certified. Then she can go the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and get them certified that they have been certified by the U.S. Embassy. Finally (we hope), she can take them along with a lot of paperwork to the Ministry of Immigration, where they will (pray here) grant residency. Whew!
     So back to our original question: Are you really married? Maybe you should just check to see if you can find that little piece of paper that holds such potential power. If you can easily lay hands on it, please let us know. If not, there's an even better story. At the very least, it's an excuse for you to email us. Trust me, your little notes and comments mean more to us than you could ever know.
     We are not worried. The Lord brought us here and wants us to stay here, at least for now. This simple tale is told just so you can live life along with us in the Land of Thirteen Months of Sunshine.

What Happened to the Blog?

That's the question people asked us about our blog when we visited Chicago last month: "What happened to the blog?" And our answer was, simply, "It's a long story."
     We could say that we have been busy, and busy we have been. Perhaps it's best just to start here and recap what's happened . . . and what's happening:
    Jane and I came to Ethiopia two years ago to teach at a school in Mekele, Tigrai. After teaching there for almost one year, we moved to Addis Ababa on Christmas Eve, 2011. During our first year here, the Lord defined our ministry here clearly and concisely, as follows:
     Education: Jane is a life-long teacher and principal. That shows no sign of stopping, even as she seeks to move more into a mentoring role. That is, equipping and training young Ethiopian teachers as they work toward educating the children and young people of Ethiopia. There are many ways that Jane's experience and knowledge impacts both students and teachers every day.
    Financial Assistance: Through the Larry and Chris Porter Scholarship Program, Jane and Ted are funding graduate education for promising young college graduates here in Ethiopia. You can read the autobiography of their first student, Teshome, in the following blog entry.
     Commercial Enterprise: This began with the idea that a successful business venture could provide funds to support the work here in Ethiopia. It has grown into the Hexagon Consultancy, an Information Technology and Communications firm, co-owned by Ted and Ephrem, his Ethiopian business partner. Currently Hexagon provides jobs for 18 Ethiopian young people, with prospects for further development.
     We are back from Chicago, we are excited about the ministry the Lord has provided for us. We invite you all to consider supporting our work here and enjoy the chance to see lives changed and Jesus Christ honored in this ancient place.
   

Meet Teshome

The first student we have had the privilege to help through the Larry and Chris Porter Memorial Scholarship Program is Teshome Alemayehu. He is a very intelligent, hard working and caring man who we had the joy of working with in Mekele, Tigrai. His autobiography follows:

    
     My name is Teshome Alemayehu. I am 35. I was born and grew up in Mekelle, a small town in the north end of Ethiopia. I am the third child to my family. I am friendly hardworking & optimist one. When I was 8 years old, I began my primary school education and learned from first to tenth grade in Seventh Day Adventist School. During those years I was clever, competent and had a good vision. After attending high school education for two years in a public school, I joined Abbi Adi College of Teachers’ Education & graduated in teaching English for academic purpose with very great distinction. Then I searched for a job in various private schools to work as an English teacher & I was hired for nearly four years in Kassatie Birhan & Merha Tibeb complete primary schools respectively.

     During those years I tried my best to support my two younger siblings and my mother financially,  save some money and applied to Mekelle  University in order to resume  my Bachelor’s degree education  in the same field in summer program and again I graduated with very great distinction. And I was promoted to work as both an English teacher for high school students & a school principal as well at Merha Tibeb Academy. However the salary I used to get paid couldn’t help me to cover both my daily needs and post-graduate program payment as well. Since 2010 I was trying my best to find ways I can put myself in post graduate program and earn my Master’s degree  and improve myself and my family’s future.

     Thank God, Ted and Jane Scheuermann came to Ethiopia last year. We worked together in the same school for some time; they learned that I had strong desire to learn my Master’s degree. As result, they motivated, encouraged & helped me both psychologically and money-wise to attend my post graduate study in Mekelle University in Environmental Anthropology in 2011. May God bless them with health & long life. I’m now attending my second term post graduate studies in a regular program sponsored by them.

     I belong to a medium size family. My father’s name is Alemayehu, he was a soldier. He was kind wise, hardworking and extremely caring. During the times he was alive he taught us good life skills, advised us to study our lessons, and work hard in order to achieve our goals and to live a better life. My mother’s name is Birhan; she is a wise, hardworking and far-sighted woman. She took care of everything we needed until we started managing our lives well. I believe that our mother is our heroine, for she has brought us up well, being both our dad and mom. I have two sisters and three brothers.  My father passed away in 1991 when I was in grade three. Since then life became challenging and my mother was determined to take all responsibilities to bring us up . . . and she did. We helped our mother by buying and selling things every day after school.

     I am married. My wife’s name is Lemlem  Gebrelibanos. She is 31. She was born and grew up in Eritrea; however she returned to Ethiopia in 2001 because of the border conflict. She is a high school graduate and has taken a six-month training class on how to make shoes and wallets, but so far she hasn’t found work. I have a son and a daughter: my son’s name is Lewwi and he is nine and my daughter’s name is Fiona and she is six. Both go to grade three and grade one respectively. I love them very much.

     My dream is to complete my Master’s degree, get employed as a lecturer at Mekelle University or work at an NGO (non-governmental organization, AKA non-profit organization) , help my family and someone who needs support like  I was  supported By Ted and Jane, and later earn my PhD.

May God bless us all with peace, love, & healthy long life!

Teshome Alemayehu

What Is God Saying to You?

Working here in Ethiopia has changed our lives. I’m not talking about being exposed to a culture that existed and thrived when my ancestors in Sweden and Germany were running around like savages. And I’m not talking about seeing what really being poor means here, where many wake up to an empty larder and have to make do with what they find to eat that one day. No, I’m talking about the quieter life that exists here.

     Make no mistake, we work hard. But at the end of the day, our maid Mowcha makes coffee for us. We munch popcorn, drink coffee and most often, we read. We have the internet, although I just ran out of money again and have to get someone to buy a card and put more money in for me. We Skype family and friends, but eventually the novelty wears off and we just send emails back and forth. Not a lot of effort in that.

     I write some: A little curriculum, a little bit for our blogs, a very little bit for my personal enjoyment. And we talk, but anyone who’s been married for a while knows, you become comfortable in one another’s silence, like right now for instance. Jane’s on her computer playing a card game, I’m here writing this. It’s nice, quiet.

     There are no streetlights here. The night brings its own type of quiet. We don’t have television. We could have, but even back in the states, we became aware of what a narcotic it had become. We enjoy some good shows, but here it seems as though we’re in the show. No need for “Survivor” or Amazing Race” here. We have lots of time to think, to pray, to be quiet.

     It seems I hear the Lord’s voice more often here. Or maybe it’s just because I don’t have all the noise around me, the busyness of life as we think it should be lived in America. I just know that the Lord is closer to us here. It’s us that moved closer, I think, not him.

     What does the Lord say? Well, it’s not so much a voice as it is an aware-ness, a pulse that comes from God and his people; a soul-ful, soul-filling, soul-satisfying sense of being connected to God through Christ and one another. It’s the easiness of walking with little children on the way to school; the wonder in their eyes as they say “Salam” and put out their little hands to shake.

     The Lord lets us learn from experience that we are his children, thrown together with three-hundred thousand other children. Jane and I are two among many. Jesus loves us all the same, even if some of us don’t return the favor. I am God’s child in the company of God’s children. That’s what God’s voice says to me.

The Girl with No Hands

Sometimes it’s hard being a Christian in a place with so much need. Here in the city of Mekele things are really better than in the countryside. There are clinics where basic medical care is available. Now remember that the country of Ethiopia is one of the poorest in Africa, and that’s saying something. The country has no social services, at least not like we understand that term. I sometimes thing that our more conservative brethren should visit here to see what America could be like without the programs they so dearly want to cut. But I digress.

     Birth defects, just like anywhere else, are a fact of life here. More of those born here simply die as infants. Those that do not die, with few exceptions, simply live with their deformities and/or handicaps.
     On the low end of the scale are learning disabilities. Jane and I have spotted a few in kids here at MTA. As far as medication, counseling, other therapies, they simply do not exist here or are available in Addis to people with a lot of money. I have a student in Seventh Grade named Eyoel (Joel) who is clearly hyperactive. I have used common sense helps for him, but there is nothing else. If they don’t work, we just go on . . . possibly without Eyoel. He scored a 74 in Informal English class, so considering what his handicap costs him, he is quite bright. I use prayer and loving disciplines with him, coaching him that there is something he has to deal with that is not his fault, but it is something he must make conscious effort to overcome. Fortunately Eyoel is a boy with a good personality and may well find a decent life for himself.
     Now we come to what I must talk about. I’ve put it off long enough.
     Those familiar with our other blog, Ted & Jane’s Excellent Adventure, know that neighborhood kids greet us every time we walk between home and school. They are out in the street as soon as they can walk. It’s their playground. One of them is a girl of about 10- 12 years old. She has some deformity of her head and jaw that makes her look different from other kids. She wears the same filthy party dress every day. She is quite aggressive and reaches out to touch you if she can. And she has no hands, just a claw on one arm and a stump on the other.
     She follows us, she reaches to touch us. We know what she wants, she’s begging. If you gave to every beggar you see in Ethiopia, two things would happen: you would run out of money and you would have them knocking at your gate every day, all day. Not a practical option.  It is also illegal in Ethiopia to give alms to beggars, but judging by the large number of them, it’s a law that is often broken.
     Jesus loves this little girl. He wants me to love her . . . and I do! I pray for her, but how can I help? She lives with family and might be the biggest source of income they have (that’s not saying much). There are orphanages, but she’s not orphaned. Any encouragement results in her increased attention.
     What do I do? I ignore her. I walk faster than she does. One time I got rid of her by turning to her and shouting at her. Another time I acted as though I would hit her with my case. And just like Little Jack Horner, I say: “What a good boy am I!”
     Now by all means, take this honest comment as a cue to let me know what’s wrong with me as a Christian. That’s the Western Christian way after all. Tell me how I reach out to her like Jesus would. Tell me how by prayer and attention, I can make a miracle and fix her life. Or, if you’re a really good Christian, quote Scripture to me. That’s it! I need a Bible verse!
     Trying not to be cynical, but failing badly, I say that I probable already know the verse you’ll quote. But one thing and one thing only will get me to take your solution to this problem: come here and show me. I’d really like to tie this problem up with a proper Christian bow and then go off and write a book that tells the world how this problem can be solved. Please do. I’m literally dying for your answer.
     The nameless girl with no hands in the dirty party dress is always with me. She will be with me when I travel to London in August. She will return with me to the States when our time here is over. She will, I fear, be with me when I go to be with Jesus at the end of this life.
     We Americans are famous around the world for having the answer to any problem. Sometimes our solutions even work!

WANTED: ONE HANDY, WELL-CONNECTED AMERICAN CHRISTIAN TO FIX THE PROBLEM OF THE GIRL WITH NO HANDS IN THE FILTHY PARTY DRESS.

Don’t wait. Apply now!