A Day in the Life in Suki

Today was our day for home visits in the Suki Project.  We began our morning with a lovely worship time with the combined staff of ACT , the Boston Team and Menlo Church. We split up into teams of 3 with a translator and started off to visit beneficiaries in the community .  We traversed rocky , uneven and narrow roadways over small rivulets of unknown substances to finally arrive at our destination. 

At first I thought the rocky roads were a hindrance but then I remembered that during the rainy season the mud flows easily down the streets and the elevated rocks will make walking dryer. We entered through a corrugated metal fence with a gate into a small compound with two or three households sharing the property.  It was wash day so a woman was busy scrubbing her clothes in a large basin and hanging them on the line to dry.  Across from her was a drying mat where sheets of Eucalyptus bark was drying in the sun for the evening dinner fire.  The sun was shining and it was peaceful and quiet .

We continued on our way to our second stop past a field where young men were playing soccer and on to our destination.   Genet welcomed us into her home where her 14 year old son was playing quietly by the front door.  The room was dark and musty but had some pieces of old furniture and a bed.  In corner was  a traditional Ethiopian coffee pot.  I've said that even if people don't have food to eat they have their buna, which is coffee in Amharic!  We asked Genet how she came to participate in the ACT program and she told us of how she saw how the ACT children were being treated while working at a Health Center.  She has been participating for a year and is already an "expert patient", which is a type of mentor and counselor to the new patients.  She has a difficult family situation since her oldest son has a seizure disorder, and is still having seizures, and her husband is hostile to her new-found faith and community.  She told us she receives financial, social, medical and emotional support from the ACT community and it has become her "Life".  We had a sweet time of conversation through our interpreter and prayed with her before leaving.  We are so grateful to be partnering with a ministry that touches the lives of so many in this community.

Sally Marsh