Ethiopia and its people have such a long history with God. 

Whether it be all those references to Cush and Nubia in the Old Testament, or the visit of the Queen of Sheba to the court of King Solomon, or that story of Philip with the Ethiopian (a favourite, reminding us that the gospel reached Africa, before it reached Europe!), or the long continuous presence of the people of God on this soil … it has always fascinated me.

I was in Addis Ababa for a gathering of Langham Preaching’s key leaders—75 people from 27 countries—from across Africa. I sat back and watched for the week … “this is the Lord’s doing and it is marvelous in our eyes” … at the extent to which the work is being established in African soil.

[One cool discovery was that the altitude of Addis is 7 meters higher than the top of the mountain where we grew up, Lal Tibba, in the Himalayas. I like to tell myself that this is why I huffed and puffed all week—and the jacket I brought with me with the UK in mind, I wore every day in Addis. It was cool…].

One one day, we left our meetings to see a bit of the city…

Church

The stained glass windows were impressive, with this one depicting the Queen of Sheba arriving in the court of King Solomon. Tradition has it that they had a child together and that the ‘line of Judah’ then travelled down through the Ethiopian monarchy…

Politics

Addis Ababa is to Africa a bit like Brussels is to Europe. It is a capital city for the continent, home to the Africa Union—a breathtaking collection of buildings (built by the Chinese, as a ‘gift'(?) to the peoples of Africa). We were invited to visit by the Christian staff who worked in the building and who have formed themselves into a fellowship.

Education

I was excited to visit the campus of the Evangelical Theological College, where Dr Frew (‘fray-oh’) Tamrat is the Principal, while also serving as the preaching movement coordinator for Ethiopia. 

It is a beautiful campus, with thick green grass and flowers—reminiscent of SAIACS, in Bangalore, where Barby and I lived for almost eight years. 

There is a church that meets on campus. A beautiful building. Look at all this natural light, together with a design that enables hundreds of people to feel close to each other and to the action up the front. 

On arrival, in the foyer, we were greeted with the flags of the nations of the world…

Culture

I spent a lot of the day in the back left-hand corner of a tight little mini-bus, and so enjoyed the opportunities to wander—as was the case here with some shops. 

A lot of white fabric in the fashion, as seen in this photo passing by in the vehicle.

The day finished with an evening in a restaurant, with local food and local music and dance. I have a video clip of three of the bishops in our group, among others, getting up on stage to join in the dancing—but a couple of 10 second clips is all that I am able to load onto this post…

The food was so yummy.

Our coordinators in Uganda are our namesakes, Paul and Barbara—and so a picture with them, but missing a Barbara was on my little list of things to do…

nice chatting

Paul