Timkat and our last day in Ethiopia
We started the day early, getting up at 6am so we could shower and be ready to eat at 7am so we could be downstairs to be picked up at 7:30 by Mulat for the Timkat celebration. Timkat, for those who do not know, is the Ethiopian Celebration of Epiphany, which is Christ’s Baptism.
During this celebration, which is held in most every city in Ethiopia, people gather to hear sermons, renew their baptism, dance, pray and just have fun. From what we have heard, Addis Ababa is the second best place to experience Timkat behind only Gondor, a city in the north that is supposed to be THE resting place for the Ark of the Covenant (contains the tablets of The Ten Commandments and Aaron’s Rod among other things). The story is thus: the Queen of Sheba was given the Ark for safe keeping and she had it moved to a Church in Gondor. The Church is inhabited full-time by only one priest, whose sole job is the guard the Ark. He is not allowed to speak to anyone nor anyone to him. Food is left on a tray outside the church and the priest takes it. When he stops taking it, it is assumed he has passed and the next priest in line is called to guard the Ark. No mortal may look at the Ark or they will be turned into a pillar of fire. Now, each Church in Ethiopia has its own replica of The Ark of the Covenant and these are taken to a central location each year on Timkat.
The celebration begins early in the morning, much earlier than when we got there and parking is a mess around the grounds. It is probably a good thing that most everyone walks to the Festival. We found a place to park and made our way inside the gates. At first, it looked like there were a lot of people and there probably were, but it was nothing compared to what we experienced later.
We started making our way toward a building which was broadcasting messages and had people on the roof, filming everything. We went around to the left of the building and got caught up in the crush of the people. I am talking Times’ Square New Years Eve crush of people. We were told to only bring a camera, as small as possible, no money, no wallet and no passport. Now I can see why. Everywhere we looked, there were people in either white or bright colors. Every church had its own color scheme and usually a drummer. Each church did its own dance, I think, but we were not there early enough to see them all. There was also one section where guys with hoses were baptizing people. We kind of guessed this was merely a symbolic baptism, but it was pretty fun to watch. Most of the happenings were taking place in a central area that was roped off from the crowd. We weren’t sure exactly why (we were told because we had never been to Ethiopia before?) but we were given special access to this inner area and were allowed to take pictures of everything. We took a ton of pictures in here and watched the dances. After a while, the talking finished and all of the Ark replicas moved off towards one corner of the field. Mulat said it was time to go so we went.
Here is a short video of some of the singing at Timkat.
We finally all made it back to the truck and headed towards one of the churches in town. Mulat said we could go inside, so most of our group did just that. After they came back outside, Mulat said that we could wait for the Ark that belonged to that church to show up. We listened to a story of something or other, it was all in Amharic, and so we did not understand. But the priest was very passionate about it, so it must have been a good story. Finally, the Ark showed up and there were more speeches and then the Ark went back inside the church and we left.
Back at Horizon House, we said HI to Sela, had some lunch of Ethiopian food and waited for the Coffee Ceremony. Oh, and Brian fixed the pants he ripped in Frankfurt on the way here. We passed the time talking to our new friends and we took a short nap.
The Coffee Ceremony
The Coffee Ceremony was very moving. In general, the Coffee Ceremony is something that is done as a regular part of Ethiopian culture. They roast green coffee beans and then take the roasting container around so everyone can smell the roasted beans. Then the beans are ground up and the coffee made. When it is done, it is served in small coffee cups with sugar, if you want.
For this Ceremony, all of the infants who are going home go with their parents to the older children’s home just around the corner. All of the older children get to participate. We spent the first little bit, waiting for Dr. Tsegaye, just talking and watching the kids. The nannies and other staff took this opportunity to spend as much time as possible with the kids who would be going to their new homes. When Dr. Tsegaye arrived, things got a bit more organized while he said a few words. The things I remember he said include:
Children are a gift from God – whether through birth or adoption
The children end up in the family they were meant to have – many often share a characteristic, birthday, or other special quality with someone in their new family – and this is not by human design!
There are 5 million orphans in Ethiopia alone, 2 million of which have HIV/AIDS
One of the women who helped start the Ethiopia program through Wide Horizons happened to be visiting during our time and she then said a few things. One of the things that struck me the most is that when the program finally got off the ground (after several setbacks) 5 or so years ago, their goal was to get 25 families a year to adopt from this country. Our group was the 32nd group of families to come through and there were 9 of us in that one alone. Two more groups have already been scheduled before the end of February. The expectations have far been exceeded.
We then all received our packets for immigration. Actually, one packet was a sealed one with documents for immigration. We were not allowed to open these under any circumstances or risk not being able to bring our children into the United States. A second packet contained a copy of all those same documents – actual court documents of adoption from the Ethiopian courts, vaccination records, birth certificate and passport with visa. Really cool and important stuff. Mind you, I had already been crying a good deal by this point.
After all of the parents received these packets one of the moms cut a cake for us. Brian thinks the lady who was chosen was the oldest person in the room, but that can neither be confirmed nor denied. The cake was kind of just like a slightly sweet bread. It was really yummy. We were then actually given our coffee and some popcorn and more socializing ensued.
The other thing that happened at this point was that the older kids and nannies started to sing and dance with the babies and other children who would be leaving. This is a VERY emotional time for everyone. The caregivers and other staff are so very loving and kind that they are attached to each of these dear children. So, they are terribly sad to see them go. Yet, at the same time, these same people are overjoyed to know that these dear ones will be with families and are embarking on a new life and journey full of hope and promise. Really hard not to get TOTALLY choked up. During one of the songs/dances, Sela was being held by Solomon and in the middle of the action. I asked one of the women what was being sung. She said that the words were “I’m not going to say God can’t, because I’ve seen that he can.” They sing it to the babies because their lives have been saved by God. I completely lost it. It is actually more than a week later and I am crying as I write this. Dang.After things wound down, we walked back to the guest house for supper. After supper, we said our good-byes to most of the group and loaded the van with all of our stuff. We were joined by our friend Thom and his daughter as we headed to the airport.
Many people we talked with at the adoption agency said when they traveled to Ethiopia they were changed by it. I understood that, but it isn’t something I actually internalized until our own trip. I left a piece of my heart in the little clearing where Sela was born. I can’t look around at the richness of our country without thinking about the extreme poverty that others in this world live with every day. I can’t think about how easily we can get things like groceries, water, health care, clean facilities, and the list goes one, without thinking about the people who work for $10 (US dollars) a month. I am not sure exactly how this will affect the way I live, but I know that it has to. I can’t let it not. At the same time, when I think about Ethiopia, I also see a land that is full of beauty and teeming with wildlife. I remember the people who are so proud and open-hearted with smiles on their faces just to see you. I am awed by the rich cultural history that is a part of the history of all people. What an incredible place, what an amazing journey.
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