Thanksgiving (day 2)-new friends from Ethiopia

Saturday, Nov 27, 2010 8:19 AM

Well, Thanksgiving (day 2) dinner with my 2 new friends (Z & Abdallah) from Ethiopia was a great success this evening! Mark Akers gave me their names, they are two really great guys who've been in the U.S. for 4 & 3 months respectively. Their wives & sons, however, are still in Ethiopia (I'm not sure if they're in a Refugee camp). Abdallah's son, who he's not yet seen, is 2 months old and has fluid in his brain or head causing his head to swell. A miracle needed there!! They asked me to pray for that situation. He is also a (fairly) newlywed, just 13 months! He was proud to show me his wedding pictures and some from the Refugee camp! Some things I have in common with them; Z has photography, video & audio experience with broadcasting (I have an interest in video & photography). Abdallah is working as a carpenter's helper here in the U.S. (I've worked in re-modeling and currently in maintenance), but built furniture using only hand tools back in Ethiopia. Our "Thanksgiving holiday" here didn't really mean anything to them, they told me, it's just another day to them. "We are just strangers in a strange land", Z told me. But, for someone to reach out to them, bringing them a traditional Thanksgiving meal, meant so much to them!! I was truly humbled and blessed to be the hands & feet of Jesus to these guys! This was a real challenge for me, especially cooking a whole Thanksgiving meal (turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, gravy - (I bought the pumpkin pie). I started to get a little stressed, but persevered, and God was faithful!!, but it was worth every bit of effort! Thank you God for giving me this great opportunity to serve!

Steve McCloughan