Thanksgiving in March?

A letter from Stephen and Brenda Stelle in Ethiopia

April 2015

Since coffee, corn and other main crops are collected and shipped to market in December, January and February, the traditional time for Ethiopians to thank God for the harvest comes during March.  The Danka Church celebrated their Thanksgiving (galateeffannaa) on Sunday, March 22.  All the church’s choirs (all seven of them) joined together to sing.  Included in the service was a very meaningful candlelighting ceremony.  In this observance seven candles (representing both the seven continents and the Biblical number of completion) were lit at the beginning of the worship service by seven different ministers.  The Danka Church honored Steve by asking him to be the first pastor to light the very first candle, held by elder Teferi Dina, president of the Danka congregation.  For the Danka Church and the Bethel Synods this was a symbol and a remembrance that a Presbyterian missionary, Dr. Thomas Lambie, first brought the saving message of Jesus Christ to the Oromo people of Dembi Dollo nearly 100 years ago.

Danka Church combined choirs

After the sermon each of the ministers lit seven more candles being held by the elders of the Danka Church.  These elders than gave the candles to the members, who passed the candles among themselves starting at the front of the church and ending at the back.  Then the adult members gave the candles to the children.  The children walked the candles out of the church. All this was done to symbolize sharing the light of Jesus Christ with one another as well as taking the gospel out into the whole world to share with non-believers.  This was a very moving service—watching as the lit candles made their way throughout the sanctuary and then out into the world.

After the worship service, the congregation remained for a congregational Thanksgiving dinner.  Of course there was no turkey, stuffing and pumpkin pie.  Instead the very good local dish of ukkamsa (lamb cooked with many hot peppers, garlic and onions served over a flat Ethiopian bread called injera) was served and enjoyed by all the members of the congregation.  Ukkamsa may just be Brenda’s favorite food ever!

Since returning from the States following Steve’s illness, Brenda has been extremely busy teaching English to her 11th and 12th grade students at the Bethel Evangelical Secondary School (BESS).  First she taught make-up classes to cover the material she had missed during our absence.  Now along with her normal teaching duties she is preparing her 12th graders for their national exams in June. The university system in Ethiopia is far different from what we experience in the United States.  In Ethiopia the 12th graders will take their national exams on seven different subjects.  The results of those exams will determine which students will be allowed to attend college in the fall.  In fact, the government also uses these scores to determine which college a student shall attend and what course of study they are permitted to pursue.  Consequently there’s a lot of pressure on the students to perform well since these exams determine their future careers.  The one advantage to their system is that the university education is mostly free for those students who make it into college.

Students in a BESS classroom

Brenda is working diligently with her students, in class and individually, preparing them for the exams.  The instruction Brenda gives is not only beneficial for the English exam but also for the other exams in physics, math, and biology since all exams are given in English.  The 12th graders graduated on May 8 and then will take the national exams on June 6.  But Brenda will continue teaching her 11th grade students throughout June.

Qes Mesfin, the Dean of Gidada Theological College, reduced Steve’s teaching load from three to two classes to ease him back into teaching.  Steve is teaching Genesis to his Diploma 1 (first year) students and Biblical Theology to his Diploma 3 (third and final year) students.   Steve and Brenda went with the Gidada Theological College students on a special retreat during the weekend of May 9 and 10.  His Diploma 3 students and the Advance Certificate students (a seminary course of study taught in Oromo instead of English) will all graduate on June 6.

VISITING CHURCHES THIS SUMMER:
Just a reminder that this July and August we will be back in the United States to visit churches and share with their members about our experiences in Dembi Dollo.  Most of you received an email with the time frame for our visit with your church.  We ask that you please check with your sessions, mission committees and congregation members to set up a time for us to meet with your church.  We very much appreciate the financial support we receive both from congregations and individual contributors and we hope to share the story of our ministry in Ethiopia with all of you.   Please contact us at stevestelle826@gmail.com with any questions you might have about scheduling a time with us.

WE LIVE IN AFRICA MOMENT!
On Easter Sunday afternoon as Brenda was grading in her chair, she looked over at our bookcase.  On top of the bookcase, staring down at her, sat a very large lizard.  She called (yes, kind of shrieked) to Steve, and after chasing the lootu (Oromo word for lizard) around the room, Steve managed to get the lizard behind the bookcase and then forced it out the front door.  This was the fifth lizard in our house during the past month.  Thus far we’ve been able to humanely catch the others in upside down garbage cans and then return them back outside, where they belong.  Brenda tells her students, “lootu, hin jaladhu” (“I don’t like lizards!”).  In our home in Pennsylvania we once had a chipmunk get into the basement, but we can honestly say we have never had lizard problems before. One lizard actually got himself stuck to some duct tape on the side of a cardboard box here.  What can we say?  “We live in Africa.”

PRAYER REQUEST:
Thank you once again for all your prayers during Steve’s illness.  He is feeling much better, his appetite and energy have returned.   However, he is still very thin and needs to regain some weight.   In addition, please pray for Brenda and her students as they prepare for and take the national exams.

As always, we thank you for your prayers and financial support of our ministry of education at BESS and Gidada.  If you would like to contribute to our support, gifts can be sent to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Box 643700, Pittsburgh, PA 15264-3700.  Be sure to include our account # D507574 for congregations or account # E200507 for individuals.  We praise God for your partnership with us in serving God in Dembi Dollo and hope to share our many stories with you this summer.

In Christ’s service,
Rev. Steve & Brenda Stelle

Bethel Evangelical Secondary School
Box 186, Dembi Dollo, Ethiopia

brendastelle813@yahoo.comstevestelle826@gmail.com

The 2015 Presbyterian Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 142