February 2025: A Day in Senegal, Ethiopia

by Jesse P,

Sengal, Ethiopia

Today was the unexpected in so many ways. We hopped in the van thinking we wouldn’t be in the van longer than 30 minutes or so like the other days. However, after we got well out of town, Dave gestured at a mountain in the distance and joking said, “We’re probably headed that far.” An hour later we had definitely passed the mountain he was referring to. I’ve been on many longer dirt roads in my life but this is the longest I’ve been on in a full 15 passenger van with bald tires, creaking axels, a sliding door that opens spontaneously, and windows that fall out when we hit heavy bumps. Traction was a problem when we approached sections with incline so at least 4 times we had to put rocks behind the back wheels to provide leverage to get the van through the fine dust. I’ll just say that this van performed way beyond its duty. At one point our driver looked at a very steep section of road and appeared to have conceded defeat. Based on the struggle our vehicle had encountered this far, the hill seemed impossible to climb. Just one minute later a medium sized bus carrying about 50 people with an announcement screen on the its front displaying just the word“Jesus” on its powered up that hill with no hesitation. It was one of the coolest displays of off road prowess that I’ve ever seen. This gave our driver hope and courage to pack us back in the van and attempt the hill. I didn’t see any hesitation from him during the rest of the trip.

Eventually we showed up in a beautiful little town called Senegal that sits 1500 ft above Jinka. As we piled out of the vehicles we were all instantly amazed by the change in temperature. This provincial town sits at 6500 ft above sea level and about 5 degrees north of the equator. This allows it to have a lush temperate climate in the tropics.

The hills were alive with fields of maize, potatoes, banana, cassava, and small eucalyptus forests for lumber. On the farms in Ethiopia, sustainability is not an ideal to aspire to like in the United States. Sustainability is essential to survival. One example I’ve seen is their use of coffee. We roast and brew the beans. They make tea out of the bean husks and some even make tea out of the coffee leaves missed with strong spices. The latter is one of the strongest drinks I’ve ever had in my life.

Every town we visit has its own personality. After visiting a few homes, we quickly learned that not all was well under the surface. I had been romanticized by the weather and the views but discovered that malaria had recently made its way through the whole village and affected nearly everyone in some way. Above that, Christians expressed many concerns about the politics and hypocrisy in the local church leadership. The church seemed to be a stumbling block for many believers.

My heart was broken in this town. The second house we visited was a mother who had given birth one month ago with complications that had led to sickness and left her bedridden since the baby’s arrival. Her husband recently left her for another woman and she was in the poorest of circumstances. Thankfully, the baby was healthy but she didn’t have the support or energy to have a clean living environment or to take proper care of herself. Beyond that, she said she had been asking for the pastor to come pray for her and had not received a visit. All she asked of us was a prayer of hope and healing for her and her children. We spent a few minutes just sitting with her and praying to God on her behalf.

Her gratitude for our visit and the kilo of coffee we gifted her was tangible. I told her I would pray for her everyday and ask everyone I know at home to pray for her. Her name is Amarish. Please pray for her, her new baby and her other kids that need her support.