As I read I could not help thinking of how Vincent used to share stories like these with his early missioners and wealthy friends. ( Famvin editor’s comment)  See earlier posts “Setting Out” and the troubling  “First Report”

Aidan Rooney CM passes this on from Vincentian Lay Missioner  Matt DeBoer:

“Greetings once again from Jimma, Ethiopia. I was supposed to be enroute to Bahir Dar (where I was last year) right now, but you neverknow with things here in Ethiopia. Thus, our flight was cancelled and
I’ll try again next weekend. Thus, here is a quick update on the pastweek and a half and some reflection. I hope all is well with all ofyou and the summertime is everything you hoped it would be!

I believe the last time I wrote was before we began teaching, so thathas been a big part of our lives lately. I am teaching grades 8 & 9(on paper) and grades 7-11 in actuality. I guess it is a good feelingto know that half of my class is only there because they WANT TO LEARNand really they are not supposed to be. It reflects their ambition,work ethic, and passion to succeed. All of the secondary and higher classes here in Ethiopia have English instruction so if you’re English is not up to speed, odds are you will not go to schoolpast the age of 14 or 15.

My students truly are incredible. Their future plans range fromdoctors to architects to university professors to pilots. Very rarely do I hear them say they want to be rich. Rather, success is the word they prefer. However, one thing I have heard a lot is that many of them, especially the brightest ones, want to live in the USA. While I cannot blame them for their desire to go to a place with much more economic promise than Ethiopia, I wish I could explain to them the phenomenon of “brain drain.” I want to say, “But if you leave, who
will bring about the change here that is needed to make Ethiopia a great nation?” I resist, but hopefully the time will come for them – and all of us – to understand that no matter where we are we share our common humanity and a common purpose, to make this world a better place in whatever way we can.

I have not made strong connections with too many of my students or others yet partially because we are all around town quite often. Unless we arrange a meeting, I do not see my students once they are dismissed. However, yesterday I had a Coke with two of my students (brothers) at their house and we had some nice conversations. Another student dropped by and it was very comfortable – not awkward in the
least as it might be in the States. We talked about things from Michael Jordan to the Swiss Alps to the upcoming election to the different regions of Ethiopia and the political turmoil here. AMAZINGLY bright teenagers, Isaac and Samuel. We are getting ice cream later today with another student and tomorrow a few of my students (including some females, which is very important to see their confidence high! – CONFIDENCE was a word of the week) are taking me to the palace of Abba Jiffar, the former king of this region of Ethiopia. It should be a nice historical, recreational, and bonding experience! Class has gone pretty smoothly, but there is a reason I was not an English major! When your students whose third language is Englishcorrect your grammar, something is not righ.

We have also been doing some afternoon ministry working with some kindergarten teachers, house workers, and other women from around the compound. They want to improve their English as well, so we’re doing
what we can. We also run a Boys & Girls’ Club type atmosphere at Gingo where three of us are teaching. There is nothing like 200 kids running around, yelling, and screaming for 2 hours in a field as big as a
basketball court! The kids are precious and very affectionate. Saying goodbye takes about as long as the fun and games – they have to kiss our cheeks or hands and then run along side the truck down the muddy
road screaming and waving with shouts of the girls’ names, hello, goodbye, and I love you! It is pretty easy to entertain the kids, I just have to do one Arnold Schwarzenegger impression or some very “formal” karate moves and the boys go crazy. Yesterday we had over 100 kids doing some combination of a Native American/Polynesian/Spartan warrior cry and dance. You had to be there to believe it. I think they heard us in Kenya!

The other place we are spending our afternoons is at the Missionaries of Charity – the sisters that were started by Mother Teresa of Calcutta. On the sign to this compound it literally reads a home for the “destitute and dying.” There are women, children, and men there suffering from tuberculosis, malaria, (I think HIV/AIDS), and other ailments. Many of the children are orphans. Some are only a few weeks old and just appear at the front gates in the middle of the night or are brought there having been found in a bush or on the road. As one of my fellow missionaries said, many of these children are victims of\ attempts at post-birth abortion. They were unwanted, so they are taken to a place where all they can offer are simple meals, basic care, and presence, something I have found that I have taken for granted every day of my life.

One little girl, Sara, was held for two hours Monday by Rose, another volunteer. Rose was deeply touched by this young life (5 weeks old) who was no bigger than a full-sized football. She had tubes in her nose to help her breath, but it was evident to Rose that it was a struggle, each and every breath. After Rose shared a deep reflection about baby Sara, we found out Wednesday that she had passed away in the night on Monday. This was difficult to take in, but at least we can rest assured knowing that Sara had 2 hours of love, affection, and
warmth before she left this world. That is the life millions of children live here (not to mention adults and the elderly), never knowing where their next meal will come from, or shelter, or perhaps even their next breath.

Amidst all of the poverty, suffering, and pain we see every day here,
there is an abundant amount of joy. Our students smiles and stories,
hearing “Hello, Goodbye” sung with an Ethiopian accent, and the
amazing work the sisters, priests, and other volunteers we have met
here from around the world (Holland, Spain, Austria, USA, Japan) are
doing. It is a good reminder of how small the world is as well as how
connected we all are.

As part of our program, we seek to connect with the reality of the people in this community as much as we can. Thus, given the high rate of inflation, high food prices, semi-drought, and widespread hunger in this country, we decided to have a fast this past Wednesday. We fasted for 24 hours and broke with bread and soup to keep it simple. Our bodies handled it in stride but it was more of a spiritual thing than a physical one. I’ll close with a journal entry I wrote about “hunger”after our first visit to the Missionaries of charity. Enjoy.

(for the sake of space and time, I’ll start part of the way through, sorry for any redundancy, it is from a journal, not well thought out – just what came to my mind!)

…This establishment houses and cares for the sick, orphaned, and dying. If you want to be humbled, here is a place for you. We got a brief tour but for the majority of the time we attempted the ART of
being present to the children, men, and a few women (our time in the women’s ward was limited). Many of the adults there are either mentally or physically disabled, victims of malaria or TB, or have some other ailment. While I have seen pain in the faces of the people on the streets – beggars and laborers alike – the “sick rooms” as well as the courtyards here radiated hurt and pain. However, as a result of this perhaps, the joy emitted by our presence, as well as their gratitude at our TOUCH was truly humanizing. “Human Touch,” a Bruce Springsteen song and a powerful, powerful thing so many of us take for granted.

A lot of the kids there are healthy (relatively speaking) but are either orphans or children of sick parents. However, as Rose pointed out, their energy levels were all over the spectrum. There were
beautiful children who physically fought for our attention, affection, and touch; but there were also some who were very sick, wanted attention, but had no drive to seek it out on their own.

“I just wanted to sit with them.” Rose’s words really capture a lot ofwhat we are truly able to do there – just sit, and as Thich Nhat Hanhsays, and BE. As I said before, the human touch was HUGE for these residents, Metiku, Yohanes, and the others I was with, but a big part of the touch was the PRESENCE that was behind it.

…Hunger and food…Two words that go hand-in-hand, right? Today, they seemed like more than words, but REALITIES, realities lived by people, young and old, near me and with me. I could SEE their hunger with my
eyes and FEEL their hunger with my hands. Holding the smaller childrenin my arms I could feel their rib cages/bones with the tips of my fingers. As I lifted up children up over my head to give them a “joy
ride,” I could feel their lack of nourishment. These kids were not receiving their “daily bread” that we pray for all the time. However,”in the words that Jesus gave us,” do we pray for these children and all those who go without to receive their daily bread as well? Not out loud at least…

…However, “The Book” also says that we “cannot live on bread alone.” My eyes have seen that life cannot survive without bread, but I’ve also seen that bread alone cannot suffice for our nourishment. This is the other hunger we all possess – a hunger for the food of presence, the food of touch. I experienced that today, not in my longing, but in my sensed longing of the residents at the Missionaries of Charity in Jimma, Ethiopia. Just like we are incomplete without our daily bread, lack of daily contact and affection can lead to a fatal starvation.

This is not readily observed everywhere. Rather, I’ve only discovered this here, at the hands of the poor. Isn’t it ironic that I’ve seen, touched, and felt hunger like never before and more so than in any other place on earth right here in the so-called land of bread and honey?

May peace be with all of you and I will try to touch base at least one more time before we take off.

God bless, with love,

Matt”

Quite an amazing 22 year-old, don’t you think?
—
Rev. Aidan R. Rooney, C.M.
Congregation of the Mission / The Vincentians
Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministry
Director of Vocations
718-990-1823