Travel Journal: [pause] Samuel in Ethiopia

(please excuse the formatting issues with blogger with this post)

 Samuel was our instant "in" while we were in Ethiopia, because Ethiopians LOVE children.  My friend Mimi says that children are the universal love language to Ethiopians. 

We loved that everytime we met someone new, they would greet Adam and I just cordially, and then they would turn to Samuel and their face would light up.  "What is your name?"  They would ask.  "My name is Samuel," he would reply, politely.  "Ah...SAHMwell," they would answer, while sweeping him up in a hug or (which would never be a short and to-the-point hug like we Americans are accustomed to).  "Do you know about Sahmwell in the Bible?" 

I loved seeing my boy, who is ordinarily not one to enjoy affection with anyone but Mom and Dad, succumb to the power of Ethiopian love. :)  By the end of the week, he was Sahmwell, and he was quite good at tolerating hugs.

Samuel enjoyed a special friendship with Miruk, and we noticed at some point that he strategically placed himself wherever Miruk was going to be.  Too funny.  She was very kind to him.

Many times, complete strangers would grab Samuel in an embrace or want a picture taken with him.  We found this very entertaining (notice that Samuel's expression here indicates that he is NOT amused).

One day, Adam and Samuel were covering their heads and running down the street in between bursts of heavy rain.  At some point Adam realized that Samuel wasn't beside him.  He looked back and saw Samuel in the arms of some woman on the street.  Samuel says that he was running alongside Adam and fell behind, and a woman came alongside him, encouraging him to run ahead to his dad.  Then she grabbed him in an embrace and kissed him.  She held onto him as she walked with him to Adam, saying he was "konjo," (beautiful) over and over as she stroked his face.  Samuel, needless to say, was somewhere between flattered and freaked out. 

This is a snapshot of the beautiful, affectionate hearts of the Ethiopian people.  Samuel learned to be flexible in a different culture.  He also learned that the average Ethiopian makes less every year than he what has in his bank account as a 10-year-old child.  He saw people who are hurting in the midst of poverty, and he is figuring out how to respond to that, just as we are.  

After we got home, Samuel told me that he was definitely planning to adopt children when he grew up (as long as his wife was OK with it).  And that he would have at least 7 children.   I love it, Samuel.  You keep on planning, keep on dreaming.  Who knows what God will do with those big dreams of yours.