I love God's way of connecting people

The night before I left Australia I was welcoming people at church with Annika, a gorgeous young woman from our church. She told me that her grandparents lived in Ethiopia somewhere and that her grandfather was a surgeon. I flew to Ethiopia on Monday and arrived on Tuesday afternoon. On Wednesday morning I was sitting next to an Aussie lady at breakfast. Annika's grandmother! How good is God. Robin suggested I come to visit them in the south of the country where Barry is Associate Professor of surgery at the Arba Minch General Hospital. So I have just returned from 4 wonderful days with Annika's grandparents, Barry and Robin Hicks, at Arba Minch, 450 km south of Addis Ababa.  Thanks so much for the connection, Annika.
And while we were together we also discovered that Barry had employed Mal's niece for many years. All very interesting when I live in Victoria and they live in north Queensland.

Barry and Robin live in a simple little house on the hospital compound 

surrounded by beautiful tropical plants and

with interesting wildlife roaming the yard.

 

 
 Every Saturday morning Barry and Robin take their gardener and house girl for breakfast

at the hospital cafe.

 Life is different in the countryside here,

 just as it is in Australia.

 

 It's slower

 

and simpler. 

On Sunday morning we went to church (sorry no photo) and then joined the rest of the congregation at a little cafe just down the road for tea and coffee after the service.

In the afternoon we went for a drive to enjoy the beautiful nearby lakes, which are part of the Great Rift Valley. Twas a bit of a hazy day but still very beautiful. Here you can see Lake Chamo behind me.

and Barry and Robin near the entrance to the hotel which provided the lovely setting.

While I was at Arba Minch (which means forty springs) I went market shopping with Robin for vegetables

and eggs

and sighted lots of these cute little bajaj (taxis, pronounced bar-jarj. Very few private cars here).

But I must say that one of my favourites was attending Barry's mornings meetings with his surgery students. On the first morning, as we entered, Barry introduced me as a Professor of Obstetrics from Australia! I must say that it got me thinking about what life might have been like if I had become a doctor.

I found it so very interesting. Such variety in the cases - way more than any surgical student would experience during their training in Australia. 

Barry and Robin have adopted several Ethiopians over their many years in Ethiopia. 15 year old Abel is their latest addition to the family and what a lovely young man he is.

I have come home feeling that I have had a real holiday, and I know that Barry and Robin really enjoyed having me there too. I'm thankful for God's ongoing provision for each of us.