My name is Brother Roman Oulicky and I would like to share about my first (mission) trip to Africa – I was not too sure what to expect, but it was good to go with someone who knows – a seasoned missionary Brother Tomas. We met on Friday afternoon in the Czech Republic on a bus headed for Vienna airport and then took a flight with Ethiopian airlines to Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. We landed after daybreak which gave us chance to have a bird’s eye view of the city and surrounding hilly terrain. Once on the ground, my watch reported some 2200 meters in altitude. Normally, this would mean I am on hike in some high mountains, but since Addis is situated on a high-altitude plateau this is normal around there. Local brethren Fikre and Jemal came to pick us up at the airport. First, they gave us their wide smiles and then Brother Fikre pushed a big bouquet of roses in my hand… a tradition for a person’s first time in Africa 😊. I really wished my wife were with me (as men really don’t get flowers in the Czech Republic).
Two cultural shocks come immediately. First due to the whole environment of the city – my first encounter with Africa. Second, how people drive and move about the streets. If anyone drove that way in Czech it would probably be classified as criminal behavior. Traffic lights in Addis only work during the night, during the day all traffic handling is left in the hands of the citizens… which indicates a completely different mindset and behavior patterns in both drivers and pedestrians. We stayed in an European-style hotel called Z Addis – a comfortable place to become our base for the next five days. I quickly found out that our European dependency on WiFi and electricity is not something that bothers local people too much. Mostly, we managed to get online only in the hotel restaurant – and it was a welcome luxury. In the next few days, we held a series of meetings with the widows and their children which participate in the local Reaching Beyond Words NGO program. All these activities were centered in a Presbyterian church building which is being rented by the Reaching Beyond Words not only for all meetings and gatherings, but also for office space. First meeting (Saturday afternoon) was attended by 25-30 older children, ages from 13 to 18. I soon understood that both the children, and especially the mothers, form a mixture of basically three groups – born-again Christians, traditional Coptic Church members and Muslims. Not too sure what to give to such mixed audience, I spoke on the ever-present desire of God for man to eat of the tree of life and enjoy life rather than death. Second meeting was held on Sunday afternoon, the attendance being the whole ‘family’ – that is almost all the widows with their children. After the opening made by Brother Jemal I shared a bit on the theme that our God is the Father, which automatically implies a relationship with His children. Brother Tomas then delivered a full word on darkness and light in our lives – we are to become the light of the world by receiving the light and submitting to it, in order to drive out the darkness which is in us. As an example, he used the story of the Samaritan woman at the well encountered by Christ. The next three days, Monday through Wednesday, we held teaching meetings for the ladies. On the first day Brother Tomas suggested that the ladies form a circle of chairs rather than sitting in the ‘theater’ arrangement. After some initial surprise reflecting in their faces, and some hesitation, they accepted it. It then proved to be a very good idea conducive to much better face-to-face interactions and responsiveness. During these teachings Brother Tomas delivered a word on how only the new birth in Christ opens our eyes to see the kingdom of God – using the analogy of the experience of his own natural birth. In the last meeting I attempted to encourage the ladies in a sense that God knows them amid their hard life’s circumstances – first He proved it when He visited Israel in their slavery in Egypt to deliver them from bondage. Yet, this visitation was not sufficient to deliver them from sin and death and so He had to come personally in human flesh to have a full experience and knowledge of the earthly life. His second visitation ended in His death and resurrection which opened doors to victory and life for the humankind. It was nice and encouraging to see a number these ladies to become increasingly open during these meetings and to start sharing their testimonies. Some of them stayed for prayer and further ministry after the meetings. Also, after each of these meetings there was held a traditional service of the Ethiopian coffee (buna) for everyone, including the NGO staff who were present. Clearly, in Ethiopia this is both a social event and something of a national ritual firmly built into their lives. The final session on Wednesday afternoon was attended by smaller children, ages 8-13. Brother Tomas gave teaching on what their soul and heart is and how it works, drawing illustrations on a makeshift board. The hope for all these children, regardless of their age, is that when they have grown up and ordered their lives according to the word of God and their faith in Christ, they would become the light of the world and have a meaningful and lasting impact on the society in which they live. One of the afternoons we had a chance to meet with some members of the Reaching Beyond Words NGO board. In a pleasant and open atmosphere, various operational, planning and financial aspects and challenges of the NGO program were discussed and prayed over. It was a blessing to perceive a true burden planted in the hearts of the local staff to continue in the program, despite current difficulties with funding – due to which the number of enrolled children had to be recently reduced from 75 to 50. It became very evident that both the staff and the mothers in the program needed to hear our reassurance that the program would continue as long as the Lord provides finances for its operation. During the time spent in Addis we also had the opportunity to have a personal and quality time of sharing with Brother Fikre and Brother Jemal, and we hoped to encourage them to continue in their challenging labor of love. We also visited both families in their respective homes and had a time of home fellowship and sharing – always accompanied by sumptuous traditional meals and ample hospitality. Wednesday evening was my time – Brother Fikre, our faithful and brave taxi driver, took me to the Addis international airport and I started my journey back home. Brother Tomas left Addis a few hours later on Thursday morning, boarding plane to Lome, Togo. He then continued with the second leg of the mission trip. In conclusion, joining on this trip, I clearly realized that if anyone truly desires to know and understand what the Reaching Beyond Words NGO program is, if anyone wants God to talk to him more about it, he almost needs to come and get a first-hand experience of it. Reading a report in a distant land tends to convey only a limited picture, more like a factual information, not the reality itself. Such firsthand experience brings another dimension with it, it makes a difference… I guess much like in any other area of our lives. More and more I have come to the understanding why God, the Creator of heaven and earth, had to come into the world in human flesh and submit himself to the same pains, miseries, and troubles – in the same way, as the man whom He created. Of this the scriptures reassure us: “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” (Hebrews 4:15); “Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity.“ (Hebrews 5:2). I am immensely and daily grateful for this reassurance. 😊
More photo’s from our trip in January 2024