3 months!

  “…all His work is done in faithfulness.” Psalm 33:4

A side note from the post below…I know it seems as though I have gone through a lot of negative stuff: sickness, mice in my bed, cell phone getting stolen, ect. Trust me, in those moments I was angry and discouraged but dwelling on the harder parts does no one any good. I am told by scripture to consider it all joy and to praise Jesus all the same during these hard moments. It hasn’t been effortless but with each passing trial and decision to count it with gratitude the sting of it all has lessened and my heart has felt true peace. Sometimes it is easier to update about the tougher moments, asking people for prayer and so on…but the wonderful, happy moments of life here have been abundant and lovely and through every day and every experience the Lord has been present- a solid truth that is so comforting. With that said…here is my heart in words after three months of living in Ethiopia. 

These past months, my life has been a constant pouring out and filling up. As I pour out my energy and my heart into the work I am doing here I am often left with a paradoxical feeling of weariness and complete joy. It is the world fighting its war against my soul as Jesus calmly heals. Life here is heavy, as I work with people who are fighting struggles bigger than anyone should ever face and everywhere I go I experience the drastic brokenness of the world we live in. Abused women, homeless children, people laying on the road, I don’t know if they are dead or alive…it is a lot to take in. It is in these moments of sadness that Jesus has reminded me of Himself through the women and children I spend my days with. With their contagious smiles the women always restore my joy. The children, with all of their childlike qualities can always make me laugh to the point of happy tears. Ethiopians are strikingly beautiful on the outside but far more so on the inside. Their absolute and constant kindness seems to know far more about the character of the Gospel than I could ever imagine. I seem to always be saying to myself “They get it.” They understand what it means to be Christ-like. With countless hugs and words they have been the face of Jesus to me in the moments when I needed it most. I wrote in a post a while back that I wanted to help the women I work with discover how beautiful and fulfilling life can be, and as I walk alongside them teaching them and loving them they have equally reciprocated the lessons and have shown me how beautiful life is as I walk my own journey of growth and discovery. As it is for most educators, I have left my classes with them feeling more like a student than a teacher. These women have taught me how to deeply care for people, and how to invest into someone’s heart. They have shown me the great importance of relationship on a whole new level. The children have taught me how to be carefree and happy in simple situations. These women and children have done more than just befriending me, they have filled my heart to the brim and I am so thankful that I know people as remarkable as them!!!

As I look back and start to see the small pixel moments of the past three months form a picture, I am amazed at it all. As three months come to an end, and I take a hiatus from my African life, I just have to say that my cup absolutely runs over for Ethiopia. God has been evident in my rich experiences here (and even in the not so rich ones), and as I learn more and more about the one I follow, I am left only in awe. I serve an extravagant God.

I cannot wait to laugh, talk and play with my dearest friends and family…You guys are the best.

So much love,

Becca

Also, a little story I never shared: Ethiopian’s genuine goodness displayed at its finest: A woman came up to me on my 2 mile walk home from the store and offered to help me carry the four bags of heavy groceries I had. Embarrassed, I said no but she insisted. She helped me the whole way home. Blessed by this woman’s kindness to help me, someone she had never met before and will probably never see again

Bye bye cell phone

I am walking down a busy street. Rahel and I are on our way to our favorite restaurant. Tonight is the only night I have carried my wallet, phone and keys without a purse. I knew from the get go it was a stupid idea. I put my wallet inside of my jacket, my keys in the left pocket and my phone in the right. It was so cold and we had a long way to go. Rahel and I were joking about how in America I would be able to drive everywhere and I wouldn’t have to walk so much. I thought to myself that I would sort of miss the walking. The street we were walking on was so crowded and the road was in a traffic jam. So many car horns were going off. It was madness. I oddly like situations like these…the chaos doesn’t bug me. I had my hands in my pockets gripping my phone and my house keys. Everyone has always warned me to keep my iPhone hidden. The next moment a man is grabbing my arm. It really hurts. His friend is with him about to touch Rahel. I’m yelling “Stop” His fingers press harder into my arm. It was a weird situation; Rahel and I kept walking as we were being “attacked” by these two guys. At first it was more of an annoyance that an attack in my mind. I thought he was drunk or crazy; it wasn’t the first time someone had come up to me and sort of hassled me a bit. I didn’t really try to defend myself at first because it didn’t seem that alarming. This is all happening in seconds. His hand is really hurting my arm so I take my hand out of my pocket. I decided I needed to hit this guy because he wasn’t letting go and nothing that Rahel and I were saying seemed to work. Becca Carucci has never hit someone out of defense, so this is a climactic moment of her life. This was the dumbest move because when I took my hand out of my pocket his hand went in. He took my phone and I didn’t even realize it because of the adrenalin rush I had from hitting someone (haha….) Anyways, he ran off and as Rahel and I looked at each other, about to debrief what had just happened, I put my cold hand back in my pocket and realized he had stolen my phone. Just thankful it was my phone and nothing else, thankful he didn’t hurt me or Rahel. That’s my exciting, sucky story for the night. Friends, I get on a plane for Seattle in 3 days and I could not be any more thrilled. See you soon.

So much love,

Becca

Pictures!!!!

Here are some pictures of my day to day life here from the past couple of weeks. They are mostly from my iphone because carrying around my nice camera is work. I know a majority of these are of babies...but look at their faces!!!!

Rahel and I play soccer with
the neighborhood kids and usually
get our booty's kicked.

The next 3 pictures are all baby
selfies. I work in the nursery almost
everyday and get to play, laugh, and hold
these cutie littles!!! I think this is my
favorite baby selfie (I have 100+ of them)
because of Issac's photobomb.

This is Kalkidan, one of the women that I
teach. Love her face, smile and heart!!!!

Alphabet scramble with my Kindegarten kids.

Addis at night. 

This adorable one brought me flowers!!!!!!

We had a dental clinic at our building this week.

My job was to be the demo-er for teeth brushing.

I stood in the sun for 3 hours teaching people how

to brush their teach. Someone even said "You are from

Seattle, you should be wearing sun screen" This sounded

more like a challenge than a warning so I skipped

the SPF and got fried. oops.

Snack time. Love these faces.

This is second to last week of teaching before I come home!! Next weekend Rahel and I are going to Lake Langano to have some R & R!!! I can't wait. Someone said there are hippos and monkeys at the lake, finally I will see some real African wild life! Excited to swim in a lake and laugh lots with Rahel bear! You will definitely be seeing pictures :)

12 days

So much LOVE!!!!

Becca

Poverty, Love, and Restoration

How do I love the people who don’t speak my language or who don’t even speak? How do I love the mother who is sitting on the corner of a highway, nursing her newborn? How do I love the man with hollow eyes and broken limbs who works his way up and down the streets begging for food?

Thank you Jesus for your Word that provides answers to my questions.

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.  For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me…The King will then reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’” Matthew 25:34-36,40

This is not a blog post to promote a good deed, but rather to share about the love of Jesus that compels people to serve and care for others deeply. 

Someone once told me that if you feel the Holy Spirit calling you to do something you better do it within 10 seconds or your human heart will kick in and you won’t do it at all. I believe this to be true in some cases.

As I got out of the car this past week to go to the store to purchase new computers, my eyes met the eyes of a little girl. She was probably around seven. In contrast to her obvious lack was the bright purple dress she had on. Her sweet face and beautiful dress contradicted and distracted the dirtiness that enveloped her body. She approached me, putting her little hand onto mine, indicating that she wanted money. She then touched her hand to her mouth indicating hunger. I hate these hand motions, they wreck my heart. As usual though, I carried on, ignoring the pleas. I hate that I do that but in my mind it is the easiest solution…to just ignore it. How foolish. As I got into the store I was reminded of the scripture above. I felt compelled to feed this girl, and with the 10 second rule in my mind I knew I needed to leave or else I wouldn’t do anything. I told Rahel I would be right back. I went into the cafe next door and bought some pastries. I returned to the street but my purple dress girl was gone. Rahel by then had figured out what I had done and decided to help me search for my friend. We turned down a side street and there she was, playing with her mama’s hands and smiling. Her smile was contagious and pure.  I walked to her slowly, absorbing the moment…I bent down, cupped her face in my hands, and gave her the food. She said Thank You, and I knew I had to turn away quickly or I would burst into tears. I don’t know what I did for that girl besides giving her food, but I do know that she reminded me of a holy truth that I often forget, or more accurately I think I just blatantly ignore it. These people who spend their days begging are not lower than me, they are not unworthy in fact they are perfectly and completely worthy of love, truth, and all the good things that they don’t get to experience. I have been praying this week that the Lord would fix my heart, that he would give me the beggars pain and that my compassion would abound for these people. I hate that I feel entitlement, and that I so often ignore their pleas when I am fully capable of giving them eye contact, a hello, a smile, food, money, or a hand to hold. So as I learn what it means to love the least of these, I would encourage you, whoever you are reading this, to also fix your heart for the people you encounter who need something that you can give them. Ask Jesus to give you his eyes, and to remind your heart that they are a human being, with a soul and a purpose, and they are just as broken as you. You can be a piece of restoration for them by simply looking them in the eye, making the invisible, for the first time, visible.

As always, I miss you all more than words can describe. Soon and very soon, 17 more days until I am home!!!!

So much love,

Becca

Two Months!!!!

My oh My!!! It has been 2 months of lovely life here, and I could not be more thankful for everything going on! My love for Ethiopia and its people has grown immensely and my work has brought me so much joy. Here is a recap of month 2…

• -       Rahel’s English has gotten a lot better, and she insists that the women in our office only speak in English. Her Amharic voice is sweet and tiny but her English voice sounds like a Russian-Italian (I know…) combo and almost all of her sentences end in “My Dear.” Her favorite phrases are “Hold on” and “Shut up”; she uses them on almost everyone…including the children. I am encouraging her to stay away from Shut Up :)
• -       I got very sick, twice. The first was food poisoning, which should be called Satan sickness. It was seriously the worst thing I’ve ever gone through. If you have had it, you can identify with the agony if you haven’t imagine 72 hours of straight puking. Rahel and Zewdu pleaded to take me to the hospital but I am stubborn and hate all things doctor related. The following weekend I was very sick again. I refused all attempts to take me to the hospital, until the 4^th day when I could barely see straight. The ride to the hospital felt like an eternity, I spent it imagining that the doctors would think the solution to my sickness was to cut my limbs off….I know, not dramatic at all. Well PTL they didn’t sever any arms or legs and they just sent me home with lots of drizugggs! (Medicine) A funny side effect of Tonsillitis is that your voice changes, so for a week people doubted it was me on the other end of the phone or they would look shocked when I opened my mouth and spoke.
• -       Rahel turned 25!!!!!! Birthdays are one of my most favorite things in the world so I insisted that we had a party. Rahel had never celebrated her birthday before. We decorated our cute little house, played the music loud, and had a good time! It was an honor and a joy to throw this special girl’s first birthday party!!
• -       Africa is known for being wild kingdom; our house lives up to this title—except not with cool animals… We have lizards, cats, a dog, giant pigeon weird birds, and the newest addition…I walked into the bathroom, took three steps to the light switch, flicked it on, and I heard a squeal and the patter of a RAT!!!! I screamed, and it ran away. I was convinced it had gone into my room so I had sweet Rahel scour every inch to make sure it was out. I am the biggest baby when it comes to creepy crawlies…I’m sure Rahel is not fond of making sure my room is rat free but she happily does it :) She’s the best!!!!
• -       My teaching, both of the women and children is wonderful. I especially love my 4-6 graders (I teach every grade from kindergarten up to 12^th); they are very smart and so curious. My lessons with the older kids are sometimes a struggle…one girl asked me the difference between ‘who’ and ‘whom’ and I almost passed out. Other than the tricky grammatical questions, teaching is a blast! My time teaching here has only encouraged and grown my desire to someday be an elementary teacher!!!
• -       The last week it rained everyday. It reminded me of home in the best sort of way. A few things/people I have missed and cannot wait to do/ see: Can’t wait to hug my Mamma, Dad and Matthew, that will be the greatest reunion of all time. Can’t wait wait to squeeeeze my best friend, Malorie sweet Mahler (and her amazing fam!) – another reunion that will be very teary!!! Can’t wait to wear mittens, and scarves, and sweaters. Can’t wait to eat Mexican food. Can’t wait to go to my home church. Can’t wait to sit in starbucks with friends, drinking peppermint mochas. Can’t wait to go downtown and see Christmas lights. Can’t wait to celebrate a NEW YEAR! You all have been so wonderful via facebook and email, encouraging me greatly. Can you believe it is only 26 more days until I see your dear faces!!!?! Eeeek, squealing with joy!!!
• -       Ways you can continue to pray: For my health, I seem to have the worst luck and keep getting sick. It prevents me from doing my work and I hate being unproductive and miserable:) Pray for the staff of WAR, that they would have abundant strength and joy to do their hard work! Pray for the kids I teach, that their curiosity would only grow! And lastly pray for the women going through WAR’s yearlong program!

I am a quarter way finished with my venture…it has been full of fun and growth, challenges and rewards, success and failure. Through everything I am learning to “consider it all joy” and thank Jesus that he chose me to bring to Ethiopia to do this work.

So much love,

Becca

Some pictures of month two!

Zewdu and a few other workers
built me a wonderful, new purple and yellow
classroom! I love my little room!

Class with my 4-6 graders.
 We have 2 tutoring rooms
and a library, our center has been
blessed with a lot of great recources-
the newest being a computer class room!

Breakfast with Zewdu and Rahel
Any guesses as to what they are eating???

True African...What is your vote: Sean Paul,
Snoop Dogg, or the rabbit from Trix yogurt?
Never doing this again :)

American Breakfast!

The baby is getting big.

Cutie friends at Rahel's party

I love Eden!

Happy Birthday roomie, You are the best!!

this babe is 25!!

Ethiopia played a big soccer
game against Nigeria. Rahel and
I won most spirited...but Ethiopia
still lost. A sad defeat.