The Government in Addis

Wednesday was a rather long day, so I decided to make my last blog short and talk about my struggles with Christmas and where we are. However, we stayed pretty busy on Wednesday.

First, we made our way to the Drop In Center to have morning devotions. After that, I, along with Nega, Alex, and Heather headed over to one of the government buildings to talk with them about the sports program. The government is tiered in three here. We went to the second tier at first. I spoke to three individuals about my vision for the program....sort of. Unfortunately, when dealing with government's, it isn't a good idea to bring up religion in to the equation, especially in other countries. So we kept that out. But I did get to talk about how I saw the program bringing together the community, letting them be proud of the kids for a change, and providing opportunities to the kids. I'm learning that facial expressions are difficult at times when you don't understand the language. There were not many times when I spoke, did any of the three people I spoke with change facial expressions. So it wasn't until the main guy offered up his thoughts to Nega and Alex, did I know what I said made any sense. However, they were very thrilled to hear about my vision and in so many words, said they wanted to help in any way possible. He offered up tax breaks for land and supplies, which, coming from the government here, is very positive. Here, in the city, there isn't much land, so it is very precious and generous to offer it up.

We left second tier government and went to the third level. There, we were told the guy that we were speaking to was in a meeting and that we should go and wait outside the doors. Before I know it, we're being invited in to the meeting and it is one man sitting behind a desk speaking to about 50 teens and say 10 adults. They put chairs in front of the room and we sat there, while everyone was whispering and smiling. So we sat and listened and didn't understand a word about what was going on. Then, Nega left the room with another gentleman and walked back in 2 mins later. Nega walked up front and said something in the ear of the guy talking. They both looked at me and I knew something was up. They asked me to stand up and speak. So I stood up, introduced myself and then looked at Nega and said, "what is it exactly that you want me to say?" He told me to speak on character and sport. So I started mumbling some random stuff about what it meant to be of high character. Even Mrs. McGoo can attest, it wasn't my greatest hour. While I wasn't nervous, I wasn't prepared. Then, somehow, I pulled it together and started making sense. I talked to them about opportunities that are presented to us through sports, school, and other forms of networking and that it was important for them to maintain focus on their education and that whatever they did, do it to the best of their abilities. Talked a bit about how knowing multiple languages would set them apart from their peers and provide them with opportunities to excel. All in all I thought it ended pretty well. They clapped for me and I sat down. Then they asked Mrs. McGoo to speak. She was, on the other hand, very nervous. I kinda of got a laugh because she sat their in her chair when I was speaking giggling and smiling and found out later that she video'd it. So she then stood up and talked about providing opportunity for girls to play sports. When she finished, we walked out and they gave us another round of applause.

We then met with one of the guys that was in the meeting and his assistant (who spoke very good english). They rolled out the red carpet for us, giving us coke and some type of nuts. You may laugh, but this was a big deal to them in their culture. Again, I talked about my vision for sport and again, they offered up many resources. One thing to note...they don't offer up money because they do not have a lot. However, they do offer up other resources, which is very generous.

After meeting with the two government levels, we made our way back to the center. We took a little time for lunch, then prepared to have a meeting with the community leaders and coaches. This went for hours. Imagine sitting somewhere for that long and not understanding a word of what was going on. I started out by telling people about myself, my vision, and my involvement. Then I talked to them about coaching and being a good role model for the kids. We talked about winning, losing, and what was really important in coaching kids. Overall, I thought it was pretty productive. Then I fielded some questions from the leaders. They asked if I would come and work with the teams and also my thoughts on what I had seen from the previous weekend. So I told them the good and bad and everything in between. Then I sat and listen to a language I don't understand for about two hours. I could figure out some of what was going on here and there. Some were complaining about refs and what Nega's involvement would be. They addressed age issues with some of the kids and other stuff. Eventually, they left and we had a chance to stand up and breathe.

Overall, a very productive day. I'm learning that as a foreinge (sp? their word for foreigner) that everyone is waiting to see what I do and say. I'll write more about it later, but they are really interested in us. Everyone has really seen us as people who can come in and make a difference. It's encouraging to say the least, however, I can't wait for the day that I can truly say it isn't me, it's only God who provides these opportunities and only God who makes it all click.