It was one of those mornings when you wake up and aren’t quite sure where you are. “…guest house… Addis
Ababa, Ethiopia… Africa… Oh, yea, I remember…” The house was quiet when I emerged from my room. Soon
Yonas’s youngest daughter Zima, popped her head around the corner. Zima is 5 years old and full of energy. She
introduced herself and her kitten, Flower.
After a shower, I decided to take a stroll. The guest house is part of a larger complex owned by the Ethiopian
church. The colonial style structure was built by missionaries in the 1950’s. Inside the compound is a seminary and
communication office. There are also a number of homes and roads that knit the little the community together.
Children played. Mothers washed cloths. A man cut grass with one of those hand-powered rotary blade mowers.
The weather was cool, dry and sunny.
Back at the house, coffee, bread and peanut butter were on the table, so I ate breakfast. Yonas and I then caught a
taxi and headed to the Mekane Yesus Headquarters in down town Addis. On the way, Yonas gave me a brief
overview of the Mekane Yesus Church. Officially formed in the 1950’s, the Mekane Yesus church was started by
Swedish and German Lutheran missionaries at the turn of the century. Unlike missionary work in other African
countries/colonies, the Swedes and Germans allowed the Ethiopians to develop on their own. Church governance
has been left up to Ethiopians rather than foreign missionaries. The result is a truly African church with a distinct
history and culture.
The headquarters building for the Mekane Yesus Church is a tall, 10 story office building. The property was given
to the church during the reign of Hali Salasi, Ethiopia’s last emperor. When the communist junta known as the
Derg, came to power in the 1970’s, the government confiscated the building. In 1996, when the Derg itself was
overthrown, the new government gave it back to the church. At the headquarters I was able to record interviews
with Beredo, the Mekane Yesus expert on evangelism, and a second interview with a church Aids expert.
After the interview, Beredo, Yonas and I went across the street for lunch at a traditional Ethiopian restaurant. The
food was great. Ingera is a soft, grey, spongy bread rolled up like a napkin, and Watte is a spicy meat sauce. The
meal is served on a large dish. Each person reaches in and helps them self (right hand only). The whole thing is
washed down with soda pop and thick, sweet, Ethiopian coffee.
Addis Ababa is the capitol city of Ethiopia. Three million people call it home. Centuries ago, Ethiopia’s emperor
built the city which sits in the central highland hills. Like most African towns, the streets are rough and very busy.
Buses, cars and trucks of all kinds jam the narrow road. In between the vehicles, people dart in and out. Everyone
seems busy.
A few words about Yonas. Yonas is an Ethiopian married to a Dutch/Canadian Lutheran who works at the Dutch
embassy. The two of them met in Sweden, were married and lived for eight years in Canada. Yonas and his wife
are loosely connected with the *ELCA as volunteer missionaries. Yonas’s real job and passion is as leader of a
Christian band. “All for God” is the name of the ten member group. In recent years they have played in Holland,
Sweden and of course, all over Ethiopia. Yonas was to be our guide and constant companion throughout our stay in
Ethiopia. . Yonas and his wife Gail live on the Lutheran compound in Addis with their daughters Zana and Zima.
After lunch, Yonas drove me all over Addis Ababa. My two traveling companions, Jim Quattrocki and Kevin
Jacobson were not scheduled to arrive in Addis until the next morning. Following our tour of the capitol, Yonas and
I drove back to the Lutheran compound and paid a visit to the Mekane Yesus Communication office. The more I
travel, the more I learn not to assume anything. Yonas introduced me to a young man named Abraham. Abraham is
the Mekane Yesus television production person. He said, “Come, I will show you our new studio.” I expected to
see a few old, broken down pieces of equipment. Instead, I was shown the churches brand new digital video editing
system. Not only that, they had three new digital video cameras that are nicer that ours! Abraham was still in the
process of learning to use the new equipment, and was eager to have me run through them with him. We spent the
rest of the evening learning about Adobe After Effects and other state of the art software.
Well after dark, Abraham walked me back to the guest house where I ate a quick bowl of soup and headed off to
bed. Sleep what not to come, however. Throughout the night I was treated to a symphony. The howling dogs of
Addis. The guest house had two dogs. These were joined by at least twenty others in the neighborhood. I soon
detected a background chorus of dogs from the surrounding area. Taken with a mosquito that continually dive
bombed my ear, it was a sleepless night.
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