Walking to Church - Runners - Adjusting to Shopping/Cooking

We walked to church on Sunday. It's about a 10-15 min adventurous walk from our apartment. 

The University Branch takes up the entire 4th floor of this building. There are various stores and bank branch offices in the building. 

It was our first time so of course they asked us to speak. I, Elder Martin, did most of my talk in Amharic language. I've learned some but it was still challenging. I said basic things like, 

"Good Morning",

"I'm thankful to live in Ethiopia", 

"We have 31 grandchildren, thanks to God", 

"I believe in Jesus Christ", 

"I believe in the Book of Mormon and the Bible", 

"I love you all", etc. 

Some told me they liked my talk. I told them I talked just like a baby. They said no that it was good.

I've been a little sick lately but Sunday I felt better. 

Sister Martin gave a good testimony that someone translated. She greeted the members in Amharic and then she told an experience when she was a little girl and couldn't find her church shoes. She said she prayed and received an answer. A thought came into her mind of where to look and then found them. She bore testimony that the Lord knows us and answers our prayers no matter what age we are. 

We don't have any pictures of our walk as we were told someone may try to steal our phones if we display them out in the open while we walk. We even left our wedding rings home. Perhaps we'll try when we become more confident and aware of what's around us.

Runners

Some mornings we walk up the stairs of our apartment for exercise. We go from about 7,700 to 7,900 feet above sea level. We like to go on the roof top where we can see all around. One morning I saw over 100 runners out in the fields and on some tracks. I've heard Ethiopia has had running as one of the top sports in the country. Perhaps it began ever since Abebe Bikila, the barefoot Ethiopian won the 1960 Olympics marathon in Rome. He won the Olympic marathon 4 years later in Tokyo, but that time with shoes. I think that Ethiopia has the most Olympic Marathon Gold medals. Some say the elevation here gives the runners an advantage when they travel to lower elevations to race.

To be a runner takes hard work and is not an easy task for most. The only running I've done in my life were shorter distances like a 5K. When I was in my 20's I would run from my home up the mountain to the top of Ensign Peak in Salt Lake City. I remember having to focus and push myself to go up the mountain. This past week as I have been sick and somewhat overwhelmed with the massive changes in food and lifestyle, I found I needed to push myself to drive on these crazy streets, make the walk to church and back. Continuing with the basics I know are right to do, like reading scriptures and praying daily have been amazingly helpful. I've found these basics help me be closer to God and help me be able to receive the Lord's guidance.  

Shopping

We have a big fruit and vegetable market next to our apartment which is very convenient. We've enjoyed fresh beets, green beans, zucchini,  bananas, oranges, papaya, carrots, potatoes, limes, etc. It is so interesting as we try to communicate with them. We bought quite a lot one day and it totaled less than $15. Good prices on produce. Other things like chicken are quite expensive...about $6 - $7 per pound. Perhaps we'll be come vegetarians. lol. 

 

Sister Martin made some muffins and bread and I made some cookies. The oven temperature control and consistency is a big challenge! We have to sit there and watch it like a hawk, opening and closing the oven door to keep it from getting too hot, and even then they got a little overdone. This was our first attempt, so it will get better. 

The muffins were good.

Getting ready to put cookies in the oven.

This was a juicy, tasty orange but over 50 seeds?

We have no measuring spoons or cups yet. We saw some at a store for about $40-$50 so we didn't buy them. We either eyeball it, or have a 200 ml measuring part on our food processor that gives us an idea. Quite difficult to do a recipe accurately.

When I was cooking this "Tikil Gomen" (Ethiopian Cabbage and Potatoes) one evening, the power went out. Luckily, we were able to switch to the gas burner and finish cooking. It's one of our favorite Ethiopian foods that we make, well actually it's the only one we have made so far. 

Sister Martin made some good vegetable soup, too.

They have fresh avocados here and she also made some guacamole that was good. Different than the typical kind we have had before but still good. We used it to make avocado-tomato sandwiches. 

We're trying to get used to what we can cook here that will taste good. 

Oh no. Is that water leaking from under the kitchen cabinets again? 

We finally go the big leak fixed. Yea!