Some of you may have heard of our little “Adventure” with the Ethiopian police. On Monday, July 21st, we were on our way to the village of Bantu. It was going to be a two hour drive, so we took off in the morning to have plenty of time at the site and to get back by dark. Little did we know, our day would be far from what we had planned.
Ever been at the wrong place at the wrong time? I think we all have. This seemingly ordinary Monday, was far from that for our group. It was about to be one of those wrong place- wrong time moments for us. We were filming from the truck in the city of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The streets were crowded and providing the perfect scene of a day in the life of Ethiopia. Our camera man happened to spot a policeman, with the camera, in the crowd directing traffic. He instantly told us to pull over.
To make a long story short, that day there was a high profile court case going on near where we were. The case was very controversial and the defendant had some Islamic ties. Little did we know the crowd was infiltrated with undercover policeman, FBI, and intelligence officers. They had seen us filming and decided we were a part of the media covering the case. It was assumed and decided that we were filming for Al Jezeera. Of course we weren’t, and we denied any part in this. They were not happy. After we were questioned on the street and a large crowd began to form, we were taken “down town.” In more clear terms, we were taken to the police station to be questioned further.
We like to call this experience “Technically Detained But Not Arrested.” After several hours of being held and questioned, we were released. One of the undercover FBI policemen who was a witness in the crowd to situation, talked to me a bit. He told me “You are lucky you are American.” I asked him why. He then said, “If you were Middle Eastern, you would be here a long time for what happened.” I responded and said, “A long time as in days?” He threw his head back and laughed. He then looked at me very seriously and said, “No, months.”
We are all indeed thankful to be American and are thankful for that “Get Out of Jail Free Card” the Lord so graciously gave us. He also gave us a calmness, peace, and a sense of humor throughout the whole ordeal. After about four hours of being at the police station, we were allowed to leave. We laugh about the whole experience, but it could have been very serious had they not eventually believed our intentions for filming.
Ever been at the wrong place at the wrong time? I think we all have. This seemingly ordinary Monday, was far from that for our group. It was about to be one of those wrong place- wrong time moments for us. We were filming from the truck in the city of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The streets were crowded and providing the perfect scene of a day in the life of Ethiopia. Our camera man happened to spot a policeman, with the camera, in the crowd directing traffic. He instantly told us to pull over.
To make a long story short, that day there was a high profile court case going on near where we were. The case was very controversial and the defendant had some Islamic ties. Little did we know the crowd was infiltrated with undercover policeman, FBI, and intelligence officers. They had seen us filming and decided we were a part of the media covering the case. It was assumed and decided that we were filming for Al Jezeera. Of course we weren’t, and we denied any part in this. They were not happy. After we were questioned on the street and a large crowd began to form, we were taken “down town.” In more clear terms, we were taken to the police station to be questioned further.
We like to call this experience “Technically Detained But Not Arrested.” After several hours of being held and questioned, we were released. One of the undercover FBI policemen who was a witness in the crowd to situation, talked to me a bit. He told me “You are lucky you are American.” I asked him why. He then said, “If you were Middle Eastern, you would be here a long time for what happened.” I responded and said, “A long time as in days?” He threw his head back and laughed. He then looked at me very seriously and said, “No, months.”
We are all indeed thankful to be American and are thankful for that “Get Out of Jail Free Card” the Lord so graciously gave us. He also gave us a calmness, peace, and a sense of humor throughout the whole ordeal. After about four hours of being at the police station, we were allowed to leave. We laugh about the whole experience, but it could have been very serious had they not eventually believed our intentions for filming.
After a stop for a bite to eat, we were on our way to Bantu. We agreed that we had all just been through one strange experience. We felt frustration more than anything because most of our day had been wasted at the station. However, we then realized that maybe God had worked in a way to keep us from something dangerous on the way to Bantu. He works in mysterious ways. I do know that now I can joke and say, “I’ve never done any time in jail…oh, except that time I spent in the Ethiopian jail in July of ‘08!” The group picture is our pic of us enjoying our freedom after the release!
Eventually, we made it to Bantu. The beauty of the land was great, but the children were even more breathtaking. Here is a picture of one little girl I met. She is so beautiful, isn’t she? Some of the children here walked around half naked. All were very dirty, and most seemed as if they had NEVER owned or worn a pair of shoes. Bright Hope and Buckner are building a community center and school there. In Jeremiah 29:11, we are told that the Lord has a plan for each of us, one for hope and a future. Hope is in the future of the children in Bantu. If you look closely, you can even see it in this little girl’s eyes. Oh how I love to see hope in the eyes of children!
Meeting this little girl and holding her in my arms was the most exciting part of the day. My arms were left damp from her wet and dirty pants. My eyes left moist due to the mist that formed when I walked away and said goodbye. Handing out balloons and “Mastika” (Chewing Gum) to the group of children there proved to be more heartwarming than I could imagine and made the entire day’s troubles worth it for some reason. Right before we left the sun started to go down. Not before the Lord painted an amazing scene in the sky. The sun's rays were shining down as if to pour out blessings over the village of Bantu. He is at work there. We certainly serve an awesome God.
Meeting this little girl and holding her in my arms was the most exciting part of the day. My arms were left damp from her wet and dirty pants. My eyes left moist due to the mist that formed when I walked away and said goodbye. Handing out balloons and “Mastika” (Chewing Gum) to the group of children there proved to be more heartwarming than I could imagine and made the entire day’s troubles worth it for some reason. Right before we left the sun started to go down. Not before the Lord painted an amazing scene in the sky. The sun's rays were shining down as if to pour out blessings over the village of Bantu. He is at work there. We certainly serve an awesome God.
3 comments:
We certainly do have an awsome God girlfriend! Praise Him! I am so thankful that you guys weren't harmed during this "event" and that the "event" is OVER instead of ONGOING!!! Roomy, Dawn
Wow God is good!
Amazing. I love reading your blog entries. They make my heart ache to go back to Africa even more.
I'm so glad you guys were safe. The photos are breath-taking.
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