Each weekday Ayelech comes to our house. Finally, it was our turn to visit her. She agreed to meet us at 2:30 on Sunday and show us the way. As we walked, Petra, Shaunda, and I made small talk with Ayelech. About 10 minutes later we reached her house.
Sena, Abde (Ayelech’s kids), and other children playing on the dirt road welcomed us. The bright green grass accentuated the orange-ish red mud house. The sheet metal roof reflected the bright sunshine. A pad lock kept the wood door securely shut.
As we entered, it took a couple seconds for our eyes to adjust to the darkness. Only the door and a window permitted sunshine to enter. We sat at a wooden table on wooden chairs; a bed shared the same room. The second room also had a bed and functioned as the “kitchen” too, I think. There wasn’t much to see. Ayelech offered us injera and wot but since we just ate lunch we did not eat.
While we sat, a hen and 6 little chicks pecked at the dirt near our feet. Their soprano voices reminded us not to step on them. Ayelech broke off a piece of injera and crumbled it and extended her hand to the hen. The mother chicken pecked one piece at a time, dropping each to the ground for her chicks. “She never takes for herself” Ayelech stated.
Ayelech makes a good wage working in a house of four farenjis. Like her chicken, Ayelch always gives, whether a place to sleep or money for clothes or school, to her family when in need. I’m thankful for Ayelech and her chicken who remind me to give to others.
“You are never poor when you live to give. You are never rich in the sight of God when you hoard things to yourself. There is a relationship between living generously and being entrusted by God. God searches for those individuals though whom He can bless the world.”
--pg 164, Uprising, by Erwin McMauns