Blessed by our First Visit to a Gmz Church

We decided to spend our Christmas holiday out in the Gmz area hoping to get to know one particular area a little better, and although the time there was very short, we had several important opportunities. First, we rode the public bus out to the area. We had done this once last May and were the subject of conversation for much of the ride. This time, however, we boarded the bus, greeted people in Amharic, had a few simple conversations and then overheard people saying to each other “these foreigners know Amharic,” and we were left alone the rest of the way. It was good for us to get familiar with the bus system in case the right vehicle for purchase doesn’t come along until after we plan to move out there. The picture above is from the bus tire change. The spare tire was hilarious since the only rubber on it was on the sides and the actual driving surface was bare threads. Somehow, we made it to our destination on that tire.

Once arriving the area we may move to, we met with some Canadian friends and got to stay on the SIM compound on which there sits an empty house that we could possibly rent. On Christmas Day (which is just like any other day here since Ethiopian Christmas is Jan 7), we also got to see the nearby town where we could possibly rent a mud-walled, tin-roofed house. Probably the best experience we had was the opportunity to join one particular Gmz village’s Wednesday night prayer service. Thankfully, the Canadians had a strong Land Cruiser to navigate a VERY rough road out to the village. Upon our arrival, we were greeted by a whole crowd of dark Gmz faces of all ages. We were introduced to two men, one Gmz and the other a lighter-skinned highlander, who are the evangelists stationed in this particular village. Before too long we were ushered into a classroom (which is used for the primary school) and the Gmz evangelist opened the service in prayer. From this opening prayer and throughout the service, we were excited that we understood 0% of it! Why would be excited about that? Because, that means this Gmz church is not using ANY Amharic in their worship or teaching, only Gmz. Oh, I take that back, there was one part that was in Amharic – the two Scripture readings. Our hearts resonated with the scene as Gmz believers were using their mother-tongue in worshipping the same Trinitarian God that we worship in English. And yet, God’s words through Scripture came back in a foreign tongue. We can’t wait until the day when Gmz Scriptures are read and preached in this very same place, that is, unless they have outgrown this small classroom by then.

The Holy Spirit is REALLY at work in this particular village, as just the Sunday before, it had its first baptism service, which we had heard was a moving time for those who were baptized and those who are still wrestling with the decision to follow Christ 100%. It seems the Gmz take baptism VERY seriously, as it should be. They seem to understand it as the public declaration of breaking from a non-Christian past and whole-heartedly being sold out to Christ. What a privilege we have to contribute to what the Holy Spirit is already doing among these precious people.

Ps. I have tried to attach an audio file as well (I hope it works). It has an English song that had been translated into Gmz, then a bit of the sermon and then a closing song that is written in the Gumuz call-response style.