Addis*
Mmmm! - injera piled with Ethiopian stews and salads
About this time last month I was praying for God to open a job for me at Borders, and was disappointed when this prayer was not answered. God certainly has a way of turning supposedly unanswered prayers into divine opportunities. Even though Tana (a local Ethiopian restaurant) was right under my nose, I would not have seriously considered it had not other options closed. He knows what He’s doing.
This will be a challenge for sure; I’ve never waited tables before… it’s been a while since I’ve worked 8 hours on my feet… and I have a long and unusual menu to commit to memory! But I like challenges. I need this change of pace. I need to see God working in different ways around me. This is definitely good.
In Ethiopia, there is a tradition that goes on around meal time among friends and strangers alike. It’s called gursha. This is when someone near you rolls up some stew in injera (a pancake-like flatbread) and offers it to you. It is extremely impolite to refuse, as this gesture symbolizes friendship and trust, in keeping with an Ethiopian proverb: “those who eat from the same plate will not betray each other” (source).
You could say, in a round-about way, that God’s providing this job for me is His display of the gursha tradition. It may be uncomfortable for westerners to be fed from a stranger’s hand, especially when the food in question is unfamiliar as well. Likewise, we have the choice to either receive or deny challenges that God presents. But the beautiful part is that with God, anything that we obediently accept for His glory turns out to be a blessing too. Even if it looks scary at first. And I know my God. He is no stranger. He is good. Even if I don’t understand straight away.
Saturday is my first day at Tana. I have chosen to accept this part of the mission; I will be sure to keep all of you posted on what happens next!
P.S. Though it looks a little unsatisfying, Ethiopian cuisine is very yummy. Come and check it out some time!
*Addis is Amharic for “new;” Addis Ababa, the captial of Ethiopia translates to mean “New Flower.”
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Categories: Food, Life, Transition
Ethiopian food, friendship, gursha, injera, new job, Tana Ethiopian Restaurant, tradition, trust
Good for you Sarah!! That plate of food looks absolutely DELICIOUS to me! Having waitress-ed for years in Ocean City, I can only say, you won’t forget it! I would love to come up and have some good Ethiopian food and a beautiful waitress
Maybe someone out there would want to come with me??
Hi Karen! Thanks for the encouragement! I’m sure I will meet some interesting people. I would love to have you! And yes I’m sure I can find a willing assistant to indulge with you in Ethiopian cuisine.
Let me know when you’re in town!
Greetings. I see you did a post about Ethiopian food on your blog. Here on WordPress, I have an entire Ethiopian Food blog, and I’ve written a book about the cuisine. I thought you and your visitors might be interested in looking at it: ethiopianfood.wordpress.com
Cheers,
Harry
Hello Harry, thank you so much for the information! I love Ethiopian cuisine and tell my friends about it all the time! Thank you for the link – I love the in depth info you provide about Ethiopian food and where to eat it in the states
I will certainly link to your blog for you, thanks for commenting!