|
From
the age of seven years I knew within myself I was destined for Africa.
 |
 |
| Shaz |
When
I was 14 years I got down on my knees and prayed for the Most High
God to lead me right to him, I wanted to be where he was, it was
time to change my life.
I
decided to follow the teachings of his Majesty Haile Selassie I
who is from the direct bloodline
of Solomon.
Ethiopia
is the land where God loves to be and it's the place where I wanted
to be. Every time I read my Bible it kept reaffirming that Ethiopia
was the place to be.
There's
no place like Ethiopia...
It
took a long time but finally I was going to be in a place I felt
was home. The anticipation I felt in my heart on my first visit
to Ethiopia was so overwhelming. What would I find? What would it
be like? Would I hate it or love it?
When
I got to Ethiopia I instantly fell in love with it. I was home.
I never felt any fear at all; it felt like I had lived there all
my life. It was amazing!
|
 |
| Breathtaking
views across Ethiopia |
The
capital, Addis Ababa, was surrounded by beautiful mountains. What
a glorious site to behold. The city was unbelievable, the buildings
were huge and arches spanned the road of the stadium. The place
was majestic.
I
kept imagining the place when Haile Selassie I ruled. It was so
regal, the paint a little worn but never the less anyone could see
it for its glory.
In
God's place...
Never
in my life have I ever felt such a spirit, the spirit of God reigned,
and everywhere I went he was there. I was amongst a nation of people
who glorified God to the fullest.
But
where God reigns we know Satan has to be there somewhere and how
the beggars reigned. I had never saw so many beggars in my life.
The
poverty was a sight to see...
|
 |
| Ethiopian
child |
How
come there were so many shantytowns and on the other extreme so
many rich people? It's everywhere, the rich getting richer and the
poor getting poorer. But it's a written prophecy and because the
word of God is true, the prophecy must be fulfilled.
The
reality of the poor hit me hard. At night, the streets were filled
with elders sleeping in and outside the churches, the poverty was
a sight to see.
Our
journey of baptism...
I visited
all the palaces and places of interest but most of all the churches,
as I was on the journey of baptism. The Bible states if you are
not baptised by water you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. So
the journey began.
There
where quite a few of us who went to Lalibella to get baptised, it
was a really exciting time for all. We hired a jeep that came with
a driver and off we went to travel the hills of beautiful Ethiopia.
We
passed through Shashamane, driving down the kings' highway. What
a feeling being on the road that we have heard about for most of
our life and now to be driving on it, the feeling was awesome!
Everyone
in the jeep was excited as we passed through Bardar, the second
city. It was out of this world, I really never expected to see palm
trees. It was so clean, I liked this place a lot.
We
climbed mountains, walked over valleys and crossed a river in a
tiny banana boat, which was made from banana leaves. Very scary
but brilliant.
Reaching
Lalibella ...
On
the road to Lalibella we were in a gorge for four hours and we went
up and up and up. We went through four sets of clouds. When God
talks about the heavens, he meant the heavens and it was amazing.
The journey went on forever but finally we reached Lalibella.
|
 |
|
Sunset
over Lalibella
Take
a look at pictures taken during Sharon's memorable trip to
Ethiopia.
Gallery one
Gallery two
|
It
felt like we had been taken back 2000 years. We were walking and
talking with Christ. Well that's what it felt like.
(smile)
It
was wonderful seeing the rock churches in the flesh. We were taken
on a tour of the churches starting in one area of the village and
ending up in nother.
A
test of faith...
Our
guides who were deacons of the church took us through the tunnels
that lead to all the different churches. There was one tunnel that
was pitch black, you could not see anything a centimetre in front
of you. All the guides kept saying to us was walk to the left and
don't stop.
What
a test for us all. Some of the people were so scared they couldn't
believe what they had just done. The priests call it Satan's Walk
but we are more than conquerors and so we conquered.
|
 |
Gabriel's
Ladder - the walk
of faith |
Just
when thought it couldn't get any worse they took us to Gabriel's
Ladder the walk of faith. It was roughly a metre wide and 300 feet
at its peak with nothing either side and we had to walk up to the
top.
This
experience had to be the most frightening because if we had lost
our focus in any way, we may not have been here to talk about it.
Accepting
Christ as our personal saviour...
Because
the village knew that we had come for baptism they appointed us
a teacher to make sure we were ready in our faith, as we were soon
to become orthodox. How brilliant being part of the original faith.
For all of us on the journey, it was blessings all the way.
We
spent time with our teacher who was very impressed by our knowledge
of Christ and the bible. He knew that we were ready to accept Christ
as our personal saviour.
However
before we could do this everyone had to fast, no fluid or solids
to pass our mouth for nearly 24hrs, because we were about to eat
and drink of the body and blood of Christ. I
was scared but in a nice way if you know what I mean.
His
majesty is the head of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and has led
us to this point. Words cannot express the overwhelming sensation
of how we all felt. Knowing that God will never leave us or forsake
us and if we knock he will open and if we seek, we will find. Now
isn't that good to know. (Smile)
An
experience of a lifetime...
|
 |
|
Waiting
to be baptised
|
We
got baptised on January 19th (1999) the same night that Christ got
baptised. It's called Timkot Day. The Ethiopians celebrate for days
leading to this night.
What
a blessing it was for everyone, there were people singing and chanting
and praying. It was a sight to behold; the colours of the rainbow
shined bright the spirit of God manifested.
All
we can do is smile at the memory of the experience and what an experience
of a lifetime it was.
One
Love, Sharon
|
Rastafari
means:-
