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Archive
In this section we will keep a chronological archive of any content moved from the main pages. This way you will never miss any important information!
Posted 8/18/2010 in Newsletter
Filip, August 18th 2010
This week's update is from Filip, who recently visited with his parents in Ethiopia.
As most of you may know, I was originally planning on joining my sisters this past Christmas break on their trip down to Ethiopia but decided to push my trip back due to a certain big football game (whose resulting score I'd rather not talk about). As a result, I was able to save my trip for this summer. As you're probably expecting me to say, I had an awesome time!
I wanted to share with you all one of the biggest realizations I had during my trip. To some it may seem rather obvious and that I'm preaching to the choir. To the rest of us, however, I think our days are often too busy to give it any more thought than the little that is often sparked by the media.
What I'm getting at is the kind of help Ethiopia needs. Most times when we're shown pictures of Africa in advertisements, news, etc. we're given the idea that anything we can give helps, "just make sure to give". But from what I learned from own observations and long discussions with my dad, this is not necessarily the case. In fact, in certain areas, the idea of just giving freely has hurt more than helped.
Take for example some local kids my friend Graeme and I met playing Playstation 2 at the local "sports bar" in Soddo. We were only planning on checking the place out but ended up joining in fun and taking pictures with them. As we were heading out with the kids still crowding around us smiling, one of the kids turned to me, changed his expression to a frown and put his hand out to ask for money; basically a complete change in character. When I shook my head to indicate I didn't have any money on me, all his friends around started laughing and the kid gave in and smiled again... I guess for him it was worth a shot to get an extra five minutes on the Playstation (1 birr = 5 minutes of Playstation).
This kid was definitely worse off than I was and could have used some financial help. However, his situation wasn't a struggle for survival. He has grown up in a society where they are used to foreigners handing out money, and probably figures it's worth a try asking for some every time he meets one. I know this is a very specific example, but sadly this child's mentality is one that many Ethiopians share and depend on.
All this is not to say that we shouldn't be helping, but it's to emphasize that we need to be cautious to just giving blindly. There is a greater need to make sure we're trying to help with long-term needs of the country, for example building an economy by educating, industrializing, providing jobs, etc.
Now, I didn't travel across all of Africa or even all of Ethiopia, and I know that the type of help needed in different areas around Africa vary extremely. My point, however, is to not only give, but to research and give. We need to ask ourselves questions, like in Ethiopia's case, how does free food help the local butcher, farmer, mill workers, or even the local markets? Does it provide more than just a temporary fix that may actually hurt in the long run? Let's research and give for results.
Filip
Other pictures from my trip:
My crazy travel companions Graeme and Deborah
Long layover in London on our way to Ethiopia allowed for a little sightseeing
Lunch break with spectators on our way to Arba Minch
Kids waving as we drove by
Ethiopian Wildlife
Posted 8/10/2010 in Newsletter
Kari, August 10th 2010 Soddo
Hello again!
It is still rainy season, but now we have actually had a couple of sunny days, and that is soothing for both body and soul. It really affects your mind when the weather is bad. Now the streets are full of mud and so slippery you have to watch where you put your feet. We had a visit from an America lady last week, and she went to the market one day. Suddenly she found herself laying flat on her face in the mud, and the market traders and other customers cheered and applauded. Too bad I wasn't there with my camera!
Makeshift bird bath in the garden
Asle and I have spent the last weekends when the weather permitted to look around in our garden and take a few walks in the neighborhood. We discovered the first passion fruit from our own tree, and there are lots of birds who find the time for a bath on the terrace. They are pretty thorough with their morning routine here.
Our first passion fruit from our own garden!
As we walked around the neighborhood we took some pictures to show you how the middle class live.
They have nice yards and many plants, trees and shrubs to get a lot of shade.
They are proud of their properties, and if you can afford a corrugated iron roof, you are definitely among the wealthy.
As the pictures show, all houses are made of the same material, a mixture of dirt and grass.
They have doors and windows of wood, which is also a sign of prosperity.
Some even paint their houses.
When Ethiopians come to visit us in our home, they think it's very strange when they see I've hung an old window and an old door on the wall for decoration.
The biggest news for me is that next week I will start on a language class in Addis. I will initially be there for 6 weeks. In the class I will also meet our new next door neighbors here in Soddo for the first time. They arrive from the United States on Saturday, starting their mission service in Ethiopia with a six-month language course. I'm excited to meet them and get to know them before they move in next door.
A big "Thank you" to all of you who still follow us on the web page, and again thank you for your support and for remembering us in your prayers. We need it. The problems are many, the workers are few.
Until next time,
Kari.
Posted 8/1/2010 in Newsletter
Kari, August 1st 2010 Soddo
Hello friends!
As promised in my last update, today I will tell the story of the trial. If you missed the dramatic events that lead up to this trial, please read my July 14th update in the Newsletter section!
The police reports were prepared for both Filip and me before we left the capital. The main evidence, a large cash pile of 100 bills, was locked in a cabinet at the police station. We couldn't stay and wait for the trial to begin, but we had to promise to come back later. Several times while we were down south the police called to confirm that we would come back for sure. They wanted us back sooner rather than later so that the boys who were in custody could be brought to the judge. Unfortunately we had already promised to come to the clinic in Jinka that week, so we insisted on coming back to the capital when it was time for Filip to go back to the States.
Thursday, July 22 at 8:30 am we showed up at the police station as promised. In fact, we came so early that we got to see the morning parade of the police force. When I pulled out my camera to capture the parade, I was politely asked to put it away. This was obviously not a "Kodak" moment!
We began to suspect that the case had not gone as the police had wanted. When we sat in the car with the police on the way to the courtroom, they cautiously asked us to be prepared to stay the next day as well. It turned out we were on our way to the magistrate court to extend the detention of the boys. Suddenly we understood that the case could just as well last one, two or perhaps several days. The main problem for the police was that our good helpers who had caught the boys with the money, were also called as witnesses, but so far they hadn't been able to get hold of any of these witnesses. Out of respect for the important work that the police did in connection with the case, we promised that we would be in court the next day, but only under the condition that the other witnesses could be found.
The mattress factory
The rest of the day we spent making some key purchases, including new mattresses for the guest beds (the old ones had deep indentations in them) and 3 new tires. We have punctured four times in the last three weeks, so our tires were obviously not designed for the kind of driving we do when we go out in the districts.
Another flat tire!
Around lunch time we had to treat ourselves to a macchiato at Kaldi's, the local "Starbucks wannabe"!
Kaldi's Coffee
Inside Kaldi's
The next morning we reported back at the police station at 8:30 am. We were escorted directly into the office of the chief police inspector. Somewhat embarrassed he explained that the police was forced to drop the case. For various reasons they had not been able to find the crown witnesses in the case. We can well understand that this can be difficult. Addis Ababa has a population of somewhere between 3 and 5 million people. Only a few main streets have names. No house numbers, so there are no street addresses. We parted as good friends, and although they would love to give us back our money right away, the key to the cabinet was nowhere to be found! The police inspector promised to put all their effort and prestige into finding the key.
After a long and strenuous day we had a pizza at the local pizza restaurant. The rain poured down, and it was cold in Addis. We had just paid the bill when the police called and announced that the key had been recovered. They insisted that we should come directly to the police station to collect our money, so we did. And that was the end of the story!
Until next time,Kari
Posted 7/24/2010 in Newsletter
Kari, July 24th 2010 Addis Abeba
Hello friends!
We are now back in Addis, this time to send Filip back to the United States, but also to witness in the trial for the robbery two weeks ago. They called Asle when we got back to Soddo, and urgently asked us to come back to attend the trial. So tomorrow morning at 8:30 we will be in the court house! We'll get back to that in the next update.
We have also been back to Jinka; Asle to work and Filip and I as good supporters. On the way south we visited a market in "Key Afar." A very stylish tribal people (the Banna people) were at the market that day and we got some nice photos.
After the market day, the Banna people pack up and go back home.
Some of the local Banna boys.
After a day's work Filip and Asle got a nice hike up in the mountains. Acting surgeon at the hospital in Jinka, Torleif Kiserud and his really fit daughters from 6-10 years old, were climbing up the steep hills like mountain goats. I decided to pass on the trip, as high elevation running doesn't suit me well.
On the way back to Soddo we spent another night in Arba MInch. It was difficult to find accommodation in the city, as it was graduation weekend. The families are always proud to have a family member who graduates from college, so it calls for a celebration. In the evening we decided to try the local fish restaurant in town, and there was a long line due to the graduation parties. After an hour of waiting we got a table and were served the restaurant's specialty; roasted whole fish:
Before we went back to Soddo the next day, we stopped to buy fresh fish from the market in Arba Minch. Last time we were here and tried to buy fish, the market was closed as one of the fishermen was eaten by crocodiles.
This time when we arrived they were in the process of gutting the fish. All the fish remains were used to cook soup that was sold cheaply to the local people. As we were getting ready to leave, around 25 of the locals had gathered around us to hear Asle speak Amharic. Asle decided to buy soup for the entire gang, and that was a big success!
Cooking fish soup.
Two days after we got back to Soddo we celebrated Filip's 20th birthday. Filip, Asle and some of the foreign youth workers took a trip to Amasa national park, about 2 ½ hours drive from Soddo. I had to stay at home to teach my pupils, but also to make a surprise party for Filip!
Filip and his new friends on his birthday trip
On their way up in the mountains.
Boys will be boys... why sit in the car when you have a nice roof?
Back from the trip; a surprise birthday party!
20 candles have been blown out; wishes have been made; let's eat!
Until next time,
Kari
Posted 7/14/2010 in Newsletter
Kari, July 14th 2010 Arba Minch
Hello again!
As I write this we are on our way to Jinka for a clinic visit. It's a 10 hour drive so we've made a stop here in Arba Minch. But this time I want to tell you what happened in Addis last weekend.
We just sent the first group of guests back to America. It has always been, and still is very nice to have friends visiting us. We were back in Addis to see the guests off at the airport, and at the same time Asle attended a two day meeting with the management team from the Haukeland hospital in Norway. The main purpose of the meeting was to discuss the start of an anesthesia education for doctors in Addis Ababa that Asle is spearheading.
In front of the Sheraton Hotel in Addis Abeba
While Asle was in the meeting, Filip and I went to the Sheraton hotel to withdraw money, and then the plan was to walk around to look at the city life. At the hotel I got 6000 Birr (a fortune), and put the money in the pocket of my jacket. When we came into the city, suddenly two young men came up behind me and put a hand in my pocket with lightning speed. The money was gone! But Filip reacted just as fast and ran after the thieves with me in tow after him. We could not catch up with them, but the Ethiopians had understood the situation, and shouted "thief!" in Amharic and it spread down the street. In the end somebody managed to stop them and the police was summoned.
In front of the Police Station.
Being interrogated by the police officer!
We were taken to the police station to give testimony. It turned out the officers understood very little English, so we had to come back later in the day with Asle. After the interrogation I was asked to come back on Tuesday (three days later) to witness in the trial. Asle had to explain that we were on our way south to the clinic visit in Jinka and unfortunately had no time to wait in the capital. So I had to leave the money as evidence in the trial. Now we must return to the police station the next time we are in Addis and retrieve the money. Yeah, this is the second time I have been robbed in Addis, so now I will definitely look over my shoulder more often than before, but I'm still not really frightened.
Of other news we can mention that this month we received the "Yard of the month" award! The competition was started on our own initiative after we bought a manual mower last time we were in Addis. See the picture of the proud garden boy.
Greetings from
Kari
Posted 7/8/2010 in Newsletter
Kari, July 8th 2010 Addis Abeba
Hello friends!
We are now back in Addis to take our visitors to the airport. Graeme and Deborah are returning to the US today, but we're happy that Filip will stay another couple of weeks with us. 
Filling up the car to go back to Soddo
It's already been two weeks since they arrived, and the first week we spent in Soddo to let them adjust to both time difference and elevation. 
Butter distributor in Soddo
The butter is packaged in retail size pouches, ready for resale.
Local bakery in Soddo
Eager candidates...
Having added another work week behind us, we took a trip to Arba Minch the next weekend. 
We made a stop in Chencha to see the wonderful scenery this area has to offer. 
Along the way we had lunch in the open with all the villagers around us, we stopped at a local weaving factory and saw again the hospital area where Asle spent his first years in Ethiopia. 
The next day our first breakfast at the hotel in Arba Minch made memories for life.
We had been served toast, mango juice and coffee. The window behind Asle was open, quite high up on the wall. Suddenly a large male baboon jumped through the window, over Asle's shoulder and landed in the middle of the table. The baboon grabbed the toast from two of the plates, and disappeared through the same window again. We were left speechless, and to be honest a little scared.
After breakfast we went into the "Netch Zar" national park, which this time was almost totally overgrown due to the rainy season. Green and lush, but many places were almost impassable. The car nearly got stuck several times and even felt like it would tip over. Some tourists from Denmark came behind us, and their car got stuck and they had to spend two hours to dig it out. On the way out of the park, we got a flat tire in one of the steep slopes. 
We looked straight down on the Crocodile Lake on one side, and the steep hillside on the other. No cars were able to pass us. In addition, the jack turned out to be too short to lift the car enough to get the tire off, so we had to put the engineering student and pre-med student to work! The boys took rocks to put under the jack, and I said a prayer as this looked a bit hopeless. It was very hot, and earlier in the day we had driven through areas with lots of tsetse flies, and they can bite hard. But fortunately, the flies stayed away and after an hour's hard work we were on the road again.
The next morning when I was in the shower, I turned on the lights and saw a large scorpion crawling across the floor. Just some of the surprises to be expected here, although they are not always very pleasant...
The crocodile is watching us!
The hippo is protecting its offspring
Bird by the lakeside
Back in Soddo we had time to sit down and digest all the new impressions with our guests. Crocodile Lake was probably the scariest. The boat captain took us pretty close to the crocodiles and hippos, but I guess that's one of the unique experiences and excitements we can offer our visitors! I have to admit I wasn't too brave myself...
Greetings from
Kari and Asle
Posted 6/26/2010 in Newsletter
Kari, June 26th 2010 Addis Abeba
Hello again!
Today we are back in Addis Ababa, and tomorrow morning we will pick up Filip, Graeme and Deborah at the airport. We are very much looking forward to their visit!
Green and lush fields on the way to Addis
Notice the power lines delivering electricity to the huts
The trip north from Soddo was like driving through a green oasis. The rainy season has surely brought life to the nature, green and lush everywhere. The fields are bursting with ripe corn and millet, and as far as I can see it will be a good year. We are still a little unsure if this is the major rainy season, or an extension of the minor rainy season. No one seems to know but we'll find out in the next few months.
Busy traffic on our way in to Addis
After arriving in Addis we made some necessary errands, including buying a manual lawn mower for ourselves and plumbing supplies for our neighboring apartment, which is being rebuilt for the arrival of a gynecologist later this year.
I have also visited the International Church where they had a bazaar today. There were a lot of tempting homemade things for sale. All the proceeds go to a good cause and it makes us spend more than usual and with a good conscience.
This time I found some very nice pottery serving dishes for only $ 10 a piece.
Toril trying on a turquoise scarf at the bazaar
Waiting for lunch to be served on Toril's terrace
We were also invited to Asle's cousin Toril for lunch. "Injera wat" was on the menu, this is a local Ethiopian dish. It's nice to have friends in the big city, but she will move south to Jinka when a new school year begins. The main reason she's moving south is that her duties at the Norwegian school and guest house in Addis eventually will go away. The conversation during the luncheon was mainly around the Norwegian mission's new strategy, where the main resources are being focused on Somalia and the unreached Muslim population there. It feels sad, but it's probably the right decision; Norwegian missionaries have been present in our part of Ethiopia for over 60 years; but now they turn their attention towards a nation that for a big part has not yet heard the gospel.
Kari
Posted 6/20/2010 in Newsletter
Kari, June 20 2010 Soddo
Hello again!
A new week has passed and I feel that I'm back in the ‘game' again. 
This week I have had two days with English classes, and it was great to see the attendance on the first day back at school. 15 hopeful students filled the classroom with smiles and joy of seeing each other again. They are so motivated, and it is a joy to be their teacher.
The not so good news is that this week the damp rainy season has brought with it a number of mosquitoes to Soddo. It is not necessarily the malaria mosquito, but it's better to be safe than sorry, so I spent two days trying to patch up a mosquito net for our bed. It has not been entirely easy with a sewing machine that's almost antiquated, but Asle is very pleased with the result as he will no longer get the mosquito net in the face at night. But it's not decorative; just practical.
The old guest house
I have also worked some more with the plans for building additions to the guest house. Being able to receive visitors is gratifying but also very important to the operation of the hospital. We often have guests. Many are foreign visitors who come to help in the work at the hospital, evangelism teams, ophthalmologist teams, architect teams, electrician teams, etc. We welcome groups of 12-15 people who will stay here, from a few days or weeks to up to 3-4 months.
The soon to be 'new and improved' guest house!
The new guest house we are planning has long served as an additional temporary lodging, because we also have a smaller permanent guest house. However, from next January our existing guest house will be home for our new gynecologist, so the goal is to convert the current temporary guest house to our new permanent guest house.
The guest house we will remodel was originally planned to be part of the administration building. For example, guests who stay there have to share toilet and shower facilities with permanent employees. This is a great disadvantage. Currently the guest house has two rooms; four beds in one room and eight beds in the other. In addition, there is a common room with a small sink to wash the dishes in, a refrigerator, a stove and a sitting area. Guests must go through the entire administration building to get into the guest house, which means that the administration building cannot be locked when there are guests present.
I have drawn a proposal to create a separate entrance, installing a kitchen bench with sink, and add two bathrooms. Each bathroom will have two toilets and two showers. There should be access to the bathrooms through the bedrooms, and we must make closet space for guests to put their clothes. We've tried to bring in three tenders, but things take time here in Ethiopia, so we have to be patient. Our preliminary estimates indicate a price tag close to $ 15,000.
Does anyone want to help to build God's kingdom in the form of a guest house?
Posted 6/12/2010 in Newsletter
Kari, June 12 2010 Soddo
Finally back in Soddo, after a long leave to Norway, America and back to Norway. It was a wonderful break to be back with friends and family for a while. I must confess that the thought of coming back to Soddo was a little difficult for me but I do believe God must have had something to do with it because the change to being back here went a lot easier than I expected. I was given the feeling that I had been missed and people were happy to have us back and that did something inside of me, a feeling of belonging. Sometimes when it feels like God is far away from me, He really is at the closest.
Asle met me at the airport in Addis on June 3rd with camera ready to take pictures of my arrival. It was evening and we went straight to the guest house where we were served fresh homemade rolls by Toril Bøe and after that straight to bed. It had been a long trip.
The guest house for missionaries in Addis
School dormitory for the students in Addis
Ready for departure! Getting ready for the trip from the guest house in Addis back to Soddo
The next morning we did our usual rounds of shopping for things that we do not get in the shops in Soddo. Then straight to the car and homeward bound to Soddo. It has rained a lot lately so everything was so very lush and many colors of green. 
When we arrived home to our house I was amazed by how well everything in the garden had grown while I was away. We had planted small apple trees a couple of months before we left on leave and now they already had apples on them. Our papaya tree which was a small bush when I left was big and full of fruit. The strawberry section of the garden had doubled in size and the avocado tree is full of avocados. We eat at least 6 each day! The grass has filled in nicely and grows so quickly the garden boy has difficulty keeping it cut. I think we may have to buy a small lawn mower next time we go to Addis.
The first apples are almost ready to be harvested!
The Papaya tree in the middle of our lawn
Our garden boys are cutting the grass by hand
The garden boys get a well deserved lunch
This week I used my time to get back into routine and get everything in place. Wongel (our help in the house) has been sick again from the malaria relapses she gets and therefore I have had more time to do things myself. And next week it is back to school again and we expect more students. When it is "the rainy season" we always expect more student as the schools in town go on vacation.
I have also started a new "pet project". They are building a small user friendly guest house. I have actually made a drawing of what needs to be added on; two new bathrooms, a small kitchen counter and the small house needs to be painted. There are so many who travel through here; Missionaries, evangelists, doctors, electricians and other guests who live here on the compound while they are here, so this house will be a big help. It will cost about $15,000 to build, so if anyone reading this would like to help with this project, we are very thankful for any extra donation to help pay for this. I am always so happily amazed how things work out. This guest house will be used by the many who are here to donate their time.
And this is as far as my first week has gone and we will be as always so thankful for all of you who send your thoughts and prayers. We have been greatly encouraged by so many of you who support us and the work in Soddo.
Greetings from
Kari and Asle
Posted 6/6/2010 in Newsletter
Asle, June 6th 2010 Addis Abeba
Addis Ababa is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia with a population of 3,384,569 according to the 2008 population census. It is located on a well-watered plateau surrounded by hills and mountains, in the geographic centre of the country. As a chartered city Addis Ababa has the status of both a city and a state. Addis Ababa is often referred to as "the political capital of Africa", due to its historical, diplomatic and political significance for the continent. The city is populated by people from different regions of Ethiopia - the country has as many as 80 nationalities speaking 80 languages and belonging to a wide variety of religious communities. Addis Ababa lies at an altitude of 7,546 feet (2,300 meters) and this is only one of the reasons why a run in the city is quite an adventure. Let me share with you a couple of images from an early morning run last week when I was in town to meet Kari coming from Norway.
Still quiet in the neighborhood as I start my run
The distinctive Addis Ababa blue taxis parked over night
But, the funeral store is open for business.
I was told there was no problem, the coffins would be made to fit
Boys in uniforms going to school
The traffic is picking up in this busy town.
Have your shoes polished for a new day
In the morning the orthodox Christians go to church for Morning Prayer. The church can be seen in the morning mist up in the hill
A priest at the corner offers his blessings for the day
He also looks after the stores of the church
As the Christians leave for their worldly activities they are offered the Lord's blessing for the day
On my way back the neighborhood has come to to life.
Posted 5/30/2010 in Newsletter
Kari, May 2010 Norway
Asle is now back in Soddo and working at the hospital. The first thing he did upon arrival in Addis Abeba was to order the anesthesiology equipment which we were so fortunate to receive funding for. We all are hoping it does not take too long before it can be delivered to Soddo.
I am still in Norway but preparing for my return to Ethiopia soon. We had wonderful days in the United States together with family and seeing many good friends again. And it was so very wonderful to see the dedication and involvement of the church, the support committee and other friends who have shown such enthusiastic support of our work.
The days in the United States went very quickly. It was so fantastic to come home to Galveston and see how nicely the island is being rebuilt after Hurricane IKE. We had wonderful walks on the beach and enjoyed feeling the sea breeze again. We received lots of dinner invitations and the pleasure of visiting with friends again was indescribably wonderful. To feel the support and caring for our work is heartwarming. While we are living and working in Soddo it is of utmost importance for us to have someone helping us from home. Therefore it is a blessing to see with our own eyes the sincere enthusiasm of the Norwegian Seamen's Church and also the Norwegian colony there. Many thanks to all of you who are with on our team!
On our last weekend in Texas we accepted an invitation to the Ethiopian church in Houston. Abate and Meaza and their son Ebby are our good friends and supporters here. During the service, Asle gave thanks to the congregation for their support in thoughts and prayers. After the church service we were invited to Pastor Tesfa and his wife for lunch.
We celebrated the 17th of May on this same Sunday at the Seamen's Church in Houston and were honored to be there for the drawing of the raffle for the collage Anne Sagløkken had donated.
Now I am in Norway. I have been visiting my brother and sister-in-law. I am so thankful to see my brother's progress and daily improvement after his health problems of not long ago. On Saturday my sister and her husband are coming to pick me up and I will spend the last part of my leave with them in Gjøvik.
As always it is wonderful to be in touch with all of our friends via this webpage. I will be writing next when I am back in Soddo.
Goodbye for this time. Greetings from Kari and Asle
Posted 5/17/2010 in Newsletter
Houston May 17th 2010
Home leave is soon over. Kari and Asle are on their way back to Soddo on the 19th and back to their everyday life working to make a difference in Ethiopia. It is difficult to imagine what a difference missionaries have done in this world. So many small villages and so many people given hope.
Kari and Asle have been busy with meetings and taking care of practical needs. Fortunately they have also been visiting with friends but first and foremost having time with their children.
Both Kari and Asle have participated at different activities at the Norwegian Church and just this week the church had drawings of two big raffles. Last Wednesday Hildegunn Thuestad won the hat made and donated by Marit Doucet. On Sunday at the big national day celebration at the church the collage donated by Anne Sagløkken was drawn and the winner was Nina Othilie Høiland. So far about 5,000 dollars have been made by way of raffles! All wonderful help which the Aarslands so appreciate.
Now we wish them a good trip back and look forward to hearing from them when they are back to work again. Best wishes from all of us who are friends of the Aarslands and the Soddo Project.
Posted 5/15/2010 in Newsletter
Houston, May 15th 2010
During their stay here in Texas Kari and Asle have had a chance to take a trip down memory lane; and today they just want to share a couple of pictures. They are posted below.
The Aarsland family prior to their first trip to Ethiopia in 1963. Guess who the young boy on his daddy's lap is...?
Taking a road trip was very adventurous in those early days! Not exactly highway standards here...
Back at his childhood's home in Gidole, after more than 40 years.
Posted 5/10/2010 in Newsletter
Houston, May 10th 2010
There is a dream in most people of childhood memories that draw us back into what was a good time. Asle Aarsland spent most of his childhood in Ethiopia arriving there at 3 years of age. He remained there until 15 years of age. Though he has returned many a time to visit his parents who continued their mission work there, he had not had the opportunity to go back and relive on a daily basis, the country that has meant so much to him.
Last year the opportunity arose and for Asle, it was a simple decision...Yes, I want to go. Yes I want to give back something to this country and to the people whom I care so much for.
He and Kari knew the days would be tough; the challenges many. But Asle had a dream and the dream of helping a hospital would be a dream come true. In already, under a year, he has come a long way.
Soddo Christian Hospital is staffed by several foreigners in volunteer positions. There are Americans, Dutch, South Africans, Norwegians to name some of the nationalities tied to this hospital. There are also many locals and for them it was truly wonderful to get a new Doctor of Anesthesia who spoke their own language! Asle came and could go right in to work and what a big difference that makes. This makes one of his biggest goals so much easier to achieve. The goal, to teach better techniques to those working there, to teach new anesthesia nurses, and to go out into the countryside and teach the health care workers how they can do a better job. They understand him, can ask questions and know that he knows what they mean. Having grown up there playing with local children he not only learned their language, but knows their way of thinking. Understands their customs and is able to get them to understand newer methods.
Shortly after arriving a new goal appeared; Upgrading the equipment. Asle has worked hard on writing to colleagues in the US and Norway. Some have sent much needed pieces of equipment. Recently though he received an email from an anonymous donor that he would receive $250,000 to buy more of what is needed. Friends in Norway have even used their 50th birthday celebration to raise funds. What a blessing it has been for the hospital and for the people who can benefit from the improvement of equipment.
I know that Asle and Kari are rewarded through many daily experiences that they so faithfully share with us here on this web page. Knowing that God wants them to be in Soddo and seeing that he provides the means for being there they see as their greatest privilege. Kari and Asle will not be there forever, but they intend to be there as long as they see it as God's will.
Now Asle and Kari will be returning to Ethiopia and we look forward to the next update being from them. Thanks for reading. Ellen
Posted 5/4/2010 in Newsletter
Houston/Galveston, May 4th 2010
Asle and Kari are enjoying busy days with full schedules here in Texas and we are all very happy to be getting some time together with them. There was a meeting at the Norwegian Seamen's Church last Saturday and Asle came with a request. He asked if I would please present the team working closely behind the lines so to speak, to help make their stay in Soddo possible. So, let me begin from the beginning.
When Asle and Kari first contemplated taking on the position in Ethiopia for two years, they knew it would be difficult. They realized they would need help. First they spoke with Pastor Jan Tommy Fosse who was the head pastor of our church at that time. When he heard what they wanted to do he enthusiastically said "Great, let us see how we can help". As the Seamen's Churches are a mission in themselves, they cannot support and send out missionaries as many other churches do, but Pastor Fosse took it up with his superiors in Norway, and with the Church Council here in Houston and it was decided they could "adopt" the project. The Aarslands would get the support of the church by us making it our missions project. We dedicated ourselves to pray for them and we do have them in our church prayers every Sunday. We also would give about three offerings a year to them and otherwise assist in raising money for them. Pastor Fosse was convinced that we who live here in Texas would be benefited by looking outwards and wanting to help others who are less fortunate. 
That it would be good for the congregation to be actively involved in supporting this.
Now our new head Pastor, Ingvild Mydske Fallegård, has wholeheartedly agreed and is enjoying getting to know the Aarsland family while they are here visiting. Also Pastor Eirik Aadland-Tappel, our youth pastor/chaplain, has been enthusiastic from the start.
Next then came some of the practical considerations, how to get things to work. Gathering donations from a group of sponsors who want to help Kari and Asle with the financial burdens and make it possible was the number one challenge. Here we have two fantastic ladies who said, yes, we want to help. Marit Doucet is in charge of reaching out to people and getting the word out. 
Inger Ryden has taken on the big job of channeling all the donations and seeing that there are properly kept records of all donations. We like to think of her as our Minister of Finance!
I, Ellen Laegreid, help out with the web page together with Terje Odden. We try to keep all the communication flowing and stay in close contact with Kari and Asle.
There are the many donors who have committed to give on a monthly basis, and other donors who give occasionally. Not to be forgotten are the people who generously give so we can have auctions to bring in money. Right now let me remind you we have a beautiful hat which Marit Doucet designed and donated. We also have a collage donated by Anne Sagløkken, a Norwegian artist living here in Houston. These will soon be raffled off, now in the month of May, so if you have not had the opportunity to buy raffle tickets please do so. You will be supporting the Soddo Project and also have the chance of winning a wonderful prize.
Asle and Kari asked me to thank all of you who are reading this webpage and have shown such interest in their work. They are so uplifted by the fact that there are so many who care.
Last but not least, when we worshipped together last Sunday, Asle and Kari felt the strength of the prayers of the many who are praying for them and their children. Praying also for the success of their work and that they truly will be blessed by these years in Soddo Ethiopia.
I hope I have done what they asked of me. Any readers who have questions are free to write to us with comments. Just click on the ‘Contact us' link on our home page and we will gladly answer you. Greetings from Kari and Asle and from the whole team of supporters here at the Norwegian Seamen's Church in Houston.
A couple of words from Kari and Asle: We're now looking back on nearly one year in Ethiopia, and the challenges have been plentiful. To be able to help people in need and give them an opportunity to become acquainted with God is a privilege. There is no way we could do this job alone; it is teamwork on all levels. We will extend a special thanks to the committee, but also to the individual and corporate sponsors and supporters who have made this possible. The help and support you have given us have far exceeded our expectations, and we see that as an expression of God wanting us to continue the work we have started.
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
1. Corinthians 13, 1-3
Posted 4/25/2010 in Newsletter:
Houston, April 25th 2010
Let me introduce myself. My name is Ellen Laegreid and I am one of the committee members helping Kari and Asle while they are working in Ethiopia. 
Kari, Ellen and Asle at the Norwegian Seamen's Church in Houston today.
They have now arrived home for a short visit in Texas, both for personal and practical reasons. Asle is working at the hospital he is on leave from in Galveston. Kari is checking on their home. Both are enjoying a short visit with their 3 children.
This morning they shared an inspirational update from their work at the Soddo Christian Hospital, with the congregation at the Norwegian Seamen's Church here in Houston. I am wanting to share with you some of the highlights from this update.
The slide show said what words can't. It started with their decision to move to Ethiopia and how the first months were quite the challenge. The decision came at a difficult time for them after experiencing a lot of damage to their home in Galveston after Ike. However they felt it was a calling that they had long been expecting. Asle spent most of his childhood in Ethiopia and always had a longing to return and do more. Kari gave much consideration to this and felt it was the right thing for her too. She prayed and yes the decision was made.
For the first couple of months Kari poured lots of energy into making their place a warm and welcoming one. The job was not easy but Kari was determined and managed the incredible. Now they have a very cozy place where they often entertain other missionaries who pass through Soddo. A home is very important when you are in a new place. You have long and hard days often, and the need to be able to come into a place where you feel peace makes all the difference.
The road trips to small villages, the tribal people they visited, the rural clinics were all part of the slide show. I have been reading the webpage now since it was started and it was amazing to get a little more feedback on some of the patients they have helped. This is truly why they are there. They want to make a difference for the people of Soddo.
Remember the stories that have been here on the web earlier. The two children who had been thrown on a fire because their uncle thought they had stolen the equivalent of less than a dollar. Well, now the girl was finally able to go home after more than a year of help. The family could not pay but fortunately the hospital was able to use money from a small benevolent fund they have to assist in emergencies. She would never have lived without their help. The brother did not survive. The girl is safe with a loving family now.
Remember the child who had been badly bitten by a hyena? Well, he has also healed well and when asked what he remembers of the attack he says the animal was very ugly! Fortunately the child got the help.
Not long ago they wrote about Brook. He had been hit by a bus on a small rural road and had severe head injuries. Asle and Kari stopped, helped and yes, this is the reason the boy lives. Not only lives but they have been told by people from his village he is improving and running again.
There were many other patients they showed pictures of and how they are improving. Asle said several times..."this is why it matters".
Asle and Kari told us how much it meant for them to know that there are so many who are interested in their work. They feel strength from knowing this and really appreciate everyone who is supporting them and praying for them.
I will be meeting with Kari again this week to ask her more questions about their life in Ethiopia. While they are here they need to get a lot done and they also need some time off. So until they are back in Ethiopia I will be doing the updates. When they return to Soddo they will take over again. If any of you have questions you would like for me to ask them, then please just go to the Contact Us section and send them to me. I will gladly try to get your questions answered.
Kari and Asle send their greetings.
Posted 4/11/2010 in Newsletter:
Update April 11th 2010
Kari and Asle are on the road this week, and also preparing for their trip back to Texas on 4/16. In lieu of a Newsletter, Asle sent us some pictures this week that instead of showing places, things and diseases, they focus on the people they are sent there to serve. Asle called the series
Faces that tell a story....
Father and daughter waiting for her surgery.
Another patient waiting for treatment
Just curious...
Selling honey at the local market
Mursi girl
Another Mursi girl with her earlobe decoration
Mursi beauty. In addition to their earlobe decorations, they also also pierce their skin to create artistic decorations
No comments needed!
A man waiting at the clinic
Indigents waiting for their weekly ration
Flies are a big nuisance while waiting at the clinic
A local gentleman
Just one more cup of coffee!
I'm wondering what's on her mind...
The owner of a local store
Posted 4/2/2010 in Newsletter:
Kari, Soddo April 2nd 2010
Good Friday and it is a quiet day here in Soddo. The Orthodox and the Catholic Churches are quiet. People do not even greet each other because it is a day of sorrow.
We have another church right next door to our compound which is the Evangelical Gospel Church, "Mulu Wongel". They started their service at 6:00 am. They have loudspeakers on their rooftop and the service is able to be heard over most of the town. The service lasted for two hours and then complete quiet.
Asle and I were reminded of some verses from 1 Peter 5, 2-4 today. "Feed the flock of God; care for it willingly, not grudgingly; not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve the Lord. Don't be tyrants, but lead them by your good example, and when the Head Shepherd comes, your reward will be a never-ending share in his glory and honor."
We were called to be an example for the flock with a willingness to serve. It is not always easy but we pray that God will be with us and thank Him that He is able to use us here in Ethiopia.
Beautiful mountain landscape in Chencha
Our tasks are many and many unexpected things happen right in front of our eyes. On our way home to Soddo from Chencha last week we had such an experience. 
First we saw the turned over bus, then we discovered the lifeless body in the middle of the road
We were coming down the valley when suddenly at a distance we saw a bus which had turned over. When we reached the site of the accident we saw the wheels were still spinning and people were trying to climb out of the bus. We stopped the car and by the side of the bus we saw what appeared to be a lifeless young boy in the middle of the road. Apparently the bus driver had swerved trying to avoid hitting the child and therewith lost control of the bus and it flipped over.
Asle ran to the child to see if he was alive and he was! He had a bad cut in the head and blood was running out of the unconscious child. The people were crying and feeling helpless. Asle took control. 
The mother and two uncles went with us in the car to a nearby clinic. I sat in the back seat with the uncle who was holding the child. Blood continued to trickle out of the wound.
When we arrived at the clinic they examined the boy and stopped the bleeding. Police came and a lot of family came. Now we had to make a decision as to what the next step would be? Will he survive? Should we take him with us to Soddo? After an hour at the clinic we decided we had to take him to Soddo Christian Hospital if he was to have a chance at surviving. 
An uncle and a policeman went with us in our car on the back seat with the boy. We drove the next two hours on a bumpy road until we reached Soddo. Here x-rays were taken immediately. They showed a big crack in the skull but without the equipment for running a CT it was impossible to know if there was brain damage. 
The child was unconscious and under observation in the ICU for 5 days. Then he slowly started to wake up and the family members around him were filled with joy. The first sign of health was when he asked for some bread and tea because he was hungry. He could not stand to begin with but Asle helped him onto the floor with unsteady legs. 
He is still having trouble with his arm movements but when Asle brought him some caramel candies he tried as best he could to take the paper off using both hands. We are not sure how well he is able to see but he is moving his eyes. There is progress every day. This morning his father had him in a wheelchair and Asle said he looked very happy. His Christian parents have named him Brook which in the local Amharic language means "blessed".
Brook's village
Tomorrow Brook is going home to his village. There is a lot of work still needed and much prayer for this child. If you would like to be with us praying for him we will be happy. Asle and I are so glad that we made the decision to take him with to Soddo and we believe that God has a purpose for this child and his family.
Easter Blessings to you all. Kari and Asle
Posted 3/28/2010 in Newsletter:
Kari, Soddo March 28th 2010
Hello and again we have had a full and interesting week behind us in Ethiopia. Last Sunday we drove to Arba Minch where we would stay for a few days and go to visit the hospital there and two other local hospitals in Gidole and Chencha.
As I have been to the hospital in Arba Minch several times before I did not accompany Asle this time on his rounds. I spent the time sitting on the front porch of Magnhild and Bernt Lindtjørn. This is the house that earlier has been the home of my in-laws. I relaxed enjoying the breeze and the sound of birds singing through the mosquito net. Everything was lush and green in the garden and the garden boy was busily cutting the quick growing bushes. I sat there greeting the people as they walked by. "Tenastelin, dena deratscho? Dena, dena exiabier jemesken" .. which means.. "Good morning, have you slept well? Good, good. Thanks be to God". "Chai tefallegalle?" which means "Would you like some tea?" And if I was going to go a trip into town I would say, "Innei katama hid allo". My new language, doesn't this sound easy??
On the second day we drove to Gidole Hospital. I was able to join on the doctor's rounds and as I am a nursery school teacher, this made a great impression on me! There are patients with all kinds of unusual diseases rarely seen in western countries. A young woman with an abdomen so big it looked like it could explode. Her eyes showed fear and the reason for her problems was a liver which was not functioning. Her eyes were asking as if in prayer for help, but the hospital here could not help her so she was just there waiting for death. Oh, I could tell of so many more patients but now I would rather focus on something positive. Across the street from the hospital area was a small section of huts which had been built for expecting mothers who were at high risk of having complicated births. Here they could come and live waiting for their time to deliver. This is part of the project Bernt Lindtjørn has developed with the hope of reducing the numbers of infant deaths. We also made rounds of the hospital laundry, kitchen, sewing room and visited with the personnel. In the sewing area only men work as only men are allowed to operate the sewing machines! We are attaching pictures so that you can get an impression of the conditions here.
The hospital kitchen in Gidole. Here they are making the national dish 'Wot'
This is also from the hospital kitchen; but here they are preparing another dish called 'injera'
This is the laundry room at the hospital in Gidole
...and this is where they are drying the bed sheets, blankets, etc.
These are some of the huts that were built for the pregnant women
And here is one of the expecting mothers who's staying in a hut.
This is the classroom at the hospital where they do nutrition teaching
The cafeteria at the hospital in Gidole
On the third day we went up to Chencha which is at an altitude of 3,000 meters above sea level. We drove up steep climbing roads which were in poor condition due to rains. When we did arrive we were warmly welcomed and served coffee. Afterwards we made rounds of the hospital but there were very few patients there which is due to a lack of equipment. This is where Asle is going to try to get some simple anesthesia equipment for them and teach them how to use it and maintain it. A part of the problem is, if they have equipment they do not necessarily know how to take care of it or repair it when needed.
This is the current anesthesia equipment at the Chencha hospital. Everything is very old and overdue for replacement.
It was here in Chencha that Asle lived the first part of his time in Ethiopia as a child. He was only 3 years old when his family moved here and many memories came back to him. For example how he made toy airplanes with the twigs from the bamboo trees and how he ran freely in big open areas. He was also able to see the old surgery room where his father worked. Many memories!
This is the surgery room where Asle's father used to work
And the house where Asle grew up!
They still know how to make toy airplanes!
Our trip home to Soddo was a bit more dramatic than we wanted it to be but that I will have to continue with next time I write. The important thing is that we are well home in Soddo now and I wanted to send this greeting so you could read about our week!
I also like to wish all of you a Happy Easter week! Kari
Posted 3/21/2010 in Newsletter:
Asle, Soddo March 21st
Here's a hypothetical scenario: What would you do if you were provided with $250,000 to help other people? If you were living in Soddo, Ethiopia you would have no problem spending the money. The needs here are overwhelming! You would probably focus on the needs closest to you. And maybe you would also consider where the greatest long-term benefits would be. This is a mind game I have been playing ever since we came to Soddo; If I had the money how would I spend it for the better of the people we live amongst?
Well, this is no longer a "mindless mind game". Last Monday morning we were informed by e-mail that a couple in Norway (they would rather remain anonymous) would like to give us the $250,000. The money is to be spent on anesthesia-related equipment at Soddo Christian Hospital (SCH).
The night before we received the great news, we had submitted an application to the Norwegian couple describing the needs at SCH. We had described the old and unreliable anesthesia machines, machines that put patients (especially small children) at unnecessary risk of complications. We had mentioned the lack of proper patient monitoring both in the operating rooms and in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). And, finally, we had mentioned our dream of having a couple of ventilators in the ICU. The e-mail response the following morning was brief and concise: "We see the great need for the equipment. Your application has been granted".
Now we are thanking God for the generous gift this wonderful couple has given to the patients we strive to help at SCH. A year ago we didn't even know these people. The funds they have donated will enable us to improve our care dramatically. I am no longer playing the mind-game; rather I am busy figuring out how to make the most out of $ 250,000.
Asle.
While you digest this information, here are some pictures from Asle's day to day work at the hospital:
Anesthesia provided to a patient that will have his malignant eye removed. The anesthesia tubing is "home-made" to fit the small patient.
We can't wait for new machines!
Our old bronchoscope being used to explore the airways
A newborn is helped breathing
Posted 3/13/2010 in Newsletter:
Kari, Soddo March 13th
Hello everyone!
This week has been extremely busy at the hospital. There are four operating rooms and they have been in full use all week; approximately 15 - 20 surgeries per day. When Asle has to force himself to take a lunch break in the hospital cafeteria then you know it is busy. He prefers to come home for lunch. It has something to do with the use of way too much oil in the foods and sanitation in the dishwashing department that affects his appetite. He prefers his food "fat free".
I was able to make the workers in the hospital kitchen happy this week though. They have not been happy with their salaries and there is nothing I can do about that as this is a hospital decision. But what I could do that pleased them so much was to bring clothes that had been sent from Bergen, Norway. Enthusiastically happy women went home with 3 or 4 new outfits each and were ever so grateful. They were going home to be "models"!
The trip to town the other day brought a pleasant surprise. I was able to buy fresh milk and yoghurt. What an improvement! There is a new supermarket which opened recently in the first floor of a new hotel in town. When I brought Asle there the first time we were served complimentary tea from the hotels coffee bar. Again it was Asle's Amharic that impressed them. When he speaks their language only the best is good enough.
To be able to use the language is so very important. I am still working on this!! Now I can fuss at children in the street, and can give short instructions to the gardening boys. I also can greet people so there is some small progress. I have learned about 250 words and can manage in the stores and I can count to 100. Fantastic!!!! But now there will be a short pause in my learning of the language. I will be going 2 months to Norway and the US.
Today is Saturday and we had a trip into town. We stopped for a "macchiato" at a rooftop café and met many graduate students from Soddo University. Today is graduation and they were all in caps and gowns and so very proud sitting there with their diplomas.
Poverty and wealth go hand in hand here in Soddo. Gigantic contrasts. Poor street children running around in rags, to these elegantly dressed women walking around in their high heels. Quickly you notice that the high heels are in the minority.
And now the happiest news from this week is that I was able to "Skype" with my brother in Norway. For those of you who do not know it, he has been in the hospital in Norway for more than 2 months. Now he was home again in his own house. After 2 months of great uncertainty and much prayer, God has made all well again. We have so much to be thankful for and as I so often say, our God is good.
Greetings to you all, Kari
Below you will find some pictures from the everyday life in Soddo and our local neighborhood. 
Asle in front of the Soddo post office
The new bank building. 
This is the cloth market in Soddo. Where's the fitting room?
And the fruit market
Local shoe market in Soddo. 
And the local food store in Soddo. For some reason they don't accept my Kroger card here!
The new bus station. A white face is always causing some commotion
The local sports stadium. A good view of the owner's VIP boxes!
Back home and some of the neighborhood stores.
Banana plants in our front yard. The harvest has begun!
Posted 3/7/2010 in Newsletter:
Asle Soddo March 7th 2010
The other day I had the opportunity to go with Dr. Mary Vanderkooi to her outreach clinic. She is an experienced medical doctor who has worked in Ethiopia for many years. Her focus is the people living in the districts with barely any other health services. Her work sort of represents the opposite of what we are providing at Soddo Christian Hospital. Using the very minimum of resources she tries to help the patients in their local community. The people she cares for do not have the means to get to the hospital. She is seeing all sorts of diseases although malaria, malnutrition and skin infections predominate. By numbers her kind of patients represents the overwhelming health problem of Ethiopia. I was very impressed by Dr. Vanderkooi's work and was also reminded that the needs of the Ethiopian people can not only be met at the hospitals.
Below is a picture cavalcade from our trip to the remote areas west of Soddo.
This is Mary's outreach clinic in a remote area west of Soddo. The patients are already waiting.
The poverty in the area is overwhelming, and in addition to medical help Mary also brings food. Here they are handing out corn to the poor.
Dr. Mary at work with a young patient
One of the patients arriving at the clinic. No fancy ambulances here!
The young woman is being examined by Dr. Mary
Another patiend is being prepared to return home. Safety is important during transportation!
This young patient had a severe scalp infection, and is recovering after a painful wash
This young boy is about to lose his vision due to vitamin A deficiency
Malaria is a big problem in the area. One of the most serious long term effects is an enlarged spleen as seen in this boy
In lack of conventional health care, the witch doctors try, usually in vain, to cure illnesses with their remedies. The only results are often as seen here; just badly burnt skin.
While waiting in line to see the doctor, it's time for a refreshment!
Family idyll; taking a rest in the shadow
Just to show that kids are kids everywhere; who can resist a dirty car door? Local artist at work!
"I love Jesus" and so do I.
Posted 3/2/2010 in Newsletter:
Kari Soddo February 27th 2010
Hello again!
It's Saturday afternoon, and exactly one week since we celebrated the wedding here on the compound. The ceremony itself was to be held outdoors, and we worked very hard to get everything ready in time. First of all we had four of the gardener boys cut the grass by hand, remove all roots and flatten the surface as best they could. This took over five hours! Next I took the ‘Mission's Cadillac' and drove them over to the chapel where we picked up the benches. They loaded four at the time in the car, and with half of the benches protruded from the back of the car and two on the roof, and the boys doing the best to hold on to all of the benches, I drove back over the field where we unloaded them. (I wish I had pictures of this....) We had to take eight trips before the job was done, but at the end of the day the benches and the podium were ready for the big event.
The following day was the day of the wedding, and we got up at 6 AM and started decorating the area with flowers on pedestals, bouquets down the aisle, etc. Dark clouds were seen on the horizon, but luckily the rain stayed away the whole day. When we were done with the outdoor decoration, we moved over to the ‘Convention Center' were we set the dinner table for 200 guests. They had two table settings to accommodate all the guests. The ceremony was to start at 10 AM, and I had to hurry home to take a shower and get dressed. Just as I got out of the shower we lost the power, so I showed up to the party with dripping wet hair... It looked like all the other guests had prepared in time as they looked very elegant in their best dresses, especially the local Ethiopian ladies. But eventually my hair dried up and I could mingle with the rest of the party.
The bride (Ruth Droppers) and groom (Moges Mulu) with the groom's sister
The same weekend we had visitors from Haukeland Hospital in Norway; an anesthesiologist (Per Anders) and an ER nurse (Olaug Irene). There is work being done to start an education program for anesthesiologists in Addis, and Asle and Per Anders are very much involved in this process. It's still just in the planning phase and there are lots of hurdles to cross. We also gave them a tour of our hospital and they were impressed with the hygiene and cleanliness. When the time came for their departure they had to take the local bus back to Addis as the hospital car broke down the day before. That turned out to be a nine hour trip with many ‘interesting' events, including an orthodox priest in Addis entering the bus with his collect box and a big cross.
This weekend we have five doctors visiting from the US. They represent PACS which is a Christian education program for surgeons in Africa. We have five surgeons in training here now and the plan is for them to start working in the missionary hospitals in the regions when they are done with the training program.
Elisabeth Loland is also visiting, she's on her way from Jinka to Awasa and will stay here for one night. Her husband is working on a remodeling project in Awasa together with some volunteers from Norway, so I'm sure he's looking forward to his wife coming back!
Until next time, Kari.
Kari included some pictures with her last Newsletter that didn't relate directly to the story, but they illustrate the everyday life in Soddo so we have included them below:
Surprise visitors on Asle's birthday
A trip in the neighborhood: Our lush garden
A trip in the neighborhood: Soddo's first telephone booth!
A trip in the neighborhood: Our neighbor's house
A trip in the neighborhood: Neighborhood boys
Posted 2/20/2010 in Newsletter:
Kari, Soddo February 20th.
Hello to all of our reader friends. It feels like a good while since I last wrote and posted an update. Our daughter Sara Janne who was here had lots of wonderful experiences that she wanted to share and therefore the last two updates were from her. Our daughter Maria also had one update not that long ago and now it is time for me to write.
Recently Asle and I participated in the NLM (Norwegian Lutheran Missions) conference held in Awasa. It was truly a wonderful week. We met, and got to know many missionaries who work for the NLM. They were Norwegian, Danish, Finnish and Icelandic.
The week was very informative for us. We were updated on all of the many projects the NLM sponsors and supports here in Ethiopia. A short explanation of the budget and accounting practices was also presented and very useful to learn about. The Mission has decided to scale back a few of their present projects and they will more and more be placed under Ethiopian control. The NLM will instead be starting some new "pioneering" projects in Muslim areas in the west. Very interesting! The host and hostess at the conference were Mr. and Mrs. Loland. They told me they had met us in Galveston! When I found out they had been staying with our friends Astri and Martin Mosvold in Houston, then a bell of recognition rang and I realized who they were. Small world!
At the start of the conference we had to take a short trip over to Addis to say goodbye to Sara Janne who was going home to Texas. She certainly had a maximum of experiences during the 2 months she was here. She has already shared many of them with you on the previous web updates.
Let me tell you of one small episode we had before she left. She and Asle were going to travel in to Sawla on a clinic visit. Asle and our gardener boy went to the local market to buy some bed linens to take with them. We knew there would be fleas and bugs in that area and did not want to bring our own from home. Anyway, they went to the market and came home with some material they thought very appropriate for the trip. When I got home and looked at it I thought what a strange shape so I asked Wongel (our housemaid) "what is this material for?" She could explain to me that this is a shroud used to wrap dead bodies in. Yes, well, for us it functioned well as a blanket!
I have recently had small surprises while cooking. Three times now I have cracked an egg only to find the start of a small chicken inside. I now have a slight phobia, if that is the correct word, of cracking open eggs! Wongel has put the eggs in water when we buy them and has told me if they float then they are bad, but it says nothing about if there is a baby chicken inside.
Asle's boss and his wife from Galveston have just been here for a week's visit. He has gone with Asle to the hospital and observed how the anesthesia department functions here in Ethiopia. He brought with him much necessary and much welcomed equipment which Asle needed. 
While they were here we took them on a weekend trip to Arba Minch to show them the hospital there, and to see the Nechisar National Park, and not least to buy fish. 
Normally fish can be bought after 5 o'clock in the afternoon but this day there was no fish. Disappointed by this I asked at the desk when we got back to the hotel why there was no fish.
We were told that a local fisherman had been eaten by a crocodile the day before so today was the funeral and all of the other local fishermen were going to the funeral and therefore no fish. There are lots of crocodiles and hippopotamus in Lake Chamo. The fishermen normally use small light weight boats but the fisherman who had been killed had walked out in the water that day instead to do the fishing. Not a good idea. It can be very dangerous working for your daily bread here.
Of other events I can mention there will be a big wedding tomorrow here in Soddo. About 350 people will attend and I am on the committee for the party. There still are a lot of preparations left to be taken care of so I will end my writings for this time.
Thanks for looking in. We try to update as often as possible but as you see by many of our everyday tasks and events, it is not always easy to get time to get on the computer and write. However we always appreciate the many of you who think about us and follow our lives here.
Until next time, Kari
Posted 2/9/2010 in Newsletter:
Sara Janne Awasa February 2010
I am currently sitting in Awasa, at the Norwegian missionaries' traditional vacation "resort". NLM (the Norwegian Lutheran Mission)'s annual conference is taking place here, and my parents are in meetings all day (they will give their own update). This gives me plenty of time to reflect on my 7-week stay in Ethiopia.
First a little background info: I am currently in my 3rd year of medical school at UTMB in Galveston, TX (the same institution my dad used to work for). I came to Ethiopia right before Christmas on a scholarship with the intention of doing a small research project on febrile children. The purpose of the project is to verify whether or not the simple measures used in the hospital settings here are able to accurately diagnose the correct underlying causes of fever in children.
I have now spent 6 intense weeks in the Outpatient/Emergency Department at Soddo Christian Hospital working with some of the friendliest doctors, nurses, laboratory technicians, and custodians I have ever met. 
Although there was a huge language barrier, I quickly learned that smiling and laughter is universal, and attempting (and usually failing miserably) to ask how someone's family is, goes a long way. The medical exposure I got was unlike anything I would've ever experienced in the States: I saw everything from pneumonia, to car accidents, comatose malaria patients, patients with intestinal TB, spleens the size of cantaloupes, emergency deliveries, and even a psychiatric patient who believed he was British. He refused to speak anything but broken English.
Like my dad likes to say, I am incapable of saying no to an experience. So when I wasn't working at the hospital, I was making the most of what Soddo had to offer. The great part about Soddo is not only are the Ethiopians amazing, but all the local missionaries are, too. 
Noah with a local worker in front of the orphanage. Sam with the monkey.
I spent many nights at an orphanage where two American boys named Noah and Sam work. The orphanage houses 48 children ages 2-21 and one monkey. The kids are adorable!
There is one set of 2-year old twins who had been separated at birth and have now been reunited at the orphanage. They were inseparable.
We also climbed the local mountain Damota. INCREDIBLE view! On the climb up we ran into a real life Marlboro cowboy who had never seen a digital picture of himself before. Granted, next time I will wear shoes that actually fit and bring enough water for the 8 hour hike it actually is, not the 3 hours I expected...
Every Sunday soccer games are played at the local stadium, and all of Soddo gathers to watch. It doesn't hurt when you know the star player of Soddo Christian Hospital‘s very own professional team, Sam. He stands out as the only "forenge" in the whole league. 
And, by the way, glamour shots are dirt cheap in Ethiopia. Only 50 cents apiece!
To sum it all up, I just want to say, I have had an incredibly blessed time here in Ethiopia. No part of me wants to leave this beautiful country. But hopefully I'll be back one day, maybe on a more permanent basis as one of the desperately needed OB/GYNs this country lacks, God willing.
Sara Janne
Posted 1/31/2010 in Newsletter:
Sara Janne Southern Ethiopia January 2010
Sara Janne is Kari and Asle's oldest daughter, and she is following in her father's and grandfather's footsteps in becoming a doctor. She spent the Christmas holiday with her parents, and also used the time to work on a research project while she was there. We will undoubtedly hear more about this project later, but for now she has sent us a 'trip report' from a trip she took with her father and Dr. Lindtjørn. Read her story and see pictures from this trip below!
This is my last week here in Ethiopia. I have now completed my research project at the hospital, which I will come back to at a later time. Right now I want to tell you about the trip I recently took with my dad, Dr. Bernt Lindtjørn and his wife Magnhild to Sawla and beyond.
As you probably may already know, here in Ethiopia there is a major shortage of doctors. Transportation and health care facilities are also lacking. As a result, women who live out in the countryside and experience complications during labor often do not have adequate help close by. Many labor unsuccessfully for many days, finally succumbing to bleeding and exhaustion. You may think all hope is gone, but here comes Dr. Bernt and his brilliant plan: to teach health officers (the Ethiopian equivalent of a Physician's Assistant) to perform emergency cesarean sections. But c-section cannot be done without anesthesia, and who better to help with that than my very own dad?
The first stop on our trip was Sawla, a town 2.5 hours west of Soddo. There is a small government-run hospital there with a single health officer and a couple of nurses (no physician). Upon arrival we were introduced to the most recent success story:
A woman pregnant with twins had arrived earlier that day. She had successfully delivered the first baby at home (see picture of typical hut) but afterwards had difficulties delivering the second one. In order to get to the hospital, she had first been carried on a home-made stretcher for 4 hours, then had caught a ride on the back of a big Isuzu (see picture) for 3 hours. Along the way she was accompanied by her husband and newborn child. 
Against all odds, she was still alive upon arrival to the hospital, and a successful delivery was performed by the health officer (see picture of mother and her 2 newborn children). 
Unfortunately, this lady was one of the few lucky ones. She had the family support, money, and surprisingly the time to make it to Sawla where there was a hospital. Most women do not. Therefore, the second half of our trip was dedicated to traveling even further into the countryside where we would evaluate new locations to teach emergency c-sections. We drove through mountainous territory, (the very same mountainous territory that my dad grew up in) climbing thousands of feet only to descend on the other side.
It was beautiful. We visited the local health clinics, encountered one of the world's largest goiters (see picture), 
met with government officials (see pictures of administration buildings), provided the town with enough entertainment to last them a while, and finally wound down with a cup of coffee at the local café. I could sense the satisfaction my dad felt by following the Lord's example and sharing His grace through medical missions in southern Ethiopia. (His work is a continuation of a family tradition. My grandparents spent most of their adult lives in this art of Ethiopia as missionary-doctors.)
Posted 1/25/2010 in Newsletter:
Snapshots from an ordinary week and yet extraordinary
Asle January 2010
Busy week in the ICU
The highlight of this very busy week in the intensive care unit was receiving a brand new pulse oximeter. This monitor was special to us in many ways and made the week extraordinary for us. A friend from high school, Peder Solheim, was planning to celebrate his 50th birthday and asked us if they could use the event to raise funds for our mission. We suggested asking his guests to help us buy this valuable pulse oximeter, and so it became. 
The pulse oximeter is essential when taking care of our critical patients. The instrument lets us know the oxygen content of the body and helps us monitor treatment when administering (see pictures of oxygen concentrators and oxygen on tanks). Happy birthday, Peder, and thank you to all your guests who helped us double the number of pulse oximeters in the ICU. (His birthday was actually in December, but buying a pulse oximeter in Ethiopia takes time)
See our happy head nurse on the picture holding the new monitor.
Life in Ethiopia does not solely revolve around the hospital and work. This Sunday, Wongel, our wonderful helper around the house, invited us to her church and brunch at her parents' place thereafter. Although she has moved closer to the secretarial school she attends in the evenings, she still spends the weekends with her parents. This happened to be the last Sunday that Sara Janne was in Soddo before she goes back to the States, and Wongel wanted her to meet her family before she left.
It was a delight to all of us. Even though none of us understood much of the service that was in the local language Woilaita, we sensed a wonderful fellowship among fellow Christians. 
Wongel's parents have thirteen children and more grandchildren. We got to meet a handful of them. It was great to meet such a wholesome, loving, and caring family.
Thanks again Peder Solheim and thank you all our readers. Asle
Posted 1/19/2010 in Newsletter:
Kari, January 2010
Dear friends and family, I am again on my way to Addis. This time we are going to apply for an extension to Sara Janne's visa. We also will try to get our permanent license now that we have a car. We are also picking up Maria who is on her way back from Gondor. We will have a last couple of days together with her before she returns to Texas.
In the car we also have the head of Soddo Christian hospital. He is with us as he has been to the United States to pick up some new equipment that has been donated to the hospital.
But let me go back a couple of weeks. I wrote from our trip to Jinka and left it when we were on our way back to Soddo. We had stopped in Arba Minch where we were asked if we would like to travel south and meet the Mursi tribe. This is a very primitive group of people. The women have the big plates implanted in their lips and ears.
When they remove them the lips and earlobes hang limply. They are often naked and their bodies are decorated by a form of scarring. They cut into their bodies and make designs in the skin as a decoration. The families live together in small huts that they crawl into at night.
In this area live a German missionary couple that have a small health clinic and they evangelize. They are truly missionaries. They have put two containers together to be their home and they buy provisions to last for 6-8 months at a time. If they get bad rain with floods they are totally isolated. The roads in the area are often difficult as is but impossible when it rains a lot. 
A second missionary couple who live here run a school and are also evangelizing. They have built a small house out of tin sheeting (corrugated iron). They built the house in a round shape and the rooms were open and nice, but difficult to describe. These missionaries took us out and introduced us to some of the Mursi people of this village. The missionaries had used a lot of time and effort to look for words and build a vocabulary so they could communicate with these people and be able to share with them the gospel. This experience truly convinced us that it matters for people to care enough to do this and how such isolated primitive people can be reached and taught. Impressive couples sharing their love of God with others.
The next day was New Year's Eve and we wanted to get home to Soddo so we got in our car and started the 9 hour drive. We did stop in Arba Minch and had a short visit with Magnhild and Bernt. We also got to visit the fistula hospital that was built and is dedicated in memory of Asle's parents.
We arrived home in Soddo to welcoming neighbors who invited us to celebrate the evening with them. They had lots of "finger foods" which Americans are so good at. Sara Janne delivered the evenings surprise when she ran home to our house and brought back "sparklers" she had brought with her from Norway.
Two days later some of the young people here gathered together and decided to climb to the top of "Demato", Soddo's highest point at 3,000 meters. Soddo lies at 2,000 meters. They had a guide with them who could show them the way and they saw caves and other points of interest on this excursion. When they arrived at the top they found an orthodox church there and they stopped here to eat their lunch. At this height they were quite worn out so it was good with a rest before starting on their way down again.
Then came January 7th! What was so important with this date? Well, the University of Texas was playing in no less than the National Championship and our son Filip was going to be there in the band. Sara Janne did not want to give up the hope of being able to see this game. She got two young Americans to help her find a mud house that had a TV and satellite connection... and don't you know it, yes they did! They were able to see a rerun and were quite content even if Texas lost.
Beyond that Sara Janne is mostly working on her project here in Soddo. She will later write a bit about this and what she hopes to accomplish here.
This evening as mentioned Maria is to get back from Gondor and I know she will have a lot to tell from her experience there. So as you see the Aarsland family is busily involved in many sides of life here now and we are all so very grateful for your interest and sharing in our experiences. Until next time. Kari
Posted 1/15/2010 in Newsletter:
Maria, Soddo 2010
This update is from Kari and Asle's daughter Maria. She is a student in Austin, TX and has visited with her parents over the holidays. She has been offered an internship with the organization 'Glimmer of Hope', so she will return to Ethiopia later this year to work with this organization. This is what she wrote:
Well I returned to Addis from Gonder yesterday and looking back I can say that this trip was just as much of an adventure as the previous three weeks I have spent here in Ethiopia. The opportunity to travel to Gonder came up in November when I interviewed with the Austin based international development organization, A Glimmer of Hope, for a summer internship. After discussing my previous internship experience, my generational ties to Ethiopia and my love for the people here, I was on the spot offered an internship as early as the spring. As I was leaving the office the director of Ethiopian programs mentioned to me that she would be in Ethiopia in early January. When I informed her that I too would be in Ethiopia during that time she eagerly invited me to join her and a group of grad students from Boston to survey villagers in northern Ethiopia about their current water, sanitation, education and health conditions. This would be necessary in order to assess needs before the organization intervened.
So that is what I have been doing for the past four days. With translation help from a University of Gonder student, I have talked with several village women who told of desperate conditions and situations that brought tears to my eyes. Among other things, nearly all the women I interviewed had lost a child before the age of five. It became obvious that women and girls were primarily responsible for fetching water. They usually carried 20-liter jericans on their back for 1-2 hours back and forth from a dirty river. When I asked how often someone in their household had experienced malaria in the past year a common answer was "constantly."
I am now, more than ever, very happy to be working with A Glimmer of Hope, and I am excited to track the changes that will occur in this village and others in the future.
Maria
Posted 1/7/2010 in Newsletter:
Kari, On the road to Jinka and back to Soddo
When I wrote last we were in Arba Minch. It is still the Christmas week and our daughters Maria and Sara Janne are visiting. We are enjoying traveling a bit in our area of Ethiopia and having mobility with a car to use. Today I will continue this journey.
It was early morning and time to get on the road to Jinka. We were traveling through beautiful green landscape with perfect temperatures. There was a slight mist in the air which kept the trip from being as dusty as it often can be due to the roads. There were small monkeys, along the road who scurried for the bananas we threw out to them. Often we had to plow our way slowly through herds of cattle. We were driving over a small mountain pass which was almost totally washed away by the rains when suddenly we arrived at a part where there was a lot of work going on. They were working on paving a new main road which will lead south. What big contrasts. The washed out bumpy, muddy portions and suddenly asphalt being laid.
There has been an increase in tourism here in Ethiopia over the past 10 years and as a result many come for "safari tours" and to see the indigenous tribes people living in the south. Half naked, well fed children are standing or dancing along the road in hope of receiving a few birr (local currency) from foreigners. They run after the car calling "money, money, money". 
This is a side of tourism which may be in the process of ruining the local lifestyles. Where they used to be afraid when they saw a white face, they now run to you begging for money. It had been 10 years since my last visit here and quite big changes.
In Jinka we are staying in a small house 10 minutes from the hospital. The house belonged to missionaries but is vacant at this time. It is located on a very beautiful green lot but it was quite a ride to get here. No road, just high grass to get to the house.
On the second day here we went to the local market. This is where the Banna, Ari and Mali tribes get together and bring their goods to buy and sell what they need.
The men are muscular and wearing short skirts, often have painted scalps and some with feathers, and beaded beautifully woven materials. So much to take in and so beautiful.
After this we were invited to Torleif Kiserud and family for dinner. They live in the house that Asle's mother and father lived in until 6 years ago. The property is like an oasis. In the middle of the yard there is a tree named, "Guri's Memory". Asle's mother, Guri, had taken a jasmine cutting about 6-8 years ago and planted it in the yard. Now it is a big and healthy tree. I have taken cuttings to bring back to Soddo for planting.
There is also built a small straw school on the property where the Kiserud children are home schooled.
After dinner we visited a very impressive museum. A German professor and his students have gathered their findings for this ethnological museum on a hillside of Jinka. They had found tools used by the various people in everyday life and built a straw hut inside so you could see how they lived. They described the marriage rituals, living customs for the men and women of the many tribes of the area. There were many interesting pictures illustrating life in the area.
Today Asle and Sara Janne went to visit the hospital's clinic. Maria stayed home with me. We decided to use the time for the luxury of washing our hair and heated the water as the shower has only cold water now. I had woken during the night to a dripping sound and when I got up there was water all over the floor. The hot water tank had a leak!
I am sitting writing this to you without internet connection so I am hoping to get it sent from Arba Minch on our way back to Soddo. Maria is reading a book. The weather is beautiful and we are sitting on the veranda enjoying the surroundings. So strange the big differences in nature here in Ethiopia. Everything from draught dried lands where they must give out food to hungry people, to this beautiful green paradise with plenty enough water.
It is 12:30 and we have been invited to Hanna Rasmussen (Danish missionary) for dinner. And this evening we are going to visit Margit and Elise (Margit is the Danish anesthesia nurse who works with Asle on the project. Elise is a mid-wife). Tomorrow we start on our way home to Soddo. We plan to stop in Arba Minch if we can find a hotel room. We want very much to visit the hospital there with the Fistula section, dedicated in memory of Asle's parents. We will also look for a place where Sara Janne can stay while she is there doing some research on the hospital and work here. Perhaps Bernt and Magnhild Lindtjørn are back from Tanzania and we will be able to see them. Asle is going to work with Bernt after Christmas on a project out in the districts. This is the project teaching health workers out in the rural areas updated and better methods.
New Year's Eve we will be back in Soddo and celebrate together with the staff there. Our year starts anew and we look forward to our work with enthusiasm. Thanks for reading and sharing in our experiences here. We truly value this time with you on these pages. Kari
Posted 1/2/2010 in Newsletter:
Kari, Happy Holidays 2009-2010
Again Seasons Greetings from Asle and myself and now our two daughters who arrived right before Christmas. Maria arrived on the 17th late in the evening and without her luggage. Two days we waited and thankfully the next KLM flight had the missing suitcases. It was very good for Maria to be able to get into her own clothes again though in the meanwhile fortunately had been able to borrow some from me. Sara Janne was arriving in a couple of days so we stayed in Addis while waiting and used the time to absorb some of the country's history.
We visited the palace of the late Emperor Haile Selassie, the old emperor's palace of Menelik II, and the Trinity church where Haile Selassie was coronated and later buried.
Finally the day came for Sara Janne to arrive, which she did bags and all thankfully. We left the same day on our trip southwards to Awasa (Hawassa). There had been a long draught in this area of Ethiopia so it was truly a desert landscape we traveled through. We arrived at our destination by sunset which is important here, so we could settle in before it got dark. We were not able to get our favorite house number 1 where there is a fantastic view and hyenas crying right behind the fence at night, but did get house number 6 which we shared with missionaries from Woito. The following day we walked into town to see the local morning life of people here.
Awasa has developed into a very nice small town by Ethiopian standards. On our way back to our lodgings we took a "budgi" which is a 3 wheeler used as a taxi. We passed by the local fish market and it did not smell very good there. Heat and lack of ice do not do well for fish. There were storks there snapping up what they could of the remainders of fish and were more like vultures. Not pleasant to see but part of natures cleaning up brigade.
We stayed two nights in Awasa and then headed home to Soddo. It was the 23rd of December and much activity on the compound. We joined in with all the decorating and making gingerbread men. In the evening we had what they call in the United States White Elephant gifts. Everyone brings a wrapped present and after everyone pulls a number the person who gets number 1 starts by being able to choose a present. The next person with number 2 can then either steal the gift from number 1 if he liked it or choose another of the presents there. It was quite entertaining.
On Christmas Eve each family stayed to themselves and celebrated with their own customs. We had our traditional Thanksgiving dinner (exchanging chicken for turkey) as more typically Norwegian cuts of meat like pinnekjøtt are not found here.
And there were shepherds in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 
We also changed our usual dessert of caramel pudding to mango porridge. We had been so busy during the day decorating and cooking that it was not until after the Christmas meal that we helped the girls with unpacking their suitcases. There were so many practical but simple things we needed, like Ziploc bags, baking powder and batteries; and after this we started to open the many Christmas gifts sent from Norway and the US. It is many years since Asle and I have received so many gifts. Many thanks to you all!
Christmas day we all celebrated together with the others on the compound. First we made pancakes (crepes) and after eating these and sharing in bringing the fillings used, we had movie night where "The Nativity Scene" was shown.
Already the next morning we packed our car to visit the clinic in Jinka. This is about 9 1/2 hours from Soddo.
We drove through Arba Minch where we decided to stop and be tourists for the day. The road to Arba Minch is not good to put it mildly. They are repaving the road but we are not allowed to drive on it yet. It took us 3 1/2 hours to drive 12 miles! When we arrived we were very ready to get out of the car. 
We had lunch and then went to visit the Crocodile Sea. We took a small boat out on the sea and got very close to a really big crocodile.
We also saw many smaller crocodiles and a hippo family which popped out of the water just a few meters away from us. That evening we stayed in Arba Minch's best hotel which was very nice on the outside but left much to be desired regarding cleanliness and maintenance on the inside. The usual mold and plumbing problems.
Asle and I are using this time with our daughters to see many places and share some much valued time together. I will write again soon about our arrival to Jinka and time together there. I just wanted to fill in all our much appreciated friends who read our webpage on what our Christmas week has been like. As you can see we are enjoying being here and celebrating a very memorable holiday. Thank you again so much for gifts, thoughts, and not least, your prayers. Kari
Posted 12/21/2009 in Newsletter:
CHRISTMAS GREETING FROM KARI AND ASLE
Kari, December 2009 Addis Ethiopia
It is Sunday and I am writing while looking out over a field where there are shepherd boys watching their sheep. It is incredible. It is just like going straight into the Nativity scene in the Bible and we are reminded of the stable, the manger and the little Christ child born more than 2000 years ago. A Norwegian song comes to mind:
On a dark and quiet night
you can hear the angels sing
Now a child is born
in a simple stable
Christmas night, Christmas night, the child lies and sleeps
Christmas night, Christmas night, the time of waiting is over
This has been a very different year for us. We have learned what it means to place our future in the hands of God and trust in Him completely. After a year of repairing and fixing our home in Galveston which was badly damaged by hurricane IKE, we were in a strange way called upon to do this work in Ethiopia. Now we are here and the challenges are many. We must be patient as we build trust amongst the local population. Asle has gained the trust and good will of the anesthesia nurses at the hospital in Soddo and they are slowly taking into use the newer and better methods Asle teaches them. The equipment is still a problem as they have very little, and what they have is old and worn. Also pain medication normally used after surgery often does not exist for them. The hospital tries to order new medicine but because of lack of availability they often must wait. Things go slowly and takes time here. The fact that there is such a shortage of lifesaving equipment and medicines makes it so encouraging that many friends in Norway and the US have helped by raising money to buy new equipment. Every little bit helps. Last week we made a visit to Addis to discuss the possibility of strengthening the existing training programs for anesthesiologists. It is doctors from the Haukeland Hospital in Bergen Norway who are initiating this new program. We also are excited that we will soon be starting up the program of going out into the smaller rural areas teaching the health workers there how to better help their patients.
I, Kari, have mostly been using these first few months getting our house in order and readjusting to our new life here. I also am teaching English to high school students which I enjoy. We have many guests who pass through our area and this is also where I can help out by providing meals for visitors.
Our children, Sara Janne, Maria and Filip are doing fine in Galveston and Austin. Sara Janne is in her third year of medical studies in Galveston. She is coming to Ethiopia on the 21st of December and will be here for two months. As one of her electives she is studying malaria and will be working on this while here. Maria is goes to grad school in Austin and is studying public affairs and she will arrive on December 17th. She has an internship after Christmas with Glimmer of Hope. This organization does development work in Ethiopia and when they learned that she was going to be here for Christmas they arranged for her to join a trip to Gondor in northern Ethiopia. She will be together with business and policy students from Harvard. She is very happy with this opportunity. Our son Filip is in his second year of mechanical engineering at the University of Texas. He is very busy with the university band. As their football team has done very well this year he will be participating in the National Championship and means he is unable to come to Ethiopia at this time (I think this is saddest for me the mom). He will be going to visit his uncle in Chicago instead and that I am certain will be very nice.
So yes, this will be a different kind of Christmas for us but the Christmas message is the same! The angels showed themselves to Joseph and said "Be not afraid to take Maria as your wife. The child she is carrying is of the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son and you shall name him Jesus for he shall save his people from their sins"
Posted 12/15/2009 in Newsletter:
Kari, Ethiopia 2009
We have now been in Addis for a week. I will tell you a little about our stay as it was quite interesting and fun.
Upon arrival we were made aware that it was now Advent and we were invited to an early morning Advents breakfast. Somehow when you live in such different surroundings and different climate, etc, etc.... you just forget to follow the times of the year as closely. There are no decorated "palm" Christmas trees yet, but when the guest house here got decorated with purple tablecloths and we put out the advents candles there is definitely a feeling of Christmas I am pleased to say.
We also attended the IEC, International Church in Addis. It is and American church with all the trimmings of a big screen, choir, good pastor and all that accompanies a big church in the United States. Afterwards we went to Kaldis which is a local Starbucks shop. And then we went to a Christmas market at the German Church. So a good and busy day.
On Monday I started the language school here. I walked into a classroom where 8 Korean young men were sitting and I asked if I was the only woman and got the answer yes! Well, they clapped for me and yes, we got off to a good start. Amharic seemed so impossible for me to learn but now after a good week here I feel that yes, I can do this. I have learned a lot and will be bringing this back to Soddo to build on as there are four of us there trying to learn. I am confident that with time we will accomplish this. I will return to Addis at a later time to do another week at the class here for new impulses and inspiration.
While in Addis we also went to the American Embassy to take care of getting a drivers license. We had been told it could take "forever" and with the many people there we thought oh no, here we will be a long time. However, much to our surprise, most of the people there were waiting to make visa applications and therewith we fortunately got our errand finished in 2 hours! Nice surprise. We had to go there first to get confirmation that our American license was valid and from there we went to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Addis to get confirmation that the paper from the US Embassy was genuine. So a long day in offices and we did not get further. The next day though we went to the Motor Vehicles Office or equivalent of one. We sat and waited and waited to only find out after about an hour that, oh no, we were in a wrong building! We were sent to the correct place and very fortunately got help quickly. Ethiopians just are so happy when Asle comes and is able to speak to them in their own language and it helped here also. Asle did a lot of running back and forth and it took its time while I sat patiently waiting, but finally we were finished and had to sign a paper saying that the process had taken 15 minutes! Well, that was far from the truth but it was something that had to be done. We were given a temporary license as the printer needed for the new license was "out of paper"! They have promised us that we will soon receive the permanent license and not to worry; we do not need to come back and go through the same process. What a relief.
Beyond that I have been to the Women's Pottery shop where I bought an advents candle for us, an angel which now has a central place in our home, a simple candle holder and a candy bowl; all for a very small price. It is impressive to see what these women can make with such simple materials. Women work here to make enough to support themselves and their families.
I have also gotten a better sense of direction since arriving here and I am now ready to try to start driving a bit, though the traffic is terrible.
We have now finally decided on buying a car from a Norwegian doctor who has been here. He brought it in tax free but now we will have to pay the tax and this will take some time with paperwork. It has been difficult finding and buying the right car and we are so relieved, especially Asle. The doctor leaves in February. In the meanwhile we will borrow it during Christmas while the doctor is home in Norway for the holidays. In addition we will continue using the mission's car which Asle refers to as the missionaries Cadillac.
Yesterday was a big International Christmas Bazaar in the Botanical Garden. There were many foreigners and therewith foreigners prices which is very high by comparison. Surprising how many foreigners are here in Ethiopia or "forengies" as they are called here.
Now it is Sunday and we again went to the International Church. My head is worn out from this busy week and I was not feeling well afterwards so I went straight back to the guest house. Asle went to meet with the doctor who is here from Haukeland Hospital in Norway. They are planning the anesthesiologist program to be developed here. This will be his focus for the next 3 days. I will be enjoying getting my hair cut which my friend Gro Heidi is sponsoring!
I also want to mention that I was at a prayer meeting for the mission on Thursday and it was at the home of Tone and Lars (Astri and Martin Mosvold's niece). They have found a nice house close to the mission. Tone gave me a very nice book about Addis which I look forward to reading. It is called "Sheltered by the King, by Martha" and is about the first woman senator who worked for Haile Selassie and how she had to flee from Ethiopia when the communists took over. She was a strong Christian and came from a family who trusted in God and depended on his help during their dramatic escape which fortunately went well. Martha is back in Ethiopia and works with homeless children.
Now we are looking forward to Christmas and hope that all our readers are having a good Holiday Season. We certainly appreciate your continued thoughts and prayers.
Greetings from Kari and Asle; Addis, Ethiopia
Posted 12/06/2009 in Newsletter:
Kari, Ethiopia, December 6, 2009
This week I broadened my horizon here in Soddo. I was walking home with Sofie who is an American nurse working here with Equip Ministries. We wandered through many different streets of town and also through a section of better built homes on the west side of Soddo. As we climbed up the mountain side we ran into several of the students I teach English to and it was interesting to see where they lived. The walk took us over 50 minutes by the time we arrived at Sofie's house. There was a beautiful rose bush and a vegetable garden outside, but when we came in it was quite noticeable that it was in need of some paint, some more furniture and what it normally takes to make a house more livable. It is sad they use such a poor quality of materials when building these comparatively new houses like ours, and therefore they just do not stay nice. So tomorrow I will meet Sofie and we will go and buy some paint and get the job started. I enjoy decorating so it is nice to be able to help. When I was going to leave, her garden boy came with an armful of rhubarb and that was very nice. I went right home and cooked rhubarb porridge which we use a lot in Norway in the summers. Asle was so happy when he came home and right away got the milk and sugar to put on it.
To continue the culinary success I decided the next day to bake a recipe that Asle's mother Guri used to make for him when he was a child here. I had gotten the recipe from Magnhild Lindtjorm. I made them in between teaching class, electric Hi power breaks and several other things.. a busy day but resulted in much appreciated cookies. Asle loves all of these goodies from his past and we both feel we have so much to be thankful for.
While teaching that day I asked the students which was the favorite day of the week for them. Surprisingly they answered very quickly...Sunday. I asked why and the answer was that it was God's day and they liked learning about him! There are many Christians in this part of Ethiopia and they are very dedicated. There is much for some of us to learn from them also.
On Wednesday we had the pleasant surprise that we were to have visitors from Samaritan's Purse. Billy Graham's son is the leader of Samaritan's Purse and the World Medical Mission, whom we are working for, are a group under them. They help to sponsor our work here. So we rushed around fixing up and make it nice if they were going to be staying the night. Unfortunately they did not have much time and came at 10 in the morning, did a tour of the hospital, had lunch and had to return to Addis the same day.
On Thursday Marie Ammitzbol came with 3 students from Norway. She is a missionary in Omorate and they were on their way south. The students came from Tryggheim, Fjelltun and Roedde folkehøyskole (a form of junior college)in Norway. Their schools help to sponsor this mission in Omorate and these students were going to visit it and write a report on the program.
I also want to share with you a story from the hospital. Not all stories are happy ones and this one is to show you under what difficult circumstances many of these people live. A father and mother were at the hospital with their teenage daughter.
She had an operation and a bad infection started in the wound. She was put on strong antibiotics but it still seemed like there was not much chance for her to survive. The parents were forced to choose between staying at the hospital and taking their daughter home. They opted to take her home...reason being that it is much more expensive to take a corpse home on a bus than to pay a passenger ticket for a person who is alive. What horribly difficult decisions that have to be made! Fortunately there are many happy stories from the hospital too. This was just to illustrate the extreme hardship so many live under here.
I am writing all this now from Addis. We will be here 10 days. I am taking a language course and Asle is busy at the hospital here.
And we were invited to come to church tomorrow and celebrate the first Sunday in Advent. I was very surprised as I did not realize we had gotten this close to Christmas. But yes, Advent and the looking toward Christmas is a happy time and it will be very nice to go to church here tomorrow.
Until next time! Kari
Posted 11/28/2009 in Newsletter:
Thanksgivings Day and Eid al-Adha; Asle, November 28, 2009
It's Friday and it's Thanksgiving. Here in Ethiopia we happen to have the day off because of a major Muslim holiday; "Eid al-Adha", "Festival of Sacrifice", a holiday celebrated by the Muslims to commemorate the willingness of Abraham to sacrifice his son as an act of obedience to God. Ethiopia has a population that's almost equally split between Christians and Muslims. They have a long history of living relatively peacefully next to each other and thus they respect each other's Holidays.
I want to focus on Thanksgiving. The other day when Kari saw a picture of the bay we used to live next to in Galveston she said spontaneously: "We have a lot to be thankful for". She was thinking about all the good memories from Texas; children, friends, and a nice home. But she was also referring to our new life here in Soddo that is rich and wonderful even though we miss some of the things back in Texas.
If you haven't noticed by now; Soddo Christian Hospital (SCH) is a great place to live and work. The hospital is only four years old. It is remarkable what they have achieved during those few years at this place. Quite often we say this is not man's work but God at work and I believe so. I also believe that it is God who wants Kari and me to be at this particular place at this time of our life. The hospital's vision is to follow Christ's example; teach, heal and tell the patients about the Good News from God about Salvation for man. In our daily work we get to do so. People get great physical help at one of the better hospitals in the whole country and at the same time they get to hear about the hope we have for eternal life.
It seems like a road map for our future work in Ethiopia is emerging. After three months we are about to get a car that can handle rough terrain (we will keep you posted, no pictures yet). Over New Year we will start visiting two clinics that are approximately 2-3 hours drive from SCH (120 km/75 miles). Primarily we will chaperon the medical staff at these remote places. I will be focusing on basic anesthesia that the nurses can provide to facilitate lifesaving surgery in the district. Gradually it is our intention to expand this service to other smaller hospitals/clinics. We are collaborating on this project with a good friend of ours, Dr. Bernt Lindtjorn who has worked for many years in Ethiopia. I see it as fitting that we as a Christian Hospital can give a helping hand to struggling hospitals in our proximity. These first three months at SCH has given me precious experience that I can take with me to these places.
This weekend we are going up to Addis Ababa to meet other friends of ours, and start planning a residency program for anesthesiologists. Two colleagues are coming from the Department of Anesthesiology at Haukeland University Hospital in Norway where I trained many years ago. Along with other friends at the Myungsung Christian Medical Center we will meet with government representatives to discuss the possibility of training anesthesiologist. Currently there are a total of ten anesthesiologists in Ethiopia and no training program for this kind of physicians.
To prove to you the immediate needs here, again yesterday I was able to help another child with a coffee bean that was stuck in the airway. She probably would have ended her life at the age of eighteen months without the service.
Even though there are ups and downs I do see it on a Thanksgivings Day as a great privilege to be here. On such a day I would like to say a big Thank You to all of you that are partnering with us and ask you to join in and thank the Lord who is enabling us to do his work.
Posted 11/21/2009 in Newsletter:
Kari, Soddo Ethiopia November 2009
Hi again!
Today is the big Christmas bazaar at the Norwegian Seamen's church in Houston. I would have loved to have been there and definitely miss all my friends at the church there. I do hope it will be a success and you all will make lots of money for the church.
It is Friday morning and I am home alone. Wongel is sick and the symptoms sound as if she is having a back lash of malaria. When you have had malaria once in your life, you can have back lashes for years. Fever and chills. Asle and I are thinking about starting to take anti-malaria tablets prophylactic.
It is soon the weekend and we will again have time to reflect on the days that have past. We can feel that we are tired but don't know for sure what tires us most. Is it being in a new country with different language and customs? People all around you when you go out asking for money, money, money. All looking to you and hoping for a miracle of a little money. Then there are those working around you also suggesting they have very little and need more. Be it the electrician, plumber, painter or whoever, all seem to be poor and this indirect begging also is frustrating. Wongel, and also the garden boy do not beg. They also get a good meal each day here, a good salary for locals and we pay for evening classes for them which will help them in the future. This is strange to be having so many workers around but at least we can try to help the few though unable to give to everyone.
We continue to have many guests. The eye team that I have mentioned earlier in updates, teams of evangelists, board members from Luke's Foundation in the USA. People evaluating future projects for the hospital. Surgeons and nurses who come for short periods to volunteer their services. Many have never been to Africa before and we try our best to make their stay as comfortable as possible for them. It is not easy for the guests to be able to make their own meals when they do not have ingredients they know or cooking tools. This means we who are living here share the work and take turns with being responsible for the work. This all takes energy and at times I realize we may have to limit how much "extra" can be done.
I have taught two English classes today and still get requests to come and teach at the local school. I honestly do not feel I am competent to do this as English is my second language. My grammar is not strong enough so Paulus, the head teacher teaches that. My responsibility is to get the students to use the language they are learning. To talk, which of course is not easy as they are shy and do not want to make mistakes. We try to use subjects that they know about from their local surroundings. We also read stories to them and have them tell them back. They love Bible stories! Games and contests are very popular and I am always looking for new ways to reach them. We have very little of educational materials for us to use so most has to be made up. Next time Asle and I go to Addis I will try to find some intermediate materials.
I am also still being asked to consider opening a nursery. Asle and I have discussed this and in the case I do this, it will be for newborn babies of the nurses at the hospital. They will be able to come and nurse their babies here and still be able to work at the hospital. This will be difficult though as nurseries are not a part of this culture. I am trying to set up a budget and after this we will have to find out if it is possible. We wonder if it would be better for an Ethiopian to head up this project who knows the customs better. We shall see.
Asle and I continue to take time to stay in shape. Asle likes to jog and has a lot of little children running after him trying to keep up. I use some big rocks to exercise my arms...one must use ones imagination! We both are still reacting to being at such a high altitude and quickly become short of breath.
Yesterday we had a group of girls in on the compound to cut the grass. I mention this because here it is quite common that girls do the heavy work. They were down on their hands and knees to cut the grass with a type of small sickle. Afterwards they carry big bundles home on their backs and the grass is used to feed animals they keep. This is a popular job which many want.
Last week I was going to buy some more clay pots. The garden boy went to find some and came back walking next to a very old woman carrying them on her back! I just shook my head as I cannot get used to this but there is nothing I can do about it either.
To a more pleasant experience...we had a big birthday party yesterday for all of those working here who have their birthday in November. The Americans have an ice cream maker and we had vanilla and lemon ice cream. I baked a cake and made waffles. We were 20 people and had a great time.
My list of new recipes is steadily growing. I made homemade mango porridge for Asle and it was a big success. Asle right away was back in Jinka where Guri served this to him daily. Asle associates many memories with tastes and smells from the past.
This is it for this time. I have written about many daily things. But this is what the update is, a way to stay in touch and share our every day experiences. I hope if any of you readers have any suggestions of ways to reach these children I am teaching English to; please write to me. I am always looking for new ideas to help them develop. So anyone with experience teaching English as a second language...please, all suggestions are welcome.
Until next time. Greetings from Kari
Posted 11/15/2009 in Newsletter:
Asle, November 15, 2009
My last update was written while feeling rather down. Faced with the overwhelming needs here it resonated with my deep felt feeling of inadequacy at that moment. Let me use this opportunity to share with you an event that helped me see that being here does make a difference.
Have a look at the charming little boy with the bandage on his throat (see picture). Thursday morning he came to the clinic with his father and was having breathing problems. The symptoms were rather peculiar. Within seconds he would change from normal breathing to severe respiratory distress and then back again. It was an emergency and we brought him in to the OR (also pictured).
He was given anesthesia, Ketamine, and we made our way down his airways using the old bronchoscope that I have written of earlier. Down in one of the larger bronchus, on the right side I saw what you see in the bowl in the picture, a coffee bean! After all we are in the land of coffee.
How did we remove it? With the bronchoscope I was able to get past the coffee bean and subsequently lift it out of its stuck position. We held the boy by his legs and really gave him a slam on his back. When I reexamined him through the bronchoscope I could see that we had managed to bring the bean up to his trachea (upper airway tube). Now it was time for surgeons to do their part of the job and Dr Paul Gray, our general surgeon, together with his teammates, performed a tracheotomy. This is a procedure where you make a cut through the skin into the trachea (main airway tube). Right under the knife they found the coffee bean. There is no way that the coffee bean would have made its way out on its own.
I am also posting some photos showing that we are making a difference. Have a look at the boy who was born with severe S-shaped deformities to his legs. He is pictured on the operating table as he is about to have his second leg operated on. The one leg was straightened earlier and is in the cast.
You can also see the satisfied and proud orthopedic team, Dr Anderson and his assistant Dr Daniel, a surgical resident, after the job was done.
We do have many sad stories where people do not get here in time. We are encouraged by each one we are able to save.
I will update you if I am able to find out what became of the young man I wrote about last time. I hope that he does return so we can try to find a way to help.
Until next time! Greetings from Asle
Posted 11/08/2009 in Newsletter:
House becoming a home, Kari, November 8, 2009
I am so very happy to tell you that this busy week has resulted in our house feeling more like home. There have been workers here all week doing what was much needed to improve our daily living conditions. For 8 weeks I went in and out of this house and was wondering how I would ever feel at home here? How can I make it a cozy place to be? It has been one of the most difficult parts of my adjustment to moving here. The bathroom toilet had not been installed correctly so there was a constant slight sewage odor. The walls in the kitchen had a strong mildew odor as there had been a leak in the wall. In the bathroom things had been installed wrong...for example shower curtains hung so high that the water leaked out on the floor every time we showered. The guest room was painted in an incredibly strong color so that it took time for the eyes to adjust whenever you entered the room. Tropical insects were found crawling all over so the insecticide bottle was in constant use. Need I go on? It was just not an easy start even if I tried to remain positive and remind myself that I am now a missionary.
We had just been through a 10 month renovation project of our home in Galveston which had been badly damaged by Hurricane Ike. We finally had the work finished there and moved here. It just became very difficult for me. Fortunately we have had good support by the hospital here that I was allowed to get work started. This past week the painter arrived. He speaks little English and I still speak very little Amharic. He had a good sense of colors and we worked together mixing paint until we found colors that I liked. While he worked with this I had one of the garden boys to go with me around on the compound to look at furniture not being used. Found some regal looking chairs and a table that matched very well with the sofa we have in the living room. We also went to the market and found two old and artistic wood doors. I bought them and had them mounted on the wall and after I polished them with dark brown shoe polish...they were great!!! There is a sofa/bed being built for the porch and two bedside tables for our bedroom, and some shelves for decorations on the walls. All this for the house is costing us less than $1000. And what a difference it makes in feeling like we have a place we can be happy.
I have also had a lot of fun with the garden boys and painter. As they speak so little English and my limited vocabulary in Amharic, we have mostly used finger language. When they are speaking to me I say "ischi", which means I understand...and then we laugh.
We have also torn out the kitchen shelves in the cabinets this week. We have filled in and refit the toilet so that is taken care of. The curtains are being adjusted and we have strengthened the rods.
In addition I have taught classes, and had responsibility for dinners for some American guests here. Next week I plan on starting Amharic classes based on Berit Østby's program. Very busy but definitely moving forward. There is a lot more in small things too which also makes it more pleasant. The garden boy has bought some nice clay pots for the garden. Beautiful ceramic pots for maybe 50 cents! We have worked a lot on the garden and it is improving daily.
There are other things that still continue to confuse me. I think beside the language the most difficult for me to adjust to is the Ethiopian calendar and their time. Here it is 2002 and we are in the same month but a different day! And when I make an appointment at 12:00 for us, that is 6:00 for them. Very difficult! But I am making progress and so happy to have so many friends who care and read my emails from here. I do so appreciate all who are thinking of us and helping us.
Until next time. Kari
Posted 11/02/2009 in Newsletter:
Asle, Soddo Hospital, update
Last weekend I was about to sit down and share with you my thoughts on what an anesthesiologist is supposed to do in Southern Ethiopia. All through the week I had been thinking about the issue. I thought I was seeing an emerging pattern of what my function was going to be in Soddo. It is not as if there has not been any anesthesia service here before we came. Actually they are doing quite well, especially considering their aging equipment and limited drug supply. But I also see room for improvement.
During the weekend I was also going to write a big thank you note to Terje Odden who sent us a wonderful Macbook Air computer. I was also going to say thank you to my good colloquies Lee Woodson and Mark Talon who sent us some much needed anesthesia equipment. The Gray-family brought it all with them from the States. And finally I was about to say thank you to all of you who are enabling us to stay here. On those bright days I see it as a great privilege to be on the team of the Great Physician and give a helping hand to the ones that he cares so much for.
What threw me off was the last patient I saw on Friday afternoon right before I was going home. He was in his early twenties, looked strong and handsome. His mother accompanied him. Over the last month his legs had become progressively weaker, to the point where he was not able to stand without pulling himself up using his hands. He had difficulties urinating. It became my task to tell him that we could do nothing for him. His only hope would be to see Dr. Gabriel Lende, the Norwegian neurosurgeon I know in Addis Ababa. Probably he has an intraspinal process impinging on his nerves. No one can tell without a CT or MRI. I told him that we would help him with the referral.
The boy broke down. Going to Addis was far beyond their means. Their only income was selling whatever extra their little lot of land could provide them with. A non-skilled worker at our hospital makes approximately 500 birr a month (less than $ 50); the MRI exam alone would cost 2500 birr, not to mention the travel and operation. The boy was not only crying, he and his mom were devastated. I was unable to leave them like this. I told them I would try to work it out with the doctor in Addis and I told them to come back on Monday. During the weekend I did some calculations on my own and tried to figure out how much I could provide them with. Monday came but they never came back. After all, who believes in fairytales?
Reality is that only a tiny minority of the people that we live among can afford the heavily subsidized services we offer. The full cost of a major operation at our hospital is less than $300. One ampoule of morphine for post operative pain relief costs $2. Not many patients buy them.
On a later occasion I will share with you my thoughts on what an anesthesiologist is supposed to do in Southern Ethiopia. For now I just again thank you all for your thoughts and prayers. I certainly feel the need for them. Asle, November 2, 2009
Posted 10/30/2009 in Newsletter:
Kari, October 2009 Addis
This is the continuation of the trip report from Addis Abeba; see Part I below (posted 10/25/2009)!
My third day in Addis started very leisurely as Anbjørg whom I was to meet, was attending the language school until noon. While making my breakfast at the guest house I had the good fortune of meeting Raggi and Kalli. They are from Iceland but work in the southern part of Ethiopia close to the Kenyan border. They were in Addis as they were returning home to Iceland for a short visit, until the end of January. Out of the blue I got an idea...who is using their car while they are home in Iceland? I asked them if it would be possible for Asle and myself to rent it while they are gone and fortunately they thought this was a great idea. They had planned to have it parked at the mission but they felt this was a better option for them. We are now a step further in buying a car ourselves but as I have mentioned this takes time. So for now this is great as it will give us new freedom on the weekends for exploring and getting better acquainted in our surroundings. The car is now being serviced and we will have it in about two weeks!
We were invited to lunch at Toril's. She is Asle's cousin. Afterwards I went out with Anbjørg and we finished more errands. We spent the evening together and I met two Danish nurses who work in Jinka. Margit is an anesthesia nurse and Elise is a midwife. They were traveling south the next morning together with the Kiserud family and stopped in on their way through Soddo and had lunch with Asle. In that way we also are lucky as Soddo is located midway between other missions and therewith we meet many people.
On Saturday I was able to relax and visit with the people I was getting to know at the guest house. On Sunday several of us went to the American church and it was a wonderful congregation and a good sermon from the pastor. The church was quite full and mostly with foreigners but also some Ethiopians. They have Sunday school and also a service in Amharic.
Afterwards we went to a Starbucks "like" shop and had coffee. Addis is a big city and therewith you have so much more there than other places in Ethiopia. We went to an area with a shopping mall. It was big and modern. However the mall has a slum right next to it. The contrast of poverty and riches becomes so obvious when seen so close together. The extreme is so great.
When we returned to the guest house I needed to go for a walk. Always so many thoughts to process. I was brave and went out on my own and walked to the Hilton Hotel where I met 4 Norwegian nurses working at the Korean Hospital for a period of 3 - 12 months.
On the way home to Soddo I traveled with Magnhild and Bernt Lindtjørn. We stopped to see the hospital where Asle's parents had lived and worked for many years. The hospital is now run by Ethiopians but Asle's father, Asbjørn is still fondly remembered as a "father of the workers".
It has been an exciting and good week and now I am home again. Asle was waiting with a warm welcome home. Wongel had dinner ready and Magnhild and Bernt stayed for dinner too. Good to be home! Kari
Posted 10/25/2009 in Newsletter:
Kari, October 25, 2009
Dear readers and friends, Yes, I feel like we are most likely friends who come to this page and therefore write "my friends". I am sorry that it has been a while since I had the opportunity to write. I have been on a wonderful weeklong excursion to Addis. As you know we live quite isolated in Soddo. We also live on a compound and therefore it feels wonderful to "get away" for a few days.
Randy and Kelley, guest surgeons who have been here in Soddo were returning to the United States. They needed a ride into Addis and I grabbed at the chance to drive along and therewith be able to take care of some things that needed doing in Addis.
Just so you get a chance to know a few of these names I mention from time to time, let me tell you a short story Randy told me....they had been to a local small church one Sunday. When they were leaving the church they noticed a poor elderly woman outside who was barefoot. Randy right away put his hand in his pocket and pulled out the coins he had and gave them to her. The next day an Ethiopian stopped him to tell him that he had been there at the church and had prayed for this woman during the service that she get a pair of shoes. The amount Randy had given her had just been enough and that is what she had bought! Amazing isn't it and also a witness to that we are watched over, cared for, and yes, that prayers do get answers.
The driver brought me to the Norwegian Guest House. I am so lucky to have the driver as I have no sense of direction in Addis at all. After arriving I went over to visit Lillian Rose Eriksen and we had coffee together before going into town together to do some shopping. We returned home again for dinner and it was no less than a very popular Norwegian dish fårikål ("lamb in cabbage"). Tasted wonderful to me, the "bush lady". After this I was ready to go straight to bed and rest, preparing myself for the next day.
By 9 am I was standing on Lillian Rose's doorstep ready for our excursion. First we went to the Misrach Center where handicapped people are given work and where they make beautiful African dolls, wood toys, clothes, purses, furniture and more. They had truly nice products and it was such a good feeling buying articles that you know supported a good project.
From the Misrach Center we went on to a weave shop and there we were given a tour of the work area and shop. There were the most beautiful patterns and colors and the weavers were blind! I took some pictures that you can see in the Picture Gallery.
After a short lunch break we went on to "Hope Enterprise" which is a Christian center where ceramics are sold. Each of these places we were met by smiling and happy people who were also happy when we bought their articles. There is such a feeling of pride for them when they are able to take care of themselves. They are also very proud when we "foreigners" think their products are so nice that we want to buy them.
Towards the end of our day we went into the old Mosvold store and did the last of our shopping for the day. Also went into the shop next to the Norwegian School. I bought a tablecloth and two table lamps. This store was started by Norwegian missionaries who were looking for a way to help Ethiopian women to have a way to earn a living and support their families. They crochet beautiful tablecloths, bedspreads, table runners etc.
We returned to the guest house at 5 pm and had just a short rest before going to the evening mission meeting. There we had a thoroughly interesting lecture on the work being done to translate the Bible into the local language. There were so many difficulties that I had never thought of, for example... how to translate words or thoughts to a people who do not understand these thoughts...words they do not use in their own language.
After all these many stimulating thoughts it was time to say goodnight and get the rest needed for the next day.
I will end here and write again to you my friends in a few days with more experiences from my time in Addis. As always, thank you for thinking of us and for your prayers. Kari
Posted 10/16/2009 in Newsletter:
Kari, October 16, 2009
I am busy getting ready to leave for Addis. I will be there for a week with various errands to take care of. In order to make this trip I went to the bank to get cash for many purchases that must be made. The money here is still very new to me. I took out what is an equivalent of $1000 (US dollars) and this is about 12,500 birr. Picture the stack of money i got from the bank as their highest bill is 100 birr. I feel quite so rich. Credit cards are almost not used at all over here.
Last week it was Asle who got to take the trip in to Addis as he was going to look at a used car and also a washing machine for us. He did come back with the washing machine which will be wonderful. It has not been hooked up yet as there was a leak from the faucet when we tried to attach it. We learn to be patient and soon this will be taken care of too I hope.
Regarding buying a car, that is a long and difficult process. As a new car takes about 3 months to receive after ordering, we are trying to find a used car. Also a new car is very expensive and will cost $100,000 or more. We have someone looking at used cars for us but this is difficult as I mentioned. Usually you get a used car if you know someone. And then there is also the question of how good is the condition. We are hoping though that we will have a car for starting the second part of our project here shortly after Christmas. This is where Asle will be going out into the most rural areas and training health workers in procedures that will hopefully save lives and help save many young women from fistula problems. Often there are no roads so it is very important to have a strong car.
I want to add that I have been to the orphanage again and we have started sorting through and dividing up, some of the many donations from the United States. There are donations of baby clothes, blankets, bottles, diapers, powdered milk formula, and much, much more. We will be distributing these gifts to needy families in Soddo.
But for now I am off to Addis where I will also be meeting with some Norwegians. I am looking forward to this and will write when I am back.
As always, it means very much to Asle and me to know that you are thinking of us and praying for us. Kari
Posted 10/11/2009 in Newsletter:
Kari, October 11, 2009
Asle did a good job telling you about Meskel. I thought I would add my experience and thoughts as I had not celebrated this before and I think I never will forget.
A cow was butchered at the hospital and generously divided up into portions. About 5 hours after the slaughter they brought a portion to us. The meat was wrapped in newspaper. Bloody, smelly and with ants crawling in the newspaper. The thought nauseates me still. I cut out the best pieces of meat and put the rest in a plastic bag. It was given to others who would appreciate it and know what to do with it. I suppose this is how it was done in the old west also and in any case it is part of a custom that is meant to celebrate thanks and it was a generous gift they shared. So this was my first Meskel.
Otherwise it has been a busy and good 2 weeks with the team of eye doctors here. We have provided them with as good meals as possible. I even received some raspberry preserves from my neighbor Stephani to fill in some croissants. A luxury rarely seen in these parts.
I have been volunteering at the school here and teach a couple of English classes. A teacher from a private school approached me wanting me to come and teach for them also. I told them I would consider it but I am afraid I will have to decline. There is absolutely enough to do as is. I have also been asked to think about starting a nursery school here on the compound for the children of those working at the hospital and orphanage. There are many possibilities so I will have to think carefully before committing to all of this. It is sometimes difficult to remember to set limits.
Things are going well at home too. Berunu has finished reupholstering the sofa and it is nice. An electrician came and put a light up in the bathroom close to the mirror. Not exactly where I asked him to put it but now there is light.
Otherwise we are still struggling with how to buy a car. It is not easy. It can take up to 3 months and to get a new car will cost at least $100,000 dollars or more! It is very difficult to get hold of a used car and normally you must know someone for that to be possible.
We have a small store in town where there are a few more items to chose from. The owner of the grocery store heard us speaking Norwegian and recognized the language. He had worked in Arba Minch for the Norwegian Lutheran Mission. When he understood that Asle was Dr Aarsland's son and that Asle knew Dr Kiserud and Dr Olavson, he became ecstatic. He hugged Asle as if he had known him all his life. He also let us buy on credit as the coffee cups we needed were more than what we had on us to pay. Many fun experiences!!!
We are also receiving our mail and it is great to get letters. We also daily receive the Norwegian newspaper Vårt Land. We have the latest Texas Nytt and Utsyn. Believe it or not we also got a FedEx package from Maria. So mail does get through.
Yes, this was the update from the Aarslands in the bushes for this time. Hug from Kari and until next time, thanks for your continued support, thoughts and prayers.
Posted 10/7/2009 in Newsletter:
Kari, October 7, 2009.
Hello again. I am writing after having participated in the morning devotional at the hospital. The message today was for us to listen to God and what he has to say to us. Take time to listen before we run off to take care of our many daily duties. God speaks to us and we must take time to listen. What a wonderful thought to take with me today and each day.
I know I have not written as often in the past 2 weeks. The days have been busy and that is the same here as it is for you who read this around the world. I will continue to get a message out to all of you once a week and Asle will also send updates occasionally. We so need to know that you are all following, reading, thinking about us and many are praying for us.
Soddo is a small town that most missionaries must pass through on their journey southwards. Before arriving we had assumed there was a guest house on the compound but as it turns out this is only for visiting doctors or health workers who are here to work at the hospital. We now have a team of eye doctors and nurses visiting. The guest house can room 6-8 people but the rest must live at the hotel in town. This is Soddo's best hotel but there is no hot water and only a trickle of cold water in the shower. Fortunately the bed linens are clean. The team gets lunch at the hospital and dinner and dessert is served at 6 pm. The next 3 days I will be hosting this. After dinner, the guests staying at the hotel, must hurry back to be there before it gets dark. For some this is their first experience in Africa.
As there is no guest house to be used on the compound, we have started to use the guest room in our home. I was able to get 2 quilts and pillows from the Norwegian School in Addis Abeba. The driver who went to pick up the quilt and pillows used a long time last week finding the school. When he did arrive there and looked around he said " oh, I recognize this place and have been here before!"
So now we have also had our first guest. Terje Hasselgård, a surgeon from Molde in Norway, had been in Jinka performing surgery for the past 6 weeks. He was in Soddo on his way to Addis to fly back to Norway. He arrived in Soddo after dark and was desperately looking for a place to stay. We were happy to have him as our first guest. Now we just need to get a guest bed!
Until next time! Greetings, Kari.
Posted 10/5/2009 in Newsletter:
Asle, October 5th, 2009
Meskel is an important celebration around here. In other parts of the world, particularly in the Eastern churches the day is known as the "Feast of the exaltation of the Holy Cross" or simply as the "Holy Cross Day". In the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, it is an annual religious holiday commemorating the discovery of the True Cross by Queen Eleni (Saint Helena of Constantinople) in the fourth century. One explanation for the high ranking of this festival in the church calendar here is that it's believed that a part of the true Cross has been brought to Ethiopia from Egypt. It is said to be kept at Amba Geshen, which itself is a cross shape fortress in northern Ethiopia.
Last Saturday was Meskel. Few patients came to the hospital the preceding days, as no one wanted to spend the day in a hospital bed. Asides from the Cross, this day is also a celebration of food, good food, and particularly raw meat. The hospital workers organized themselves and brought two cows to be slaughtered (see pictures). Right across from our living room we have an open field where the neighbors were gathered to enjoy their meat. 
Cows waiting on Meskel
The wait is over 
Feast on the leftovers
The next Monday morning we had a slow start in the OR with few patients. One patient though stood out (I have her permission to show the pictures). She was in distress with severe breathing problems so bad that she could not lie down. Furthermore, she was not able to speak to us and explain what had happened. Her family explained that something she had eaten during the celebration was stuck in her throat. Before she came to us she had seen the witch doctor. On her throat you can see what remedies our colleagues across town had been using. They had massaged her throat/neck with something that caused a scald injury and severe swelling, probably heated stones. They had also been in her mouth with their instrument causing bleeding.
Scold injury on neck, swollen face
This is a delicate situation. To help her we would need to inspect her airways and esophagus. But, to do so we would need to put her to sleep while making sure that she was still able to breathe. To my surprise we do have an old fiber optic bronchoscope in our hospital. Although the size of the instrument was intended for small children, this was just what we needed. 
Old bronchoscope in use
Using the flexible bronchoscope I was able to secure her airway before we put her to sleep. With the nasal tube in place we found the cause of her problem. A big chunk of raw meat was sitting right at the entrance to her esophagus, impinging on her larynx and causing her breathing problems. There is no way that chuck of meat would ever pass down to her stomach (picture). With forceps we were able to remove it. Hopefully she will be able to enjoy next year's Meskel.
Chunk of meat
I also include a picture of the patient (along with her father) that stole her doctor's heart.
Father and daughter
PS. Our hyena boy is also doing well. 
The hyena-boy
Posted 10/2/2009 in Newsletter:
Kari tells about a new project:
I would like to tell you about my neighbor Stephani and her work here in Soddo. She works for Christian World Adoption (CWA) which is a part of Children Cross Connection International (CCCI). She is a fantastic woman who runs the orphanage for this organization in Soddo. I visited the children's home a few days ago and by Ethiopian standards it was very nice. Clean and well dressed children. Caring people who work there and the meals are very nutritious.
The children who are there are mostly abandoned by their parents, often on the orphanage steps. Some have been found on a pile of garbage. These children are given a complete examination by a doctor at the hospital. After a few months in this orphanage they try to find good people to adopt these children. If they are unable to find homes for them they are moved to another orphanage where they can live more permanently. This orphanage is under the same CWA organization's management.
Stephani told me how God has helped in this work. She had been so frustrated because they did not have enough water to bathe the children more than once a week, nor to be able to wash their clothes often enough, etc... She got an estimate of what a new water well would cost and was told the equivalent of $350 and she knew no other way to start on this but through prayer. One day a work team came from the USA to help with electrical work here at the station. One afternoon she came home from the orphanage and one of the workers was in her house. While talking she mentioned the need for this water well. The following day he returned to her home and gave her an envelope. Before he left America a woman in his congregation had given him this envelope. She had said that she had been reminded to send this with him but did not know who the gift was meant for but that God would guide him to the right person. They opened the envelope and in it was $350! The well was dug and the first day the well started pumping water, the older woman who donated the money passed away knowing that it was completed. The well is 45 meters deep and was dug by bare hands. I saw the fresh water which was pumped from it.
Stephani also told me about a product made by combining 12 different types of dried corn. She needed help to prepare this for sale and this will be one of my first projects. Stephani also has asked if I can help to teach the workers how to sew sacks which we can use to sell the finished product in.
Stephani's husband Harry is an optician and provides glasses for the population here. Next week a team of 14 eye doctors and nurses will be here to operate on various eye problems/diseases. The team is going to be here 2 weeks and we are going to see to their dinners and desserts during their time here. I will enjoy doing this and it is wonderful how things fall into place and with work that I can help with too.
I may not be writing as often but I am forever thankful for all of your prayers and thoughts. Kari
Posted 9/27/2009 in Newsletter:
Asle, September 27, 2009
Another week has passed in Soddo, another week with major eye openers. We surely are in a different part of the world. Sometimes it seems as though the world has shrunk and differences are not that great. Then you turn around and in the next moment it seems as though we are living light-years away from where we were just a month ago.
I have a tendency to make comparisons back to my earlier years around here. Actually from our current living room on clear days we can see far out in the horizon a reddish colored lake. Lake Abaya was in my childhood an endless ocean that we would cross by ferry because there was no road around it. Yesterday we had a patient from a place near the lake. She was a pedestrian that a passing car had pulled along for quite a distance. She will be OK. She had a bad fracture in her left knee and facial lacerations that she probably will remember for the rest of her life. In this area overloaded busses pass all the time. Currently they are working on the road and in one or two years it will be paved all the way to Arba Minch. Today you can call down to Arba Minch using your cell phone. In those olden days the telegraph was the only reliable communication. No mail service.
On the other hand the fearsome hyenas are still around. On Wednesday morning a father brought in a ten-year-old boy to the OR. His head was wrapped in bloody towels (please see the dark picture). The hyena had attacked him right outside his hut. Before we put him to sleep I asked the boy what the hyena looked like. He looked at me with wide-open eyes and said "He was big". I too remember them as big and fearsome 40 years ago. In the night Kari and I can still hear them howl in the distance.
In Soddo we can go to the bank and withdraw money. Depending on what card we use it will be debited accounts in USA or Norway. Last time we visited the bank they proudly told us that the new building they were going to move into would have an ATM machine. With our newfound money we can walk three floors up and buy a macchiato at the rooftop café at the bank building.
There are several gas stations in town that have their own backup generators when public electricity fails, thus a steady supply of fuel is secured. In the olden days I remember that Soddo was the last outpost where we would fill up barrels with diesel in the rear of the Land Rover using manual pumps. The beggars in town are still plentiful. It used to be that 10 cents (Ethiopian) would be a generous gift; today due to the inflation you're expected to give tenfold, i.e. one birr. To give you the perspective the birr buys me a cup of coffee in the hospital cafeteria (on a later occasion I will show you all what the cafeteria looks like) while the upscale rooftop café charges 3 birr for the macchiato. The current exchange rate is 12 birr to one US dollar.
Walking around town with Kari I realize that I owe a whole lot to those olden years. I can answer the annoying street boys in their own language and it sure works. There are not many white people around who speak their language. People become overwhelmingly helpful when we ask in Amharic. At work it has opened up doors. Yesterday I joined the cleaners, nurses and nurse assistances for their chai at noontime. Only a few of them speak English and they all prefer to speak their own language. It is a great privilege to be able to join in even though my vocabulary is limited. Maybe the most precious moment is before we start the anesthesia. Whenever we start an operation we ask the patient if we can pray together. To ask our Heavenly Father for guidance and protection in the patients very own language makes the moment sacred.
Posted 9/21/2009 in Newsletter:
Greetings from Asle, September 21, 2009
It is time for me to give an update and thanks to everyone who is helping us along so far. A big thanks from Kari and Asle in Soddo.
It has been a very busy and exhausting time since we arrived about 2 weeks ago to Ethiopia. We spent a week in Addis Ababa, the capital, before heading down to Soddo. There we were able to purchase some of the specialty items such as ground beef, plastic bags, and cereals. Fortunately we are able to buy the basics in Soddo but it is very nice to have these extras.
One of the nicer sides of life in Soddo is the climate. As it now is the rainy season we have had some rain so far, but most of the time it is very pleasant. We are gradually adapting to the altitude. We are right at 2,000 meters over sea level which is approximately 6,000 feet more or less. I have gotten in some runs in the neighborhood with a lot of attention from children and adults alike. I don't mind being the neighborhood clown so long as I can get in my runs.
My work has been a pleasant surprise. The anesthesia team consists of two nurse anesthetists who also supervise four anesthesia technicians. The technicians are in-house trained. Given the resources I am quite impressed. The technicians will provide on their own most of the basic anesthesia and it is very helpful to have them around for the more complicated cases. The technicians also do in house calls. The nurses and I cover them from home during the nights and weekends.
Equipment is where I see a need for improvement. The equipment is out of date by our standards. That would not be an issue if it was reliable. As it is now it is worn out and very unreliable. Two of the machines we have deliver the anesthesia gas halothane to the patient at an unknown concentration. We have to use what we call clinical skills (another word for common sense) to ensure that the patient is asleep during surgery. The other two anesthesia machines do not have functioning ventilators. As labor is cheap here we have a person manually ventilate the patient while he/she is paralyzed for surgery. In addition to new anesthesia machines which are very expensive, we have other items on our wish-list. We need functioning monitors. We have no EKG, no capnograph, and we only have unreliable pulse oximeters to monitor the patients.
A major adjustment for me here is the billing system. This is literally a pay as you go system. When the patient comes to the OR for surgery they have to bring along their IV fluids, IV catheter, antibiotics and the sterile gloves for the staff. It all has to be purchased at the hospital pharmacy in the hospital. They can have morphine for pain after surgery if family members buy it in the pharmacy. The price for 10 mg of morphine (one single adult dose)is a full day's pay for an average worker like the ones building the house we live in. I have asked Kari to make sure we have saved enough to buy us one ampoule each if needed. The drugs we use for the anesthesia is covered by the deposit the patient must pay before the surgery is performed.
It is a rough world out there but this is the only way the hospital is able to be sustained. Insurance does not exist. You cannot rely on a patient to pay after the surgery; therefore the requirements are what they are. Unfortunately there are many who cannot afford this small down payment, much less the added costs that come up. The hospital has only a very small fund for the indigents whom we live among. To put it mildly it is not an ideal situation.
Today was a very good and rewarding day though. I was able to use my old skills working with children with burns. We had a twelve year old girl who had been thrown into a fire together with her brother. Her brother died early on while she has been in the hospital for almost a year waiting for her wounds to heal. Today she came to have her dressings changed. She is severely malnourished and was running a high fever most likely due to a spell of malaria. She is one of the few who the hospital is helping financially. She has no one else. Her stepfather was the person who threw her into the flames and accused her and her brother of stealing literally a couple of dollars from his wallet. What was very encouraging today was to see the compassion expressed by my newfound colleagues who were treating her.
I see that I have much to learn from the ones that I work with. There are six surgical residents who want to learn the basics of anesthesia. They are very capable and will be a great asset to their people when they finish their training. My surgical companions from the United States are great to work with. They are first class surgeons who could have made great careers anywhere. They are role models. So I will say we are happy to be here. We believe that this is where the Lord wants us to be and that He is enabling us to do so.
Again thank you all for your thoughts, prayers and other help for us to be here. Asle
Posted 9/16/2009 in Newsletter:
Kari, September 16, 2009
We tried to get our drivers license taken care of today but I am afraid it is not possible from here in Soddo so we will have to make the trip to Addis again. We will have to go to the American Embassy to have notarized that our American license is legitimate and then go to a government office to have them stamp the document from the American Embassy. From there we will go to the Motor Vehicle Department. We assume that all together this will be 2 or 3 days of standing in lines. No one is in a hurry here and all takes its time.
Otherwise we have started the fence around our house and garden. I have been given permission to do as I like with the garden so with drawings and finger language, I am able to show them. The workers are very patient with me and it will be very nice when finished. (See picture gallery for pictures). On the fence we will have a passion fruit vine. Everything is done by hand. The workers don't even use a shovel but dig with their hands or use a stick to dig holes.
Wongel came again today and was teaching me how to make passion fruit juice. She squeezed the fruits by hand. When I showed her my small blender she stared with fascination. We decided this was how we would make the juice in the future as we are better able to get all the pulp with and therewith more of the vitamins. The fruits here are perfectly ripened and full of nutrition.
Asle and I will be tasting our first dinner tonight that she will also make. At the market she bought fresh tomatoes, red onions, garlic, tomato purée and burberry which is a strong spice used here. We have a little ground beef that I bought in Addis and we will mix that into it. Look forward to see how we like it.
On Saturdays we get eggs delivered to the house. We actually tried today to make ice cream with some specially processed cream with a long life, that we also got in Addis. Very thick and very rich. I used a little the other day to make a fruit mousse but it separated. Still tasted good and Asle and I enjoyed it. I just have to keep trying and accept that not everything will be a success.
Asle has now started working and I will write about that soon. You can go to the picture gallery to see the pictures I have sent from the hospital and I will write more about his work soon. Kari
Posted 9/12/2009 in Newsletter:
Kari, September 12, 2009
Wongel was back today and thoroughly cleaned the house. She does such a good job. There is a lot of dust in this part of Ethiopia and as we have our windows open much of the time this means, a lot of dust inside and dusting becomes a daily chore.
Wongel speaks English and that is wonderful for me. We have decided that she will teach me two sentences a day in Amharic. I WILL LEARN!
Today she took the daily trip to the market and bought lemons, papaya and banana. Also coffee beans which she will roast on Monday. I look forward to seeing how that is done! Tonight Asle and I will try to cook meat in gravy. I have used a little meat tenderizer on the meat and we will see how it turns out. We just have to continue trying a little of this and a little of that. Today I also tried to make "sour milk" or buttermilk as some call it. I used powdered milk and natural yogurt. May have to write a cook book one day. I also baked whole wheat rolls and that went well.
We have just returned from a long walk. We walked to town to see what we could find. There is an amazing amount of "things" that can be found for sale in these many small mud houses along the main street. Ethiopians are so friendly and as soon as they hear that Asle speaks their language they do whatever they can for us.
I will write again soon. Kari
Posted 9/11/2009 in Newsletter:
Kari, September 11, 2009
The day started early, 6 am and by 8 am we were at the hospital for the morning devotional. We returned to the house to continue the unpacking and settling into our new "home". I am so very glad for all the very useful things we were able to bring with us.
Wongel arrived at noon. She will be our help in the house. She went with us to the market and I am sure she will be a big help to me. We actually walked to town and it took only about 15 minutes. We bought bananas, mangos, potatoes, onions and tomatoes. We were given passion fruit from Jacki who has them growing in her garden.
I know the days ahead will be very exciting. I will be looking for paint for the house and starting a garden. We will also be getting a fence set up. We will plant fruit trees and vegetables. There is a gardener who helps with all of this. Everything is so lush and green here. The houses have wonderful vegetable gardens.
I plan to sew some curtains and will be looking for some decorations for the walls. We received a farewell card/collage from our friend Anne Sagløkken. I will be trying to get a frame made for it soon and it will have a central place in our house.
There will be two new beds made for us and a night stand. They try to do what they can to help us to settle in and want us to prioritize these things that will help make us more comfortable.
Today is Ethiopian New Year! So Happy New Year. We will be going to dinner at Maureen and John's. Afterwards it is movie night at Jacki and Duane's. All are so good at creating a positive environment here to make it a pleasant place to be.
Asle will be beginning his work at the hospital this coming week and that is of course the reason we are here. Kari
Posted 9/10/2009 in Newsletter:
Kari, September 10,2009
Asle and I have had our first night in Soddo. We traveled together with Bernt Lindtjørn yesterday from Addis. The nature along the road was very beautiful. So green, so many beautiful fields, high mountains and picturesque small huts built from a variety of materials. Then we arrived in Soddo and I must admit it was quite a culture shock. Soddo is a noisy town with lots of life and yes also charm. The hospital surroundings is very well kept and green. We were invited to lunch with Jackie and Duane, the head doctor and his wife. A good welcome.
Afterwards we unloaded our baggage and brought into our house to look around. We have been assigned to the newest of the houses and it has 2 bedrooms, and a big living room and kitchen. There is no garden yet but that will come. When we are sitting at our kitchen table we look out the window towards the sea of Arba Minch. There is also a small sofa corner there.
The colors in the kitchen and living room is a dark greenish brown and with time we will repaint them to a lighter color. One of the bedrooms is turquoise and the other is bright green. Otherwise we have a bathroom with bathtub and a very comfortable shower.
The first thing we did was to start washing down the house and spraying the house against insects. Then we started to unpack the suitcases. Tears came when Asle found the thermometer we used to have in our kitchen window in Galveston. It was so good to see something familiar.
There are alot of new things to get used to. Asle speaks Amharic and I often feel frustrated not knowing the language but I try to not let it bother me too much.
We were again invited to Jacki and Duane in the evening for dinner. There we met Dr John Glysteen and his wife Maureen. They are here on a work related project for one month from the United States. We have met many nice people so far. There are many who work here for shorter periods so there is a constant change in personnel. Mostly surgeons here for shorter time frames.
After dinner we went home, unpacked some more, and went to bed early.
Posted 9/7/2009 in Newsletter:
Kari and Asle arrive in Ethiopia
Asle and I have now arrived in Addis Abeba. The flight from Oslo went very well. We had a lot of extra suitcases, 8 in all, and therewith a lot of extra weight. Fortunately we only had to pay a little over $100 which was less than we had expected. We traveled on a new plane and with good service. We arrived in Addis at 2 in the morning and easily went through customs. They randomly chose 3 suitcases and after Asle spoke with them in Amharic they just waved us through.
Out in the parking area Asle stood and enjoyed the smells of Addis which welcomed us. We found two taxis to take us and our baggage to the guesthouse where we would stay. The taxies (two small Lada's) were stacked to the roof with our suitcases. And now here we sit at the guesthouse with internet connection! Yes, an old computer and the connection is very slow but so it is in much of this part of the world. Here in Addis we only have electricity every other day so we must grab the chance while we have it. But here we sit and are enjoying getting used to our new surroundings.
This morning we had breakfast with Toril Bøe, Asle's cousin. Later for lunch we met the Swedish school children who are using the Norwegian school. There are no Norwegian children using the school now. Afterwards we went for a walk in the neighborhood to look for a grocery store and had to quickly find shelter as the rains came pouring down. We found a coffee house that was very cozy and they had to find extra chairs for us to sit on as the shop quickly filled because of the rain outside. We were the only white people inside and all were very friendly. Asle had a mocha coffee and I had a mochiato. After this we went back to the guesthouse through the pouring rain. We have had a nap as we had very little sleep last night and we needed to be rested to participate at the missions meeting in the evening. We are just fine and doing well! Tomorrow we will begin getting some of the practical errands taken care of before we start our trip southward. This Sunday Bernt Lindtjørn, a missionary from Arba Minch, will be in town and perhaps we will be able to drive south with him, if he has room for us and 8 suitcases!
Asle and I also at this time would like to thank all who helped to make our summer in Norway so nice. We will check our emails often but remember we do not have electricity every day. Also a big thank you to our friends in Houston who has helped us, and is helping us making this stay a success.
Best of Greetings, Kari and Asle