One goal for this trip next week—and I don’t know if I’ll pull it off—is to spend a half a day or so at a town in Ethiopia that has no electricity and no cell phone coverage, and never has had it. In the small and large cities, power and Western amenities are generally available. But I’m told there are many of these unplugged towns, easy to find and access. We’ll see.
This may not sound so unusual. There are many places in the world, particularly in Africa, where electronic technology is still unavailable. But in the town I will visit, likely in Northern Ethiopia, a church will be in the center of the town and they will have worshipped Jesus Christ for over 1500 years.
This is something difficult for Westerners to wrap their head around. We associate backwardness with paganism. We think Christianity and technology are a package that the West started bringing to the undeveloped nations of Africa in the 1800s. “Unenlightened” peoples get updated on both religion and science. Well, in Ethiopia, they may be behind on technology (or simply relieved of it), but they are centuries ahead of us in living out Jesus Christ in their culture.
If I find my town this trip, I will spend time talking to various people and will get good shots and amateur film of their activities. It will be a scouting job for a return visit to film a professional documentary.
(Note: Levi and I still have an $1100 outstanding need for this trip. Visit here for more information.)