Fellowship in Kifley’s compound

Well its hard to believe another week has blown by. Here it is Sunday and I am just now finding time to post a blog. Sandy and I have had a busy week. Our teaching responsibilities are still taking up a lot of our time but we managed to take a short road trip Friday to Sululta. That story will be in the next blog.

First I want to tell our readers about our amazing family of friends within the compound where we live. Kifley’s compound includes the two story residence where  we live on the ground floor and an office and furniture manufacturing shop.  Several young men live and work in the compound, Sembeta, Dereje,and Desalla. They work in the office and factory and also serve as compound guards, a necessary part of life in Africa. They live in very tiny rooms just big enough for a bed and a few possessions. There are also a number of women who are day workers here, Ababa, Tigist, Salla and two twin girls whose names escape me at the moment. Salla and Tigist have been let go until Kifley returns from Germany in October . Then there is Babashey and Girma  who work days in the factory. With the exception of the twins all are Christian, either Orthodox or the born again variety.

This week Sandy and I began in earnest to learn to cook wat and also to prepare the coffee ceremony. Sandy focused on the wat making and I took on the coffee ceremony. Tigist and Ababa were very good and patient instructors especially when it came to learning to pound the coffee . Sounds easy, just pour the fire roasted beans into the pestle and pound them into a fine powder. Oh did I forget to mention washing the raw beans and roasting them over a coal fire. Oh and getting a charcoal fire lit with out starter fluid. Ababa was good enough to allow me to pound the beans, Sandy took a turn here too , but after I managed to spill some of the coffee on the ground and smack my thumb a good one Ababa  took over. This will obviously require a bit of practice to develop true skill. It looks so easy though?

Tigist was back and forth between the kitchen and the front porch keeping a watchful eye on our progress.  She got me roasting the beans and I was actually ok at that part of the process. As I mentioned the pounding was a bit more challenging.  Next is the actual boiling of the coffee over the coals. A kettle of water is brought to a boil and the coffee is put into the pot,about 4 handfuls then the water from the kettle is slowly poured into the pot, about half. The ceramic pot is then placed in the coal fire and watched closely, when it boils for one minute or so a sample is poured out and tested for color. Serving has its own special nuances that I had not fully  understood until my instructor pointed out my shortcomings. The cups are placed on the saucers and sugar or salt are put in the cups[ be sure to not mix them up] Uggghh! Some folks here like salt in their coffee and sugar on the popcorn.

All this while Sandy has been in the kitchen with Tigist and Ababa cooking Kai wat [meat wat] and cabbage ,potato, carrot wat [wat is basically anything in thick stew form that can be eaten with the injuera] and also a type of rice that is similar to dirty rice.

A true Ethiopian feast. Oh back to the coffee, Sandy made the popcorn in the kitchen on the gas burner but traditionally it too is cooked on the coals.

Coffee, where was I ,Well it seems I made a little mix up and served one of the twins a cup with sugar and salt. I did manage to serve Tigist’s mother her cup with out any error but then there is the matter of how to actually pour. It must be done with the cups on the tray and you start low over the cup and gradually increase the height from which you are pouring. Needless to say I made quite a mess out of the tray. I will definitely need to develop my technique.

I am looking forward to my next opportunity to practice. Good thing we have a compound full of ready victims, I mean guests. So we served a lovely feast to our whole compound complete with coffee and popcorn.  I think every one  enjoyed the meal. I have not acquired the taste for injuera yet. The wat was excellent  both the Kai wat and the carrot wat. Just to make it uniquely our own we also added toasted marshmallows to the menu, after all we had a hot coal fire right there. Pastor Amanuel was invited to share our feast and coffee and it was his first experience with toasted marshmallows. True to form he went right to work evangelizing the twins, they listened courteously to him, we will continue to pray for the girls.

The fellowship we share in our compound is amazing all on its own. An average of ten people are here working in some capacity every day and yet we have a genuinely harmonious environment. That is a tremendous blessing from our Lord. Perhaps it is the peaceful garden setting or maybe it is  the effort of true Christians working  together, loving one another , being kind and tenderhearted, forgiving one another  as God has forgiven us  in Christ.      <><  CW

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