Day 13

Thursday 16th July

We woke up this morning surrounded by the beauty of Lake Kuriftu in Debre Zeit. 

Lake Kiriftu

The thought for the day was excerpts taken from Genesis 1 and 2 at the start of the Old Testament, from The Message paraphrase.

"God spoke: “Light!” And light appeared. God saw that light was good.

God spoke: “Sky! In the middle of the waters; separate water from water!” God made sky. He separated the water under sky from the water above sky. And there it was: he named sky the Heavens; It was evening, it was morning— Day Two.

God spoke: “Separate! Water-beneath-Heaven, gather into one place; Land, appear!” God saw that it was good.

God spoke: “Earth, green up! Grow all varieties of seed-bearing plants, Every sort of fruit-bearing tree.” And there it was. God saw that it was good. It was evening, it was morning— Day Three.

God spoke: “Lights! Come out! Shine in Heaven’s sky! Separate Day from Night. God saw that it was good. It was evening, it was morning— Day Four.

God spoke: “Swarm, Ocean, with fish and all sea life! Birds, fly through the sky over Earth!” God saw that it was good. It was evening, it was morning— Day Five.

God spoke: “Earth, generate life! Every sort and kind: cattle and reptiles and wild animals—all kinds.” God saw that it was good.

God spoke: “Let us make human beings in our image

God looked over everything he had made; it was so good, so very good! It was evening, it was morning— Day Six. 

Heaven and Earth were finished, down to the last detail. By the seventh day God had finished his work. On the seventh day he rested from all his work. God blessed the seventh day. He made it a Holy Day Because on that day he rested from his work, all the creating God had done. This is the story of how it all started, of Heaven and Earth when they were created."

It seems difficult for some to take a day or two of rest at a nice resort after what we've done and seen the last couple of weeks, but I think these verses are very helpful. God worked and it was good, and God rested and that was good too. We have finished our work here in Ethiopia, and the team have all given everything they have- and it was good!! Now is our time to rest- and that's good too! 

These verses give us the format of our standard working week at home- where we work for a week and then rest, and then start working again. This is what we can do. We cannot continue the same hands-on work on-site, not right now anyway- but we can continue the work of Habitat after our rest. We can get involved in the work of Habitat when we get home through spreading the word about the work of Habitat; possibly getting involved in building projects at home; fundraising for Habitat; committing to a regular financial contribution; getting involved in future Global Village teams- or even leading a team; and so many more ways. Although we may not think of these things as being as glamorous as going away, they are all equally important to keeping the work of Habitat going. 

We have worked- and it was good, we have rested and it was good, and now we can go home and continue the work- and that will be good too.

Post by Ashley Parks