My First Trip to Zadechu Island

For those of you who may not know, the two newest members of the Henderson Tribe (Tia and Garrett) were born on Zadechu Island and spent the first four years of their lives there. This island is in the middle of Lake Zway, about three hours south of Addis Ababa. Through doing a little research, I discovered that there are five islands in Lake Zway, three of which are inhabited. The people that live on these islands are called the Zay people. They speak their own language and have their own culture. The Joshua Project lists this group of people as an unreached people group – which means they have no Bible written in their language and no consistent gospel message in their world.

Once I found this out, I sensed that God had bigger plans for our family than just adding two more members to it. I sensed that God wanted to use this adoption to allow us to have a broader impact with the Zay people. Mendy and I have also sensed that God’s plans for this may be the reason that we have experienced such spiritual opposition throughout this adoption process. It is with this perspective that I set out on my first trip to Zadechu Island.

I had heard that the rigors of this trip may be a little difficult for our whole family, so I decided that I needed to scout out the trip first. I asked Trent Post and Nicco to go with me. Nicco has made this trip several times in the course of helping us with this adoption. We pulled up to the edge of the lake and piled into a flat bottom boat with a 25 horsepower motor attached to it. It was then that I realized why the boat ride would take 2 ½ hours. Right after we left shore we saw a couple of Hippos that are certainly dangerous (actually, the most dangerous animal in Africa) but the locals don’t seem to be bothered by them at all, so neither were we.

The entire ride out, I just couldn’t believe that I was actually doing this. I mean, I had hoped for this moment for so long, but I wasn’t sure it would happen, and now it’s happening. We passed by the other four islands and then saw a small island with three big humps. That was it.

As we got off the boat, we start walking up the path. The island is absolutely beautiful – grass top huts are scattered around with small crops growing close by. Down near the shore there are several larger fields that have been plowed and some small crops are growing. Several people came to see who we were – all were friendly but not overly intrigued. We walked up the path passing several little compounds along the way.

After a few minutes we came up on a couple of boys who had caught 40 or so fish from the lake and were planning on selling taking them to the city of Zway. I think they were perch, but I’m not much of a fisherman so I really had no clue. Nicco stopped and talked to them for a while and they began picking out 10-12 fish to buy. Nicco said that we would take these to the family and they would cook them for us for lunch. That was news to me. I know eating with people is a HUGE deal here in Ethiopia. It is how you build relationships, but I was hoping to avoid a big meal on our first trip.

As they were picking out the fish, a couple of teenage boys were heading down the hill holding a yellow plastic bowl. They looked like they were heading down to the lake, when Nicco called them over. He asked them what they had in their bowl and told them that he was hungry. As they approached I saw a bowl full of raw fish that I assumed they were going to cook. Then Nicco reached in and grabbed a big chunk and tossed it in his mouth. I knew I was in trouble when he said, “wow, that is good, you ought to try some David!” I looked closer and Nicco explained that it was raw fish, mixed with some “local alcohol” (to kill anything bad that might be in the fish) and topped off with a ton of onions. I thought I was going to be able to avoid the whole thing, but then Trent popped one in his mouth, and all of the sudden I was the only one not eating anything. I grabbed one and chewed on it for a little while before a swallowed. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. As I turned around, Nicco was holding another piece for me to eat. Feeding someone else in this culture is a sign of friendship and love – so I didn’t turn it down. (I think they call it giving someone a goose shot.) After that adventure – we grabbed the fish and headed up the hill.

It wasn’t long until we arrived – at the compound where Tia and Garrett’s family lives. There were four grass-roofed huts and before I knew it I was hugging their birth mom and meeting five of her other six kids (two boys and four girls). We went into her hut and sat down together. I stared at three girls (15, 12, 10) and then another set of twins (a boy and a girl that were about 3). As I stared at the twins, I felt like I was looking at (Tia and Garrett). They were all clothed in tattered clothing and none of them had any shoes. After a few moments of awe – feeling the impact of being in the hut were my kids were born – several neighbors started pouring in and sitting down with us.

I realized that they were already preparing and cooking the fish in the other hut and I went to take a look. I’m still not quite ready to describe the food preparation – but they told me that this hut was the hut that they cooked in and where the kids also slept. I immediately thought to myself that this is probably why Garrett has a burn mark on his leg. After that, I thought I would take some pictures and build a little relationship with the older girls. We had fun taking pictures and I had a chance to take in the surrounding scenery. I realized that their compound was directly below the middle hump on the island and the views of the lake and other islands were stunning. Just absolutely beautiful, but also kind of stunning that a whole group of people actually survive the way they do.

We went back inside to eat and I asked Nicco if they knew who I was. He clarified to the family and the neighbors that I had adopted Tizita and Geremo and I looked forward to figuring out how I could help their family and their people. That was met with a lot of smiles and some unspoken acceptance. It felt good and there were smiles all over the place. We ate injera (spongy bread) and fried fish together and Nicco asked the men to think about how we might be able to be a blessing to the island. Nicco says that you just need to let them come up with some ideas first and go from there. It was a great time together. I prayed for them and prayed that God would use this whole situation for his glory and that His purposes would be accomplished among these people.

Werke

After I finished eating I just stared at Werke (Tia and Garrett’s birth mom). It struck me that she was smiling. I had met her a few days before and she was completely stoic – no expressions at all. But here - in her hut, she was smiling and talking and enjoying our presence in her home with her neighbors. I realized that she had experienced the death of her first husband – after which she married her husbands brother (the younger twins dad) who had also died. In all my focus on these two kids being orphans, I guess the fact that this woman has been widowed twice had escaped me. At that moment, I felt so much compassion for this widow. I thought of her plight – trying to raise eight kids alone on an island with no economic opportunities. The struggle of having to give two of them up for adoption because she was unable to care for them all. My heart was filled with a love for her and her entire family.

I have tried to get out of my American mindset that always has to accomplish something and tried to just “visit” her in her distress. To sit with her and her family and be fully present with them. It was sweet. Even though the verbal communication was very little, I definitely connected with Werke on a whole different level.

My new family

Heading into this adoption process I thought (to myself) that maybe we would even pursue more adoptions in the future. We would see how this process goes, listen closely to God and see what happens. But as I spent time with Werke’s other kids, particularly the girls who were 10 and 12, I sensed God was introducing me to the rest of the kids I should care for. My mind began to race about the different ways I could help them and then I shut it off so I could once again just “visit” with these kids, love them and share with them the compassion of Christ.

I don’t know what the future holds, but as I was leaving the compound, the two girls chased after me. I thought they were just running out to say “bye.” So I hugged them and told them I would be back. But they grabbed me and both said one word over and over again… “shoes.” I looked down at their feet, all four of them were dirty and obviously very tough from walking and running around the island. I bent down and held each of their feet in my hand so that I could get a general idea of how big their feet were by measuring how far their toes reached up my arm.

Again, I’m not sure how my family will help this family in the future, but I do know that when I return, I will bring them shoes… about size 9 and size 5.

Looking forward to the return trip

As we left, it was so encouraging to know that I would be returning in a few weeks. At this point, it looks like the whole team from UCity will be traveling out to the island with me on our return visit. The boat ride back was definitely a lot rougher, but I think I have secured a larger, faster boat for our next visit.

Can't wait!