Team Member Post 1: Brad Binion

Can I be honest?

I’m a bit of a cynic and a skeptic.

I’ve always thought that “missions” trips were a huge waste of money.

A group of middle class, suburban people spend a small fortune to go to the other side of the world to take pictures of themselves “helping” the locals so that they can come back to their big comfortable church in America and show a video that makes everyone at the church feel great about themselves.

Is that too honest?

Am I the only one who has ever felt this way?

Not a great start to what is supposed to be an inspirational blog post is it?

When the idea of financing a school build in Wachuge, Ethiopia was first proposed by Kate and Andy it wasn’t a hard sell for me. I strongly believe in the power of education to bring about meaningful, positive, and lasting change. I knew that it would be a massive undertaking to raise the money for the school but I also felt that such a project had the potential to be a point of unity for the people of Tapestry Church. In no time we had logos, websites, t-shirts, print materials, and banners. Support for the project began to flow in from all directions….and then we started talking about actually going to Ethiopia.

Quietly I wondered “why?”.

I understood why they needed our resources but what good could possibly come from me making the trip halfway around the world? The people in Ethiopia are more than capable of digging holes, painting walls, and stacking bricks without my help aren’t they? But I work for Tapestry Church so I felt like I had to go in order to show solidarity. Again, is that too honest?

I set about the process of fund-raising to make the journey, all the while very skeptical of the point of the whole trip. My peer group was so incredibly supportive that I raised the money in a matter of days. I was genuinely appreciative.

As the departure date neared I became increasingly nervous. I felt like I might have defrauded my friends and family into funding some sort of vacation.

I resolved myself to the idea that I would simply be open to whatever God wanted to show me through the experience.

After a 13 hour flight and an 11 hour bus ride we arrived in Wachuge to a huge crowd of singing children. As I looked into the faces of children filled with joy at the thought of finally getting a high school all of my doubts disappeared and I knew why we were there…to tell their story.

Over the course of the next few days we were able to forge meaningful relationships with the people in Wachuge. People like Miresa, a brilliant school teacher with fierce loyalty to his students. 16 year old Ibsa, who we expect to see on the Olympics some day. Dinea, the leader of the coffee co-op for the region who has helped the farmers band together to get a fair price for their coffee, which literally saved them from starvation. And Kokate, probably the sassiest most adorable little girl on earth.

We were able to see their homes, their farms, and their places of worship. We ate together, played together, sang together, and laughed together. We told them our stories and we listened to theirs. We taught them a few things but we also learned so much from them. Most importantly we got to witness what true community looks like.

By going to Wachuge and being a part of their lives we are better able to understand their needs so that we can best direct our wealth of resources to a truly deserving and underserved part of the world.

My life will be forever changed by my experiences in Wachuge, Ethiopia. I pray that I will always be reminded of the people there and that I will use any and all influence that I have to be a champion for these incredible people.

I look forward to a continued partnership between Tapestry and Wachuge and I hope that in a few short years I will be able to go back to watch the first class graduate from the high school and to spend time with my new friends on the other side of the world.