Today, we visited the Place of Loving People once again, and it was fantastic, as per usual. i learned (and wrote down) the Korean alphabet and am now confident that I know just enough Korean to be an excellent tourist.
Today, however, was different from our previous visits in that Alex Martichenko was sitting in the back corner.
I'll be honest, I didn't know what to make of him at first. An elderly man with white hair in shorts, sandles, and suit socks up to mid-calf. He had a slight stutter and tried to speak to Gloria (our sweet little guide who is Chinese) in Korean. But it did not take much conversation with Alex to erase my first impressions, which even I will admit are usually wrong. God forgive me for my tendancy to judge.
I am reminded of one of my favorite verses in Acts, after Peter and John have healed the lame man and preached with gut-wrenching boldness and truth to the same men who crucified their master; "And when they saw that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were amazed and took note that these men had been with Jesus."
Well, take note, World. Alex Martichenko has been with Jesus.
After free conversation time at the Place of Loving People with the Korean people ( I love love love LOVE the Korean people), he surprised us by asking to treat us to Ethiopian food. He knows a local place that's run by a Christian family. They play Christian music and won't sell alcohol. They were forced out of Ethiopa, as was he, when the Marxists came in. There were four of us girls, and just one elderly men, so we thought we'd be alright.
We were greeted by Ruth, a teeny-tiny Ethiopian woman who runs and cooks and is generall in charge. She greeted ALex with delighted familiarity, and while we waited for the food, we listened closely to his story.
He is 74, the ninth son in a family of 13 children. He has never been married. HE was in Ethiopia for, as far as we know, over 20 years. He has known the plenty of Western Civilization, he has known the incredible want of the villages of Ethiopia.
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