My Prophetic Trip to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (Part II)

Twenty years ago a pastor prophesied that I would be dancing in Africa. The enemy pulled every stop so that I (listen to me now!) I could somehow thwart the plan of God.

His first tactic: UNBELIEF
When the prophet declared that word over my life, I immediately though, “What is this prophet talking about? I have no desire to go to Africa.” When someone tried to affirm the prophet’s words in my life, I even verbalized my unbelief. Afterwards, I put it out of my mind.

God’s Faithfulness:
Although I put it out of my mind, God made sure it was always in my heart.
Twenty years before the prophecy, this is what He did:

• Piqued my interest in Blacks & Judaism.
• Allowed me to watch the mass exodus of Ethiopian Jews from Sudan to Israel.
• Developed in me a love for Ethiopian Jewry.
• Twenty years after the prophecy, this is what He did.

Encouraged me to write down all the prophecies that had ever been spoken over my life. There it was!

• Three years ago, He sent a prophet to tell me that I would be going to Africa.
• Heard Ethiopian Messianic Jewish Rabbi Kokeb Gedamu speak.
• Wrote his book Journey Beyond Imagination

His second tactic: SICKNESS

• Three days before my trip, I developed a sore throat. My doctor did not want me to go into a foreign country with a borderline infection, so she prescribed amoxicyllin, 2 pills each day for 10 days.
• One day before my trip, I came down with laryngitis.
• One day before my trip, almost one hour after taking my malaria pill ( which I had to take because I was going to Gondar, Ethiopia) I threw up, possibly the pill as well. Am I allergic to the medication? I wondered. My doctor and pharmacist’s advice was bleak. You’re on two antibiotics. Your system is not used to it. Don’t take calcium or magnesium with it, especially not until you have finished one of them. You need to eat yogurt. (Okay, I’m going to a third world country. I’m hardly supposed to eat anything while there! Yogurt???) That means, also, what is the use of taking my multivitamins. My friend suggested buying Acidopholous. Here’s the difficult part: I would not know if the medication worked until I was on the 13-hour plane ride to Ethiopia. What if I threw up the medication on the plane?

For someone who is not used to taking medication I have to take Mucinex and Dramamine before boarding the plane (for vertigo and sinuses), 1 tablet of amoxicyllin in the morning, a malaria pill and one acidophulous in the afternoon, and another amoxicyllin at night.

God’s faithfulness:
On the plane ride to Ethiopia (praying all the way) I take the pill. An hour later I have not thrown up — although I still have laryngitis.

His third tactic: HUMAN ERROR & RED TAPE

A couple of months prior, I discovered my name misspelled on my flight itinerary. When I called the flight agent, he assured me it was corrected and sent me a corrected itinerary. When I arrived in Norfolk to board the plane to D.C., they would not allow me to board, saying that the name had not been corrected in the system. After much pleading (through my hoarseness), asking to see a supervisor, and going to a new flight agent, I was still rejected. Dejected, my husband and I took my bags to the car and headed for home.

God’s faithfulness:
After calling Aminta, a traveling companion, who had already checked in, she encouraged me to drive to D.C.–something that my husband and I had spoken of as a possibility when we were driving home. He couldn’t drive me because he had to report to work in 90 minutes. After several attempts, I finally found a friend who said, “I’ll be right over.”

His fourth tactic: TIME
En route to the airport, I had repetitive talks with my travel agent, Aminta, and Rabbi Gedamu (the one who organized the trip). All encouraged me to get to Dulles International Airport as soon as possible. Rabbi Gedamu had been working with the Ethiopian officials there. A few wrong turns, traffic, and a GPS which probably took us the longest route were against us. ETA, according to GPS was 10:17. The flight would leave at 11:15. We eventually found the airport. Sarah jumped out of the car and quickly put my bags on the sidewalk. She can’t get out of the car and I am stuck trying to manage two large suitcases, a carry on and my purse. A wonderful gentleman offered to help me take my baggage to the Ethiopian Airlines counter. “Too late” the woman behind the counter says. “Too late!” After much explanation of my plight, she still continued, “Everyone is gone! Too late.” So I called Sarah and told her not to pull away. They won’t let me on.

God’s faithfulness:
As I wondered how I was going to get my two large suitcases and my carry on back to the car, a voice, like an angel, like the characteristic greeting of every Ethiopian I’ve met, said, “Don’t worry” to me. Then he said to her, “Let her on.” He asked for my passport, and the same woman who said, “Too Late” processed my papers. Then this angel escorted me through the check-in, through the screening, through the concourses all the way to the gate where my plane sat. He said, “Go,” motioning with his hand. I turned to look at this angel and said, “God Bless You!” I gave the ticket agent my boarding pass, and I prophetically boarded Ethiopian Airlines, taking me on a 13-hour trip to destiny. Added blessing, my baggage arrived with everyone else’s.