ADVENTURE
Jerry and Maxine Share Eritrean Saga
Asmara Plateau
Asmara Taxi
Habtom Micael
Kuflu Meskel
dIVINE aPPOINTMENT
The “fasten seat belt” sign appeared, the engines cut back as the descent began and the flight attendant announced our expected arrival time at Asmara, Eritrea international airport. I looked down at the arid plateau beneath me and wondered where my research would begin in Africa’s newest Republic.
On my flight from Nairobi, Kenya to Eritrea, I spent one week in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia which was a wonderful introduction to the horn of Africa.
Staying at a missions’ guesthouse, I met a man who had just come from Eritrea. He kindly recommended a hotel in Asmara and gave me the telephone number of Kuflu Meskel, chairman of the Board of Elders at the Full Gospel Church and a mathematics professor at Asmara University.
The airport was small and antiquated but I was impressed with the orderliness with which my passport and luggage were processed.
A friendly taxi driver loaded my suitcase into his World War II vintage vehicle and delivered me safely at the Embasoira Hotel. After checking into my room, I spent hours walking the streets of the capital, Asmara.
Later in the evening, I called Kuflu Meskel. He seemed pleased to visit with me, learned where I was staying and asked if we could meet the next morning for a cup of tea.
Kuflu suggested I move to the Khartoum Hotel, an inexpensive place to lodge in the center of the city. Soon we were joined by Habtom Micael, pastor of the Full Gospel Church.
The next two weeks were filled with attending meetings at the Full Gospel Church, interviewing top leadership in all of the other Evangelical churches, trying to get a grasp on where the churches of Eritrea were headed and how the Assemblies of God could contribute.
Shortly before my departure, Pastor Habtom came to my hotel room. We prayed and worshipped for about 30 minutes. A friendship had developed. A shared love for the Lord, Pentecostal worship, major doctrines of the church and evangelism had become evident. Our spirits knit in a bond that would mature in the years ahead.
Habtom and Kuflu bid me farewell and extended an invitation to return following my furlough in the USA.
Boarding the plane and buckling my seatbelt in preparation for departure, I leaned back in my seat knowing that this trip had been ordered of the Lord. Deep within my heart, I knew that someday I would return to Eritrea as a resident missionary.