On St. George's Day, the "battle of the bands" atmosphere was almost intolerable. First the Christians prayed and chanted in Ge'ez and then the Muslims answered with their Arabic prayers. Both prevented me from sleeping at all.

The culture of Ethiopia is unique in many ways. Several cultures have made homosexuality illegal. In Ethiopia, homosexuality is criminalized to the point that a conviction might result in a five-year prison term.

But that doesn't stop men from walking hand-in-hand or arm-in-arm with their male friends. There is nothing sexual about it and it isn't a generational phenomenon. Men holding hands with men while walking to lunch is no big deal.

Women escort each other down sidewalks all the time. No one takes a second glance. But if the collegial touching crosses the line to a sexual relationship, the police will step in.

Ethiopians aren't unique in their intolerance of homosexuality, especially considering most people in Addis Ababa are Orthodox Christians or Muslims. But they are unique in how religion affects everyday life. If you like to sleep in, I would recommend a nice quiet hotel out on the countryside. We stayed downtown and that means we were close to all of the churches.

Last Tuesday was St. George's Day, and St. George's Cathedral was only a couple of blocks from our hotel. The Orthodox Christians feature a three- to four-hour service that begins around 6 a.m. However, on St. George's Day, that start time came a little earlier.

The beauty of the Christian church ceremony is that it features hours of chanting in a language called Ge'ez, a tongue only used for religious ceremonies. They also love using a loudspeaker to inexpensively broadcast their services to people who don't bother to come to the services.

Of course, Islamic leaders also utilize the loudspeaker for their own call to prayer each morning. Apparently, only un-churched Ethiopians like to sleep in.

On St. George's Day, the "battle of the bands" atmosphere was almost intolerable. First the Christians prayed and chanted in Ge'ez and then the Muslims answered with their Arabic prayers. Both prevented me from sleeping at all. So I decided to rate them as someone who couldn't understand the words in either service.

Islam's call to prayer had a nice beat, but I couldn't dance to it. The Orthodox service was good, but it was far too long –– Iron Butterfly's “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” is a great song, but no one wants to hear the full version. They really need to develop a mini-Mass or a radio version for the Orthodox Ethiopian on the go.

Actually, I appreciated the fact that the culture was so centered around religious beliefs. I just didn't appreciate that the centering happened before sunrise.

Going forward

I didn't expect it, but I'm not surprised I have written two straight weeks worth of columns on my experience in Ethiopia with my wife. It was depressing, distressing and discouraging, as well as, invigorating, instructive and inspiring. It takes a lot of words to try to capture the week we spent there as we began the legal process to adopt a new son.

A picture is worth 1,000 words. I guess I drew about five word pictures of the country, its people, their colorful culture and rich history.

We go back in about a month for an embassy appointment and to take custody of our son. We hope to have a nice care package for the orphans within the Gladney system and for those in the state-sponsored orphanages when we return.

It is hard to see suffering among innocent children and still see God at work. But this is not a perfect world. The sin people brought into God's creation keeps Him from being able to relate with us perfectly.

One of the results of this broken world is a population of orphans that outnumber all residents in Kansas and Oklahoma in one small country in Africa, which is about twice the size of Texas.

John Mark McMillan is a Christian recording artist who wrote a song called “How He Loves.” The David Crowder Band, who recorded a version of it that gained a great deal of popularity, made the song more famous. However, the David Crowder version removed one of the most poetic and accurate lines of lyrics that has ever described how God now relates to people.

McMillan had lost a friend in a car accident and he tried to find God in the tragedy. His lyrical description made sense to me.

"So Heaven meets Earth like a sloppy wet kiss,
And my heart burns violently inside of my chest,
I don't have time to maintain these regrets,
When I think about the way,
He loves us."

When I hear this song I imagine a couple who might have been at odds with each other, but the overwhelming love they have for each other brings them back together. They meet in an embrace that is anything but a cute little peck on the cheek.

Love isn't always clean and sweet. When that relationship is made right, there is often passion in that process of redemption. God gave his Son to restore that relationship with us. That's messy stuff, but He loved us enough to do it.

In those orphanages, the pain is obvious. But God's love is still able to eclipse the afflictions because of the affection He shows for those in need through those who love Him.

It is demonstrated in the Gladney workers who left an affluent life in Texas with a big house and a pool, sold everything and moved to Ethiopia to care for orphans.

It is evident in the man who runs the in-country program. His father was killed by communists when he was 11. He didn't let bitterness and grief swallow him up. He used his authority and abilities to help those in great need.

A sweet young woman became a vehicle for God's love when she left her home in Houston to volunteer as a reading and English teacher to a group of kids who will soon find homes in the United States.

It isn't a perfect world. But in sharing God's love with each other, we can make it better. I guess that has really been the theme of everything I have written for two weeks. We need to pass the love we have been shown along to others who need it to be shown to them.

In about a month, we will get to return to Addis Ababa to take custody of our son. That's what my family has been called to.

There are a million ways that God's love can be shown to others. In helping others, the blessings you receive in return will be overwhelming.