Against the backdrop of an Orthodox Christian church built some 600 years ago, I smelled the aroma and tasted the thick, bold and dark Ethiopian coffee, mesmerized by the ceremonial regalia, drifting in the swirl of frankincense smoke and soaking in a tradition dated back many centuries. I am in the land where coffee was birthed as attested by Kaffa, a southern province, so called for its namesake.

Having traveled north and south of the country, tomorrow I will begin my service at a Mother Teresa’s home for the poor in Addis Ababa with Brothers of Missionaries of Charity.

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