Iowa Ethiopia: First Reformed, Sheldon

"Iowa Ethiopia" is performed by Northwestern College's theatre company, which toured the show in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Dec. 26 through Jan. 6. The show is free, and community members are invited.

“Iowa Ethiopia” is drawn from the biographical archive of Arlene Schuiteman, a nurse missionary to the Sudan and Ethiopia in the 1960s and ’70s. After Sudan’s Civil War forced her expulsion from that country, Schuiteman traveled to Ethiopia. There she helped open a “dresser school” in the city of Mettu, teaching wound care and other medical skills to health care workers.

Now retired, Schuiteman reflects on the spiritual revival that swept through Ethiopia during her years there—a revival that touched her personally and resulted in some surprising gifts of the Holy Spirit in her own life. Schuiteman, 88, traveled to Ethiopia with Northwestern's theatre company earlier this year.

In addition to sharing Schuiteman’s story, “Iowa Ethiopia” also tells the story of Judaism and Christianity in Ethiopia, from the Queen of Sheba—who visited Solomon and is rumored to have borne his son—to the Ark of the Covenant, which many, including Schuiteman, believe was brought to Ethiopia and remains there today, guarded by an elite group of priests.