Friday, March 21, 2014
Children's Heaven
Every move I make performed by the girls at Children's Heaven in Ethiopia. It is a ministry for girls ages 5-18 to ensure that they get an education and training to live a responsible life. It also provides them and their mothers with daily nourishment.
Back in the USA
It is now Friday, March 21 and we are trying to settle back into life as we know it in the states. For Doc and I, that means landing in Philadelphia and driving with Brieanna and Jon to spend the afternoon with Galen's family as well as Derek's. We left early the next morning for Mansfield, where we landed for only 2 days and then headed off to Tye in Pittsburgh overnight and finally ended up in Columbus with Jillane and Chip and boys for 2 days. Jillane has been helping me with our power point presentation to share our trip in Ethiopia. We return to Mansfield on Sat and hope to stay grounded there for at least 10 days. Our f'irst presentation will be on Sunday, March 30 at Church of the New Covenant in Mansfield at their 10 am service. All are welcome to come and hear of God's miraculous workings in Ethiopia.
We both have such mixed feelings about being back here, when our thoughts are so predominantly in Ethiopia with all of the wonderful people we met and came to love. Doc is feeling better physically, so that tends to flavor his feelings. As a mother/nanny, I feel the pull between my own children/grandchildren and those precious children we interacted with the 3 weeks we were there.
We do believe that God has more work for us to do in Ethiopia and that we will be back there again. We are praying for His guidance and direction so that we can make every moment count for Him.
Thank you for your support and prayer.
REMINDER: 5K Dash for Doc's Well of Hope on April 26, 2014 at 8 am at the Boat Launch in Mansfield. Registration deadline is April 1 to get a race shirt. Registration form on Doc's Well of hope as well as in Penny Saver.
We both have such mixed feelings about being back here, when our thoughts are so predominantly in Ethiopia with all of the wonderful people we met and came to love. Doc is feeling better physically, so that tends to flavor his feelings. As a mother/nanny, I feel the pull between my own children/grandchildren and those precious children we interacted with the 3 weeks we were there.
We do believe that God has more work for us to do in Ethiopia and that we will be back there again. We are praying for His guidance and direction so that we can make every moment count for Him.
Thank you for your support and prayer.
REMINDER: 5K Dash for Doc's Well of Hope on April 26, 2014 at 8 am at the Boat Launch in Mansfield. Registration deadline is April 1 to get a race shirt. Registration form on Doc's Well of hope as well as in Penny Saver.
Friday, March 14, 2014
Bittersweet Time in Ethiopia
It is Friday night and we leave tomorrow for the United States after 3 awesome weeks here in Ethiopia. How do you go back "home to US" when your heart is still here in Ethiopia. We feel so torn tonight, as we want to see our family and friends, but we also want to stay and work helping our dear friends here in Ethiopia.
God has introduced us to wonderful new friends and ministries and has shown us the progress that is being made to improve their lives and future. There is still so much to be done, but God is at work.
We have visited Embracing Hope and Children's Heaven where we spent time before, as well as became part of A Heart for Korah and visited the wonderful work at the Former Women's Woodcarriers Scarf Factory, as well as visited our water project in Arsi Negelle.
As much as we want to stay here, we do believe that God is having us return to the US to share His heart for these precious souls with family and friends and hopefully gain sponsors for the families at Korah and Embracing Hope, the girls at Children's Heaven and also Doc's Well of Hope. We do not apologize for asking everyone to consider how God might want you to help to support these ministries as we know that we all can do something.
It is such an honor to know that God has chosen us to spend our latter years working for Him in such an exciting manner and blessing us so that we can bless others.
Our first time of sharing will be at Church of the New Covenant in Mansfield, PA on March 30 at their 10am service. Please come and join us as we share the goodness of God.
Thank you again to all who have supported us with their, finances, love and words of encouragement.
God has introduced us to wonderful new friends and ministries and has shown us the progress that is being made to improve their lives and future. There is still so much to be done, but God is at work.
We have visited Embracing Hope and Children's Heaven where we spent time before, as well as became part of A Heart for Korah and visited the wonderful work at the Former Women's Woodcarriers Scarf Factory, as well as visited our water project in Arsi Negelle.
As much as we want to stay here, we do believe that God is having us return to the US to share His heart for these precious souls with family and friends and hopefully gain sponsors for the families at Korah and Embracing Hope, the girls at Children's Heaven and also Doc's Well of Hope. We do not apologize for asking everyone to consider how God might want you to help to support these ministries as we know that we all can do something.
It is such an honor to know that God has chosen us to spend our latter years working for Him in such an exciting manner and blessing us so that we can bless others.
Our first time of sharing will be at Church of the New Covenant in Mansfield, PA on March 30 at their 10am service. Please come and join us as we share the goodness of God.
Thank you again to all who have supported us with their, finances, love and words of encouragement.
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Birthday Celebration in Ethiopia
Today was our friend, Heidi's birthday. She and her husband, Josh are here from Nashville adopting their sweet 1-yr-old daughter, Claire. We are getting our Nanny and PopPop fixes by playing with her and taking her everywhere we go.
Our awesome driver/friend, Fekadu, took us to his house today where his precious mother made our lunch. It was beef tibs, rice, cabbage and lentils in berbere sauce. All 4 items were delicious and such an honor to be in their humble home. Fekadu also got a beautiful and delicious cake for Heidi from Bilo's Pastry in Bole. What a wonderful way to celebrate Heidi's birthday here in Ethiopia.
Tomorrow we are hoping to go visit Hamlin Fistula Hospital and learn more of the fantastic work Dr. Hamlin does here for the wonderful, needy women. Besides the hospital, she has a school here to train women to become midwives. Her dream is to see a midwife in every village in Ethiopia. Amazing; quite a challenge for a woman who is 90 years old and still practicing medicine at the hospital.
Friday we are going back to Korah to visit our sponsor lady and some other dear people we met last week. Taking Heidi and Josh there for their first visit. On our way back, we are stopping to get 50 pounds more of coffee beans from Embracing Hope ministry and then stop at the scarf factory to get 100 more scarves for our new friends at A Heart for Korah in Indianapolis.
Saturday morning will find us back at Children's Heaven for a final visit with Hanna and our sweet sponsor girls as well as the 100+ other girls in the program. We love the work that is being done there and feel privileged to be a part of it.
THEN, we need to pack - my least favorite part of the trip. How do we get ALL this stuff home when we thought we sent everything home with Brieanna and Brittany. Oh well, we will make it work as we want to bring these items home to sell to raise money for all our dear friends here.
God has done amazing things here and in our hearts again. We are coming home more in love with Ethiopia than ever and pray that God will help us share His vision with all of you. Out first presentation will be at Church of the New Covenant on March 30 at the 10 am service. Please accept our invitation to come and hear all about our life changing experience.
Thank you to everyone for your love and support and words of encouragement to follow the call of God on our lives.
Our awesome driver/friend, Fekadu, took us to his house today where his precious mother made our lunch. It was beef tibs, rice, cabbage and lentils in berbere sauce. All 4 items were delicious and such an honor to be in their humble home. Fekadu also got a beautiful and delicious cake for Heidi from Bilo's Pastry in Bole. What a wonderful way to celebrate Heidi's birthday here in Ethiopia.
Tomorrow we are hoping to go visit Hamlin Fistula Hospital and learn more of the fantastic work Dr. Hamlin does here for the wonderful, needy women. Besides the hospital, she has a school here to train women to become midwives. Her dream is to see a midwife in every village in Ethiopia. Amazing; quite a challenge for a woman who is 90 years old and still practicing medicine at the hospital.
Friday we are going back to Korah to visit our sponsor lady and some other dear people we met last week. Taking Heidi and Josh there for their first visit. On our way back, we are stopping to get 50 pounds more of coffee beans from Embracing Hope ministry and then stop at the scarf factory to get 100 more scarves for our new friends at A Heart for Korah in Indianapolis.
Saturday morning will find us back at Children's Heaven for a final visit with Hanna and our sweet sponsor girls as well as the 100+ other girls in the program. We love the work that is being done there and feel privileged to be a part of it.
THEN, we need to pack - my least favorite part of the trip. How do we get ALL this stuff home when we thought we sent everything home with Brieanna and Brittany. Oh well, we will make it work as we want to bring these items home to sell to raise money for all our dear friends here.
God has done amazing things here and in our hearts again. We are coming home more in love with Ethiopia than ever and pray that God will help us share His vision with all of you. Out first presentation will be at Church of the New Covenant on March 30 at the 10 am service. Please accept our invitation to come and hear all about our life changing experience.
Thank you to everyone for your love and support and words of encouragement to follow the call of God on our lives.
Saturday, March 8, 2014
"When they suffered, he suffered also," Isaiah 63:9
Every day that we are here in Ethiopia we can better sense how God feels about all of us. He has brought us here to let us sense the disparity of the people, and to see how God can use all of us to meet their needs and love them as He does.
We are learning that the best help is to make it possible for them to find work or start their own business to support their family and be self-sustaining, even in an area as poor as Korah. As we sat with Monte, Fekadu and Tesfay, we here the people tell us what they would like to do as work so they can support their families. One single mom wants to make injerra and sell it in a "sook" in front of her house( a 9x9 mud shack). Another mom wants to sell small bags of charcoal in a "sook" near her house. Each family we interviewed, wants to work, so A Heart for Korah (AHFK) is planning to start offering small grants to families to get them set up with a business. They will deposit a certain amount monthly in their account set up by AHFK and then repay half of the grant over a year's time and accept the other as a gift from God to them. This is micro-finance at work in Korah to help these dear folks become self-sustaining. We agree with Monte and Fekadu that this is essential to the people improving their lives. They are not a lazy people by any means; but having the simplest of businesses is very difficult without the aid of people like a AHFK. They want to take care of their families, and AHKF is God's hands extended to them.
Another wonderful ministry is Children's Heaven, which is a program that ministers to 105 girls by seeing that they attend school during the week and come their after school to do homework, get a snack and additional help in life skills as well as some play time with their friends. They come there all day Saturday for additional training, breakfast and lunch and play time. Hannah starting this ministry with the hope that she could make the difference in just one girl's life, little realizing that within 9 years, she would be saving 105 girls from a destitute life on the streets. All the girls will go on to higher education/technical training and find a respectable job. A wonderful place for the girls of the area. Many on the waiting list, but she can only accept more girls if God provides the money to purchase the property where they are now meeting. We believe God is calling us to help her by raising funds in the US to purchase this area of land.
We have done our share to bless another ministry, the former woodcarriers scarf factory, where women who used to carry HUGE piles of Eucalyptus wood on their shoulders down Entoto Mountain to Addis Ababa on a daily basis can come and weave beautiful scarves and no longer have to carry this wood. It is such a change in lifestyle for them and the work they do is magnificent. We have been there 3 times now and bought over 50 scarves to sell back in the US so that they can continue their work. Each woman receives the money for her work as each scarf is tagged with her name and when we buy it, her name is recorded and she is given the money. It is such a rewarding feeling to know that the person who does the hard work actually gets her deserved pay.
We are also encouraged by the ministry at Embracing Hope, which allows moms to work while their children attend the daycare and school there, as well as receive money for the work they do there making beautiful bead necklaces and packaging delicious coffee in burlap sacks that they have embroidered with the word "Hope" in Amharic. We have also blessed that ministry by buying over 50# of coffee to bring home to our supporters back home.
This trip has been an overwhelming experience in seeing the many ways God is working through His people from around the world to improve the lives of these dear souls here. I used to think that I as one person I could not make a difference, BUT God set me straight on that. I recognized in 2010 when I came with Kristin to get Markos that 1 person can make a difference, because my one adds to your one adds to the next one and so on. As a result of responding to God's call then to help the people of Ethiopia, Doc and I have been blessed to see the lives of some very dear people change for the good. And, thanks to your unconditional support, we can help even more. Thank you for sharing our vision.
May God bless you as you continue to pray for us and consider supporting the work we do here financially. We KNOW that God will meet each need we bring to Him.
THANK YOU!!!
We are learning that the best help is to make it possible for them to find work or start their own business to support their family and be self-sustaining, even in an area as poor as Korah. As we sat with Monte, Fekadu and Tesfay, we here the people tell us what they would like to do as work so they can support their families. One single mom wants to make injerra and sell it in a "sook" in front of her house( a 9x9 mud shack). Another mom wants to sell small bags of charcoal in a "sook" near her house. Each family we interviewed, wants to work, so A Heart for Korah (AHFK) is planning to start offering small grants to families to get them set up with a business. They will deposit a certain amount monthly in their account set up by AHFK and then repay half of the grant over a year's time and accept the other as a gift from God to them. This is micro-finance at work in Korah to help these dear folks become self-sustaining. We agree with Monte and Fekadu that this is essential to the people improving their lives. They are not a lazy people by any means; but having the simplest of businesses is very difficult without the aid of people like a AHFK. They want to take care of their families, and AHKF is God's hands extended to them.
Another wonderful ministry is Children's Heaven, which is a program that ministers to 105 girls by seeing that they attend school during the week and come their after school to do homework, get a snack and additional help in life skills as well as some play time with their friends. They come there all day Saturday for additional training, breakfast and lunch and play time. Hannah starting this ministry with the hope that she could make the difference in just one girl's life, little realizing that within 9 years, she would be saving 105 girls from a destitute life on the streets. All the girls will go on to higher education/technical training and find a respectable job. A wonderful place for the girls of the area. Many on the waiting list, but she can only accept more girls if God provides the money to purchase the property where they are now meeting. We believe God is calling us to help her by raising funds in the US to purchase this area of land.
We have done our share to bless another ministry, the former woodcarriers scarf factory, where women who used to carry HUGE piles of Eucalyptus wood on their shoulders down Entoto Mountain to Addis Ababa on a daily basis can come and weave beautiful scarves and no longer have to carry this wood. It is such a change in lifestyle for them and the work they do is magnificent. We have been there 3 times now and bought over 50 scarves to sell back in the US so that they can continue their work. Each woman receives the money for her work as each scarf is tagged with her name and when we buy it, her name is recorded and she is given the money. It is such a rewarding feeling to know that the person who does the hard work actually gets her deserved pay.
We are also encouraged by the ministry at Embracing Hope, which allows moms to work while their children attend the daycare and school there, as well as receive money for the work they do there making beautiful bead necklaces and packaging delicious coffee in burlap sacks that they have embroidered with the word "Hope" in Amharic. We have also blessed that ministry by buying over 50# of coffee to bring home to our supporters back home.
This trip has been an overwhelming experience in seeing the many ways God is working through His people from around the world to improve the lives of these dear souls here. I used to think that I as one person I could not make a difference, BUT God set me straight on that. I recognized in 2010 when I came with Kristin to get Markos that 1 person can make a difference, because my one adds to your one adds to the next one and so on. As a result of responding to God's call then to help the people of Ethiopia, Doc and I have been blessed to see the lives of some very dear people change for the good. And, thanks to your unconditional support, we can help even more. Thank you for sharing our vision.
May God bless you as you continue to pray for us and consider supporting the work we do here financially. We KNOW that God will meet each need we bring to Him.
THANK YOU!!!
Thursday, March 6, 2014
God's Plan for our Second Week in Ethiopia
Thursday, March 6
Where do we begin? Just when we think we have experienced God's greatest plans here in Ethiopia, He shares more with us. We have met Monte Alexander and his 9-year-old son, Josiah from Indianapolis. They are here for the week to check in on the 70 families that they have sponsors for through their NGO, A Heart For Korah (AHFK).
We have spent 2 days with them and Fekadu, the Ethiopian director, visiting several families in the village of Korah. Korah is home to the "Poorest of the Poor." It is amazing, because you don't see the poverty, you see these beautiful people who have been created by God, just as we have been. They flock to us to say "Suhlam" and shake our hand. Then, they invite us into their lowly abode which is about 9x9 and made of manure/straw mud walls, floors and ceilings and houses where as many as 2-3 families may live. They want to share in Amharic how thankful they are for us and the provisions that their sponsors send each month. They love to have their pictures taken and then to view them on the digital screen.
Last week when Brieanna and Brittany were here, we were able to take digital polaroid photos and give them to the children. The looks on their faces said it all; they giggle and touch/kiss the camera. It is priceless.
Also, while we've been in Korah, we have had the privilege of praying with a dear sweet woman who is very ill and needy. We went to one of the "sooks" (tiny kiosk shops) in their village and bought her juice and took it back. The second day in Korah, we went back to her house taking with us barley, oats, juice and a new blanket, to find her improved and sitting up in bed to greet us and thank us with their word for thank you, "Amuhsuhginaluh." We prayed with her and reassured her that she would receive juice until better and also her monthly provisions from AHFK.
The first day in Korah, we visited the home of a darling, 14-year-old girl, Alina, who really touched Doc's heart. She spoke quite good English and told us she would like to go the United States. However, when we were with her in her home, the connection between her and her mom was so evident and it was very clear how much mom loved her. They were so proud to have us come to their house.
It is impossible to express here how we could fall so in love with a place as poor as Korah, but we are. They smile with their whole face when they greet you and they bow as they shake your hand and only want to treat you like royalty. They love for us to come in and sit down (if anything to sit on) and talk with them and pray for them. We have seen the Amharic children's Bibles that AHFK has given them, as well as youth and adult Amharic Bibles.
We were treated to dinner last night for the second time by the board of Bole Baptist Church, who is the group through which we do our water projects. They have expressed how grateful they are for all we have done to date to provide clean water in Arsi Negelle and to provide clean water in a nearby village to that. We feel so blessed to be apart of getting clean water to so many children and their families. God has been miraculous in supplying the money we need for our next project; before we left the US, we had almost 85% of the money we need for our next project. We are believing God for the rest by the time we return home so that we can wire the money and they can begin the project, hopefully to complete it by the end of the year.
We also received messages today from our 5K organizers and we need you all to register so we can get the final arrangements made. ALL of the money raised by the race will be used to bring hope through water and food to our dear, precious people of Ethiopia.
Well, I am running out of energy, so will end this post. Tomorrow night, several of us are going to Yod Abysinnia, a traditional, cultural Ethiopian restaurant for dinner. It is such a neat experience and I am anxious to see our friends reaction.
May God bless you all as you share this awesome experience with us.
Where do we begin? Just when we think we have experienced God's greatest plans here in Ethiopia, He shares more with us. We have met Monte Alexander and his 9-year-old son, Josiah from Indianapolis. They are here for the week to check in on the 70 families that they have sponsors for through their NGO, A Heart For Korah (AHFK).
We have spent 2 days with them and Fekadu, the Ethiopian director, visiting several families in the village of Korah. Korah is home to the "Poorest of the Poor." It is amazing, because you don't see the poverty, you see these beautiful people who have been created by God, just as we have been. They flock to us to say "Suhlam" and shake our hand. Then, they invite us into their lowly abode which is about 9x9 and made of manure/straw mud walls, floors and ceilings and houses where as many as 2-3 families may live. They want to share in Amharic how thankful they are for us and the provisions that their sponsors send each month. They love to have their pictures taken and then to view them on the digital screen.
Last week when Brieanna and Brittany were here, we were able to take digital polaroid photos and give them to the children. The looks on their faces said it all; they giggle and touch/kiss the camera. It is priceless.
Also, while we've been in Korah, we have had the privilege of praying with a dear sweet woman who is very ill and needy. We went to one of the "sooks" (tiny kiosk shops) in their village and bought her juice and took it back. The second day in Korah, we went back to her house taking with us barley, oats, juice and a new blanket, to find her improved and sitting up in bed to greet us and thank us with their word for thank you, "Amuhsuhginaluh." We prayed with her and reassured her that she would receive juice until better and also her monthly provisions from AHFK.
The first day in Korah, we visited the home of a darling, 14-year-old girl, Alina, who really touched Doc's heart. She spoke quite good English and told us she would like to go the United States. However, when we were with her in her home, the connection between her and her mom was so evident and it was very clear how much mom loved her. They were so proud to have us come to their house.
It is impossible to express here how we could fall so in love with a place as poor as Korah, but we are. They smile with their whole face when they greet you and they bow as they shake your hand and only want to treat you like royalty. They love for us to come in and sit down (if anything to sit on) and talk with them and pray for them. We have seen the Amharic children's Bibles that AHFK has given them, as well as youth and adult Amharic Bibles.
We were treated to dinner last night for the second time by the board of Bole Baptist Church, who is the group through which we do our water projects. They have expressed how grateful they are for all we have done to date to provide clean water in Arsi Negelle and to provide clean water in a nearby village to that. We feel so blessed to be apart of getting clean water to so many children and their families. God has been miraculous in supplying the money we need for our next project; before we left the US, we had almost 85% of the money we need for our next project. We are believing God for the rest by the time we return home so that we can wire the money and they can begin the project, hopefully to complete it by the end of the year.
We also received messages today from our 5K organizers and we need you all to register so we can get the final arrangements made. ALL of the money raised by the race will be used to bring hope through water and food to our dear, precious people of Ethiopia.
Well, I am running out of energy, so will end this post. Tomorrow night, several of us are going to Yod Abysinnia, a traditional, cultural Ethiopian restaurant for dinner. It is such a neat experience and I am anxious to see our friends reaction.
May God bless you all as you share this awesome experience with us.
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
Week 2 in Ethiopia
March 4 What do we say? So much has happened since we last wrote. We have reunited with some of our ministry friends here in Ethiopia and Brieanna and Brittany have returned to the US as of late Monday night.
Saturday, we went to Children's Heaven where they care for 120 girls from age 5-18. The girls go to school during the day and then come there after school to do their homework, get a snack and get some play time. While we were here, we did manicures, taught them the Rainbow loom, arts and crafts projects as well as taking Polaroid photos to give them. They served us lunch of injerra, chirro, spicy beef sauce and cooked veggies (cabbage, carrots, potatoes). After lunch, they all sang songs in Amharic. Doc and I support 4 girls there and brought them a new outfit and shoes; oh the expressions on their faces when we gave them their gifts. Also, our family pays the rent for a mom and her 3 daughters and she came that afternoon to see us. We just bought her a sewing machine and she brought us a beautiful gift of 2 embroidered table runners. We were so humbled to receive these from her.
We went to church on Sunday with our new friends (Josh and Heidi Kelley from Nashville who are adopting a darling, 1-year-old girl) and staying at our same Guest House. The church is International Evangelical Church, pastored by Jerry and Christy Shannon from Lancaster. After church, we all went to Kaldi's for our first "Starbucks" coffee in Ethiopia. After that, our driver took us up on Entoto Mountain to visit the Historical Museum at the Orthodox Church. So interesting and the view of Addis was awesome. On the way back to the Guest House, we did some souvenir shopping at the Post Office area. We decided to try a new restaurant so ate dinner at the Nexus Hotel near our guest house. We had a wonderful day.
Our driver returned Monday morning to take us with Josh and Heidi back to Embracing Hope so they could be introduced to Christy Shannon and the awesome work being done there. The children are cared for so that moms can work and keep the family together. Some of the women work there making beautiful bead necklaces. We all bought lots of handmade items (beads, baskets, coffee) to bring home to sell as a fundraiser. We went from there to the scarf factory so Brit, Heidi and I could buy more scarves from the women who used to carry the heavy woodpiles down the mountain.
Now, it was time to go back to the guesthouse and pack for the trip home. The packing was quite a project, but we were able to get everything packed. After a light dinner at the guesthouse, Fekadu came to pick us all up to take Brieanna and Brit to the airport for their trip back to the US. We were sad to see them go, but know that it was the right time. We are not sure what God has planned for our remaining time.
As of Tuesday afternoon, we know that one part of His plan, is for us to visit A Heart for Korah, a ministry in the dump/slum area. We know it will be difficult to see, but necessary to be able to even better feel God's heart. We will write more tomorrow, I hope.
Continue to pray for us that we will know God's desire for us and how to best do His work. It has been harder this time due to some health issues, both GI as well as altitude sickness. But, we are determined to trust God for His protection and strength to experience the depth of the situation here.
The poverty and needs are many, but there are many people around the world who are catching the vision and coming together to love and aid the neediest of people here. We love being a part of all that He is doing here in Ethiopia. We are hoping that those back home will be open to us sharing what we have experienced and what we all can do to help.
Saturday, we went to Children's Heaven where they care for 120 girls from age 5-18. The girls go to school during the day and then come there after school to do their homework, get a snack and get some play time. While we were here, we did manicures, taught them the Rainbow loom, arts and crafts projects as well as taking Polaroid photos to give them. They served us lunch of injerra, chirro, spicy beef sauce and cooked veggies (cabbage, carrots, potatoes). After lunch, they all sang songs in Amharic. Doc and I support 4 girls there and brought them a new outfit and shoes; oh the expressions on their faces when we gave them their gifts. Also, our family pays the rent for a mom and her 3 daughters and she came that afternoon to see us. We just bought her a sewing machine and she brought us a beautiful gift of 2 embroidered table runners. We were so humbled to receive these from her.
We went to church on Sunday with our new friends (Josh and Heidi Kelley from Nashville who are adopting a darling, 1-year-old girl) and staying at our same Guest House. The church is International Evangelical Church, pastored by Jerry and Christy Shannon from Lancaster. After church, we all went to Kaldi's for our first "Starbucks" coffee in Ethiopia. After that, our driver took us up on Entoto Mountain to visit the Historical Museum at the Orthodox Church. So interesting and the view of Addis was awesome. On the way back to the Guest House, we did some souvenir shopping at the Post Office area. We decided to try a new restaurant so ate dinner at the Nexus Hotel near our guest house. We had a wonderful day.
Our driver returned Monday morning to take us with Josh and Heidi back to Embracing Hope so they could be introduced to Christy Shannon and the awesome work being done there. The children are cared for so that moms can work and keep the family together. Some of the women work there making beautiful bead necklaces. We all bought lots of handmade items (beads, baskets, coffee) to bring home to sell as a fundraiser. We went from there to the scarf factory so Brit, Heidi and I could buy more scarves from the women who used to carry the heavy woodpiles down the mountain.
Now, it was time to go back to the guesthouse and pack for the trip home. The packing was quite a project, but we were able to get everything packed. After a light dinner at the guesthouse, Fekadu came to pick us all up to take Brieanna and Brit to the airport for their trip back to the US. We were sad to see them go, but know that it was the right time. We are not sure what God has planned for our remaining time.
As of Tuesday afternoon, we know that one part of His plan, is for us to visit A Heart for Korah, a ministry in the dump/slum area. We know it will be difficult to see, but necessary to be able to even better feel God's heart. We will write more tomorrow, I hope.
Continue to pray for us that we will know God's desire for us and how to best do His work. It has been harder this time due to some health issues, both GI as well as altitude sickness. But, we are determined to trust God for His protection and strength to experience the depth of the situation here.
The poverty and needs are many, but there are many people around the world who are catching the vision and coming together to love and aid the neediest of people here. We love being a part of all that He is doing here in Ethiopia. We are hoping that those back home will be open to us sharing what we have experienced and what we all can do to help.
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