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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