The Sullivan Family

So in our case, we had passed court and it took like 5 weeks to even submit our paper work to embassy, while others that we were at court with from another agency we used with our first adoption were submitted with in about 8 days. That was a little frustrating. But then the submission was not accepted, was lacking something, then about 2 weeks after that it was accepted. Embassy then contacts us and our agency via email to ask for a missing witness statement. The statement needed to come from the court where our girls were from, in Adama (Nazret), and my agency said the orphanage director of the girls original orphanage had to take care of that with the local Adama courts. So after many many emails back in forth and my agency worker trying to get the lady in adama to get the right document, and several times getting it and it having the wrong or missing info, I was pretty frustrated. I had a contact in Adama, a social worker “B” that did the initial paperwork to help get the girls in the orphanage to begin with (they were living on their own 11, and 13). I had met him in person when I went for court and I was friends with him on facebook, but his english was a little difficult. So I was really praying and discussing with family about going to see if I could help facilitate getting that document.I was out running the day before thanksgiving, (we had just received news that the document was wrong again and they had to go back to the drawing board.. ) I was listening to Lecrae’s “Send me” That has a repeating part that goes “Send me! I’ll go!” and I kept thinking I should just go! At tht very moment my phone buzzes and I got a facebook message from another friend “L” who lives in Addis with his family and runs a pretty cool program there. He said, he thought I should come and and stay with him and he had a guy that could translate for me and get me around and he thought together we could get this thing knocked out! I sat down in a park and read the entire message.. I was a little blown away at the timing of that message! I returned home from my run and walked in the door just knowing Bridget would say that its a crazy idea, but I said “Hey I really think we should just pray about me going” I told her about the message from “L” and she said she was for it! So after that I talked with family at thansgiving dinner and all family agreed, so it couldn’t have been more clear, “I had to go”. So we booked the tickets to arrive on monday, and 3 return tickets for the friday, and sent out requests for lots of prayers.I was told later from Everyone, even my friends in ET they thought I was nuts with the 3 return tickets on friday, but that was more my wifes faith then mine! Lol. So the rest of the story begins with bascially God going ahead of me and softening hearts and opening doors, because the first 36 hours of hitting ground in Ethiopia was nothing short of a miracle. The document that had taken over a month so far and would have taken at least another 1 if not 2 was taken care of in 36 hours.

Day 1
I landed in Addis Ababa Ethiopia on Monday morning around 8am. Gathered luggage up, and so “L” waiting for me in the airport. We greeted and made the way to his car. We decided to go have coffee and discuss game plan, and hit internet cafe to check email. I exchanged money then we headed over to “L”‘s house to drop bags off. We then decided to just head to embassy and find out what was going on. We waited and waited as it was crowded, and realized we didn’t even have a number, we went to one window and told them we want to know what was missing in our case, he took down info, and we sat back down. We waited , then finally “L” suggested we go to the window with the American working, so we did, I stated the same thing and he went and got the American in charge, and she asked how she could help. She told us about the document that was missing from the file, and that it has taken so long to acquire that they would now also want to interview the girls aunt. This news hit me hard, I said wow, thats like the worst news I could hear today “I was thinking how are we going to find this person and get them her in the short amount of time I had?”. She said she was sorry, but had to be thorough, I said I understood. We left and called our agency guy, he was out of town but put us in touch with “S” one of the workers, we called and met him to discuss. We also called “L”‘s good friend “Y”. to help us translate.

“Y” is very smart, and knows the in’s and outs of the process and speaks very good english. We all had coffee and discussed. Verified that what the embassy was asking for was exactly what “S” had been working to get. The orphanage director in Adama was supposed to be working it out and getting it. She had said she had it and would deliver it on monday morning, but it was now late morning. We called her several times and got no answer. we then all went back to the embassy to talk with yhe American again and make sure we were correct on the document needs and if we could get an interview appointment this week. She said yes and gave me her number to call her when we find the Aunt.

We then decided to swap out cars and just go to Adama. I contacted my contact in Adama, a social worker named “B”. “B” is a very good guy and knew all about the case. We told him that we were coming to Adama, can not get a hold of Orphanage director, but need her to get the document finished with the witness statements corrected and to find the Aunt and tell her she was needed for an interview. 3 hours later we showed up in Adama, and met “B”. He guided us to the court. At the court, The Orphanage Director was already there along with all 3 of the witnesses and the Aunts husband. They all went inside and completed the witness statements. The Aunt was still not there. It was now 5:10pm and i was not sure if the aunt would really show up, but called the number American at the embassy gave me anyway, and she answered! She said all the slots were full for the next day but would fit us in at 1pm. so we booked that slot even thought the Aunt had yet to appear. We then went to the Orphanage to meet the aunt, and waited and waited, nothing, we then drove back near the court and found the Aunt in the street with her husband. She said ok to come to the interview if her husband could come along. The Orphanage Director also stated that the document will still need a stamp from childrens affairs, which was now closed. So we decided to all spend the night in Adama, meet The Orphanage Director at the childrens affairs office in the morning as soon as they opened, wait for the stamp and meet the Aunt there to take to Addis. Everyone agreed, We found a hotel with internet and got 2 rooms ate dinner and stayed the night.

Day 2
I woke up early could not sleep, internet was not working, went downstairs and waited for someone from hotel staff to wake up. Finally someone did and I got them to fix the internet so I could check email and status etc. “L” and “Y” came down and we had breakfast. A very good breakfast I might add.. This hotel was nice, and only 300 bir a night per room. Then we picked up “S” who stayed down the street and picked up “B”. We showed up and the childrens affairs office as it opened at 8:30am, The Orphanage Director was there and got the stamp and handed over the paperwork. The Aunt showed up and we got in the truck and were off to Addis. 3 hours later we dropped “S” off at the translation office with the document to have it translated into Amharic and english, and “L”, “Y”, the Aunt, husband and I had lunch. We then picked up “S”…. translation was complete and headed to the Embassy.

We made it in line at 12:47 for the 1pm appointment, but there was a long line. We did not make it in until about 1:05pm. I went ahead of everyone up to the windows and just asked to speak with the American I spoke with before, She met me at a window, and I gave her the document, and told her we had the Aunt. She had us sit and wait to be called for the interview. They called us and took the Aunt into a room for about 40 minutes. She came out and I asked how it went. She said it was boring, they they just kept cross examining her, askng the same questions over and over. I then went back to the window the American was at and waited for a family to finish with her then snuck up to the window and told her we were done. She said she was really busy but will look at the case later and email us the results. We then took the Aunt and husband to the bus station and put them on a bus back to Adama. We then went and met the girls at the care center. we called ahead, so they had about an hours notice. We got there and they were finishing getting ready. They were excited to see me! They said goodbyes, and we said would be backonce more before we left Ethiopia, and then left to go to “L”‘s house. I thanked “Y”, and he went home. Then “L”, and family and the girls and I went out to dinner at the family restaraunt. We then came home and I gave the girls their suitcase mom had packed and they were excited, trying on the clothes. We then all went to bed.

Day 3 We got the clearance email

Day 4 we had the Appointment

Day 5 We got the visas and Flew home!

Thanks for the prayers and thoughts everyone! We are now home and the girls are adjusting. The cold is a little cold for them! They are working on english with Rosetta Stone and doing very well. Our other children love them so much we almost have to limit their time with them so they can have some personal space!!!

Mark-

A little over a year ago we came home from Ethiopia with Eyob, a  little 2 year old boy that has been a blessing to our family. God had really touched our lives during that process. We had decided we needed to do something more. We started an orphan ministry at our church, in hopes to “Adopt” an orphanage, and help in any way that we could. We also realized we had room for 2 more. We had thought the we would meet those “2 more” on one of our future mission trips with the new Orphan ministry. Then Peter and Andrea Kidd sent the following story and these girls captured out hearts.

We were a family with room for 2 more, and here were 2 girls looking for a family!
It couldn’t have been any clearer!

Here is the original note that Andrea wrote:

We were led to Selem, to her sister Abeba, to the stoop of their hut, please step in with us and learn their story.

And now The rest of the story…

We quickly contacted the Kidds even before they left Ethiopia. We started the Paperwork went through the homestudy and waited. Our friend Amanda Desaro visited in December and took our photos and covered them with love. Bridget met the girls in May on our Church Vision Mission Trip, then Bridget, Hailey, and myself went in July for the court date.

And I am now happy to say we officially PASSED court and are awaiting the Embassy appointment to bring them home..

God is truly amazing and really blew us away on this one! Selam and Abeba are the most loving caring girls ever.

They will be coming home soon!

Mark-

The night before the trip (friday) we took the kids out for ice cream!

 

 

 

 

 

The next morning we said goodbye to our younger kids and sent them with their Aunt and Uncle to play with the cousins at their cottage.

 

 

 

 

 

At the Airport in Milwaukee on Saturday with all our bags and donations.. The airlines were nice this time and waived the extra baggage fee.

 

 

 

 

 

Had to spend the night in D.C. to wait for our flight the next morning.

 

 

 

 

 

Aboard the plane on Sunday. Long flight from D.C. to Addis Ababa Ethiopia, about 13 hours straight across. I loved the new USB Chargers to keep my iPhone charged (books, music, and podcasts) and always love to catch up on all the movies i never get to see.

 

 

 

 

 

 

When we got there on Monday morning we were surprised to find out the girls were not there. They were still in Adama. We would go on Wednesday to see them. So Hailey got her nails painted, and we rested and went out to dinner.

 

 

 

 

 

The next morning on Tuesday Hailey woke up with me at 6am to go have coffee at Kaldi’s down the road.

 

Next we headed to take donations to an orphanage and play with kids. (Cant show pictures of the kids here as they are adoptable.)

 

 

 

 

Next we went to Korah and met with Berhanu who gave us a tour of the Great Hope church and we played with kids and got to meet Baby Juddah’s mother and family. See more info here: http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/287455 We also met with women that make the jewelry and Hailey picked out some for her friends.

 

 

 

 

 

Next we met up with the Shannon’s http://www.theshannonfamily.com/ who run http://www.embracinghopeethiopia.com/ a day care that allows women that used to have to beg, a chance to go and work. They provide meals and structure for their children and and some jobs for some of the women. They give a chance for these women to get back on their feet and retain their dignity and provide for their family. An AWESOME ministry. I somehow was so busy talking i realize i did not get any pictures other then shots of Korah from his roof that had a great view.

 

 

 

 

 

Wednesday we took off to Adama. We bought blankets of the girls orphange. We met the girls and played, then went out to lunch, including the girls best friend. We bought a lot of items for Look Development http://www.lookdevelopment.org/ to sell in their store. Look development really saved our girls, they were the girls sponsorship program. They went above and beyond to help them and help us move forward with the adoptions. I cant thanks Yemeserach, Tesfa, Bazile, the Kidd family, and the DeSarro family enough!

 

 

 

 

 

Next we went to visit the neighbor that helped our girls I could barely hold back my own tears when I saw the tears coming down one of  her daughters eyes.

 

 

 

 

 

Next we went to see the girls home that they stayed in together. It was so surreal to be there one year later on the same road, standing in the same yard, of the pictures we saw from the Kidd family with the story that led us to them. The last picture is Bazile, the girls social worker that did all the paperwork to get them in the orphanage. He is a great guy!

 

 

 

 

 

On Thursday we wen to court in the morning and met the girls. We passed court in lieu of the MOWCYA recommendation letter. We then took the girls to the new care center and then spent the rest of the time hanging out, playing ball, getting hair done, going to the movies and arcade, eating, and whatever we could find fun to do with them. We would take them back to the care center at night and pick them up in the morning.

 

 

 

 

 

We then went shopping on Saturday in the post office area and met up with the street kids we knew from last year.

 

 

 

 

The guest house “Grand Guesthouse” had a coffee ceremony for us in the afternoon. We also handed out some gifts the staff.

 

 

 

 

 

We then jumped on the plane and headed back home. Grandpa, Ty, and Jewel were waiting to greet us at the gate.

 

 

 

 

 

Hopefully soon I will be able to post the pictures of the girls that I can not post until we completely pass court!

 

Mark-

Hailey Day 7:
Today was our last day so Dad picked up the girls and we first watched Rio and then we played outside and played our ball game. But we had to find a new ball since our first one popped. Then we went shopping, then we went to the zoo. Then it started raining. Since our driver didn’t come for so long we asked a kid on the street to buy us an umbrella, but then our driver came, so we didn’t get the umbrella. Then we played with a ball. Then we ate something and then we dropped the girls off at the care center. Then we went to the airport and we are about to fly to DC.
Final thoughts: Ethiopia was a really fun place to be. P.S. once you meet the girls–they are very huggy and touchy. It was a wonderful week in Ethiopia. The End.

Bridget Day 7:
Today was not as bad as I thought (as far as saying good-bye and being the last day together)—the girls seem to like their care center–and knew we would be back. The oldest girl thought that the zoo was “beautiful” in contrast with Hailey not enjoying herself as the Lion Zoo, as it was not comparable to our zoos in America. It was a handful of lions in cages—then some different birds and monkeys in another section—it took us about 20 mins. to go through the entire place. So I told Hailey–”just think how exciting our zoo will be to them when we go at home”–and that sort of perked her up. All 3 girls really have such a great time together—I don’t know how it would have gone without Hailey here. When we are all together eating or walking around, the girls are pretty quiet and it is hard for us to understand one another—but A is always happy to share her English words with us and S enjoys telling us how to say things in Amharic–and how we struggle to make the correct sounds to form the words. Amharic is very difficult for us to speak!! OK–I don’t want Mark and Hailey to lose it that I am the last one to board the plane–so I had better go. Nitey nite…it was great week…can’t wait to just get our girls home so we can start our life together.
OK—well, now we are in DC waiting on our Chicago flight–and met such nice Ethiopians here–one family from Chicago and the other from Fox Point! So we have exchanged contact information and she said she will help me with cooking the traditional food. And they will also help us over the phone if we need it, when they are first home and we will not be able to communicate well with them. Even though the girls said they were fine with having all American food, that they did not need injera—they would order traditional food at times, when it was an option at restaurants. I think they had their first hamburger with us, when we first took them out to eat in Adama (we ate in the same hotel restaurant as last time when my mom and I were there). Mark saw that S was taking her bun and ripping it and then using it to pick up the hamburger meat (like you do with injera) and A watched carefully how Mark was eating his,so she could replicate what he was doing. Yemserech told S how to eat it. This and other little things was a littel view into how many things will be such a big change for them. While we are thrilled to be able to witness all of the “firsts” with them–it is also makes me a little nervous to think about what I can prepare for them, so they can feel comfortable as they enter into this whole new world when they arrive home with us. We have a while to prepare– I will do some test runs on cooking Ethiopian food—Mark will build the bench for our kitchen table–and Hailey will have the best time ever being the “expert” on her new big sisters. She loves to tell people that she can totally communicate with them–there is no language barrier at all, according to her! Ahhhh…the simplicity of a child’s perspective on things. Maybe I can get a dose of that in the months to come!

Hailey Day 6:
I slept in this morning. Then the girls were here and we went to the playground and arcade, which was really fun. Then we got our hair braided. It took a long time. And our hair turned out really cute. Then we went back to the hotel and then we went to eat dinner, but I didn’t feel so well. The driving makes me sick. Then Mom and me got dropped at the hotel and Dad took the girls back to their care center.

Bridget Day 6:
We all slept in for a while this morning–which was nice–Hailey was feeling a bit better–but felt like she should sleep. Mark then was not feeling well! So onto the Cipro he went and by late afternoon he felt better. He went to get the girls in the morning to come to the gusesthouse…Hailey and I were just showering when they came in. We went to this arcade type place–sort of like Chuck E Cheese–but without Chuck E. Such a contrast in the families that were in this arcade with what was just outside the doors. Amazing that they can have a huge Sega Hummer game imported in from somewhere, but yet they cannot have clean water everywhere…or the children that we pass by on the street several times a day—how do they survive on begging alone? Mark has seen that it is more developed, more Westerners this year than last year. Last year, we would go days without seeing another white person–and this time around–it is not uncommon to find some kind of foreigner in a restaurant or shopping place. We seem to notice more upper class looking people–and then also notice the competition with the street kids trying to make a living begging, shining shoes or selling something. Mind boggling to think what you can do to help, to make a difference. One step at a time, I suppose.
So–from the arcade, we went to the beauty salon/spa. Hailey has been asking since the 1st day we got here, if she and the girls could go and get braids in their hair. OK–we have a day to fill with something, so we went into this place. The girls wanted to get extensions put in and then their hair braided and Hailey wanted her hair braided like some of the women here. So…several hours later–they were done. I even got a pedicure done, as we were waiting for so long–I might as well!! It was great—for all of this to be done was about $42 and that was including a 20% tip!! We couldn’t believe after spending that long on their hair, that is all they charged. Oh–and they scrubbed every last bit of dead skin from my feet imaginable–there is one part of my foot that actually hurts because they scrubbed a little too hard!!
We went back to the guesthouse and the girls played ball games in the court—Hailey being her usual loud self out there–and the other girls were laughing, having fun with her. Then we played some cards and we put rubber bands at the end of their braids–for some reason, they didn’t put any in the girls hair–only Hailey’s…maybe they used all the rubberbands on Hailey’s hair! We went to an Italian restaurant our driver said was good. Well–Hailey was about to throw up–as she gets car sick here from the crazy driving and exhaust smells–so we quickly rushed to the restroom (she did not get sick, though! whew.) We walked into this restaurant and this big older Italian man said we couldn’t come in! We did not have a reservation. OK. Then he probably saw the look on my face that said to him “seriously–I have 3 kids here and you are going to say no?” And he said we could come in if we could be done by 8:30. Sure–we could do that! So we ate a wonderful meal at this lovely white tablecloth restaurant! Who knew? I heard the woman next to me say that this restaurant had been there since 1950 and always had the same menu. The wait staff could then speak English, Amharic and Italian! Our waiter had to translate many things for us–he was very kind. Meal time conversation is difficult for us!! It wil be a challenge the 1st couple months, I am sure. The girls say that the care center is “ok” and they told our driver that it was fine there—and they came to our guesthouse in new, clean clothes–much more than they had at their old orphanage. So it may all be fine for them to stay there after all. Oh–and we were not able to meet up with Jimmy this morning—since most of us were not feeling well—but as it turns out–all of his kids were home with him sick! So…maybe next time. I was really looking forward to Mark meeting them—but I guess it will not happen this time around. The girls seem happy with us–especially great to have Hailey here to play with them–it is a great start for them. But we wonder if they think this is what life is like with us–all amusement parks, eating out, spa time–boy will they be suprised when they come home!!! Tomorrow is our last day..wish we had some more definite answers when we would be back for them…we can only hope it is soon.

Hailey Day 5:
Today we went to court and then once we were done with court the girls got to stay with us for a while, which was really nice.  But when they stayed with us, we first went to their care center and saw what it was like.  We played there for a while and it was lunch time and we ate lunch there.  Lunch was injera and wot.  But the wot was really spicy and I really didn’t like injera, but I ate it anyway and gave the rest to Mom.  Then after we ate lunch I felt a little sick because i forgot to use hand sanitizer and used their water to wash my hands and I licked my fingers.  So then we went back to the hotel with the girls and watched a little bot of Rio and then played a game that we made up.  It is a mixture of volleyball and basketball.  Then once we tried to play the game we were playing, we made up some ways to make the ball go.  Then we pretended that we had try outs and threw the ball to one another.  Then we went to the movie theater and watched Mr Popper’s Penguins.  Then we went back to the hotel and watched a show and then I felt real sick and fell asleep and the girls went back to the care center while I was sleeping.  And I did not eat any dinner because I didn’t feel so good and then I went to bed with Dad.

Bridget Day 5:
We all slept very well last nite–as we got in late (9:30pm) from Adama–had some Chicken Hut (their version of KFC?  the only place open!) and then it was morning!  You know Mark–nervous that we would be late—so I hopped out of bed as quickly as possible to shower and be ready for court.  Hailey was so tired, it took some help to get her going.  We were picked up by our driver and dropped off at court.  Well, it was a tall building and we walked up the stairs, looking for our director or some other Americans–and on the 3rd floor up, we found it.  It is nothing like an American court–it was more of a social services waiting room.  Chairs are lined up against the walls and the rest of the room was standing only.  The entire room was packed with people.  And our girls were not there yet.  We called and they were on their way.  Finally they arrived and we were not called in yet, so we were ok.  Children that are ten and older appear in court to speak with the judge themselves.  After waiting for a couple of hours and Hailey asking “can we play tag in the hall?”  –we got called in.  The judge asked us a couple of questions and then the girls came in and they asked them some questions as well.  The judge was very nice and sort of laughed as she told us once this adoption is final–it is final–but we already knew that since we already had one adoptive child at home with us!  She also laughed to say that we have a big family. Next we went to pick up some things at the guesthouse to take to the care center.  We arrived at the care center, the girls each had a little bag with their things in it–mainly gifts from us that they had stuffed in there. They did not have any clothes with them.  As we were visiting the kids, playing with play-dough, taking pcitures for other families–the girls looked upset.  We had a person there translate for us and they said that Adama was better–they wanted to be back there.  As we got them talking more–we found out that they thought they were coming to court and then going back to their orphanage.  They understood they were not coming home with us–but did not think they were suppose to stay there, either.  They probably did not say good-bye as they would have if they knew they were not coming back–perhaps brought more things?  Who knows–but it was hard to watch.  We stayed for a bit longer, had lunch there (well, after I was playing with babies–I walked upstairs to see Mark and the girls in the room eating lunch with everybody!) and then left.  By the way–we were very proud of Hailey for eating the food that she was served–she did not eat much–but she was politely eating it.  Of course, that is probably why she is currently having tummy issues right now.  I hope the medicine that I have for her works and clears it all up!  She is already feeling better from hours before, though–so we are praying that by tomorrow she will be ok and we don’t have to sit home.  Anyways—we were looking for things to do–and while playing with a ball in the very small courtyard is fun–not an all afternoon event.  We saw that there is a movie theater down the road–so we went to see Mr Poppper’s Penguins.  The popcorn was even good!!  I think it was probably the girls’ 1st movie?  Oh the things we will find out once we can communicate better with them!  They are so sweet–very quiet most the time.  When I was done with my popcorn, I was quickly offered popcorn from one of them, as Hailey was offered from the other.  And they always have to carry our backpacks for us when we go anywhere.  At this point, Hailey was not feeling great, so we hung out in our room for a bit and then I went with the driver to take them back.  Mark could not stand the thought of them being upset when we left them there–who ever knew that I would be the one to say “they’ll be fine”.  We asked our agency if there is any way they can go back to their orphanage while they wait for us to come back for Embassy–and they are looking into it for us.  It is not that we do not like the care center–the nannies were all very nice and looked loving towards the children there—but it is not what they are familiar with–there are 2 other older girls and their embassy date is in less than 2 weeks.  The positive was that they saw that one of the babies was from their orphanage–so they were playing with him–and it was like he knew I was then ok–so then he wouldn’t let me put him down and was all smiles!  And even better–he will be in Wisconsin too!!  I have met his mother and she is so sweet–cannot wait to share that news with her!!  Our world continues to get smaller and smaller!  Who meets people in Korah that you have mutual friends on facebook, therefore, I totally knew who he was??  small, small world.  Hailey says her tummy is already feeling better as I finish typing here.  Thank you for Zithro!!  We will see what we do tomorrow–Look Development office, perhaps Jimmy Gross and maybe the zoo??  We have never been to the zoo before!  Have to figure out our driver again, I think.  There are other families that we must share with now!!  Our IAG driver is very nice–explained much to me about Orthodox and Pentecostal Christians here—and says that our girls are Orthodox…good thing they have Catholic Godparents and Aunt and Uncle to fill in any gaps for us when we are home!  It sounds very similar to Catholicism.  Such good girls we have–we are feeling blessed.  Their Daddy is about to set up shop here and stick it out until they have their Embassy appointment, if they are not happy when we leave them, though!!  Pray for peace for the 3 of them, especially.  I am sure my time with come when I will feel bad, too—but for once, I am being optimistic that it will all go quickly and they will be home in no time at all.  I am wanting some miracles here–that MOWYA letter to be here before court closing and the Embassy not to request any further documents and get that travel date ASAP!!!  These girls have gone through enough–they need to be home already!!  Miss seeing our little ones—could not imagine having them here, though!!

Hailey Day 4:
Today I woke up at 9 in the morning to go to the orphanage to meet my sisters. Then I met thema dn they are very nice and very huggy. Then I met their friend Gete. Then I saw that they had a playground at their orhanage and played on the teeter totter and merry go round–that actually had chairs on it and it was really cool. Then we went on the swing, which is chair swings. Then we went down the big slide which made a lot of noise. Then we took them out to lunch ( girls and Gete). We had a good lunch. Then we went to their sponsor program and gave them all sorts of stuff. I handed out stickers and suckers to all the kids. There were some kids that didn’tget anything and I was trying to get them things, and I told the other kids that were grabbing “uuhhhhnnaaaaa” and kept trying to secretly get them things so the other kids wouldn’t see. Then we went to their neighborhood and visited their friends that helped them stay safe when they weren’t in the orphanage. Then we went to their neighborhood and saw their old house and 2 dogs were sleeping in their old yard. Their house was a pretty color, but we couldn’t go inside because it was locked. Then we went back to the orphanage and it was dark out. Then we went back to our hotel and ate some Chicken Hut and found out that it stays open until midnight and then they close.

Bridget Day 4:
Hmmm…where do I start? It was a very long day–nothing as expected. Yemserech (Look Development Director–the girls’ sponsorship program) and Tesfa (her brother, also Look Development and Childrens Hope Chest) came to our guesthouse to meet us and then go to Adama with us. We called our driver from last year that we enjoyed so much to drive us–thankfully he was available for the day AND had a van (last year, he had a small SUV). So we headed out, with Yemserech, to go see the girls. Once again, Alazar (driver) told us more about Ethiopia than we had ever known, as we drove along to get to Adama. It was a joy to talk with and meet Yemserech—all that was described to us about her being a wonderful, Christ-centered, joyful woman was all true. She loves to talk–and always giving the glory to God. She explained to us how the girls’ neighbor that cared for them got a new house. The husband’s company (factory worker) gave thema new house–and she said this was God’s reward to them for caring for the girls.
On the way there, I could not stop thinking about what a tough day this will be for the girls. They will be saying good-bye to all that they know–all that they have grown up with in their short lives. Mark still was thinking it was weird that we could just pick up the girls and take them to Addis with us–but I figured they were telling us what to do–so it must be correct…as this is their job!
We get to Adama and stop for mattresses before we get to the orphanage. I had them call the director of the orphanage to see what size mattresses exactly and to make sure on the number of them. When we called, she said somebody already bought them, but she would like blankets. uh–ok. So she met us at the market and we went searching and bargaining for blankets. I never knew that Ethiopians bargained–thought it was just a tourist thing. But we started at one store for 550 birr ($32 USD ) then down to 450 at the shop next door, and after walking 3 blocks down, we were then at 380 birr! Sold! 16 blankets for about $375. Of course this all took about an hour–and I knew that Mark and Hailey were probably hot (it was warmer in Adama) and annoyed that it was taking this long. So then, finally, on our way to seeing the girls. It was wonderful to see them again—their nails and hair were done—they looked so cute. So we spent a little time there then took all 3 girls (because their best friend there is sort of a package deal!) out to lunch and then to Look Development to see old friends, and bring donations. Of course in order to buy things for the Look Development store was an adventure in shopping! Yemserech and I went to the different stores to buy big bags of flour and soap for them to sell. This store generates money for the program. This program benefits so many children and families–it is incredible. We finally made it to Look and saw their office there and many children greeted us. We were running low on time—so I left the activities that we had planned on doing with them for the staff and they could use them some other time. Loved seeing the Kidds’ family picture of the girls and their house–the same pictures that captured our hearts last year. We met their wonderful social worker Bazile there. Again–what a great serving heart he had. He helped them get all of the paperwork to get to the orphanage–as well as taking them into his home many times for things like Christmas. He had some kind of document/i.d of the girls’ mother–and the picture looked just like A. They have the same eyes and face shape. I am sure that is what she will look exactly like when she is older!
Next we went to their neighbors’ house. Let me preface this with that the neighbor has a new home–not next to the girls’ anymore. So we go walking up to this green gate with a 50lb bag of teff and a large blue plastic bin—knock on the door–a bunch of kids come to the door–and we were at the wrong door! So we walked a couple doors down and there was this woman standing there in an orange dress—waiting for us. I started to cry when i recognized her. Her children were so excited to see the girls…especially the oldest girl, that looked to be maybe 9 or 10. She had tears in her eyes as she greeted her old friends. We went into her home—which was a nice room with furniture and then a bedroom. The mother and her 3 children stayed in the room with al of us, as they spoke about details about the girls’property–I have no idea what the details are–but something like they need to decide what to do with it and would like to sell it or rent it and the girls would have money later?? Not real clear on any of this. I could not help but cry as I had them try to translate for me that we are so grateful for what she did for our girls–caring for them and feeding them the way they did. How exactly do you thank somebody for that?? The woman definitely had a connection with the girls, but she was pretty stoic–never looking teary or sad about seeing or saying good -bye to the girls when we left.
Then we asked to see where their old house was. It was unreal to be walking along the same road that we saw from the Kidd family–to see the actual house–see how tiny it was–it was locked, so we could not go inside. There was no gate, no fencing–just trees/buhes that divided their property from the next one. There were neighbors that came and walked along with us and greeted the girls. Again–the girls did not appear sad at all. How can this be?? I was crying as I was leaving there, as Yemserech told me that she told the girls never to forget where they came from, never forget any of this. Helllllloooo–how can this not affect them? After we dropped the girls off at their orphanage I asked why they were not upset or sad and she simply said that they are excited to have their life in America. She said that all of the children here think that America is like heaven. um..ok—not so much–but I guess everything is relative.
Funny how I can look at so many Ethiopians and wish that I had the simplicity they had, the pure faith in God–and yet some wish they had what I had. I guess the grass is always greener on the other side? My prayer for our girls is that we can have both. Never forget where they are from, their family and friends here—yet be able to continue and nurture their steadfast faith when they are home with us….and be able to give them the opportunities, the home, the family that they deserve.

Hailey Day 1:

I mostly watched movies and since it’s a touch screen,  I played games on it like card games, checkers, bowling, and boxing.  Then we made it to Africa and I was sleepy because I never went to sleep on the plane.  I had a sweet day.

Bridget Day 1:

Here is the start to our trip….a long trip (to be expected) but what was not expected was Hailey being so excited about every little thing…her comment about the flight from Chicago to DC was “this was the most entertaining flight” since she could watch her own personal tv screen the whole way.  Then the hotel–well, what is not exciting about a stay in hotel and staying up way late and eating Subway for dinner at 9pm?  And almost forgot to mention the swans–the hotel had swans…she always wanted to go downstairs and check on what the swans were doing.

The start of the long flight…again, exciting because of the movies/shows, not to mention Mark’s old iPod that he put some shows on (we have had enough of Good Luck Charlie to last us a lifetime!), as well as some games.

Hailey Day 2:

Hailey’s 1st day in Ethiopia: We went to Kaldi’s and Zebra Grill to eat.  I got my nails manicured and painted.  I played a game of Uno with my mom and I won.  The cars here don’t have seat belts and they go speedy fast.  I only went to sleep for a second at nite.  I felt like I have been in Africa before  because it looks familiar.  I had an awesome day.

Bridget Day 2:

When we arrived, we met Haile (the director here of our adoption agency) in the lobby of our guesthouse and we were set to go meet the girls when he told us they were not in Addis yet. Well–we were surprised, to say the least…and disappointed.  But we were so tired, we made the best of it and had a bite to eat at Kaldi’s and could not fight our sleep any longer and took naps in the afternoon…and then had a late dinner at the Zebra Grill.  Tried to get a hold of the contacts we had in order to get us to Ashli’s and Korah–but no luck in getting in touch…so it will wait until the morning to see exactly what/how we would get someplace.  Surely in the morning we would feel rested and be off to a better start!

Hailey Day 3:

I went to Kadli’s with Dad and I got pancakes and the butter was really sweet, but I didn’t really like them.  We went to an orphanage and the kids were really cute, kind and friendly.  I got to hold these cute babies and toddlers and they were adorable.  And I fed a bottle to a toddler.  I played with another toddler (2 yo) and he was throwing the ball at me and we started playing catch–but he mostly hit my head.  He had a great arm.  We played games with the older kids.  We played with punching balloons, volleyball with a big balloon, duck duck, goose (my dad tagged me and I tagged him back), and some other games, too.  We went to Korah, which is the dump where people live.  A lot of kids were asking for candy and we had a whole bunch in our backpacks.  So we handed out some.  And they were all fighting to hold my hands, so I had to pick which ones could hold my hands and then switch off.  It was muddy, so I got my shoes cleaned.  So they use some water and funny looking soap stuff and make them look clean and brand new.  And it was a young boy (I think he was about 10 or 11) that cleaned my shoes.  And my mom got crowded with kids because all the kids thought the tootsie rolls were chocolate and they called it “choclot”.  This happened in Korah and after we got our shoes cleaned.  We went to dinner and me and Dad really didn’t like it because my pasta was too cheesy and his meat was too hard.  And we bought movies on the street.  And I am about to watch the movie that we bought, “Rio”.  And tomorrow I am going to meet my siters, so I am SOOO EXCITED.  I had a wonderful day.

Bridget Day 3:

We were up early–still off on our sleeping (Mark and Hailey slept–and got up early–I kept on looking at the watch every 1/2 hr!)–so they went out for coffee and I stayed back to get a shower and get ready.   We could not get a hold of the person we needed to–so we tried to get there on our own, with the driver from here.  The driver was trying to get a hold of the orphanage—-but not having much luck–but I recognized that he was going the right direction—and then I saw somebody I knew!!  So I opened the door (the window doesn’t open) and said “hey (I forgot his name—it was Henok, one of our translators from our trip in May) we are trying to get to Ashli’s” and he helped us get there–he hopped in another van and our driver followed him to the correct street and we were able to drop off the diapers to them–Ashli was not available–(so we will meet at a different time) but we stayed to play with the kids.  The place looked great!!  It was clean and organized–the kids were clean and well clothed and diapered–and the biggest delight was seeing “tiny baby” all big and healthy!!   I cannot wait to show pictures of how different he and the other babies look so much better!  I posted a picture of this babies skinny skinny legs and arms (cannot show face)and now he is the cutest healthy baby ever–with a great little giggle for Hailey and I when we talked to and held him.  Many of the little babies were gone–so just one baby per crib in that little room (in May there was 2 per crib) and then the bigger babies (under 2) were fun to play with for a while and then we moved on to the bigger kids that were in the room with the school teacher.  Mark and I were worn out from all the fun–literally running and playing games in there–so many little hands just wanting our hands and attention.  They were great.  And when we got in the van Hailey said “What are we doing next?  That was fun!”  Oh the energy of an 8 year old, I tell you!   So onto Korah we went–picked up Brehanu along the way so we could go to Great Hope ministries and visit Mission Ethiopia and onto the daycare in Korah.  The kids there were all smiles and hands and hugs as usual…went into a family’s home for a short visit…(those familiar with Korah families–it was Baby Judah’s mother and her children)..and I was surprised that Hailey made no comments as to why people lived this way–in mud, tiny shacks, dirty clothes–no comment.  Maybe she is taking it in?  Maybe she sees past it?  Really the only thing she seems to be comment negatively about is the people begging for money or asking for candy—and the smell of exhaust from the cars made her stomach feel bad on one ride.  She enjoyed getting her shoes cleaned–she thought that was pretty cool.  And she enjoys it when the other kids or people ask her what her name is and interested in talking with her.  She has been a pretty picky eater, as well.  She orders pasta most meals—but does not eat much–good thing we brought a lot of snacks.  I think she will have had consumed more soda this trip than in her entire life–that is for sure!  OK–a little girl is bugging me for the laptop to watch her movie—and we are going to move to a bigger room.    Have all of our donations and gifts sorted out for tomorrow’s big day.  A big day for so many reasons…the girls will say good bye to all they know–their neighbors, their orphanage, their sponsor program and be brought to a new place (the care center they will stay in until our Embassy date)…let alone the 1st time they meet their Daddy and new sister!!  Oh–what a day it will be.  And what is Hailey wanting to do??  Get her hair done with her sisters (Hailey wants braids in her hair!) at a salon…I told her we would see how our day went.  Many prayers as we go to sleep tonight.

 

It’s not about me.
It’s not about what can I get out of this.
Its not about trying to force my cultural views.
Its not about trying to be a hero.

Its about following what God puts on my heart.
It’s about Sacrifice.
Its about Love.
It’s about Hope.

It’s about, just one life lifted up and just one life is worth it.

Just one transformed life can have a ripple effect. An effect that flows back into their community providing more hope. The funny thing, in the process, as God would have it, you can’t help but get a little wet yourself.

Just a short story on some special people who do not have much, but have so much! And people who are bringing light and hope.

 

Ask not what Christ can do for you, ask what you can do for Christ and His kingdom! Your blessings will be a natural byproduct. Maybe not in the way you had envisioned, but you will be blessed.

Okay—well today was our last day in Ethiopia. It took me forever (hours!) to be able to Skype with Mark about what the girls were like—I so wanted to get ahold of him before we left for home—I know I would have been glued to the computer waiting in anticipation to see what they were like—in person! So he had a little bit to go on, if I could Skype a bit.

It was a nice hotel we stayed at—for anybody travelling to Adama stay at the Executive Hotel—nice rooms, super slow internet, ok food (good breakfast!)—but hey—a nice bed and shower goes a long way for me while traveling in Ethiopia!! It was a nice evening’s rest. Then we were off to see the girls.

They were waiting for us as we pulled through the gate—wearing their shirts we had sent last December. Each of the 3 girls traded clothing—S & Gete had swapped their skirt and pants and A had on Gete’s top from yesterday—kinda cute. Of course we had lots of hugs and kisses hello…and then we sat down in our visiting room to look at some of their pictures.

They had pictures of the neighbor children. The kind woman (neighbor) that cared for them after their parents had both passed away. It was A & S and three other children in these pictures. They explained that they had these pictures taken right before they moved to the orphanage. Wow! This family really saved our girls. I had it in my head that A probably cooked and cared for S…but come to find out, this neighbor woman gave them injera when they could and really took them under their wing. I was able to write down the parents’ names and their 3 children, so we would have that for them—forever.

There are so many wonderful families involved in our daughters’ lives—to bring them to where they are today. How do we thank all of these families? For The Kidd family that introduced us to them, for Look Development staff that cared and nurtured them, for the kind neighbors that helped and fed them? Again, overwhelmed. Maybe that is how I can describe this entire trip—overwhelmed. I am overwhelmed with the amount of work that needs to be done and overwhelmed by so many caring individuals that are here in Ethiopia–people that truly put others before themselves. God’s grace is overflowing here in a country that has so little otherwise.

S at one point had slow tears coming down her face and she was saying something about Dad. She went and got Getchou so he could translate for her. Obviously I could not understand her, but I watched her and Getchou’s facial expressions and while S had tears coming down her face, so did A. I was waiting anxiously to hear the translation, but at that point, Getchou covered his face and we had to wait for him to compose himself, as he was now crying, as well. I wish I had a better memory for things like this—but partoif it was about the girls not spending the nite with us (they thought they should have—but Getchou explained that the orphanage had rules), the other part was about where Dad was—and he explained that he was back at home with the other kids…but he would be back next time, when we come for court. The next part was what had all of us crying—she spoke about how they had one family, but now God has given them a new family and how thankful they were that this has happened, and they cannot wait to all be together. Such sweet words and thoughts that come from these children—again, overwhelmed. Overwhelmed by the amount of love we can all feel for one another, even before we physically have all met.

Our children back home feel a love for their new sisters that is unexplainable-you can feel it in their prayers, and the way they talk about them. The love that our new daughters talk about our family is pure and simple. With all that they have been through in their short lives, I am in awe that their hearts would be so open to our love—so that they may have room in their hearts for us—and so far, I would say they have room and then some. But don’t et me wrong—I do not think it will be easy to communicate without a translator, and I do not know if they have even mourned the many losses in their life—but I am excited to see how happy and loving they are—for that, I am thankful. We played some games (they loved connect 4) and then did some bubbles with the little ones outside–such fun to see all the smiles on their faces. The older girls helped with the bubbles, but had more fun taking our cameras and take pictures —always showing us what picture they just took.

We then walked over to their school—just about a block away from them. It was a nice big area—with room to play and run, some random old playground equipment and several buildings. We met the director and he showed us around, very proud of their computer/music room. Oh—before this, I have to tell you that Grandma took a picture of some kids and then we turn back to see where she went and a picture that started out with maybe 20 kids is all of a sudden 40-50! It was hilarious. We were quite the spectacle, I think. Kids were looking in the windows when we were in the music/computer room—and the director shooed them away. Kind of felt like a celebrity! They had about 6 computers in there and A was proud to show us how she could type her name in microsoft word and S showed us how she could change the wallpaper and do things in the paint program. I told them their dad would be very excited to know they could use a computer already! Salaam (the orphanage director) was proud to share with us that the girls spoke no english when they came to her, but now they are learning because they go to this school. Oh—and if you are wondering why there were kids milling around and not in class—they were having their lunch break. Two little ones that walked to the orphanage for lunch were on their way back when we were leaving—walking hand n hand —it was too cute.

Then we made lots of bracelets for and with one another—and Gete made these cool rings out of the bead supplies. All of a sudden, 3pm just creeped up on us…and it was time to go. It was awful to say goodbye—lots of tears and many hugs and kisses. It was hard—but I know I will be back soon. I am so glad that my mom could see where her grandchildren are from, why we love the Ethiopian people and why we are so passionate about our calling to serve orphans. I am sure it was not an easy trip for her—and as she says—“I can’t really talk about my time in Ethiopia to people without crying…and well, that is not good at a cocktail party!”

Oh my mom…proud of her for coming and for being a good sport when many times, I know she was tired or had enough, she went on. And of course there were the little Sue comments here and there—others in our group claim they were entertained by our mother-daughter conversations—especially our roommates Dana and Carrie. I am sure they are missing seeing Sue in her lovely nightie! Maybe we will have to have a girls nite again…oh, but then we would need foam mattresses, bunk beds, a mosquito buzzing around Sue’s head and heat. Hmm…maybe not anytime soon!

Can’t wait to see my family back home—I don’t know that I can be gone for this long again—I missed them terribly. 2 weeks is a long time. Now in the weeks to come, we will get together as a team to decide the future plans of the Orphan Ministry. All I know for certain is that lives were changed and hearts were broken—and I know we will do something—that is all we ever dreamed of—that others’ would see the hope that we saw, the love we felt and the calling that we heard.

Mission accomplished.

Well, of course it is hard to put in words the emotion you have when finally meeting your children…but I will try. Of course I was nervous, but actually more excited than nervous versus when we first met Eyob last year. We arrived in Adama and found a nice hotel, put our luggage in our rooms and then quickly left to find the orphanage. The people at the front desk did not even know what an orphanage was—then we explained to them what it was and our driver called the orphanage to get directions. After a long conversation he said “road is closed to orphanage” huh?? We can’t get there?? But then he continued with “they are coming here” Again, huh? Are the girls coming here? That would be kind of weird to meet at a hotel, but ok. But no, a person from the orphanage was coming here to show us how to get there, since it was hard.

Well, this is Africa—so I knew it may be a while until this person came here, so maybe we should eat something, even though it was 10:30 am….so we ordered some fries and some cake/bread. Well, of course the guy came, so we left our food half eaten and followed this man to the orphanage. Sure enough they were redoing roads, so we had to take these really poor rocky roads to get there—I felt bad for Getchou’s (our driver) van having to go on these roads. But then we see a really nice place in the midst of a new construction area—at the same time there was not such nice areas and trash everywhere—very weird—but again, not surprising here in Ethiopia to have one place super nice and the next place is a shack.

We pull up to the gates and the girls were on the front porch. They came down the stairs and of course I immediately start to cry and I cannot even recall who I hugged first—maybe A. But after individual hugs, the 3 of us hugged for a long time and they also hugged and kissed Grandma. Getchou took pics for us. The girls are so very sweet….they just kept saying “I love you Mom” and constantly hugging and kissing. They were also saying this to Grandma—but mostly to me. So we went into a room to visit. I showed the girls the video that Mark made for them and they immediately said “Dad!” and then as they would see things in the video, they would repeat what he would say in the video (he gave them sort of a home tour). They were also excited to see Eyob and Ty in the video. They opened their many gifts. They were so thankful for each thing they received…never being greedy or tearing into things. Aunt Jenny—they loved all of their things from you—especially the picture, so they could see who you were and they do have Godparents here, so they explained that is who you are. For those that have travelled to Ethiopia and know how affectionate and no knowledge of personal space they have here—well, our girls take this trait to the test—and I dare to say they are the most affectionate girls ever. They were literally on top of me, petting me, always an arm around me, or holding my hand….I do not think I will lose them in the airport, as they are glued to me. I guess I do not have to worry about not seeing A smile much in pics…she is just more reserve than S. We had a good time playing Candy Land and Chutes and Ladders with one another. Their friend is also at this orphanage with them, and she stuck with us, as well, for much of our time. We then asked if we could take them out to lunch and we could! I felt horrible when we could not also take my friend’s little girl—but since she was not ours, we could not and I understood—but I cried, as she cried.

So off we went to lunch at our hotel—as we did not know much of what was around here. Oh—a funny thing they said as we were still first meeting was the girls said I was late!! Yes—already calling me out on being late (which we never set a time)—but they thought I should have been there sooner!! It was funny. So anyways….then we went in the van and of course all 3 of us had to sit in the same seat…so we sat in the way back and giggled as we were rocking around on the bumpy roads. Mind you—one of them had their arm around me, and I am holding hands with the other and it is a zillion degrees outside! Much warmer here, since we are in a valley in Adama. We walked in the restaurant hand in hand—S had my back pack on, because of course they would not let me carry it. They looked a little overwhelmed and uncomfortable at the nice restaurant—I am glad we were the only ones there. Getchou helped them decide what to order and they had tibs with injera and we ordered a pizza. Conversation was minimal—as they still do not speak very much English. There was a tv on –some kind of weird Kurt Russel movie that they seemed glued to (in engish)—but since Getchou was watching, I did ask them to turn it off. Our pizza was kind of weird gross…but it sufficed.

Mom stayed at the hotel and I went back with the girls. We had lots of fun drawing pictures, then getting stickers and crosses out—they did not want to decorate the crosses, but they wanted to put the stickers on their faces—so I asked if we could include all of the little ones and they loved it. Kathleen gave us her Polaroid and the kids loved it!! The girls were also taking pics with my camera. They were poking fun of S as she was always kissing me on my cheek in pics. We got out one of the Velcro mitt games I brought and they were playing in the courtyard. There were no tears as we left—as I will be back in the morning. They are proud of the English words that they do know (which is very minimal) and S came to the van to tell me “God bless you”. Oh—they already had my heart before I met them—but this is sweet frosting on the cake.

The orphanage director seems very kind and caring to all of the children there…even though they are lacking in supplies…using cloths for diapers for little tiny babies and having the young 1-3 yr olds sitting on potties—but hey, that works in a lot of countries…so why not here, right? They looked too cute all lined up on their potty seats. So thankful our girls are there—and that it is a smaller place, but with room to play outside and inside. They said 39 children were there….and they have 4 nannies on each 12hr shift. OK—I need to get to bed—as I was falling asleep in the van on the way back to orphanage the 2nd time I went!! Emotionally exhausting day, I think. Just in awe how awesome God has weaved our family together. And Ali—your Gete is precious and misses her family—I cannot wait to show you pics and talk to you. I just want to scoop her up and take her home to you—you know I would if I could. But could all of us live in the same city, so we don’t have to separate the 3 musketeers??

Well, our last day “officially” with the team. We went to help with a feeding program in the city. It was lines of men mostly—some were disabled, some old, some young—a couple of kids. We walked in and at first, we were quite in the way—not knowing what to do and some of us crowded in the kitchen were observing the fastest crew ever. It was a very well managed program—each person got a token and then they came to the window, got their bowl of injera, sat down and got some beans and wat. My job was to fold the injera (with instruction from the woman in the kitchen) and put it on the large tray or in the bowls, if they were clean. Bowls would come in and get dumped out and washed/rinsed and used again for the next person to use. We served exactly 1,000 people in a matter of a little over an hour. Again—AMAZING! The women in the kitchen did not speak any English-and I am positive we were the slowest people ever to work there (the women were the fastest ever—of course there are only a couple of them serving 1,000 people in such a short time—who has time to be slow?)—but then they were joking around with us—it was great and fun, too. Dana and I thought we were pretty fast by the time we got our system down!! The saddest and most shocking part was when the boys and men came to the window after everybody was served and they held out a plastic bag to get the “leftovers” and then they poured some wat in there. Yes—“leftovers” came from the container that they used to dump each person’s bowl into before they washed the bowl. I could not imagine being that hungry or desperate for food in order to eat that. It is not like what they were eating looked or smelled all that appetizing anyways. We were not allowed to take pictures—but we were able to get a picture with the staff that worked there. Even with pictures, I could not have captured all of the senses that need to be there to experience this. So thankful for this experience.

We then had lunch at a random spot—we think it was a seminary? Basically, we had to take our lunch (packed up for the day) somewhere to eat—but not the orphanage, since the kids would come around us. I am only including this because this was the worst squatty potty yet. I know I have not talked about the bathrooms here…but it is worth mentioning now that I did not even know Ethiopia had facilities like this—since I did not see them last time I was here—and on this trip, I have used a squatty potty I think each day! What a treat it is to squat over a hole to go the bathroom—this one was exceptionally smelly and extremely dirty. I almost slipped—and that would have been very unfortunate. All I can say is that I totally appreciate wearing skirt these past few days—SOO much easier. OK—being with the same people for this many days—we share way too much information (there are 7 of us sharing one bathroom on our floor at the guesthouse)—so now it is spilling into my logs—so, so sorry for TMI!!!

We spent more time at Ashli’s orphanage and even though I wanted the nannies to take a break and I could paint their nails—they would not. The closest I came was painting the little girl’s nails that was helping us with babies—she was 12. The nannies’ were excited to have the nail polish to take for their own—so that was good. I pray that they get more nannies soon. I said good-bye to my little tiny babies and the other sweet ones at the orphanage. I am so very thankful that 4 of the college students that are in our group are going to stay here to help at this orphanage and live there!! Two of them will stay until August and two of them will stay for one month. People on our team helped clean and paint a room for the 3 girls to stay in and they are in the process of buying beds for the 4 of them. The one guy (Allen) will stay in a room that connects to the boys’ room. I can leave with much more confidence, knowing these wonderful young people are here with all of their energy to help take care of them. The nannies that are there are the most dedicated, loving people ever—-but they are not able to care for all these babies and children the way they should be, with the resources and staff that they currently have!! Tonite we prayed for everybody in our group—which included such kind words of thanksgiving from my mom—it was great. I will be sad to leave what we are doing—but I am so very excited to meet our girls tomorrow. We got the driver that we like—he is older, speaks some English, fast driver and the safest and smoothest driver out of the bunch!! He will stay with us for our 2 days in Adama—and stay at a hotel near us, or at our same hotel. Of course, we are not quite sure where we are staying—only that it is next to the Dire Hotel in Adama…hmmm..thanks Ali, for the great directions!!! Kidding—I am sure we will find it just fine!! After all—it’s Africa…we’ll get there, when we get there, right?? Hope I have internet at our hotel so I can tell you all about the girls!!! I cannot wait to show them their sweet video from their Daddy.

This morning we had an early start, being ready at 8:30 to help take babies to the dr. We were warned that the new babies were very tiny. So we went to gather 8 babies to go to the dr—some for check ups, some sick and 3 were new babies. We had to get bottles ready, babies changed and then out the door. With so many people, it did not take as long as I thought it would have—so with all of us with one baby in hand, we loaded up in the van. Now what a strange scene—all these Americans with little babies in the waiting room—but it worked. I cannot imagine how Ashli took 6 to the clinic, with just her and a nanny—but the wonderful drivers here double up on their job title as also a caretaker at times! All babies were weighed and seen by a doctor. The smallest of the bunch was about 4 lbs. But basically, they had some prescriptions written for thrush, ear infection, skin problems, but all around were seen as “OK”. Severely malnourished here and seeing their ribs and skin hanging off their body is alarming—but I guess not justification for hospitalization.

One baby was found in a church, another they estimate to have been sitting in a hotel for 2 days alone, not sure about the 3rd baby. Ashli did not have warning that the babies were coming, other than the director visited the orphanage in the south (where they feed babies out of their hands) and brought these 3 here. Thank God she did. Now the little peanut that broke out heart on the 1st day because he was so very tiny looks big compared to his new little crib mate. Two of the babies had labs (Sue had to scoop poop out of her babies diaper for a sample—pretty funny—and mine had to have his finger pricked 2x for blood and hardly cried) and all of this took under 2 hours! This would have never happened in the states—if I take all 4 kids to the doctor, I hardly get out in 2 hrs—let alone double that and put in labs!! It was an impressive place, nice and clean. It cost 110 birr (about $7) for each dr visit, plus labs and medicine. This is considered the best here and the doctors certainly seemed knowledgeable. Oh—and I am not sure how the dr knew this, without labs, but he said the little baby had sepsis—but nothing for that other than an injection of antibiotics for him and his thrush. Yes—they are treating the thrush with antibiotics. Maybe they don’t have the same medicine as we do?? Who knows…but all I know, is that a baby this size, having sepsis would be hospitalized. And he is being taken care of the best they can, with 2 nannies.

We then went to the pharmacy (which took a while) and then feed and change babies before we left to meet the rest of the team for lunch—it was already 2pm at this point. We were not able to sit with everybody else—but we were so tired and hungry, I guess it was ok. Talked with Sammy for a while and will go into his story later—but basically, he is very taken care of—Ashli is like his mom here and clothes him and feeds him. He has a mother and 5 siblings that depend on him and his livelihood as a street kid. Ashli is going to try to get him into a boarding school next year and go from there—working on getting the very difficult visas that are necessary to bring him to the USA. It was so nice to see how much he is loved and cared for and how much he adores and cares for Ashli, as well. Then I rode along to drop off the street kids back near the post office—didn’t understand a word anybody was saying, as I was smushed between kids in the van. We went to the big grocery store to buy supplies for the orphanage—mostly diapers and wipes and cleaning supplies. It was fun to go shopping and see all that they had. It was sort of impressive—the most shocking thing was cereal that was $8/box. Then we went back to the orphanage and helped with the babies some more—stayed there until about 8:30—nothing like a good 12 hour work day! It was such a great day. Heard that I missed a great service at the International Church, though—but I would not have been anywhere else other than the babies. And Kaye and I even got great smiles out of our little tiny baby (the original tiny baby). AMAZING!!

This morning we went out to help with the Sunday School program they do with the kids that are involved in church….and yes, it is Saturday.  The adults go to church onSunday there.  We read bible stories to them and then did a cross craft project (similar to what the kids did Easter Sunday) and also made little Jesus dolls. They did really well and with help, they sat nicely on the benches and did their project—but of course by the time we got to our 3rd group of kids, it was getting a little tricky—but I would say that we did about 200 Jesus’ dolls—and the kids loved them.  When it was becoming hard to tell the kids to sit down and wait for their turn, the little girl that gave me my ribbon a couple of days ago, came in and helped me hand out supplies and help with instructions in Amharic. I really enjoyed doing the project with all of those little hands and loved seeing  them so happy with their crafts in hand.  It was so nice to have the big girls helping me, since at times, there were a lot of little hands all wanting something. Hope to see the Bethlehems again someday—yes, they are best friends andthey have the same name—Beta, for short.

This afternoon the boys (and some of the girls) are going to play basketball with some of our guides and church leaders.  Then some people are going shopping.  I think I will stay here and take a nap—I have all the things I need to take home. Tonite we will go to the traditional Ethiopian restaurant —can’t wait to see all of the dancing and eat the delicious food!  Hope it is as good as I remember it!!

…… OK—so dinner was great —but not the same place.  This restaurant was a much bigger place…but still the traditional dancing and singing was the same—I am always soimpressed with how they can move their bodies.  I think there was the same cute boy that we saw last year at the other restaurant—maybe this is a step up to a bigger place??  The place was packed.  Although I was disappointed that we did not see the women do their hair/head spinning thing—I wanted everybody else to see it!  I guess I will have to show them our video instead.

As we were getting ready for bed, we were asked if we wanted to help Ashli take babies to the doctor.  She got in 3 new babies that are severely malnourished—Alicia said she has never seen a baby this skinny.  These babies came from the orphanage in Wolayata.  Don’t know if I alreadymentioned this one, but if not—I will share with you just how awful it is.  These babies are fed by the nannies hands.  Yes—no bottles, because the water is too precious to use to make the bottle and  then clean the bottle—so they save a step.  So these babies are severely malnourished—one of them supposedly was found in a hotel and had been there on its own for 2 days. How this baby has made it this far—who knows.  We will go in the am to help take 8 of the babies in. I hope that I do not break down once I see them.  I wish I could post pics—but cannot, since they may be eligible for adoption. I pray the families are waiting for these babies—they need a home, they need a parent there to nurse them to health.  And to think I was just talking about how I was so not in the baby stage anymore—and I cannot wait to help with these babies.  Of course, I do love other people’s babies—-and I know these babies have families somewhere I just hope and pray they unite soon.

Today we woke up early, to be ready to go at 6am for our ride out to the boarding school where the sponsored Korah kids go to school—Shashamane.  Well, lets just say a 3 hr ride took 5 hrs…but we did stop for breakfast.  Getting to see the countryside was really nice—beautiful little towns, donkeys, acacia trees, hay thatched huts, cows and even some camels.  Of course the ride there was not without some adventures, as one van had to change a tire, one van almost hit a donkey, person and another vehicle, one had their license checked by police…fun stories.  I think the van I was in had the “good” driver and we did not have any major incidents. But traveling here, in the vans that have little/no shocks and roads that are many times very bumpy—well, it does not make for easy travel…so we are all tired this evening.

Oh—the kids! How could I forget to tell you about them?  They did not have school today, so it was a perfect day for us to visit, we did crafts, sang songs and did some HIV education and they heard Ashli’s testimony about how your body is not your own and that you should keep it pure.  We each had a group of children that we prayed with—and I really spent much of my time talking and getting to know a group of boys I was sitting with—mainly in 8th grade.  They taught me so much Amharic!!  Thank you Fantahun for teaching me so many wonderful words!! They were excited to use their English conversation skills, I think.  They were very loving and affectionate.

As we were getting ready to leave, I spoke with some girls and then they were wanting me to videotape them—so I asked them to sing a song—and at first they were singing hallelujah and then they ended with a Justine Bieber song, asking if I knew him.  All of the children are so impacted by the love and support they get from their sponsors…they were always asking us if we knew their sponsors.  If you are a sponsor of one of these children—know that you are part of their lives and their families.  The property the school was located on was very pretty—nice and spacious and many of the buildings were also in great condition.  We spent most of the time in an outdoor amphitheater—which was mostly stone.

I can’t help to think of the kids missing their families—but many of them lived in the shelter at Hope Ministries or with relatives.  My one guy lived at home with his mother and little brother (his father is deceased).  Sweet children that have more faith than most people I know—and so proud of their faith, many asking me “Do you believe Jesus?” and pointing to his heart.  And answering me “I believe Jesus, I love Jesus.”

We slept in a bit today and then headed out to Enoto mountain.  We saw the same church Mark, Eyob and I were at—and saw the women carrying their heavy load of branches down the mountain.     So it was kind of weird to be in the same place at about the same time, but without my boys.  We then saw the Emperor’s Palace—which was interesting to see and the man showing us around had some fun facts for us—like the 1st eucalyptus tree that was given to Ethiopia from Australia….or that the roof was woven with hyde from over 3,000 ox.  And the little museum had some traditional outfits and things in it, along with gold medals from the Olympics.

We then went shopping in the post office district…nothing new there—but Samual was not there that afternoon, but his buddies were—along with some of the new kids that we saw last time we shopping.  Picked up a couple of things for people back home.    Just a day of refreshing ourselves today.

OK—so today we started out our day splitting up a couple of us—some people really feeling called to help Ashli at her place—so maybe 5-6 people went there and the rest of us went to go see who “Jimmy” was and what his story was.  Up until this point, it was kind of a running joke who this guy was—because we knew nothing, other than his name and he was trying help a govt run orphanage.  So we pull up to see two blond haired girls, a blonde lady and then then this guy with a 2 day beard and hair in a pony tail.  So THIS must be Jimmy Gross!!

Well, we had some kids come around the van, curious as to what we were doing there—but basically, Jimmy told us how the Lord has led his family here to Addis and then he went into how this place was run, etc.  He said that they really cleaned up for us us, expecting our visit—we could really do whatever we wanted, play with whomever—but no pictures. So….ok.  We went on our “tour” and met some of the kids outside of the special needs area…but I went on to the next are and saw the toddlers.  I have never had a child hand back a piece of candy because they didn’t like it—some of the children were so very sweet and some were aggressive and we did not seem to be able to get them to listen, as they were grabbing at things.

I made a fast new friend and had a little 2 or 3 yo girl stuck to my hip for a lot of the time.  She was the most beautiful little girl with these gorgeous curls and apparently had an adoptive family, but then a medical exam said there was something wrong with her leg, so now she will not be adopted.  I guess she limps a bit when she walks—but I never noticed it.  Jimmy had numerous stories of where these children came from, their story—and it was heart breaking.

So we then went on to the baby room.  Now the 1st room was tiny babies—and I mean tiny.  They said some of them come in with their umbilical cord still on.  Some of the babies are dropped off—some are born in a hospital and the mother leaves. Whatever the case may have been—these babies were tiny and they needed love.  All of the children here  have their diaper changed 2x/day.  That is what they have, so that is what they do.  I would estimate that there were about 20 of these very small babies—2 to a crib.  And then they had the older babies—under a year old—many 2 to a crib—and maybe another 15-20?  These were babies that were  getting ready to move—some pulling up in their crib—that mind you, had only probably a foot of rail on them—so how many babies could flip out of there, who knows…but none the less—there was not enough hands on deck to help care for these little ones!  Some of the nannies were very compassionate with them—and some were just doing their job, it looked like.  I could not imagine doing their job.   I did not even make it out of this area, since there was never enough time to even walk through, in order to get out of this area, before it was time to go. It was great to talk with Rachel (Jimmy’s wife) to see how they have made this their family’s mission to move here—but there was just so much need, we were overwhelmed.  We gave the donations that we brought for them and prayed over their family and said good-bye.

Others in our group that played with the older kids (3-5 years old) said that many of them would not listen and follow directions and that kids did what they wanted and even were rude at times.  My mom said she had quite the line going, as they waited for their turn for her to push her on the one swing.  This orphanage was unsafe on so many levels.  To even get around on their grounds it was dangerous at times, with jagged rocks at the entrance to buildings, ditches next buildings that children can fall into—it was a mess.  They had great space, but the physical buildings and grounds need a lot of work.  We would love to partner or do something with this place, but it may be too difficult, as it is a govt orphanage.  We will revisit this idea and I know we will be back to help with teams to come, no matter what.   There is GREAT need and those children and nannies need so many prayers.  Pray that they these children get into families and fast…they do not belong here. They deserve more than that.  And we did not even see half the kids that were at school that morning!  Oh—but we saw their bedroom—bunk beds all pushed together, with a couple cribs in there, as well—one room was for older girls, but another room was mixed and he has seen 4 kids in one bed at times.  They get a new kid dropped  off just about every day.  Our hearts were broken when we left there…knowing there has to be more for them.

In the afternoon, we went to Mother  Teresa’s HIV Orphanage and it we were all in shock by the dramatic contrast between what we were selling and what we just experiences.  This place was clean, the grounds were beautifully maintained—children were all napping at the same time, and then we saw the new school!  Oh my—this is a school that we would send our children to.  Even though some of the children may have had very worn uniforms on, they seem to be learning at an earlier and faster pace than our children!  They have integrated the orphanage kids with the community kids 50/50, so they charge the community children to pay a fee for this private education.  It was an impressive 3 story building…with a very capable head master that poke with us about this school.  We ended our tour with a tour of the hospital and clinic.  There had some sick babies in it—one having TB and her mother had brought her sick baby in from a remote village to get treatment and they will be there for about 2 months.   They seem to have a great facility, well staffed and supplies.

This was so very different when Mark and we walked in last year at this time—as we were left with one nanny and maybe 40 toddlers to try to be in charge of, as we were attempting to hand out suckers and I was being mobbed…and the sister told me not to hand out the chalk, because they needed it for the school room.  VERY different than what we saw.  It was great to see kids that looked so healthy and that things were really going so very well for them!!  Progress is very exciting to see.  Even the road that we took to get there—was being constructed—and the road was actually down, versus us being stuck in mud to try to get there!!  Oh how much has changed in one year.  Thank you God for that.  And I was so happy that people could see that HIV+ kids could be healthy and people can have the stigma wired clear from their mind.  That was a gift right there.

Some of us went back to Korah to visit with the after school kids, since we were not able to the other day we came to visit.  (We were told not to come back, since it was a holiday, and people would be drinking—so they did not want u in harm’s way.)   On our ride there, I am eating my peanut butter crackers and it dawned on me—they probably don’t even get a snack—lets get them a snack—so we did.    Masti (one of our guides) and I purchased orange soda and cookies for the children and I walked in my flip-flops from the store to the church where the kids were—not an easy thing to do—with all the rocks and glass on the “road” in Korah!  But a child’s mother came and helped me carry the soda—she was very sweet.  We were able to spend some time with the kids and of course was greeted with great big hugs and welcomes.  I have never had a child that did not know me, give me the live that they children give to us—this one child seriously had a bear hug on me! It was great fun.

So we had been waiting all day to hear something about our Uganda part of the trip—because there was a possibility that it would be canceled due to the president being sworn in the same day we were to arrive…and they expected violence.  So we got the call from Amanda and the decision was made—we are not traveling to Uganda.  Many people were quite bummed out—but knew this was God’s plan—and none of this surprised Him—but boy, did it shock us a bit!!  We were so looking forward to seeing Uganda and especially the Sixty Feet ministry—where the kids are in prison.  I mean, really—what are we going to do with all these flip flops??  But I guess this gives us more time to be here—and there is certainly great need here.

http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/-/688334/1160180/-/c1kwywz/-/index.html

So we will make a new schedule and have it all work out.

This morning we went to Kidane Mehret.  This is an orphanage that was started in early 1900’s by nuns from Malta.  It was a nice property with many buildings.  We were even able to  tour the church there—which was gorgeous with the marble pillars and alter, crystal chandelier and stained glass windows.  In true Ethiopian style—there were 2 extremes right next to one another—one being the church and one being the rubble and dirt right close by, that was the guard’s shack.

We expected 150 children there and maybe had about 15-20 preschool ages ( a couple of sweet older kids, as well) and about 15 babies.  The other kids were away at school.  So the group split up and some spent time doing crafts, bible stories, draw with chalk and sing with the older kids and others spent time holding and feeding babies.

One of the “babies” that broke our hearts was a child that was maybe the size of a 1-2 yr old, but was really 7 years old and had a severe case of hydrosyphilus and the sister said she had no brain activity and could not see or her—but when you talked to this child and touched her—she knew  it—and her lips would move and her eyes and face would change.  The sister explained to us that she would stay there to live until she went to heaven. You could see the pure love and passion the sister had for this child!!
The orphanage seemed to be well staffed, running well and plenty of supplies. They get much support from many in different countries and she said that all of the babies but 2 of them all had families that were adopting them.  We felt this was not the orphanage for us.  They even have a person that coordinated volunteers for them!  There were girls (maybe college aged?) that were there helping, one from Scotland, Denmark, Spain and England.  One was there for one month and others there for 3 months.   We felt this was not the orphanage for us. But it was a nice comparison for our group to see how an orphanage is able to run well!!  And it was awesome to see so many nannies that truly loved the children—showing them with kisses and  laughing at their smiles.  The head nun in charge was an older woman that had an incredible heart and the children would light up around her—their heads would turn at the sound of her voice. She was an incredible person, doing God’s work for the past 40 years in Ethiopia—at this orphanage for the past 11!

Next we went to the Fistula Hospital.  This was such a beautiful, peaceful place.  When you walked in, you saw these well maintained buildings—almost like a little mini college campus, but with these gorgeous gardens everywhere.  At certain places, you would see women in pairs or groups talking, doing hair, maybe waiting to get in to an appointment. A doctor from the hospital explained all about the hospital to us—and it is just incredible what one doctor and her husband could do to make such an impact.  And the best part about it, is that they really treat the ‘whole” woman—including medical, mental, spiritual, education, her family, and her community.

They seem to treat them so well—with such dignity, especially aware of the circumstances they have been through to lead them there.  They are not just fixing them medically and then discharging them.  They tell the women to share with others in their community that they too can get help for their problems and they can have a future. Many of these women are shunned from their community and their husband since they have this problem.

Maybe I should explain a little, for those that do not know.  Basically, these women’s bodies have been through some kind of trauma—mainly from being in labor too long, and the baby does not want to come out naturally, or safely and they have no medical person helping them deliver.  So these women wind up being in labor for days—the babies die—and then the babies shrink and they have still born births.  Their bodies are damaged in this process—sometimes leaving a hole in the bladder or rectum area—which causes them to leak from those areas.  Then they are considered dirty, they are not seen as viable to have more children, therefore, they are shunned by their community.  They are so poorly shunned, that there are women that cannot even walk because they are so weak from malnutrition because of this neglect. Some of these women are there for 2 years in order to rehab their bodies.  It is shocking to see some of their before and after pictures.  We were able to walk through many of the areas—passing out chocolates and mints and giving hugs, prayers and warm smiles to these courageous women.  They teach many of them a craft and they sell their items in their store there….I could obviously go on and on about this place.  It is just a wonderful blessing to have this sanctuary.  It is a place of hope and healing.  I could not help to think of our girls while there, as many of them were very young girls—our girls’ ages.  Could not help to think that this may have been their future, as they were in the situation they were in.  Rape seems to be a big problem here—as many women’s story of their children start with a rape.  Such an awesome place.

I was kind of crabby today—not really sure why—I think I miss my family and more and more I want to see my big girls…always reminded of them everywhere I go.

Well, we went to Korah today.  It was kind of surreal, seeing as I have heard so much about this place, but have never been. We went into Great Hope Ministries when we got there—and many of us were greeted with these sweet little hands and hugs and kisses.  There were a couple of us that were able to have little ones on our lap—me being one—while we were listening to the woman who runs Project 61 tell us about her ministry (I highly urge you to go to their website or look up the video on youtube (I think it is there!)—and she has done so very much to help the children there, and in turn, their families.

There were some men that work for the church that gave their testimonies and I cannot do it justice—but I will attempt to summarize to say that these are noble men that grew up in the dump, worked in the dump, and now are serving the Lord and giving back to their community.  These are men that the young boys can look up to, a strong male figure for the entire community.  And on top of it—they were humble and thanking us for coming!

We then went to visit the Alert Hospital that is the TB and HIV hospital—started out as a hospital for lepers, originally.  There are women that use space there to do their crafts—mostly the traditional outfits, scarves, crocheting—just beautiful, intricate work—and they were happy to show us how they made their yarn and everything.  We were able to shop in their store, with all profits benefiting the hospital.  We went back to see the kids (can’t remember the name of the program—maybe Bright something??) having lunch and had our own lunch.  They encourage kids to stay in school and feed them lunch and do an afterschool program—helping with homework and bible study, as well.

 

Here is the cycle these families are in…if the kids go to school and have no food at home, then they get no food all day, since they are not working at the dump (by working, I mean they are digging through the dump for food or items they can sell, like recycle plastic, old food , clothes—whatever they can find to sell).  So the hard part is when they are the only one “working” in the family.
After lunch we went on home visits.  Each group had 3-4 people in it, with a church leader that could translate for us. We were visiting women that was in need. For example, one woman got sick, so she was not able to make her injera to sell—so now she is late on rent and cannot catch up.  They do not want to enable people, but rather, help them help themselves—so we went with a donkey and a bag full of teff (what you need to make injera) to gift to them.  For our home visit, we walked into this woman’s home that we had to climb up a couple chunks of rocks to get into —which barely fit the 6 of us, standing. It had a tin roof, mud floor and a blanket on the ground.   This woman was 27 years old (looked like she was in her 40s) and said she had one child, a 2 year old.  She was raped—so she is on her own.  She pays $12/month for rent for this space to the govt since they own the land she is on. Could you imagine??  Paying somebody to live there??  When it rains, she sleeps in mud..no electricity, no water, just a make shift shelter that she has to provide for her home.   Her source of income is working at the dump—and when asked where her child was, she answered she is at a friends’ house, since they watch her when she is working.  I say “she” only because I saw a little pair of pink shorts hanging up on a nail on the wall.  This woman was gracious, hospitable, grateful for our visit, prayers and teff.  It was by far the most humbling and heart breaking experience, as I was able to see, first hand how these people lived, how they loved and thanked the Lord for all that they had.  Most people would not be thanking God for their lives, they would be bitter and give up on a hopeless situation—instead—they are hopeful  and they are thankful.  It shamed many of us to think of the things that we take for granted and are not thankful for—like water, a bed, a roof (not a tin one that leeks water in), a bathroom.

We then took a walk to see a part of the dump—they do not allow teams in anymore—but we were able to see some.  Hopefully I will be able to attach the pics—but again—you need to see and hear and smell it for yourself to really understand it.  The enormity if this community is mind boggling and overwhelming ..they say 100,000 people live there.  So what do we do?  How can we help??  I have no idea.  It is going to have to be one at a time and they have a great start of sending off over 200 of these kids to boarding school this past year—this will be a new generation—a generation that can be healthy, get educated  and in turn, help out their community.  The love these people have for one another and to strangers like us—is beyond inspiring.  I had one little girl I was talking with for a while, take her little ribbon pin off of her shirt and pin it on to my shirt as a “gift”. Really??  THIS is what they are like!!  Little ones would just put arms up with a big smile and you would walk around with them or walk hand n hand with them.  Yes—I have no clue what a 2-3 yr old is doing walking around, but they assured me that they were ok and would go home when they needed to!  They were so cute—and had that oh so familiar dirty kid smell here—the way the kids smell often in orphanages….the kind that you wish hugs could just heal it all.

I am feeling so fortunate that I am able to share why Mark and I are so passionate about the beautiful people here..so excited for this ministry to serve the least of these.  The people of Korah have more than we could ever imagine—they have a deeper faith than anybody I have ever met in the states, that is for sure.

Tomorrow we are off to tour the Fistula Hospital and go the Kidane Mehret and also some shopping—I hope to see Robel’s street kids while we are there!!    Oh—and the traditional restaurant with the dancing and singing…I can already see my mother’s expression on her face and her saying something funny!!!

Well—today was exhausting.  We got off the plane around 8ish in the morning…stood in line for our visas—and then quickly off to the parking lot to attempt to load all 23 of us and ALL of our luggage into three little vans.  One van was just for luggage and the other 2 were for people and luggage.  It was a gorgeous warm day, with a nice breeze.

We all change, had lunch and then off to our 1st orphanage.  I think many of us were surprised by what we were doing—we were told some would be painting, some cleaning the cribs, and other various cleaning projects.  Huh??  We were quickly reminded we are here to serve—it is NOT about us.  But don’t you worry—we also had great fun with the children there, as well.   This orphanage was a last minute add onto our trip—as they were in such desperate need for EVEYRTHING—3 babies died in the past few weeks because they didn’t have formula —THAT is how bad I was.  Our group pulled together so many last minute donations , it was awesome—and disorganized all at the same time.  But when we walked in, they told us we could take a peek at the older kids—and they were all in their matching neon luai 2010 tshirts singing and dancing for us.  They were adorable—the youngest being maybe 2 and the oldest maybe 13.  They were happy, singing praise songs mostly in Amharic, but also in English.  I think the number of children was 15 and 17 babies??  Don’t quote me…and you can’t really count them in pics, since we can’t post any!  Sorry—many children were available for adoption, therefore, we can’t publicly post any pics!!  And then we went up to the baby room.

The scene was too much—most of the babies lying on the floor on blankets.  Ashli went around their little baby circle and told us some of their stories of how they got there—one was dropped off in a plastic bag, one was 5 ½ mos old but looked like a premie.  There were a  handful of babies that were obviously malnourished—and it was hard to see.  I mean really—this is not Sally Struthers walking through Ethiopia in the 80s—this was 2010 and we wer e in an orphanage!!

So many of us continued upstairs to paint the girls and boys rooms.   We threw away old mattresses—and by mattresses, I mean foam with big chunks out of it.  So..new rooms for the kids, new mattresses and a couple new beds.  The girls were giddy that they now have a pink room.  And the boys were oh so helpful with the painting!  Ha!  I then got to take a break from painting and I headed down to the babies…a little “baby break” if you will.  All of the babies were being bathed one at a time, getting new diapers and new clothes and then put into their new crib mattresses and sheets. They had quite the assembley line—so I attempted to help—but I think I got in the way, so I took the little tiny 5 ½ mos old and knew that he needed to be held—to be loved and touched—plus, I was going to make sure that bottle got finished! To say the least, I never made it back upstairs to paint—I parked myself on a nice cold floor to cuddle with a baby—oh—and cut his fingernails, too.

Oh—did I forget to mention that this place is running on 2 nannies??  Um , yea—so leaving the babies in their little cribs was hard—knowing they did not have the hands to care for them.  But the nannies that were there were terrific—I cannot imagine their jobs day in and day out.  Please pray for all of them—for the very humble and energetic American, Ashli—as she is taking over being the manager of this orphanage.  God has placed her in a very special place—with precious children.  Oh—and they are suppose to get 10 more babies next week.  Pray for them OFTEN!!    And you bet I will try to come back and visit that little guy when we come back for court—and no—I am not going to take him home or anything—but I just know he will thrive—he is obviously a fighter—and I am sure he will have more thin skin hanging from his little tiny arms.

Oh—our group is great—a great variety of people—it will be a great time together serving.

We are off the Korah tomorrow….B

What is Korah?

Korah means cursed. Korah is the community in and surrounding the city dump of Addis Ababa Ethiopia. It is approximately 130,000 people, who are the least of the least in Addis—it used to be a leper colony and there are still folks living there with leprosy. They are a community shunned by the people in Addis and considered forgotten. Now these people scavenge through the dump, looking for metal and items of value.

I think Jody describes this best here

I want to ask you help in sponsoring one of these children that live here.
What does sponsorship mean?

The sponsorship, which is $700 per year, covers everything for a child: for the rest of the summer, they go to the summer camp where they get one decent meal a day, and then in September they will go to Shashameni, the boarding school, which is 3 hours away. They will have covered: room, board (3 meals a day), books, tuition, hygiene needs, uniform, and transportation to and from school when needed during breaks. They have room for 200 at this school and have 130 sponsored already.

So please help me collect the $700.00 to rescue a child. I will throw in the first $100.00 to start..

UPDATE!!! We did it.. $700.00 in less then a day!!!

Please visit  Project 61 for more ways to help.

Thanks,
Mark Sullivan