Today was our first full day in Ethiopia and yet it seems like I have been gone a long time. Must be the 5 hours of sleep I've had in the last 3 days!
Ethiopia is truly an amazing country. I have no doubt this is where I am supposed to be serving.
Here is a quick update with photos so far.........
Rome, Italy from the air. We made a stop to clean the plane and refuel but weren't allowed off. Boo! It looked beautiful from the plane though. We also had a guy cleaning the plane who looked a bit like a young Fabio! HAHA
These are the beautiful children who were awaiting us at the Kind Hearts care point. There were around 100 kids. They were all standing in lines singing with the teacher when we pulled up. The drive was separated by a row of hedges but the kids were trying desperately to peek under to see us. So cute!! We unloaded and went to watch them. They sang a song just for us with hand motions. When they were finished they came running!!! They couldn't get to each of us fast enough.....hanging on our legs and waists, desperately hugging us and waiting to kiss us on the cheek (an Ethiopian custom when greeting).
Some of my sweet new friends "greeting" me!!
Since there were so many children, we divided them into groups and set up stations for them to go through. One station was making necklaces and bracelets with pony beads, one was decorating tote bags for each of them to keep (this is where I helped), one was taking individual photos of them and making popsicle frames and the last was playing soccer, football and frisbee. They had a blast!
Lunch was served to the children. They enjoyed "spicy rice"! Of course, most all food in Ethiopia is spicy, even the spaghetti we had last night! Right now the kids are able to get one hot meal a day so you can see, they got a heaping plate of rice that they all gobbled up!
We are doing a special feast with the kids and families tomorrow. We are having 4 goats, fruits and vegetables. I have to say that I have never experienced picking out a goat for dinner! Guess it's our equivalent of picking out a lobster from the tank. These two goats were being hauled out toward the van and put the brakes on. They then roped their feet and put them on top of our van to transport back to the care point. Tomorrow morning they will be slaughtered and cooked for lunch. I love my steak and burgers but I sure didn't like watching these two knowing what was coming! Unfortunately I won't be able to experience the prep, and yes I would have watched just because I have never seen anything like this before, because I am heading to Kebron.
The goats were loaded on the roof of the van and tied down. We heard the hooves against the roof all the way back to the care point. Okay, that was a little disturbing!!
Tomorrow I am off to see the kids at Kebron. I have three suitcases loaded up with shoes, care packages, games, food and school supplies! Oh, I can't wait to see them and hug them tight!! For those of you who sponsor a child, I will be getting photos and videos to you soon. Please pray for our group. We already have a few who are having stomach issues.....no fun.
Hi Wilson kids..... Mrs. Crowe's class, Mrs. Armstrong's class and all of 6th grade!!
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