Meeting our Compassion boy in Hossana

Our afternoon ended with a visit to Mandefro's home. We were honored that their whole family was there, meaning that his parents stayed home from work and his sister skipped school for a day, a big sacrifice for them.

Of all the homes we had the privilege to visit, Mandefro's compound was right up there in beauty. It was clear that his family had worked hard to keep up their property. This is the view walking into their yard.

Just inside their front door, we received such a warm greeting by his family. I would say his family, according to Ethiopian standards, is middle class.

Mandefro's sister roasting the coffee beans for the coffee ceremony. This is all done right in the house, smoke and all.

Mandefro's mom finishing the roasting of the coffee beans. The floors of these homes is actually dirt covered with a large piece of linoleum.

His mom putting sugar in the cups.

Pouring the coffee into cups. The glass jar with the stick in it is inscence burning.

Under the lace is baskets filled with treats...oranges, bread and honestly the best popcorn I have ever had.

Mandefro's and I peeling oranges. Ethiopia has some amazing oranges.

his family and us. Isn't their compound gorgeous? The trees behind us are called false banana plants. They grow no bananas but they are very drought resistant and have a root that they make a food called kocho. It is one of their staples. Kocho looks like a slice of Parmesan cheese but tastes like Limburger cheese and dirty socks. It is by far one of the worst things I have ever eaten! If you have Netflix, you can watch all about Ethiopian food on Bizzare Foods with Andrew Zimmern. He says that the false banana root spends 3 months fermenting in the ground after its been chopped up. Yep...that explains it! Fortunately Mandefro's family didn't offer us any!

Us with our sweet boy.

As we sat in their living room they had obviously read our letters because they asked us about our house fire. They asked about Aliya's adoption and knew all our kids' names. It was clear that they were as interested in our lives as we were about theirs.

We all enjoyed meeting our sponsor kids, their families and to be so warmly welcomed into their homes and lives.

We stayed overnight in Hossana and on Thursday met with Mihiretu and Misganaw's family. I've thought and thought about how much of this to share online? Hope I do it justice tomorrow.