Compassion International kids are real kids!

On Wednesday, we visited the kids we sponsor through Compassion International. We and our friends, Kevin and Denise sponsor boys from the Hossana region of Ethiopia. We all did this by design as this is the area that Mihiretu and MJ are from and gives us another connection to this area.

We left early in the morning to make the 4 hour journey south to the town of Hossana, where we would first meet Ayano, Kevin and Denise's little boy. We'd meet our 2 sponsor boys next, as they are at a different Compassion project in the area.

The above picture is the church where Ayano's project is. The kids attend school at a local school but come here for many activities the church offers. A sponsorship through Compassion allows the child to do all of this. It is a great benefit to them as they get their school fees paid, all their school supplies (which can be a huge expense for a poor family) and so, so much more. It was wonderful to see how much they do for the kids and mostly that they learn about Jesus' love for them here. As you can see, it is a big and beautiful church they have.

In this building, we found dozens of young mothers and babies taking a class on parenting. They are at-risk mothers, and so therefore they qualify for the program. I wish we had a picture of their faces when we walked in! We were the first ever Western people to visit this site. I wouldn't be surprised at all if we were the first white people they'd ever seen in the flesh. I know very little Amharic but I do know how to greet someone properly and when I did, they women burst out laughing. They must have though, "How can this white lady know our language?" The women were warm and kind but when I squatted down by a little toddler to say hello, he screamed in terror. Poor little guy! He ran back to his mommy and all the ladies giggled.

We sat in the office Compassion Director there and he told us about the area and how they were able to help the children in that region. It was impressive and they took us coming very seriously. You would have thought we were dignitaries from the U.S. with the speech he'd obviously spent hours preparing. So sweet.

Above you can see Denise and Ayano. He is holding the letters that he'd received from Denise and Kevin.

Kevin, Denise, Ayano and Atkelt. Atkelt was the representative and interpreter from Compassion. He stayed with us the entire time, explaining many things about Ethiopia and it's culture. At one time, he himself had been a sponsored child through Compassion. He told us about his sponsors, an elderly couple from Germany who wrote him letters and encouraged him in his faith. He is a college graduate and a very, very impressive young man with perfect English. It was an honor to have him with us.

We were able to present our kids with backpacks full of gifts. Ayano received this soccer ball from Kevin and Denise and honestly would not put it down the entire day! He's pretty proud of it.

After visiting the Compassion project, we were graciously invited into Ayano's family home. It was a wonderful experience. We were warmly greeted, pampered and spoiled rotten by his family. This is Ayano removing the gifts from his backpack. As he pulled each one out, he raised them above his head, all to the cheers and clapping of his family! It was hilarious!

Ayano got Smarties!!! Yea!!! Just look how adorable this boy is dressed! I think the church bought him this suit since we were the first to ever visit a Compassion child at their project. He was the sweetest boy and he stole all of our hearts from the minute we laid eyes on him.

Kevin and Denise presenting Ayano's parents with a new set of sheets and some utensils. They clapped for that, too! Just look how happy his mother looks.

Atkelt led the kids in a Bible song in Ayano's house.

This is the outside of Ayano's home. Notice the sheep (that looks like a goat) all curled up under the window?

This family had gone ALL out on us. I cannot imagine what it cost them to put this spread out for us. We were unable to eat the uncooked items, but the scrambled eggs and carrots were delicious. Popcorn is a traditional item that Ethiopian's eat with their coffee ceremony, which she did for us. We were blown away by their generosity right down to them buying each one of us a bottle of pop. For people who didn't have much, they shared ALL they had with us.

Humbling.

Most of the family. I think there were 4 older brothers missing from the picture. Doesn't the dad look like Lionel Ritchie? Yes, there is a funny story behind that one!

My absolute favorite picture!

So you see, when you sponsor a child through Compassion International and you write them letters, they get them. When you send a Christmas gift or Birthday gift (money) the people in the project really do use it to buy the child a gift. Many people mistakenly believe all the money you send goes into a pot and is split between anonymous children and the picture they send you is just one child in a project. Not true! They are real, living, breathing, beautiful children with hopes and dreams.

What an incredible honor to get to contribute to that in a small way.

Next, post...our Compassion boys!

Clinic days in Korah

We participated in a week long clinic for the people of Korah to receive free medical attention. The 6 of us (Katie, De, Kevin, Denise, Blaine and I) joined up with a the first ever medical group that Visiting Orphans had sent out. The group consisted of a retired doctor, a nurse practitioner, a 4th year medical student, many nurses, a pharmacist and non-medical people.

I am an LPN, albeit a rusty one. My job, along with Janet was to do triage. All the patients came to us first and we, through interpreters found out what what there medical problem was. A group of about 15 people came into our half of the church and came one at a time to our table.

We saw a huge variety of people with a myriad of medical concerns. The boy above had problems with his eyes. They were so red and bothered him. Unfortunately, we had nothing go give him. This was often the case and that was the frustrating part. Next time...bring eye drops.

Beautiful mother and her 2 little ones.

This was the side of clinic where the patients received treatment. These 2 nurses showed the people a lot of love and care.

All the patients received a bottle of water, a toothbrush and toothpaste. Toothpaste was in huge demand. They call it "Colgate" whether it is actually Colgate of not.

More sweeties. These kids had already been triaged and were waiting to see the doctor.

I guess you can see who Blaine attracts...the girls! Like father, like son...Blake did the same thing. In all his pictures from last year, he is surrounded by girls.

There is no such thing as being lonely in Korah. The minute the van drives in the kids surround you, run after the van and follow it until you get out. It is so wonderful!

The little girl on the far left is Marta. She is in love with De. She comes off as a tough little cookie but she really is soft and tender. The second day we were there, she presented De with an envelope with a love letter inside and a cute heart shaped necklace. He wore it the rest of the trip...so, so sweet. On the last day when we pulled away, she stood there watching us drive away with big tears running down her cheeks. The other girls were surprised at her show of emotion and began laughing at her. She made her 'mean face' and stomped off. De has a special way of bringing out the very best in people, even tough cookies like Marta.

The girl in turquoise with her elbow on Blaine's shoulder is Beza. She is a girl we sponsor there in Korah. She's very sweet and as all the girls do, she loved Blaine.

The girl in the brown sweater toward the right is Fasika. If you have an amazing memory, you will remember that she and Katie bonded when they were there a couple summers ago. If you remember, the group of kids from Korah were taken out into the countryside for a field trip and while they were out there, Fasika demonstrated to Katie how to properly use the restroom where there is absolutely no restroom and shielded Katie with her large skirt. A girl like this is special...so of course, we had to sponsor her, too!

This is the street outside the church compound. These people were waiting their turn to come in to be triaged and see the doctor.

I enjoyed doing this triaging job immensely. I loved meeting each person, asking them their name and telling them mine. I loved shaking each persons hand.

Blaine tells me that I paint a very rosy picture of life in Ethiopia and I suppose that's true. I'm not one to sensationalize what I see...I tend to downplay it. That's because I personally think it's wrong to 'use' people for a picture. It's wrong to make yourself look like a saint because of 'what you've done.' The truth is, each person to me is beautiful. They may have leprosy and have no fingers. I'm guessing these people don't get touched much. They may be crippled to to the point where they can hardly get around on their crutches. They may have scabies. They may be blind and have weeping eyes. They may have TB and be coughing uncontrollably. Snot may be pouring out of their nose. Most always they are filthy and smell.

I don't care...I honestly don't see those things. Well, I guess I do see them but they don't matter to me whatsoever.

I touch every. single. one.

I smile at them and listen to their complaints. I show them I care and take them seriously.

There were multiple amazing 'photo ops' where a sensational picture could have been taken. But I'd rather live in the moment and not make suffering people feel like spectacles. So we don't have any pictures like that. I prefer to give people their dignity.

There were frustrating moments in clinic. The most frustrating moment for me was when the man, who was probably about my age came in with his wife. His complaint? He couldn't read his Bible. He brought it in to show me. What did this man need? Reading glasses. I saw them at the dollar store before we left. $1. $1 reading glasses would have changed this mans life. We didn't have them. Next time...bring reading glasses.

At the bottom of a bin, someone did find a pair of glasses. Not sure where they came from. I tried them on and couldn't see a thing. They had been someones prescription glasses which they donated.

At the end of the day another man came in with his wife, complaining of vision problems. Feeling frustrated and wishing I had some glasses, I remembered this pair of prescription glasses. I realized it was the biggest long shot in the world, but I offered this man these glasses. He slowly looked around, blinked a few times and declared that he could see people better. He left happy. I was happy. God knew which person needed those particular glasses. He prompted me to give them to the right man.

At the end of each day, we saw between 110-150 people every day.

Amazing experience.

Tomorrow...our trip to Hossana.

The kids in Korah were very impressed with Blaine's muscles. People there tend to have skinny arms that look nothing like Blaine's. All the kids took a squeeze and declared him, "Rambo."

As most of you know, Korah is a community of 130,000 located in Addis Ababa directly adjacent to the city garbage dump. This is the trash dump and as you can see, there are people picking through the rubbish to find things they can sell or eat.

It does seem that the government is trying to make changes as it relates to the trash dump. In the last 18 months, many people have had pictures of it on their blogs and on facebook. Having the world now aware that people live and make their living in the trash dump has begun to bring about some changes by the government there. There was a sign on the corner of the dump that said something about a "reclamation project." They are letting grass grow on parts of the dump. It seems like they are attempting to make it better.

The other difference we noticed was that the roads around Addis Ababa were in MUCH better condition that they were the first time we were there. Seems like the government is pouring money into benefiting the people. Many, many improvements...lots of new construction.

Back in Sheshemene at the students health evaluations...Maste came dressed for the part but trust me, he's a lot of fun and a great interpreter but he is NOT a doctor!

These are poinsettias at the boarding school in Sheshemene. Honestly, they are about 10 feet tall! So beautiful. I had no idea they got this big.

If you need love, visit Ethiopia! There are always kids surrounding you, hugging you and putting their arms around you. If you bring out pics of your family, you have a completely captivated audience. These kids are looking at our family pics on Blaine's iPhone.

This is the street that the Ethiopia Guest Home where we stayed is located. The homes are in gated compounds and each have their own guard.

And the truth comes out...you can eat REALLY well while in Ethiopia. Not just Ethiopian food either, although you can get that anywhere and it's wonderful. This is Sishu. It's owned by an American and you can get excellent burgers and fries here...just like in America!

More tomorrow,

Laura

Day 2 in Sheshemene

Our first morning in Sheshemene we awoke to monkeys right out our hotel window! I was so excited, never having seen a monkey in the wild before! We got ready as fast as we could. Katie and De were already up and De was after a closer look at the monkeys:)

To get a closer look at the monkeys, where would one need to go? Up on the roof! So De led the way and I followed. This is as far as I got because going up is one thing, coming down is another! He took this pic without my being aware...can you read my mind? "Oh, I really, really want to do this but..."

I found my Halloween costume in Sheshemene...I'm going as Eve! Is this a huge leaf or what??

This group got up early and took a walk. I went out to the street to find them coming down the street on this donkey cart. It's not a mode of transportation for people but Maste (light blue shirt) thought it would be fun. The people on both sides of the street were stopped, looking and laughing.

My sweet De, who doesn't ever want me to be left out, called to me and said, "RUN!" So I did with my 30 pound backpack on my back. He hopped off and yelled, "I'll take your bag! GO!" So go I did and flew onto the donkey cart. I hate to be left out of fun!

Just as we got off the donkey card this group of school children came running up to us, yelling, singing and cheering. They had just won a trophy for an academic competition and this was their way of letting the town know and celebrating their accomplishment. It was awesome!

We took the quick 5 minute drive from our hotel to the beautiful Lake Awassa. We all wanted to see it but Biruk had never seen it before so we made the visit there a priority. It was everything an African lake should be. Absolutely, positively beautiful!

Kevin and Denise at Lake Awassa.

These boats could be rented for 500 Birr, about $30 USD. A guide would take you out onto the lake to view the hippos. Yes, I said HIPPOS!! Unfortunately, it would take over an hour and we needed to meet the rest of the medical team for health evals. at the Akake boarding school. Notice the cute little bird sitting on the boat.

Kevin, Biruk, Katie, Me and Denise. Notice the man fishing in the reeds behind Biruk.

Biruk, De and Katie.

Aliya lived in Sheshemene for a few years before coming to the orphanage. As I watched the people there, especially the kids, I imagined her as a young girl attending school, eating sugarcane, and just living the life they live in Sheshemene. All children who are adopted have a past...a "before they joined your family" past. She has so much more "past" than most kids who are adopted. She was a 10 year old running those streets. Seeing this gave me a better appreciation for where she came from and just how far she has come from there. We missed the majority of her growing up years. She came to our family at age 14 1/2. That's a lot of years.

Without giving too many details...we took care of some business in Sheshemene for Aliya. It was difficult, emotional, hard, but also good and we pray that it helps bring her closure. At least now this girl knows just how far her parents will go for her-all the way across the world and back.

I pray that this experience will never be far from my mind. So easy to forget.

Sheshemene Ethiopia

A couple days after we arrived, the Medical team and us made the 4 hour journey down to the town of Sheshemene. Over 200 children who once lived in Korah and got their food from the trash dump there now live in a beautiful boarding school here. Last year was their first year at the school. I cannot even imagine the transition they had! I think of Aliya's transition year with us here in the U.S. Wow! How much more difficult would it be for a group of children who once lived with no rules and in and among dangerous gangs in a dump to come to a structured boarding school? It is nothing short of a miracle to see the changes in the kids.

The young man who is talking to me in the pic above is Tilahun. He was instructed to give us a tour while the clinic was taking place on the rest of the students. We were told that our job for the day was to visit with the students. SCORE! There is nothing I like better:) Tilahun walked us to the cafeteria since it was lunch time. On the way, this articulate young man told me that he loved school and wanted to be a pastor when he grew up. Melt my heart! He loves the Lord and wants to serve Him.

He wanted to take and show us his dorm right away but I insisted he eat lunch with the rest of the kids first. We sat down for lunch and he asked me if I would share his lunch with him. How could I turn that sweet offer down? The kids each received a huge lunch of injera, wat (lentil stew) and cooked cabbage. Tilahun shared his injera and wat with me. I was very moved by this unselfish gesture.

It wasn't long before Katie found Habtamu...or Habtamu found Katie-not sure which one! Katie and Habtamu formed a special bond when the kids were there a couple summers ago. He always called her, "My muzzer" (mother). As you can see, this young man is just a few years younger than Katie but he really loves her and she loves him.

Katie and Habtamu. Is he a handsome kid or what? He and his older brother are both sponsored and at the boarding school. They have an older brother named Wendimu who is a 3rd year engineering student at the University of Addis Ababa. He spent a lot of time with Katie and De while we were doing the clinic in Korah. After his classes were over, he came and talked with them for hours. He actually invited us to their home, which of course we accepted. Just wait for that post! Amazing!!

De and his little buddy whom he calls Little Thug. It seems that De holds some sort of celebrity status with the people of Korah. As soon as we entered the lunchroom, kids started pointing and saying, "DE!" Kids peeked in the lunchroom window waiting for him to acknowledge them. They didn't forget Katie either, as they were calling for her, too. Many asked where "Freeek" was. That was their name for Blake, as for them "Freeek" is a name used for a person with a different style. At the time, Blake had a mohawk and the kids loved it!

Tilahun escorted us to his dorm room, which he shares with 7 other kids. He was so proud to show us his bunk and then he opened a small cupboard, probably a 2 foot cube size which held all his worldly possessions and pulled out this certificate. He earned the rank of 4th in his 6th grade class! He also pulled out an Amharic/English phrase book and told me he wanted me to have it. I tried to turn him down but he was insistent that I have it. He was so proud to have something to give to me. I was so humbled. So humbled. All he owns is in this cupboard and he wants me to have one of his books. How unselfish! I will treasure it always.

Our trip was absolutely wonderful! We had the best traveling companions in Kevin and Denise, Katie and De. Any opportunity that presented itself, we all jumped in with both feet and no fear. No one hesitated. No one complained. We took everything in that we could! This was the best 25th anniversary destination that we could imagine. So many memories, so many bonds formed that will not be broken.

In the days ahead, I will walk through our trip with pics and memories. It's too much all to do at once...trust me:)

Thank you for your prayers!

Tomorrow, more Sheshemene.

Blessings,

Laura

Leaving for Ethiopia tomorrow!

The time has finally arrived...we leave tomorrow. Katie and De left very early this morning and will be waiting at the airport for us when we arrive late Friday night!

We have actively been preparing for this trip for over a month. It's amazing how much work goes into a trip like this. We are allowed 2 suitcases per person at 50# a piece. So with Katie and De, we are allowed 8...and we have them, believe me. In total, 7 bags are full to the brim with donations. We have shoes, beautiful clothes for teenage girls, great teenage guy clothes, medical supplies, jugs of glaze for the women to make bead necklaces, dolls, baby bottles, backpacks loaded with goodies for our Compassion boys who we will meet next Wed., boxes of Pop Tarts for Sumer's kids there, rubber rain boots for a couple of extra special girls in Korah and a goodie bag for each of them, and on and on. We're loaded! We will take our clothes in our carry ons to make more room for the donations.

We found out yesterday that Air Canada is threatening to strike tomorrow...yes, we are flying Air Canada to Frankfurt. Any prayers would be appreciated!

There are a couple special missions that we will take on this trip. Next Thursday, we will meet with the boys' family. We have a photo album to leave with them and we'll have them watch the iPad to see a little movie Blaine made of the boys, from the time they joined our family till now. I hope they LOVE it. I need to process that trip and then we will see what's going to be ok for us to share with you all. It will be an emotional time for all involved but I will try to be strong and not cry! This will be a very exciting and exhausting day:)

Another mission we will be on concerns Aliya. We will be trying to acquire something for her that she greatly desires. I cannot say more but do please pray for us as I think we are entering unchartered territory here. Pray for a positive outcome.

Otherwise, we will be spending as much time as possible in Korah at the clinic. Not sure if I shared this yet or not but my job will be triage nurse. I am an LPN and will so the specialized job of applying bandaids to owies and giving hugs when needed. Seriously! That's my job! How perfect is that? I will send all other more serious health problems onto the doctors or more experienced nurses if they need much more than a bandaid. This is totally the perfect job for me and I cannot wait to do it!

We will have stations set up and each station will have an interpreter and a non-medical person to be a runner and to take the patients to the next station or pharmacy. Hopefully the people will get the relief and help they need medically as well as the spiritual help they need. We pray they all understand that they each are a unique creation of the God who wants to know them personally.

Katie just called me and they made their connection! They had on hour in Dulles to make their flight and it went perfectly. They got to the gate and boarded immediately. God sure worked that one out. They are so excited and in 13 hours they will be landing in Ethiopia.

I will not be able to update this blog while we are gone. Hopefully, I can post on facebook so check there if you can.

Thank you for all the support, prayers and encouragement you have given us..family, neighbors and friends. You are a blessing to us.

Laura :)

Two weeks to Addis

A few sweeties enjoying some sweeties!

She is precious in His sight.

Some of Korah's precious treasures.

Yesterday, I got the suitcases out and began to go through and pack our donations. We are allowed 2 bags a piece, 50 pounds per bag. We are full so it looks like Blaine and I won't have any clothes! Ok, that's an exaggeration. Katie and De are allowed 4 bags total so Blaine and I will have one bag to share and that's all we need.

I have received 2 boxes from Dave, the man who owns the guest home where we'll be staying to bring down with us. He has a ministry that serves the women of Korah, as well as some other poor women in Addis. They have learned the skill of bead making and now have 9-5 jobs making bead necklaces. This has enabled them to learn a skill, get off the streets, stop begging and take care of their families. So we are bringing jugs of glaze for the beads. Dave is praying for a real kiln to be made available to these women who then could make some high quality beads and therefore sell more necklaces. If you'd like one of these necklaces, leave me a comment telling me how many. You can send payment after we get home. Not sure the price but am sure it isn't outrageous. Just think- Christmas gifts and helping women out of poverty all at the same time!

I did want to put this out there in case anyone is wondering if they could bless the people of Korah from home. We are still and always will be in need of over the counter meds like antifungal cream, triple antibiotic ointment and hydrocortisone cream. The amazing thing that I didn't know is that you can buy these items and many more at the Dollar Store...yes, for a DOLLAR. I wiped our Dollar Store out last week...it was awesome! So here's your opportunity! If you want to do this, just drop the goodies off at my house and I promise they will go to a great cause. Incredible the difference a buck can make!

We also will be taking a suitcase full of supplies for the medical team that we'll be there assisting. There is a dental team there right now who unfortunately had their equipment held up at customs and it seems they won't release it to them. They are making do but it is a very big blow to the team. So the medical team has decided to split up the supplies as much as possible between team members. Pray our supplies don't get held up.

It seems that Katie and De will now be flying out a day earlier than planned. Ethiopian Airlines cancelled the Thursday flight they were to be on so in order for them to be there on Saturday, when we all travel to the town of Sheshemene to the boarding school to do medical exams on the students, Wed. was the day they had to leave.

Blaine and I made a beautiful Shutterfly book for Mihiretu and Misganaw's Ethiopian mom to have. We included pictures of them as really little guys up to the present. I know she will LOVE it and cherish it. We haven't heard yet for sure if our meeting is all set up but we are hoping and confident it will work out for her.

We also have some things we are trying to do for Aliya while we are there. I can't share what but in planning all this, something has triggered in her and sent her into a tailspin. She has told us a lot about her past but it has taken her many months to share what she has shared. But we know she is holding a LOT inside her. I told her to let her walls down, that she is safe and secure here in this family and we love her and always will. She says that she will never let her walls down. This comes from a girl who has been deeply wounded and is afraid of being hurt again. She simply can't let us in yet. If I'm being honest, this past week has been awful with her on many levels. Please pray that we will be able to acquire in Ethiopia what she needs and that in doing that, she will have peace. We know that God is a God of healing and we trust that He knows what He's doing.

We would also appreciate if you'd begin to pray for us and our team as we prepare for, travel to and return home from Ethiopia. If you've read this blog very long you will know that the enemy loves to come and create chaos when we step out in faith. We've had it happen so many times and we just need prayer. You have also seen in reading about our lives that God ALWAYS wins in the end.

Let the countdown begin!

Blessings,

Laura