dinner, anyone?

today our driver and translator took us to purchase sheep in Addis. it is very different from going to the grocery store and buying a package of meat.....

the pictures say it all. the shepards loaded the sheep onto the top of our bus and we road it up the mountain to H4H. i am somewhat surprised that after hitting all the bumps and potholes in the road, a sheep didnt bust through the top of the bus and land in our laps. 

dinner, anyone? 

the same God

our team joined the worship part of an English Ethiopian church servive. can i just say WOW!?! i was so moved as we started singing.....the Holy Spirit was so present in this place. there were hundreds of people, black and white, all lifting their voices to the heavens. i think it is mind blowing that even though we live on opposite sides of the globe, we all serve the same God. what's more amazing is that He loves and adores us all equally. how great is our God?!!! 

heavy burdens

 as our team drove down Entonto Mountain today, we saw many Addis burros carrying huge loads of firewood and branches on their backs. it's just as normal to see women doing the exact same thing. some of their loads weigh over 70 pounds. this is how they survive - carrying and selling firewood to earn money to feed their families. our team met a 6 month pregnant woman carrying an 80 pound load from the top of the mountain to the village where she lives. we took the burden off her back and loaded it onto the top of our bus. then we gave her new shoes and clothes. she smiled the whole time - thanking us and Jesus. it's incredible to witness how some of these people live. their burdens are heavy and yet they have so much joy.

 

IAG visit

the team visited orphans today. i swear, i could spend all day in this orphanage just playing with these babies. this visit was an emotional, joyful one....and praise Jesus, we were told that ALL of the precious little ones (in the room i was in) have their forever families!!

a faith like his & an unexpected adventure

our team had the honor of having Bisrat (Bissy) with us during our time here in Ethiopia. he is an amazing disciple of God, and shared his testimony and love for Christ. Bissy grew up in the monestary, when he broke away from their false teachings, he was thrown into prison. after his release, he lived in the Korah trash dump community and later started the church in Korah. he partners with Ordinary Hero now and is the biggest help to the people of Korah. his life is an example of how God makes beauty from ashes. i love the picture below - this was taken when our bus blew a tire in the city. our bus was just sitting there, in the middle of the street, cars honking at us and everyone started freaking out. Bissy pulls out his Bible and starts reading. can we all have a faith like his?

the girls on the team stood at the side of the road (in the rain drizzle) while the guys worked on replacing the tire. all we could do was laugh and soak in every minute of our unexpected adventure. Asfaw wrapped me up in his hoodie and started taking pictures....

i really love how daily interruptions turn into precious memories....learning to appreciate every single moment here! 

happy shock

today we gave away Addis donkeys to several families living in Korah. one donkey provides help with manual labor (hauling firewood, water, etc) for the people's survival. i wouldve never thought that one donkey could help as much as it does here in Korah. the families were so very excited to recieve these gifts. it was like experiencing Christmas in July! 

as i handed the rope (tied to one donkey's neck) to a hand, i realized with a happy shock that the woman i was giving the donkey to was the same woman i visited yesterday during our home visits in Korah... so good to see Ababa (flower) again! 

Eyob

meet my brother, Eyob. he held my hand the entire time i was at the Hope for the Hopeless drop-in shelter. he is ten years old, he wants to be a scientist, his favorite color is green, his favorite Bible story is David and Goliath, his favorite chapter, Psalm 103. he has no parents and one older sister who is married and lives in the country side. we sat there on his bed and he gave me a bracelet and said, "for my sister" as he put it around my wrist. then he let me pick out my favorite picture he drew from a notebook filled with drawings. when it was time for our team to leave, Eyob begged me to take him with me. saying goodbye to this boy broke me....he has my heart. 

i don't know why, but there is something about this kid that has me praying for him  every single day. God sets certain people on our hearts, and Eyob is one of those people to me. 

No Ordinary Love

today we visited NOLM, a ministry that takes in families and orphans from abusive, desperate situations and gives them no ordinary love - the love that only comes from knowing Jesus! 

one girl inparticular really touched my heart. she is fourteen and has a two month old daughter. she was raped and left alone to care for herself and her baby. NOLM found her and took her in. as i sat on her bed in her dark room, small talking and looking at her precious baby, i could feel God's love pouring out from her smile. she is an inspiration to me of what it means to have real faith.