home again!

well i only slept two of the fourteen hour flight (not surprised, too excited), so i apologize if this post is a bit out of sorts. right now i am running on fig bars and pure joy!!!!!!!!! 

our plane arrived in Addis Ababa this morning at 7:30. ive never been more giddy to hug my Ethiopian friends who waited for us at the airport. their happiness is so contageous. my team took two (small, crowded) busses to the Ordinary Hero Life Center where we met up with the rest of the OH staff. it is SO GOOD to be with this group of people! they are so encouraging and uplifting! and can i just say that this team is AWESOME?! i have already made new friendships and many more to come this week! plus, there are several adopting families staying here and so many cute little Ethiopian babies around every corner in this house YAY! 

after unpacking a bit, we attended the worship part of an Ethiopian International church service and WOW is all i can say to that! the lyrics "yes Lord, yes Lord, yes! yes! yes!" are still running through my mind...the worship leader asked the congergation to sing those words aloud, saying YES to EVERY part of our lives. giving it ALL to our heavenly Father. 

i think that's the beauty of being in missions- you're really leaping out on faith alone and giving your all, saying "yes Lord, yes yes yes!" 

after church we visited the Hope for the Hopeless original drop-in center, where we passed out clothes, bed sheets and blankets to the precious fifteen street kids who live there. the living conditions are so crowded and limited, but far better than living on the streeets. one girl (the only girl in fact) shared her story of living on the streets for a year after her father died and her mother became extremely ill. this fifteen year old's heart is so big and her story so impacting, i sat there on her bed, inside her cramped room in awe of her spirit. we went outside to take a picture and IT IS SEVENTY DEGREES out there with FULL SUNSHINE all day long!! another blessing!

we then drove back to the Life Center sat in a circle and shared a bit about ourselves with the team. of course, i cried as i exclaimed my passion for this place and how God has placed this on my heart. how being back here floods me with the Holy Spirit. how every part of this place reminds me of how we arr to be the hands and feet of God. 

i am finding another blessing in knowing that there are many others here with me who share in this same passion. 

well i am off to sleep....i can garuntee that not even the shouting muslims and the barking dogs will wake this girl up in the morning!! 

to love Africa like my mom did

lately i've been missing my mom, words can hardly say how much. i miss her smile, her spunk, her voice. some days i only want to talk with her- she understood me on a level only a mother could. 

last night i had a dream, and like most of my dreams, this one was so vivid. i was in Africa, surrounded by hundreds of beautiful, brown children, all wanting to hold my hand and braid my hair. their eyes were so bright and smiles contageous. in this dream, i had to catch my breath when i realized that, kneeling on the ground right next to me, was my mom. she was holding a baby and laughing with pure joy as she held her hand out to the other kids around us. she glanced at me, smiling, saying nothing. but she didnt have to- there was a look in her eyes, the same look she would have when talking about Ethiopia. 

this dream was given to me by God. 

and it sparked memories of my mother and how she loved Africa. how she loved the culture and language, how she adored caring for the children in the orphanages, how adoption was laid on her heart. 

my mom and i shared the same passion for Africa. and i cant help but believe that she is a huge reason why i am pursuing missions. 

and i am thankful and humbled, that the Lord would place this desire in me to love Africa like my mother did.