ababas

most of you know, ababas//flowers are my favorite!!! and there are SO many pretty ones here....just had to get a flower post in! 

football!!!!

this evening some of the team got to watch the local boys' soccer game! it was quite the adventure....we had to get across a huge ditch (it was harder than it looks!!) and avoid stepping in cow manure the entire walk to the field. once we were there, the boys were kicking around a soccer ball like nobody's buissness! the sky was on fire, i just cant get over creation- there is nothing like an African sunset!!!

daycare at Korah

well, today my heart melted. we went to a daycare in Korah and loved on these sweethearts. SO PRECIOUS is an understatement....

just when i thought it couldn't get any cuter....i turn around and one of them has tried on my shoes. HELP my heart has been stolen!!!

buying for a good cause

you know how sometimes you'll buy something and the tag says the money goes to a good cause? well today my team got the chance to see a few of these good causes. and can i just say that i didnt mind one bit spending too much money? 

these several ministries we visited focus on pulling women off the streets, where they make a living by prostitution or begging- and gives them an alternitive to providing for their families. these employees make all kinds of hand made jewelry and scarves. so beautiful! and these women are literally the happiest workers i've ever met...

every time i see a sewing machine, it reminds me of my mom :) 

Entoto Mountain

we spent the afternoon on Entoto mountain....pulled our busses to the side of the road and jumped out. the boys began kicking around a soccer ball and a few team members and i walked over to a small group of the most beautiful little girls you've ever seen. it was funny to see familiar faces from my last visit here! 

im finding that i get so overwhelmed with the poverty and great need here, and i become frustrated. 

but sitting on the grass with these precious babies, listening to them whisper to each other and giggle while chewing on the peppermints we gave them...it's in these little moments i can hear the still, small voice of God, knowing He loves them and has a plan and purpose for each of them. 

the more i am here, the more i am struck by what it means to love. one child at a time. 

Korah & H4H

today my team went to Korah. those of you who follow my blog have read about this place- Korah is the poorest part in Addis Ababa, and is the trash dump (literally) where over 100,000 people live. every time i visit this place my heart breaks...never have i seen such poverty. we split up into three groups and visited families living here, hearing their stories, passing out donations and praying over them. families who are blind, have leprosy, suffer from mental shock and illness....their living conditions make my stomach turn upside down. it completely blows my mind to see these beautiful people hurting in every way- but seeing their strong faith in God blows my mind even more. 

after Korah, we visited the second drop in center of Hope for the Hopeless, where mostly pre-teen boys and a

few girls live...they are seriously the best bunch of kids you will ever meet!! i stepped out of the bus and was hugged by every one of them- smiling ear to ear. AND i was reunited with my dear brother, Eyob! man, i missed this kid!

he literally stuck by my side the entire time my team was there...even when we gave the H4H football (soccer) team new jerseys and cleets, Eyob refused to go play with his buddies and instead stood next to me and held my hand. really cannot explain how much i care for this boy....

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.