//ethiopia : travel + day one

 on thursday, february 16th..off we (10 team members, all our junk and 800 pounds of donations) went to ethiopia!

we arrived in ethiopia friday evening...

(thank you all who prayed for our safety and my nerves!)

as soon as my team and i set foot outside the airport,

i knew i was home.

i can't explain it.

but it has to do with africa.

there's either something in the air on that continent

(remember, i've only been to ghana before)

or something in my soul that can only rest in africa.

more on that in a later post...i promise.

after saying hello and being welcomed

by the amazing staff at our guest home,

we all pretty much collapsed in our beds.

i was especially excited about my bed because  

it was covered in a 

black + white CHEVRON quilt. 

(call me silly, but i took it as a 

special kiss from Jesus!)

:]

saturday morning brought my first ethiopian sunrise! 

our view from the guest home...

i

i was so excited that i grabbed barbara and took a photo...

FYI: barbara mentored me years ago when i first

became a christian...now here we are on our

first day of serving in ethiopia....and

sharing a bunk bed! (i made her sleep on top

because i'm a baby.)

how cool is Jesus?!

our lovely caretaker, tsige ("sig-ay") served

us the most delicious breakfast of ethiopian

coffee (to which i am now addicted..pray for me),

banana oatmeal and banana bread.  i felt so spoiled

and cared for.

finally, we were out the door

to meet up with Jesse + Levi

from Bring Love In. 

 you may recognize this babe, erica shubin!

FYI : we met on facebook through mutual friends

and God used this chick to break my heart

and open my ignorant eyes for orphans and widows.

and now he were are, together, in ethiopia!

HOW COOL IS JESUS?!

jesse chatting with dave shubin...the leader of our trip.

 joe + rachel walser...

 FYI : joe lead me to Christ in 2005 

and God used his uber pretty wife, Rachel, 

to grow my heart for children...

and now here we all are in ethiopa!

FOR CEREALS! HOW COOL IS JESUS?!??!!!

PS: the cafe we were at had a really nice floor outside...

from our little chat, we headed to the

word of God anointed church that hosts a

weekly Bible study for poor kids in their

area and also provides a weekly

supply of teft 

(grain) to their widowed mothers.

we were welcomed with open arms.

literally. 

lots of hugs and high fives.

giggles and tickles.

funny faces and silly poses for the camera. :]

these moments make me wonder

about Heaven and

how i'll feel each eternal day..

will i feel more and more at Home

as time goes on?

that's kinda how it feels in ethiopia...

each beautiful brown face i lay eyes on...

each little hand that tries to rub my tattoos off...

every dirty foot and musical giggle

makes me feel more and more at Home.

FYI : this epic photo was taken

by one of the children. call me crazy, but that little

dude has quite the eyeball for pictures! :]

Bibles are also provided at this program...

a bunch of our team spent the remainder of our time

at the church chatting with jesse + levi

from Bring Love In.  i really admired my team's

willingness to take time to listen to their vision

and encourage them.

as for me...it would have taken a crow bar

to pry me from the children.

this is my happy place.

from the church, we headed to lunch and then out and about

in addis ababa, ethiopia.

i ran into these precious darlings

outside of a small shopping mall...

 the little lady in the middle

came right up to our van as we parked.

she was covered in dirt and dust.

clothed in ratty clothing

and her lips were cracked.

she was begging, like so many children

her age are forced to do.

i gave her a piece of gum and 

touched her cheek as i passed.

her face lit up like the fourth of july.

and with that little girl's bright smile 

went another broken piece of my heart.

beauty and joy.

amidst the ugly and desperate.

i wish i remembered her name.

 on our way back to the van

 i stopped for some cuddles and pictures.

i want to remember this kids.

to show you their faces.

to remind myself and you that these kids

are begging in a dusty, dirty, dry

parking lot outside a shopping mall

in ethiopia.

that while we can get up and grab

a bottle of clean water,

that little girl still has cracked lips.

i wouldn't be surprised if she still has that piece

of chewed gum.

to her, it's a treasure.

to me, a joke compared to what needs to be done for her.

i am so helpless.

 i am so small.

but i love that little girl with all my heart.

and i know God does, too.

i find comfort that He knows her name

and has a plan for her life.

i hope i see her again.

and God lets me be part of that plan, again.

if you are reading this, take a minute and pray for her

and her friends, ok?  let me know that you did.

the rest of our saturday included our debrief

at kaldi's coffee shop.  my addiction to ethiopian

coffee confirmed at the sight of my macchiato.

i really enjoyed talking with my team members about our

first impressions of ethiopia.  i love how God

speaks so uniquely to each of us...how we all

saw and felt something different.

after our first day in ethiopia, again,

we collapsed in our beds.

as i snuggled in my chevron quilt 

all i could do was lay and be quiet before Jesus.