The Ethiopia Team has experienced inconsistent electricity and Internet service since arriving in Addis Ababa, but Melissa was able to email these two posts for the blog.
Saturday, April 5
Just back from Korah, and we are all a little zapped. It was such a great morning, full of “flexible”
opportunities. Missing a few items,
schedule changes, can’t hear the music… that doesn’t matter in the grand scheme
of serving. We had such a great time
playing and hanging out with the kids.
One group doing play dough – one making a bead craft and then a team of
rec games, so much energy and joy! Being
able to sing and have fun worshipping our God who knows no language barriers is
awe inspiring; not to mention the smiles on the kids’ faces (and hearing their
laughter) as they watched all of us
doing the motions to the songs. They
also blessed us by singing some of their favorite songs.
For those who are curious, our Bible story play went well. The story of the Good Samaritan was a hit
with the kids and poignant for all of us.
I think that I can speak for the individuals of the team, when I say
that we want to be compassionate, like the Samaritan. We are ever thankful for the privilege we
have been given to serve God here and in our everyday lives at home.
The day ended with the chance for us to help some of the
sponsored children of Korah Kids write letters to their sponsors. They wrote the letters in Amharic and then a
translator told us what they said and we wrote in English. To hear (and write) the gratefulness of the
kids and their expressions of love to their sponsors was amazing. All of the children are thankful for the
opportunities that sponsorship has offered them, specifically being able to go
to school. One boy shared with our group that going to school has given him
hope for the future. He is now living in
the sponsor house, and can see a life that doesn’t include having to look for
food or items to sell from the dump.
Thanks for following us on this adventure. More tomorrow (or when we have internet next)
~Melissa
Friday, April 4
After a very long two days of travel, we finally made it to
our destination, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia!
The flights were uneventful (and long), and we were all so excited to
see our friends here! We were given a
tour of Bingham Academy, enjoyed a coffee ceremony, and prepared for our first
day in Korah. We are all so excited to
start serving. Putting together 100 gift
bags for the kids was a fun challenge. Thankfully, Ryan has some great assembly
line skills and we were done pretty quickly!
We think we are ready for a full day tomorrow, but we are always need to
remember that flexibility is key when you are serving and away from the
comforts of home.
Our evening closed with some music & acting practice for
the Saturday children’s program at Korah Misgana Church. It should be a fun day full of energy, but
right now we all are out of energy and are ready for bed!
~Melissa