Goodbye to Ethiopia

Here is a picture of our crew on our last day in Ethiopia. After a full morning of shopping at the mercado in Addis Ababa, we stopped by the Bethzatha orphanage to for a coffee ceremony and some parting words from Sammy Getahun, who is Bekele's older brother and founder/director of the Bethzatha orphanages. Sammy presented us all with certificates of appreciation, and quoted from Hebrews 6:10, which says, "God is not unjust; He will not forget your work and the love you have shown Him as you have helped His people and continue to help them."

Ready to shop

It's morning of our last day in Ethiopia. Right now it's 7:30 a.m. Saturday here and 8:30 Friday night in Spokane. We have a day of souvenir shopping scheduled before we head for the airport for the long trip home: Addis Ababa to Amsterdam with a quick stop in Khartoum, Amsterdam to Seattle, and Seattle to Spokane. Our flight leaves at 11:45 tonight (12:45 p.m. Saturday Spokane time) so be in prayer for us for safety and comfort along the way.

This picture is of the 7-Eleven Super Market a short distance from our hotel. It has nothing to do with the 7-Eleven chain in America, although I'm sure the name pulls in a few "ferenge" tourists.

More thanks

Mustafa (left) and Bekele share a laugh while Andrew Kercher stretches out after dinner at Haile's last Thursday on our last night in Awassa. Mustafa was our bus driver for the trip south and maneuvered the bus through traffic, livestock and pedestrians without a hitch. We only got stopped by the police once, and that was for driving an overweight vehicle around a traffic roundabout. Bekele served as our translator and cultural liaison. He and Pastor Myron spent many hours together on shopping trips during three days of work in Awassa, which for two men who hate shopping was way outside their comfort zone.

Special thanks

As we prepare for our last day in Ethiopia, I want to give a special shout-out to Erica Stillar, missions program director with All God's Children International. She has been our liaison since we started planning for this trip more than a year ago and we were fortunate to have her along with us on this trip. Erica has such a heart for Jesus and disadvantaged orphans and children and performs her job well at a great personal sacrifice. She has been away from home for more than a month this time working with a team in Rwanda and our team. I know she's looking forward to some quality time with her husband of less than a year before her next overseas travel next March.

Last day of work

Our last day of work Friday in Addis Ababa was at the youth rehabilitation center. We transformed the boys' dining hall from a dingy mustard color to what you see here, as Jan smiles at a job well done. Things were so hectic I felt like we were on an episode of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition." Myron was feeling better today and purchased supplies and repaired benches and tables in the dining hall. We also gave a suitcase full of medical supplies donated by folks in Spokane as well as 80 shirts and T-shirts contributed by HoopFest, National Basketball Camps and the Little League where Jeff Poffenroth coaches.

Ethiopian birthday

Dinner Thursday was at an Ethiopian restaurant featuring Abyssinian cultural dancing. The highlight, though, was when they brought out the birthday cake for Jan and Sherridan and the band sang "Happy Birthday" in Amharic and English. I had the camcorder ready and was able to record the event for posterity.

Public computer is down

When we returned to Addis we found that the public computer was not working. It looks like the power supply is blown. This is a big disappointment to the members of our group who expected to be able to communicate with their families again Thursday. I hope to get to someplace with WIFI today to send these blog posts.

Goodbye to Awassa

We left Awassa on Thursday morning, but not before stopping at a wildlife park. This monkey was curious about what was going on inside our bus. I was looking forward to swamping with the hippos, but we had to get on the road to Addis.

The illness continued to spread, and at least half of us had some form of it. Fortunately, we were advised beforehand to get a prescription for Cipro, so at least treatment was at hand.

When we arrived back at the Union Hotel in Addis Ababa, we took at tour of the Hamlin Ethiopia Fistula Hospital. We gave them the three suitcases of medical supplies that we brought with us and money to fund operations on two women. Pastor Myron was so sick that he had to stay back at the hotel. I know this was a major disappointment to him. Ever since seeing the PBS Nova presentation "A Walk to Beautiful" he had wanted to tell at least one of these women, most of whom had been marginalized by their own families, that "You are beautiful to God."

Birthday girl

Both Sherridan Poffenroth (seen here painting a bed frame at Bethzatha in Awassa) and Jan Person celebrate birthdays today. We will have to come up with an Ethiopian birthday cake for them. I want to tell Jeff, Ryan, Bret, Julia, Megan, Bill and Patricia how hard Sherridan has been working this week. She's even got in a couple of morning runs here in Awassa and encountered monkeys and tropical birds along the way. I know she misses you all and is looking forward to seeing you again Sunday night.

Samaritan's Purse

I shot this one out the bus window yesterday morning. There are several Christian relief agencies here in Awassa, including Samaritan's Purse. It reminded me to thank everyone back home who contributed to our mission team this year instead of our usual Operation Christmas Child shoebox drive for Samaritan's Purse. We have pictures to show you that we aren't allowed to post on the Internet where you can see the pure joy on the face of children whom we saw getting hours of enjoyment from a furniture caster with a string tied to it. The musical fish donated by Jean Rosado was a big hit with the little boy who made it his constant companion for two days.

Gooooooooooal!

Our third and final day at Bethzatha Children's Home Association in Awassa was a busy room. We completed painting throughout the house, including this mural by Jan  and Rebekah. More shopping was done for household supplies. Myron Person and Randy Myers completed their two tables, and everyone pitched in to clean up our mess so the children could return to some level of normalcy. Topping it off was dinner at Haile's Resort, which is owned by Haile Gebrselassie, hometown hero and Olympic gold-medal marathoner. He had just returned home after dropping out of the New York City Marathon with a knee. Injury. Kenzie Wade and Andrew Kercher met him earlier in the day when part of our group stopped in to pick up a menu, and he posed for pictures and gave autographs when we returned for dinner.
Thursday we return to Addis Ababa for a visit to the Fistula Hospital. Friday will be a workday at the youth rehabilitation center and Saturday we'll be able to shop for souvenirs before catching our return flight Saturday night.

Illness strikes

We made it a week without anyone getting sick, and then we has three people in one day. Annie Matlow, seen here sharing the baby nursery with an infant, Kenzie Wade and Rebekah Holzhouser from All God's Children International all came down with what appears to be some sort of food-borne illness.

Don't try this at home, kids

Today we hired a welder to fix the front gate at Bethzatha orphanage in Awassa. Yes, that's his welding apparatus in the box behind him and his extension cord was those two wires that were connected directly to the 220-volt power supply for the house. Total cost for the parts and labor was 130 Birr, or $7.86 U.S.

Elvis wasn't the only one with a Jungle Room

Look at the finished product as the painters Annie, Jan, and Bekki pose in the "Jungle Room" at the Bethzatha orphanage in Awassa. This room was a dingy cream color just a day earlier and became bright green with monkeys, a toucan and a lion. We've really developed a heart for the children and staff at Bethzatha. They are such wonderful people doing a great job with extremely limited resources. We were able to use some of the money that you donated for supplies to buy some household items that we take for granted back home but they were making do without. The children have really warmed up to these crazy white people who turned their world upside down with frenzied painting and carpentry work. Last night they were imitating the Myron and Randy's ladder construction using styrofoam packing material and a piece of cardboard, with one boy holding a toy up to his face as a camera. The memories of these wonderful children will stay with us always.

A table for the children

Here's a shot of the table for which we were purchasing the materials yesterday. Randy is screwing the top to the legs under the watchful eyes of Gaetu, who made the trip with us from Addis Ababa, and Myron. The project went a little slower than expected, largely due to a mid-day power outage. The plans are to assemble a second table Wednesday.

Special delivery

Here's something you don't see every day. We purchased some furniture for the Bethzatha orphanage in Awassa and it was delivered to us by donkey cart. Everyone then had to have their pictures taken with the donkey. I assume he will be on everybody's Christmas cards this year.

Hard-working teenagers

Special thanks go out today to Andrew Kercher, Deanna Wade and Kenzie Wade, the three teenagers on our trip. They've been working very hard all day long on our painting projects at Bethzatha. I can't speak for everybody, but I sure wish I still had their youthful energy!

The mural takes shape

Bekki Sherwood starts to fill in the detail on a jungle scene on one of the walls at the Bethzatha orphanage in Awassa. Walls were first cleaned, a bright base coat was added and artwork was sketched out. We provided a full day of entertainment to the children, as all this activity is something they don't see every day.

Standing on the Promises

We couldn't find a ladder or step stool for sale anywhere in Awassa, so we bought the materials and Myron and Randy made this one. It is so sturdy that Tom felt safe standing on the top step, which most store-bought American ladders label "Not a Step."

Crowd pleaser

There wasn't a soul in sight yesterday when we pulled the bus up to the lumber yard Monday and honked the horn. But that soon changed. Look at all the people who gathered on the stack at the right to watch Randy, Myron, Bekele and our other helpers load the sticks atop the bus. We bought two of these sticks, which measure 4 inches in diameter at the base, to build table legs and ladder sides.

Yes, she spackles

Annie said to be sure to snap a picture of Bekki Sherwood spackling for the paint project at Awassa because husband Robert would never believe it.

Construction in Ethiopia

We've signs of a booming construction industry all over Addis Ababa and Awassa. What came as a surprise was the scaffolding. All of it is made from sticks, or more accurately small-diameter trees. It is not uncommon to see such scaffolding several stories tall.

Internet note

The team members who are communicating with their families via email and Facebook wanted me to pass along that there is no public computer with Internet access at the hotel here in Awassa. So you might not hear from them until we return to Addis Ababa on Wednesday or Thursday,

Painting and shopping, with a little carpentry

Today was a workday at the Bethzatha Children's Home Association orphanage in Awassa. Most of the crew spent the day scrubbing walls, speckling, putting on a bright-colored base coat and painting murals. The orphanage is a converted house with about 12 kids, all toddlers and bed babies. It is a newly established branch of the Bethzatha orphanage in Addis Ababa and there is a lot of need. Your donations to our team bought them a two-burner tabletop stove and the supplies for painting and table-making projects.
In the picture, Randy and Myron trim some linoleum that is going back into one of the rooms after the painting is finished.
While the painting was going on, Randy, Myron and I hit the road in the bus with our Ethiopian helpers in search of wood, screws, a power saw and a drill. We were reminded how lucky we are back a home to be able to run down to Lowe's or Home Depot and pick up everything we need in one stop. We spent most of the day going to multiple hardware stores, lumber outlets and carpentry shops before we got everything we needed.
We couldn't find a ladder for sale anywhere in town. When we returned to Bethzatha, Myron and Randy built a stepladder for the painters out of 4-inch tree trunks and boards. Tuesday we will be back at Bethzatha to finish the painting while Myron and Randy build tables.

Gifts for Special Moms

Thanks to everyone in Spokane who contributed scarves and lotions for the gift bags for the Special Moms, who are the volunteer caregivers at Hannah's Hope, and especially to Pam Campbell and The River radio station for donating the bags. In the picture, Annie Matlow makes the donation to Tsige at Hannah's Hope on Friday.

Ethiopian church

Here's a picture from the You-Go City Church, where we ended Sunday. The image at the front of the cross with the temple curtain being torn from top to bottom was stunning. The church was packed and we didn't see a lot of old people. Annie observed that we were looking at the future of Ethiopian Christianity.

About those bathrooms...

I think the biggest adjustment for us all has been the bathrooms. Spelled phonetically, the word for bathroom is "shenta bait," which is literally translated "house of urine," which should clue you in that there are no "Sanitized for Your Protection" strips across the bowl -- when there is a bowl. Sometimes you encounter a hole in the floor over which you are supposed to squat. And used toilet paper doesn't get flushed down the toilet, but goes into the waste basket. Deanna Wade has been taking pictures of all the toilets she visits and I'm sure she'll be sharing with you when she returns. I know that I'll never take an American bathroom for granted again,

Under African Skies

The cameras came out as the sun began to set on the road to Awassa. Let me tell you, shooting out the side window of a moving bus is no easy trick. Rebakah Holzhouser from All God's Children, who was shooting out the front windshield, won the contest. This was my entry.

First church, then travel

Tom Wade and two of our Ethiopia friends load up the luggage for our trip to Awassa, where we will be painting rooms at the Bethzatha orphanage there. But this was Sunday, so first we went to church. We went to the You-Go City Church, which is in a large building that formerly housed the Yugoslavia Night Club. The service was in the Amharic language, and congregation members who knew English were pressed into service as translators. They let us know generally what the pastor was talking about, and we recognize the words for God, holy, Lord and "I give you praise." The music, also sung in Amharic, needed no interpreter for us to understand the passion behind the singing and the praise. All the members knew the words, too, without the aid of a hymnal or words projected on a screen.

After the two-and-a-half-hour service, it was lunch on the bus and then a four-hour drive south to Awassa. It was quite an experience to see animals and vehicles sharing the road and the large number of people seemingly in the middle of nowhere who were walking along the roadside. Where did they come from and where were they going?

We felt the adversary at work when we got to Awassa. First the driver had trouble in the dark finding the orphanage, where we wanted to drop off painting supplies for tomorrow. Most everyone was tired and cranky when we arrived at the Oasis Hotel, where there was difficulty with some of the room reservations and the dinner arrangements. We had a time of prayer before dinner and after we ate everyone headed to their rooms for a good night's sleep before our busy day tomorrow.

David and Goliath

Kenzie Wade is David and Andrew Kercher is Goliath in a "vacation Bible school" story time Saturday at Hannah's Hope. Jan Person narrated. The program was repeated in the afternoon at the Bethzatha orphanage.

A full day of children

Today we spent the morning at Hannah's Hope and the afternoon at Bethzatha Orphanage. The morning at Hannah's Hope started with a lot of baby hugging. In the photo here you can see Sherridan Poffenroth with three out of the four babies she was tending to at the time. The babies all seemed to be thriving, thanks to the great care given by the Special Moms, who are the volunteer caregivers. After the babies were put back to bed, the crew conducted vacation Bible school craft activities for the older children and Jan Person told the story of David and Goliath as Bekele, who works at both orphanages, translated.

We had lunch at Kaldi's, which is unashamed of its role as a complete Starbucks knockoff, right down to the colors and logo. Some of our party had a fruit drink that was layered with guava, avocado and papaya juice, a representation of the colors of the Ethiopian flag.

The afternoon was spent at Bethzatha, where we did all kinds of activities for the kids. Like any group of 50 kids mostly 8 and under, they had varied socialization skills. Some just wanted to sit on your lap and be held, while others plunged into all the activities, from blowing bubbles to art projects to trying to hit a plastic baseball. Jan did story time again, this time with our driver, Wass, as a very animated translator. Jan and Bekki led the kids in singing all the preschool songs with their hand motions, and then the children serenaded us in the Amharic language.

We had a traditional coffee ceremony, with coffee beans cooked over the fire as we watched and hand-ground with a mortar and pestle.

Dinner was at Makush, which we were told was the best Italian restaurant in town. The Wades weren't with us for dinner, as they took a tour of the Bingham Academy and went to dinner with the director of Bingham to another "best Italian restaurant in town."

Sunday we will attend an Ethiopian church service and then head for Awassa, where we will spend three days painting rooms at the Bethzatha Orphanage there.

Sewing project

Jan Person, Leanne Wade, Kenzie Wade and Bekki Sherwood show two employees at the youth rehabilitation center how to match up the squares for the quilt project. The team got an enthusiastic reception from the 10 girls in the class and their leaders.

The wheels on the bus don't go round and round...

...or at least not very when you get a rock the size of a softball wedged between the two dual tires on the right rear. This happened as we were leaving Hannah's Hope on Friday. Here you see Randy Myers "supervising" Bekele and Danny, who ultimately had to remove the wheel to extract the rock.

Food preparation at Hannah's Hope

Two if the employees at Hannah's Hope peel onions and carrots for the evening meal on Friday. Bright colors are popular in Ethiopia, in sharp contrast to the drabness of the urban landscape.

A full day of activity

We put in a full day today. First stop was Hannah's Hope orphanage. We weren't allowed to photograph any of the children, lest it look like advertising, so here I am with Tom Wade (pronounced Wah-day by the locals) playing the role of an orphan. Everyone had fun playing with the toddlers. Tomorrow we're going back to spend time with the babies and other activities.

After a traditional Ethiopian lunch (those of you who've eaten at Queen of Sheba in Spokane know what I'm talking about) we visited a youth rehabilitation facility. Again, no photos of the kids were allowed, which further complicates my role as official photographer. I've been promised, though, that when we go to Awassa on Sunday I'll be able to take pictures of us interacting with kids.

At the youth rehab facility, Bekki and the women taught 10 girls, most of them 14 years old, how to sew a patchwork rag quilt. Each one takes 80 squares to make, and North Addison members pre-cut 69 sets in the month before our trip. Annie said the sewing teacher was blown away by us donating the material, which was in short supply, and the fact that they were already cut to size was icing on the cake.

While the sewing was going on, Tom, Randy and the others played soccer and youth group games with the boys. Soccer is big here, but Kenzie led a group in a spirited session of "Rock, Paper, Scissors." After showing off some of his dance moves, Tom had a discussion with a group of boys about talking with God and Jesus and how Christ died for us to allow a path of redemption when we do things such as steal.

Tomorrow it's back to Hannah's Hope in the morning and then a visit to the Bethzatha orphanage in the afternoon.

Good morning, Ethiopia

i woke up around 4:30 this morning to the sounds of roosters crowing the dawn of a new day and what must have been someone's morning prayers in the Amharic language. Our battery-powered clock that I bought at REI in Spokane doesn't work and I didn't want to oversleep on our first day, so I stayed awake. We have breakfast buffet at the hotel, then a group meeting before stops at Hannah's Hope orphanage and the Youth Rehabilitation Facility.

Sent from my iPad

Safe arrival in Ethiopia

We arrived at Bole Airport in Addis Ababa at 10:30 p.m. Thursday local time, which is 12:30 p.m. Thursday back home in Spokane. All of our luggage made it safely, and everyone made it through the visa line and the currency exchange line without any difficulties. Tom Wade, the crew from All God's Children and Danny the bus driver from Hannah's Hope orphanage were waiting for us once we cleared customs. In the picture, Tom is supervising the luggage distribution at the Union Hotel.
It's now 1 a.m., there's a junkyard dog baying somewhere in the distance, and our alarm clock is set for 7 a.m. Our adventure has begun.

Halfway there

We arrived safely in Amsterdam about an hour ago, and have another hour to wait before we board our 10-hour flight to Addis Ababa via Khartoum. It is 9 a.m. in Amsterdam, but our bodies know that it's 1 a.m. Back in Spokane. We left Seattle a little behind schedule because the plane was overweight and had to shed some weight. Leanne said they didn't know our whole group had two checked bags each, all loaded as close to 50 pounds as we could get them.

In this picture, Jan Person and Andrew Kercher play the waiting game in Amsterdam.

Ready for departure

We're at Spokane International Airport, less than an hour from departure. Everyone made it through security without having to submit to a strip search, although Jan's artificial hip and my bag of cameras and cables merited some extra attention.

In the picture, Kenzie Wade relaxes as she prepares herself for a long day in the air.

One day to departure

We leave for Ethiopia about 24 hours from now. There’s a lot of excitement in the group, and the adrenalin is pumping as we scurry to make last-minute preparations. I am looking forward to the time change. If I continue to wake up at 2:30 in the morning, it will be like sleeping past noon Ethiopia time.

A call to action

Just two more days until we leave for Ethiopia! I'm reminded today that the Lord calls us all to action, not just the 12 of us going on this mission trip. Two thoughts come to mind this morning. One is the anonymous quote often attributed to St. Francis of Assisi: "Preach the gospel always; when necessary, use words." The other comes from James 1:22: "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." That's from the NIV. The verse I memorized as a child from the King James Version says "But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves."


The first of our group, Tom Wade, leaves this morning for Ethiopia to take care of some business related to future employment there. I told him yesterday that he is our forerunner, paving the way for us, so he should now be known as Tom the Baptist.