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.