Day One in Ethiopia

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Yesterday, Tom and the others arrived in Ethiopia. It was a long tiring flight but with happy hearts they dumped their bags and headed out to visit the first care point center. From the short e-mail I received last night their is only one computer they are able to post from and a long line and not much time to get to it. I am sharing some photos from the first day taken by Tom Davis. I am also going to share with you what Peter Kidd was able to post to his blog. The team is doing pretty well. One of the team members were pretty sick Tuesday night but was feeling better this morning before they left for their 6 hour drive to Kolmbocha. One other team member this morning was not quite up to par. Please continue to pray for their health and safety.
This is from Peter Kidd
So today was a very good day! We arrived safe in sound in Addis Ababa after about 19 hours door to door (15 hours of flying time). Being six foot one on Ethiopian Airlines is a bit of a liability but overall I got say it was a great flight. The highlight of the flight was an impromptu choir concert that broke out while we were sitting in Rome refueling the plan - it was awesome, the whole plane was into it. Wish I could speak Amharic, because I didn't understand a word that was said. But as a nice woman at the bathroom reminded me, praise is praise.

After a quick lunch with the team (fried chicken??) we headed over to a carepoint/orphanage by the name of Quary (sp?), and spent a few hours with the kids. Some of the kids there are orphans others are just receiving day care so to speak while their mothers go out and work. This facility teaches the mothers a skill/trade (like basket weaving or sewing) so that they can earn money.

We had a blast with the kids. Spent some time playing games with them and just, well, hanging out with them. One of the highlights was a parachute game that we brought, the kind we use to play with in grade school. The kids loved it and laughed the whole time. One little girl 'Milky' took my heart when she gave me a kiss on my cheek (I'm a sucker!) I was ready to scoop her up and take her home with me.

Ultimately, we determined that this facility is not one that Childrens HopeChest will sponsor, due to the fact that many of the kids are still living with their mom (or dad) and the others are adoption eligible. Adoption eligible kids are not a part of the HopeChest model (www.hopechest.org) for good reasons that I don't have time to discuss now.

Bottom line, we had a blast, the kids had a blast and we are here!

Tomorrow we take a 6.5 hour drive to a city Kombolcha, north of Addis. We're told the situation is pretty dire there so we'll see.

For now it's time for dinner and a much need night of sleep!

Peace out! Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.

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