Laughner's Journey to Ethiopia

Looking ahead to my mission trip to Kombolcha, Ethiopia  in 2013, I would like to put together hygiene kits for 200 kids. I am thinking that we will have little bags that contain wash cloths, a bar of hotel (travel soap), a tooth brush, tooth paste, nail clippers, wide tooth combs, and a bandanna. We will need 200 of each of these items, my dentist will donate the dental supplies (Thank you Amherst Dental Center). If you could donate any of the other items, please let me know. Even if it's only 10 of something, we can all work together to get enough! I would also like to take 200 inflatable beach balls again! They were a big hit this year! There are amazing things happening in Kombolcha, and I would love for you to be a part of it!

Hey everyone. I'm still finishing up writing my blog entries. In the meantime, we are scheduling next year's trip. The dates are March 9-18, 2013. There are 20 spots, and half are already taken. If you would like to go, let us know. There is a Facebook page for the trip. The link is: https://www.facebook.com/events/321747424561877/ I don't get to go, as it is Lori's turn. I'll go again in 2014. Tom

I'm still sorting through photos, and weeding out the ones that aren't anything. However, in the mean time, I've added a link to our Picasa album. Enjoy! Ethiopia 2012

April 29, 2012 Today is our last day in Ethiopia. Tonight we begin our long flight home, back to a culture that may now seem foreign to us after a week immersed in a different country. This week we will go back to our families, our jobs, our friends, and the daily hub bub that constitutes our American lives. We'll have to take the kids to th eir activities, help them with homework, shop for food, catch up on our television shows, learn what's going on in the world since we left, pay bills, all while doing our best not to forget what we experienced here. We vow not to forget what we experienced, while acclimating to our new sense of self after these life changing events. For some of us, that reacclimation started today. After buying coffee and making sure one of our team members finally got her ice cream fix, half of our group went to a church service in Addis Ababa. It was remarkable how much the service felt like those at our home churches. The service was conducted in En...

April 27, 2012 Life in Ethiopia is hard. Our Ethiopian daughter had lost both her parents and two siblings by the time she was four. It's not an uncommon story here. Electricity and running water are commodities that many can't afford. Poverty is rampant and getting worse. We spent the week with children with a wide variety of living conditions, but most come from one room houses with stick and mud walls, dirt floors, and tin roofs. They walk and run up to thirty minutes to school with their toes sticking out of their shoes (if they have shoes). You would think that such a life would harden these kids. You would think that they would push people away for fear of losing them. You would think that emotion was something they could not afford when they don't know from where their next meal will come or if they will have a roof to sleep under the next night. You would think wrong. Our last day in Kombolcha was full of emotion. As the day began, we were anxious because we ...

April 25, 2012  I've had a bunch of unrelated thoughts running through my head today, so rather than a long essay I'll make a few notes.  1. The lambs for Friday's feast arrived today. In true Ethiopian fashion, they are very much alive and kicking. They are grazing in the grassy area where we are playing with the kids. So far, they've stayed away from us, although I wonder if there will be a few "bombs" tomorrow morning. The lambs arrival created some excitement amongst our group. I had told everyone to expect them to arrive alive. One of our group refuses to look at them. Another of our group promptly took a video. I suggested that we name them, the response to which was a communal groan.   2. We went to the pastor's house for lunch. He and his wife were very gracious and served an excellent traditional Ethiopian meal. I know now the difference between restaurant Ethiopian and home made Ethiopian and let me just say the difference is substantial. We...

Our time with the kids started in earnest today. Given the curve ball we were thrown yesterday regarding where we would be, things went remarkably smoothly. There are two sessions each day, with some kids coming in the morning and then going off to school, and the rest of them coming in the afternoon after they are done with school. Today, Rob Tennant started each session with a Bible lesson. Easter is just finishing here, so he is teaching the kids about the events leading up to the crucifix of Jesus and will be leading them through the salvation. Let me just say that Rob is a master with these kids. They are engaged, hanging on his every word. He does a really nice job involving them with role play. It did strike me as funny when Rob asked for a volunteer to play one of the disciples,  and one of the moslem girls volunteered. After the story, each of the kids received a back pack and water bottle. Some confusion ensued when the kids took the permanent markers they received to ...

Day Two – The Road to Kombolcha Many of you remember me telling about the trip to Kombolcha in 2009. The highway had been built in the 1930s during the Italian occupation, and was either in a state of disrepair or was in the process of being repaired. It was a ten hour ride over the bumpiest of roads. Today’s drive was much smoother (all but a very small stretch of the highway is finished) but it still took us nine hours to travel 250 miles. I haven’t the slightest idea why… But it’s a beautiful trip. Imagine taking a drive from a major city with the hustle and bustle of traffic and people and high rise buildings, driving across the plains of South Dakota, Kansas, and Oklahoma, up into the mountains of northern California, across the deserts of the southwest, over the fertile land of the Mississippi delta, and into the hills of southern California all in one day . Along the way there are small villages, decent size towns, people everywhere and more livestock (goals, cattle, ...

Just in from Rob Tennant (team leader). They made it to Kombolcha this evening (a little later than planned)! All the kids cheered when they arrived! The team was able to introduce themselves, then hugged, loved on and played with the kids! Eight of the sponsors will make home visits this week. They were invited and will attend the Wednesday church service. Camp tommorow! Please keep the team and children in your prayers!!!

Day One: It's interesting, after four trips to Ethiopia, to see this country through other people's eyes. Perception is an interesting thing. I remember how in one of my undergraduate psychology classes, the professor talked about how unreliable witnesses are to a crime. If there are seven witnesses, you'll get seven different observations. We see things through our past experiences and personal biases. It's human nature. I remember my first trip here and seeing how beat up the roads were, how dirty everything seemed to be, and saying to Lori, "Wow. This is worse than I imagined." Now, while I still see the dirt and decay, my reference isn't how bad things are, but rather how much progress has been made. The roads are better; it's easier to get around. Construction continues at a rapid pace. There are new high rises and new houses. Someone mentioned to me today that it seems very destitute. Maybe I've become immune to it. Maybe I'm like the ...

Just a quick update to say the team made it to Ethiopia! They slept for a few hours and are now having dinner! They will head off to Kombolcha, Ethiopia tomorrow morning at 7am (which will be about midnight tonight here). I will update with what ever info he is able to send me!

Here we go. Another trip to Ethiopia. Candy Tennant just sent the schedule in brochure form, and all of a sudden it is very real to me. Lori has been spending the last few months gathering donations, packing suitcases, and coordinating gifts. Daniel and Lori have collected over $1600 in monetary donations that will be used for a feast for the kids and the start of one of the capital projects. Friends have sent water bottles, pencils, tooth brushes, crafts, and toys. We also have hand made first aid kits containing band aids and ointment for each of the kids. Becka Morris, one of our neighbors, and I are joining a larger group of people from around the country to travel to Kombolcha. Others in our group have crafts, back bags, clothes, shoes, and much much more for the kids. Kombolcha is a small town of around 12000 about 250 miles from Addis. Below is our schedule for the week. I'll be posting updates (assuming we have Internet access) and photos throughout the week. DAILY SCH...

In four days Tom will be leaving for Kombolcha, Ethiopia on a mission trip! Please stop by between the 21st and the 30th of April to see how God is working in Ethiopia!