They're Getting So Big!

May 6, 2019

Another great day in Ethiopia.

We were up out of bed at 4:30 this morning in order to get to the airport for an 8:00 flight. Turns out that even though the five guys are sharing the same room, we didn't know that none of us were really sleeping. I, for one, know that others were sleeping because I was hearing snoring in Dolby 5.1 surround sound. In full disclosure, I was told I was doing a bit of the log sawing myself throughout the night.

So I lied about the barking dogs and snoring roommates. Turns out they were really enough to wake me up and keep me awake. Add in some feral cats, aircraft flying overhead, and the worrisome sound of a mosquito buzzing around my head and it was enough to keep me awake. Needless to say, as I type of this, I'm running on fumes. I'm going to post this tonight just so I can get it out, but if something doesn't make sense, blame it on an extremely long day.

Time is not something Ethiopians seem to take very seriously, so I was worried when I said that we needed to leave at 6am for the airport that anyone would be there. Surprisingly, the driver (Tesfaye), Alex and Abigail from Children's Hopechest, and Zelalem, an old friend who will be helping us this week, all were on time. A few tweaks to the van and we were off to the airport.

Later described as organized chaos, the airport was, well, organized chaos. There were people everywhere going every direction and lots of lines. Soldiers patrolled with rifles over their shoulders. Everyone was talking, creating a constant din of noise. Because of the change in plans with the travel between cities, we were told to bring our suitcases (very heavy suitcases) with us on the plane. It took us forever to get through the first round of security, check in, baggage check, and another security check before making it to our gate with 30 minutes to spare. We had to pay for one extra bag (500 birr, about $17).

Flight was quick and painless. They appear to have extended the runway a bit so it didn't seem we were going to go flying off into the desert after landing. They also had a motorized luggage cart, but left the cart in the middle of the runway for us to rummage through. We collected our bags and discovered one was missing...naturally the one we'd paid for). It contains craft items, and as of 10:00 tonight, still hasn't been located.

We drove to the hotel, checked in, and left for CHDA.

My, these kids are growing! They are full of smiles. And they're getting a lot taller.

The team introduced themselves, and I gave a brief blurb about how happy we are to be in Kombolcha again, spending the week with them. This is normally Rob Tennant's job, so since he's not with us this year, I gave it. (We miss you Rob!) We then watched a short program. First, one of the mothers thanked us for coming. She said that she has learned from us, that if we take the time to come all the way to Kombolcha to love on the kids, that she can pay it forward by giving of her own time and donating items no longer of use to her (such as kids clothes that are too small). It was very touching.

Then three girls gave a brief talk, thanking us for coming. Two of the girls are twins, sponsored by families in our former Massachusetts church.

Finally, two girls gave an interpretive dance. We didn't understand much of it but it was very sweet and well performed.

Then, we started playing. I headed outside and played ball and other games in the courtyard. Moses and Sean came to join me for this. The others stayed inside and sang songs and played several games. Lots of laughter. Pure joy.

Back to the hotel for lunch and then a visit to Kombolcha Institute of Technology. Many of the kids at Meserete are now college age. We are looking for ways to help them with their tuition without taking resources away from the other children. One of our team members is a videographer and will be interviewing three students who came up through the Meserete program. Andrew will be creating a video to talk about the efforts to raise money for this fund.

Next stop was Meserete where we again introduced  ourselves and talked and played with the kids. I don't have the picture yet, nor did I witness it, but apparently Cassidy is quite the dancer... More to come on that one...

We are now back at the hotel, having eaten dinner, and organized the supplies we need for tomorrow, we have settled in for the night. Earlier, the Wifi wasn't working, but Moses fixed it! We start at 7:45 tomorrow for breakfast and devotion and then over to CHDA. It will be a great day.

P.S. The missing suitcase is nowhere to be found.


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