Part 2...

On Thursday night Lola’s threw a gathering where they cooked a sheep that had been slaughtered earlier that day.  The children sang songs for us, and Abebe even surprised me by having the kids sing Happy Birthday to my son, Gabe, in Tigrinya because it was his 9^th birthday on Sunday.  He also gave us each a “thank you” gift that was a scarf, letter, picture and prayer request.  This is something that I will never forget-- the generosity of people who have so little material wealth but choose to represent God by serving us humbly and with humility and kindness and a JOY that was contagious. 

Then, Abebe said that he had an important announcement.  When we first met the 3 month old baby, we were told that he arrived at the orphanage without a name.  His mother had died in childbirth.  In Ethiopia, babies without names are sometimes called Mamoush, which is what the staff at Lola’s had been calling this baby for the last month.  Well, we started talking with Abebe about potential names but we knew that most Ethiopian names had a meaning behind them.  So, we asked Abebe what the word for love and faith were.  And then we asked what about Hope?  He said “Tesfa”.  Everyone loved the name, so Abebe officially changed the name of baby Mamoush to Tesfa that evening.  It was a very powerful moment when we recognized that there was hope for a future for these children, for a life without pain and hardship… hope that they seek and receive love from God the Father, who is the Father to the Fatherless. 

Once all the painting was completed, we praised God for all that he had provided to us over the past 5 days. 

The dining room had been painted, and the murals consisted of the Lord’s Prayer in English on one wall and in Tigrinya on the opposite wall.  There were giant flowers and butterflies and bees as well. 

Saturday was our final day there.  Painting was done, so we were able to have breakfast at Lola’s and just play with the kids.  That was wonderful! 

We had also been planning to do a foot washing ceremony for the women at Lola’s who served us all week.  Each woman in our group took a woman from the staff at Lola’s and washed her feet while one of our team members read the scripture that went along with this very powerful activity.  You could see that the women were very moved…and so were we.  My heart flooded with all of the kindness and goodness that we experienced over the course of the week.  We asked the Lord that he continue to provide each of them with the strength to stay healthy and to be able to care for the kiddos the best that they can.  We also gave each woman a necklace with 3 beads representing the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, as well as an umbrella (the rainy season started right after we left and an umbrella is a luxury many women do not have!).  At the end of the ceremony the women said “I love you” to each of us. 

Then we had to say goodbye to the kiddos.  That was HARD!  There were a lot of tears, mostly from our team but also from the children.  We made our way back to the hotel, and gathered all of our bags. 

On the way to the airport we were talking to Abebe were talking about farming.  We asked how they farm on such rocky soil, and Abebe responded “God is good all the time!”  This is so true!

So, thank you to each of you for your prayers, financial, emotional and spiritual support.  Advocacy is an important part of orphan care, and I feel that God is calling me to be an advocate for Lola Children’s Home.  My plan, God willing, is to present to as many people and groups as I can to educate and advocate for the children at Lola’s.  I pray daily for the staff there, as well as Abebe, that they continue to seek the Lord, and to prayerfully receive God’s will for their lives.  I also pray that the Lord heals the scars that the children have from their past lives, and that their faith and devotion to the Lord continues to be strengthened.  If the children can be taught to rely on the Lord during the tough times, then they will be able to get through anything put in front of them with grace, peace and joy! 

If you would like to learn more about Lola Children’s Home or to make a donation, please visit:

http://www.lolachildrensfund.org/

Part One: Details of the Trip

Well, blog friends, I thought that I had posted the blog from my trip, but apparently it never appeared on the official blog site.  So, I am re-posting it, but in separate parts so that it is not overwhelming!  My sincere apologies for not catching this error earlier...I am still not sure how it happened.  Anyway, below is the first "part" from the trip. 

My trip to Ethiopia was much more than I had ever anticipated and I feel so privileged and blessed to have the opportunity to go and serve the orphaned children at Lola Children’s Home.  Throughout the entire trip I saw God at work. From the people that I met in Addis and Mekele, to the interactions between my team, everything was done to glorify God. 

We departed Washington DC for Addis at noon on Saturday, May 21^st.  Our team had just officially met each other, outside of the telephone and e-mail conversations over the last few weeks and we were off on a 15 hour flight to Africa. 

On our way to the hotel, we saw Addis.  The poverty was overwhelming.  I felt completely immobilized, and unsure of how to process everything that I was seeing.  There were children running around with no shoes, homes (truly shacks) made out of corrugated tin materials.  They were simple lean-to’s that served as homes or storefronts.  People milling around on the street.  Crippled, lame, hungry.  The disparity between where I had just come from and where I now was felt like it was too much. 

The flight the next morning to Mekele was pretty uneventful, except for my bag being searched and them finding SCISSORS in it!  Somehow I forgot to put those in my checked bag!  Sorry Ethiopian Airlines!

Abebe (the Director of Lola Children’s Home) and Yonas, his good friend, assistant and fellow orphan, greeted us with big smiles and hugs at the airport!  When I mentioned that I was a friend of a friend, Abebe gave me a huge hug and said he had been praying that I would come! 

The scenery in Mekele reminded me of biblical times.  Horse drawn carts, men shepherding sheep and goats, as well as cattle down the side of the road.  Mountains in the distance.  The road into Mekele was paved, but all of the side roads were either dirt or cobblestone.

We were off to Lola’s!!  As soon as we walked in we were met by the children…and they were all so beautiful! 

The kids played suitcase races with our luggage for the first hour!  Then we did a craft where they decorated a plastic bowl to make a drum, and we gave them pencils for drumsticks.  They were at this activity for over an hour…which is amazing at that age. 

There are currently 13 children at Lola’s and the ages of the kids were 3 months, up to 10 years. 

Abebe introduced us to the children, and had them come around and shake our hands.  I just wanted to kiss their little faces!

Each has a story.  For some, their mother died in childbirth, and their father could not provide for them.  Others, were a causality of poverty, in that their mother could not provide for them so she became a turned to a life of crime and the children went to an orphanage because they did not have any family to care for them.  Another child was brought to the orphanage because his mom tried to harm him when she found out that he was HIV+.   These burdens that the kids carry with them broke my heart…and I know that they broke the Lord’s heart. 

At Lola’s, there are children that are HIV+.  All were receiving ARV treatment 2 times per day.  This medication is provided by the government.  If the children are able to receive this medication, they can expect to have a normal, healthy life.  HIV, when treatment is followed appropriately, becomes a chronic yet manageable disease, much like diabetes.  The children at Lola’s that were HIV+ were beautiful children of God.  They were full of energy and as healthy as the HIV- children.

And so began our painting expedition.  We were tasked with transforming (all according to God’s agenda) the dining room, baby room, big kids room, adult and kid’s bathroom with paint and murals.  We also were asked to paint the outside of the compound walls, and to move dirt and rocks to make way for the playground that we donated to Lola’s.

For lunch, we ate at Lola’s everyday.  This was the highlight of my day because we were able to talk to Abebe and hear his story and his vision for Lola’s. 

Abebe realizes that most of the children will not be adopted because there are currently 163 million orphans in the world.  His focus is on orphan care.  He wants to make sure that each child receives:

·         An education (the best school for children 8+ costs $8/month)

·         Knowledge of the Lord and Christ our Savior

·         Money when they leave the orphanage (accomplished by setting up a bank account for each child)

·         Vocational training (his dream is to obtain land from the government for a dairy farm.  This would provide a sustainable income for Lola’s, as well as provide training for the children so that if they did not go to university they could leave Lola’s and find a job to support themselves).

Additionally, Abebe realized, that God willing:

·         He would like to build a clinic and hire a full time nurse to staff it.  This clinic would be accessible to the community as well as Lola’s.  The cost is $100/month to hire a full time nurse.

·         He would like to educate the children that are 8 and under at Lola’s.  To hire a quality teacher, the cost is approximately $100/month.

More to come.....