Day 3 in Ethiopia

Day 3 has been so many words...amazing, scary, exhausting, unforgettable! We got up early around 4:30am and couldn't sleep and went to breakfast and then off to the Transition Home. There were only us and one other family, the Herwhe's there and it was so nice and peaceful. Sarah was in a happy mood so we changed her clothes and put on a headband, we also stamped her little feet and took a ton of pictures. We got lots of smiles! Micah was in class, but was able to get out when we arrived. He was pretty happy about that! He ran up and gave us hugs and played for a few minutes while Abby was in the toddler room. Micah looked around and said, "where is sister?" When we showed him, he motioned for her to come out and get a hug. So sweet!

He walked us over to the next building where the older children stay and showed us his room, and his bed and all his toys that we had sent him in his care package. He also had an art book he had gotten for Christmas that he had already filled up with drawings. Lots of spiderman drawings! He also had a paper Bible he keeps under his pillow in Amharic. Another little boy, "J" and Micah read there Bible together every night.

We also got to go to his class and the kids sang a song for us and then the teacher ask us ( me, Greg and Abby) to sing a song. So we sang Amazing Grace and Jesus Loves Me and then they sang Jesus loves me back to us in Amharic. They were also learning the days of the week and their letters.

Our time FLEW by today, but we had to leave at 12 and go back to the guest house where we had lunch and then met our driver and a rep from Children's Hope Chest to take us to Trees of Glory Carepoint Center. It is about 2 hours out of the city and it was such beautiful countryside. Abby took a ton of pictures I will post when I get home. Just beautiful! We stopped and Abby bought a TON of fruit with the money she had saved and had been given... just bags and bags of bananas and mangos. The total cost was $21 us dollars! We split the cost with the Herwhes and were just amazed at how much fruit! We plan to buy more for both orphanages we are visiting tomorrow.

The roads though were CRAZY! Between dodging goats and power-sliding the van around one lane blind curves, I finally decided I was better off not watching the road!

When we arrived at TOG, we met the director there. A sweet lady that has given up her job to come and live at the carepoint center full time and take care of the children. We had a Coffee Ceremony, gave her our donations we had taken up at Vacation Bible School this summer and then met the kids. They were so sweet. We gave them suckers, granola bars, and silly bands and were able to paint the little girls finger nails. They loved that. When we got out of the van our driver realized that the van was leaking oil. Lots of oil. So while we were inside, the men were trying to fix the van. They finally decided the driver would walk to get some oil and a gasket that had broken. I was getting a little uneasy as there was no electric, no running water and no bathroom other than a hole, no Holiday Inn....and we had no transportation. And the city was 2 hours away. And it was getting kinda late. But we walked around and took lots of pictures and played with the kids and learned more about the vision for TOG. After about an hour ( and a very memorable trip to the potty) our driver showed up with a gasket and a bag of oil! Yes, a bag..like a doubled Walmart bag. Of oil...too funny.

Praise God he fixed the van and we quickly said goodbye and headed back to Addis. We got back with only about 15 min to spare ( around 7:15) before we took off for our traditional Ethiopian dinner!

It was a really nice restaurant and they had all the tables together sitting family style. There was a stage and musicians and dancers and they brought out big round trays of Ethiopian food. We ate while the performers put on an amazing show. Dancing like I have never seen! It was a great show and great food, but by 10:00 Abby and I were about to fall over! We made it back to the guest home for bed and was so happy to see it!

Tomorrow we go to the orphanages Micah and Sarah lived in before moving to the TH, we have a meeting with the ET director about what to expect at court and the an afternoon with Micah and Sarah. We are all having an amazing time and are so thankful for your prayers for us.

~ Greg , Jackie and Abby