Wednesday, April 6, 2011

My new blog site....

My new blog site is up and running... http://www.stoneacrossthewaters.com/.

I am currently posting my posts on both sites, but I will eventually convert this site back to the reason it was intended... to provide Teketel updates for our Ohio family who sees him far to rarely. (Do you believe that Pastor? You will get your Tek updates back!!) I will likely only be posting my writings to http://www.stoneacrossthewaters.com/ beginning in May. Great thing about the new site is that you can subscribe and receive an email everytime I post a new entry... I know you don't want to miss a single post!

Thanks for following along with me!

Lesson 3: Sacrifice is Relative (part 2)

I started this post over a month ago. Literally a month ago. It has been a very difficult post to write. I’ve rewritten it several times and have never been satisfied. I think I’ve figured out the reason why I couldn’t bring myself to post it. This particular experience in Ethiopia was a defining moment for me. Many of you may have likely had a defining moment or two. Maybe it’s when you choose your career path and the certainty you felt when you knew you would spend the rest of your life pursuing this career. Maybe it was the day you realized your spouse was the one you were meant to marry. Maybe one of your defining moments was the day your faith became real to you or maybe it was the day you held your child in your arms for the first time. What makes a moment a defining one? I think it is when it completely changes your perspective, when you walk away knowing that you can’t go back to being the person you were before. And that is quite possibly one of the scariest feelings ever.

Occasionally those moments scare us enough to make us want to forget about them rather than embrace them. This was certainly one I wanted to forget. I’ve talked a bit about this experience with several people, but never to the necessary extent. It was an emotional experience that I wanted to share with people but not one that I actually want to share the impact on me. That would be far too much accountability. And when you aren’t sure what to do with the feelings and thoughts that you have, the last thing you want is people watching and waiting for you to do something.

What I experienced on Christmas afternoon (Christmas on the Ethiopian calendar) was one of the most intense experiences of my life. I experienced firsthand what most only see in the movies or read about in a newspaper; human suffering so intense and so overwhelming that you cannot grasp the magnitude of it. I’ve seen this type of human suffering in various places and times before, but never so much in one place. I have to believe that even the most seasoned healthcare professional would struggle with this overwhelming amount of suffering and desperation.

Our team had devotions every morning and we were working through the book of Mark. Following this experience on Christmas afternoon, we read Mark 8. In Mark 8:34, Jesus says to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” We discussed this verse as a team, exploring the various meanings of denying oneself. One team member said that we followed this verse by coming on this trip. We sacrificed money, time off, studies, etc. to make the trip happen. This didn’t sit well with me. While yes, some sacrifices were made to come on this trip, the sacrifices were minimal when compared to what we gained. I can’t see myself as someone who denies herself or takes up her cross to follow Jesus. I don’t feel that I sacrifice anything that even compares to the sacrifice Christ made for me. But on Christmas afternoon, I did meet a woman that has sacrificed more than I could ever imagine.

Her name was Sister Benedicta. She was a German nun serving for the last 25 years with Mother Teresa’s Missionary of Charity Sisters. If you’ve ever learned or read anything about Mother Teresa (and you really should, she was a remarkable woman) you know that the organization Mother Teresa founded was various homes for the sick, dying, and destitute. She believed in giving the dying a place to die with dignity. The place we walked into on Christmas Day was one of these homes. I use the term “home” loosely. It was a compound that has nearly 1000 patients. Sister Benedicta was one of the 12 nuns that ran this compound. She worked in the mothers and children section. She was responsible for upwards of 200 patients. She had a staff of 10 people to assist her. She worked 7 days a week, morning to night. She has been working like this for 25 years (9 of which have been spent at this compound in Addis Ababa.) Not sure if you got that… 7 DAYS A WEEK. She expressed the frustration of the never-ending cycle, new patients never stop arriving. You release one patient, and there are 10 more waiting. The work is never done.

We experienced this as we walked near the gates of the compound and literally a dozen very sick, very poor people were begging to enter the gate. People with diseases you would never see in the US (at least never on the street): leprosy, tumors bigger than their heads, missing limbs, open sores, etc. It was incredibly intense to walk past these individuals in our clean clothes holding our nice backpacks and water bottles, many of us with some kind of electronic device in our pocket (iphones, ipods, etc) that would pay for a year’s worth of food and clean water for those individuals. When we entered the compound it was fairly calm. Only the guard and one woman stood in the entryway of the compound… but things got very intense, very quickly. As we turned the corner and headed to the first ward, patients trying to sell hats and bracelets surrounded us. They sold these items to raise money to return home or start a life when they left Mother Teresa’s home. Then as we entered the main portion of the compound you saw room after room filled with sick and dying men. They took us to the various rooms and told us who stayed in each room. Some rooms were for those who needed surgery, others for those with cancer, and still more for patients with hepatitis or AIDS. In a few rooms, we would hear a person crying out in pain in a way that you wish you never in your life had to hear.

The compound was very basic. The food they fed the patients was obviously anything they could scrounge up for a small price. It was very difficult to recall our amazing Catholic cathedrals and expensive Protestant churches which took millions of dollars to build in contrast to this organization that is providing for the most destitute of the world yet lacking the ability to provide for basic needs. Not a proud moment to be a “wealthy” Christian.

One of the next places we visited in this compound not only made me question the selfishness of Christians but the goodness of God. We entered the ward for the mentally disabled. My mother has worked with the mentally disabled since she was a teenager. I grew up around those with mental disabilities; my aunt has Down ’s syndrome and is the center of our family. Being around a large group of people that are mentally disabled does not make me nervous or uncomfortable. However, being around mentally disabled who are considered unwanted by society, with no family, no possessions, and no education… this affected me. In one room there were more than 20 disabled children with only one or two workers taking care of them. Many just lay in their beds looking hopeless, others cried out as we entered, begging for our attention. Some lay on the concrete floor grabbing at our feet and arms, trying to receive some form of human touch. One room had a little boy that I will never forget. When I walked over to the beds, the boy (probably 10 years old but the mind of a young toddler) immediately jumped into my arms and clung to me for dear life. He was so excited by being held he began to laugh uncontrollably. I will never forget that smile as long as I live. I could feel his nails dig into me as he clung to me, laughing so hard that he began to choke. I just kept holding him. A few of the team members had to walk out of the room at the sight of this child clinging to me as he did. As he saw the nurse coming towards us, he continued to laugh and cling to me even tighter. His choking on his own laughter became so intense that the nurse had to pull him off of me to calm him down so he could breathe regularly again. He was a child that received so little affection and did not want to relinquish the human touch. It is not the fault of the overworked and understaffed nurses that these children are starved for attention, there simply are too many patients and not enough help. When she took him off of me, I respectfully left the room; I could see that I was causing more disruption than help. Walking away from that little boy was the most difficult thing I have ever done. I wanted to stay and hold him. I wanted to stay and calm him. I wanted to take him home with me and love him every day of his life. But instead, I had to walk away. I had to leave someone’s little baby, forgotten by society, to be touched only a few times a day. Those are the moments that you feel that you have no control. Those are the moments that you question where God could possibly be in this. Those are the moments you realize you are selfish and horrible as you are absorbed in your day to day “troubles” while suffering like this occurs for no real reason. My stomach turns even now as I write about this experience; this is the first time I’ve even allowed myself to think of it since I’ve gotten back. Sometimes you just want to forget things, but that’s my selfish nature. The experience was uncomfortable. The memory is uncomfortable. But forgetting does nothing for that little boy or the thousands just like him.

Sacrifice is relative. A trip to Ethiopia requires some sacrifice, but very little in comparison to the sacrifice that Sister Benedicta makes every day. In this world there are selfless individuals who redeem the rest of mankind. They are those who give their lives to serve others. Not an hour a week, or a couple weeks a year, but their entire lives. We should not forget or overlook their commitment and sacrifices. When interviewed about the compound, Sister Benedicta’s response was the quoting of Mother Teresa, “We can’t do what you do, you can’t do what we do; but together we can bring about something beautiful.” We NEED the Sister Benedictas of the world; we likely need many more Sister Benedictas. We also NEED those of us at home, growing our careers, providing for our families, and helping our community. Those of us have a responsibility at home, not only to do the best with what we have been given, but also to sacrifice something for the benefit of others. But as we live our lives at home, we cannot forget about the Sister Benedictas and remember that it is our job to make sure they can feed the hungry, love the unloved, and provide adequate medical care to those who would otherwise have no hope. We must support them, in our prayers, in our thoughts, in the education of the children, and in our finances. We would all agree Sister Benedicta is an amazing woman who gives selflessly, but do we appreciate her sacrifice enough to sacrifice Starbucks for a week to support her ministry? Just as Mother Teresa says, we cannot do what Sister Benedicta can do, but we do play a part.

After this experience, my perspective shifted. At times I want to forget about what I saw, felt, and learned. I cannot think about the compound without tears welling up. My stomach turns every time I think of that little boy. It would be easier to forget. But I’m reminded why I can’t. I had a dream last night that I was at the Grand Canyon with some family. They had never been to the Grand Canyon before. But they were tired and preferred to sleep rather than go outside and see this incredible landscape. I was incredibly frustrated. I knew what was out there. I had been to the Grand Canyon a half-dozen times. I wanted them to see what I knew was out there. I wanted to share the beauty of the experience. But they could only listen to their tired bodies. A friend was there with me and he said, “Let’s just go anyway. No point in missing it because they are tired.” So we went to the Grand Canyon and hiked for hours. (There was a random water balloon fight in there, but it was a dream and not everything makes sense.) How easily we miss out on some really fantastic things because our bodies or minds tell us don’t bother. Now many people would sleep through the Grand Canyon (though I do recall having to argue with ministry students on our trip to Phoenix that the Grand Canyon was actually very much worth the drive) but we will miss out on a lot of other things. Mother Teresa’s home wasn’t beautiful in the same way that the Grand Canyon was beautiful. But the impact it makes on the lives is incredibly beautiful. Right now, I feel like I am choosing to sleep through that scene. I am choosing to listen to my thoughts reminding me of all the things I have to do here in Savannah, with my church, my job, my family, etc. But life is more than this. There are incredibly beautiful things happening around the world that I am missing because I see the sacrifice as too great. In my dream I had a friend that took my hand and told me don’t miss out because of what others were saying. I had so many friends like that when I considered the trip to Ethiopia. I’m surrounded by people in my life who encourage me. But it has to come to a point that you choose the sacrifice based on what you’ve been shown in your journey. Mother Teresa’s was a defining moment for me. I’m meant to do something more than my everyday life. I’m meant to be a part of something as beautiful as that home. I may not know exactly what that is, but I know that if I sit and wait for it to happen to me, I will be waiting a long time. Just as the Grand Canyon won’t come get you out of bed, figuring out what your life is meant to be won’t show up on your doorstep in the form of a map. It is only found by searching.

Sacrifice is relative. Everyone’s sacrifice will look a little different. For some it will be writing a check, even when their mind is telling them they shouldn’t. For some it will be a short-term trip to a developing country. Still others, it will be a complete change of lifestyle. Regardless, the important thing is that you don’t wait for it to happen to you. You make it happen. Sacrifice can begin now. And if you have trouble finding what to sacrifice, give me a call, I will help you out. :)

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Lesson 3: Sacrifice is Relative (Part 1)

For those of you who heard me speak at Tapestry or listened to the podcast, I’m rearranging the lessons a bit. I never seem to like anything the way I do it the first time.

In my last post I made the claim that becoming a “hero” is simple. I want to clarify that I think the principle, recognizing a need and then addressing it, is simple. I do not believe it is easy. If it was easy, everyone would become a hero without excuse. I established that an attribute I see in a hero is the inability to walk away from a recognized need; the second attribute I see in heroes is that they are not scared of sacrifice. I shared examples of three heroes I know here in Savannah: a Big Brother, a nurse taking a medical trip to Haiti, and the founder of a charter school. While the principle of what each of them did to become heroes… seeing a need and choosing to address it is simple; the sacrifice needed to follow through to meet each of those needs can be a little more difficult to swallow. Giving up many of your Saturdays when you already work an incredibly full work week is a real sacrifice. Fighting through the walls of a wounded child and their parent is not easy. Raising money for a trip to Haiti, is not easy. Giving up your vacation time (especially when you live so far from home) is certainly a sacrifice. Starting a school…. well, need I say more??? NOT EASY. Each hero has to make sacrifices in order to meet the needs they cannot ignore. But a hero isn’t afraid of the sacrifices they have to make. In my previous post, we learned about the many sacrifices Abebech Gobena faced. Ruth (the woman who started the ministry for street boys) has to give up time she would otherwise spend studying to make sure the boys get an opportunity to learn. Catherine Hamlin is still (after coming to Ethiopia in the 1950’s) sacrificing what many of us would consider a normal life, to serve women who would otherwise never have an opportunity at life. In order to be a hero, on any level, it requires sacrifice. And sacrifice is never easy, especially for the current generations of Americans. There are few Americans alive today that understand the principle of doing without. We live in a time of instantaneous gratification. Hungry? Throw something in the microwave for a minute. Need cash? Use the atm, no need to actually wait in line inside a bank. Want to be entertained? Turn on the television and be overwhelmed by the choices you will face. The idea of sacrifice is becoming foreign as each generation passes. But there are still people that understand just because you CAN have something, doesn’t mean you NEED to have something. This is a principle you struggle to teach your children. Right now, Tek says everything is NEEDED. I NEED candy. I NEED Veggietales. I NEED the ball. We are constantly correcting him and trying to teach him what he actually needs and what he wants. It’s not an easy task. Since this struggle with him, I now see that I have to ask myself the same question. Do I NEED this? Or do I WANT this? I’m ashamed to admit that I blur those lines more often than not.

As an attempt to teach my son this principle I still struggle with, I decided that Christmas gifts should be kept to a minimum. I rewrapped a few of his birthday gifts (isn’t it wonderful when they are young enough to do that?!) and only bought him underwear and a pack of t-shirts. Yet still on Christmas morning after all the gifts were received from family… he had this incredible mound of gifts that was more than a little embarrassing. The reality of exactly how much he received didn’t set in until I was at AHOPE’s Christmas party in Ethiopia. AHOPE is an organization that supports orphans infected with HIV. We volunteered with them for a significant portion of our trip. It is a terrific organization that not only provides the basic needs to these orphans, like food, shelter, and medication, but it also provides a loving environment and an excellent education. (Thank you to everyone who saw the need for AHOPE sponsorship and sponsored a child. I cannot express the impact you are making.) We were there for their Christmas celebration. In Ethiopia exchanging gifts for Christmas is not a common practice, but they decided since they were celebrating Jesus’ birthday, they would also celebrate the birthdays of all the kids. They don’t celebrate individual birthdays for a couple reasons, but the main reason is that they don’t know many of the children’s birthdays. I discovered the truth of this when I was asking one of the older boys how old he was. He said, “I don’t know.” (Most of the children speak very good English.) I said, “hush! Come on, really how old are you?” I thought he was just being a stubborn teenager. I wish I would have seen my friend that had been volunteering for a while standing behind him shaking his head telling me to shut up. (All who know me know very well that I stay quiet as soon as I am told to.) But after several minutes of him adamantly denying knowing his age, I gave in. It was a really tough moment, he was likely 16 or 17, but the idea of having no clue how old you are?? Unimaginable.

Anyway, back to the Birthday/Christmas celebration. All the children were given birthday hats to wear and they brought out several large cakes and everyone sang “Happy Birthday to Me!” And then here comes the waterworks from yours truly. Each child was given one birthday gift. I was recruited to hand out the gifts to the children. As I handed out gifts to the children and their faces lit up, I couldn’t help but go back to Christmas at my house when Tek tore through gift after gift. Tek is grateful, saying thank you after each gift. But he got so much he couldn’t possibly treasure any gift the way they treasured their one. Not to mention he played with the paper more than the toys! These children opened their gifts, most were 50 cent stuffed animals that you can win in those arcade games, and they were overcome with joy. Many ran and put the toy in their cubby, which held everything they owned: a couple items of clothing and now a stuffed animal. They were so excited showing everyone, protecting the toys, naming the toys. I managed to hold back tears this entire trip (including one of the most intense experiences I’ve ever had, which I will be talking about in the next post) but at this moment, when I looked at these children and say the face of my little boy… I was overcome with emotion. These children knew how to do without. They know the difference between a want and a need.

Sacrifice is defined as “giving up something of value.” Ethiopia taught me that sacrifice is relative. Sometimes going without things or experiences is really not that great of a sacrifice. Sometimes it is. When I go without lunch to finish a proposal, I feel like I sacrificed a lot because I traded my lunch for something of little value to me. When I went without lunch so I could serve street boys, I felt like I sacrificed nothing because my meal meant so little to me in comparison. I bet my friend that sacrifices an afternoon to spend with a fatherless boy doesn’t feel like he is sacrificing a lot. I know my friend going to Haiti will arrive there and feel like she sacrificed nothing to be there. And I know my friend starting a school will open its doors and watch the impact on the young people and feel like the countless hours she “sacrificed” paid off. In all these situations, the sacrifice was well worth the outcome. Sacrifice is indeed relative. Once you learn the difference between a want and a need, you will sacrifice far more and never feel like you sacrificed a thing.





Tuesday, February 22, 2011

2. One person can effect change (part 2)

I cannot finish this lesson without first bringing attention to a phenomenal organization started by a husband and wife team. I suppose in this example, it’s not one person effecting change but rather two. Dr. Reginald & Dr. Catherine Hamlin came to Ethiopia in 1959 for a three year commitment to establish a midwifery school.  When they arrived, the state of the hospital astounded them. A fellow obstetrician said to them, “the fistula patients will break your heart.”  Up until that point the two doctors had never seen an obstetric fistula. (A fistula develops when the blood supply to the tissues of the vagina and bladder (and/or rectum) is cut off during prolonged, obstructed labor leaving a hole through which urine and/or feces pass uncontrollably.) In developed countries, due to prenatal care and the accessibility of capable doctors for deliveries, fistulas were a thing of the past. Fistulas had been virtually eradicated in the United States by 1895. After seeing the need for doctors dedicated to the repair of fistulas, they began studying the repair of fistulas.

During their first year in Ethiopia, they operated on 30 fistula patients. By 1974, the need had become so great and the solution so simple, that they founded the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital. Reginald has since passed away, but Catherine at 87 years old is still a practicing surgeon at the beautiful compound in Ethiopia today. She still lives in a hut on the compound. She has written her autobiography and has attracted world attention after appearing on the Oprah Winfrey show. Oprah donated a building and came to visit the patients. One of the employees was laughing as she recalled Oprah’s visit. She gave every one of the 150 patients on the compound, an “O” branded mirror and lipstick. Most of the women had never seen lipstick and had no idea how to use it. It was so funny to watch them use the lipstick for the first time. She also gave them each $100. This is obviously a huge amount of money to these women. Most of the women travelled a long distance to come to the hospital and the money given to them will be used to help them travel back to their villages and perhaps start businesses. The rest of the women, who were not lucky enough to be patients while Oprah visited, sell items on the compound to raise their funds to return home. Some women become midwives or get jobs on the compound. It is an incredibly successful organization. A young idealistic couple came to Ethiopia over 50 years ago and saw a need that with their skills and education, they could meet. Their decision to stay in Ethiopia, leaving behind the comforts of Australia/New Zealand has impacted over 30,000 women.  These 30,000 women would have been left for dead had the Hamlins not intervened on their behalf. 

To learn more about The Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital go to http://www.hamlinfistula.org/
I can’t help but wonder what the world might be like if more people saw a need and did not think, “Someone needs to fix that” but rather “I need to fix this.” The ability to recognize a need comes very easily to most. We can see trash on the sidewalk and recognize that it makes the sidewalk dirty; we can see a child that is wandering alone and recognize they need to be supervised by an adult, and so on.  Andy taught a series a few months back at Tapestry (http://www.tapestrysavannah.com/) that discussed what makes a person a “Superhero.” He explained that what separates a person from most of the population is not a super skill or amazing gifting, but rather their inability to walk away from a recognized need. A “superhero” sees the issue and will not rest until they have addressed it. When they see the trash, they pick it up. When they see a wandering child, they take their hand and guide them to safety. I know that this seems to oversimplify things. But maybe that is why there aren’t more heroes, because we complicate something that was meant to be simple. Could it be this simple? Isn’t it as simple as signing up for the Big Brother program and committing to be a positive influence in the life of a child? Isn’t it as simple as having medical skills and using your vacation time to use those skills in a country that lacks any proper healthcare? Could it be as simple as seeing a need for a better educational system in your community and becoming passionate about it, enlisting your skills as an administrator and recruiting others with skills to make this happen? All of the examples I just gave are of people I know that have seen needs and decided they too can be heroes. I doubt any of them would call themselves heroes, but they are certainly my heroes. Will they impact 30,000 people like the Hamlins? Likely not. But they will make a difference in one young impressionable boy, dozens of Haitian children in need of healthcare, or hundreds (even thousands) of inner-city Savannah students who would otherwise get lost in the system. One person can effect change. It’s just first finding what needs changed… and then taking the step to make the change. And that movement is contagious. If you decide to take responsibility for the needs that you observe, you will be amazed how the people around you will begin to feel that same responsibility.

Friday, February 18, 2011

Lesson #2: One person CAN effect change.

One of my favorite experiences in Ethiopia (I have a feeling by the time I am finished with all five lessons, I will have about 25 favorite experiences) was meeting Abebech Gobena. Abebech is known as “Ethiopia’s Mother Teresa.” In the 1980’s she was traveling on a religious pilgrimage to the Northern regions of Ethiopia. This was the time of the great famine in Ethiopia. To understand the significance of this famine you need to first understand its magnitude. It killed hundreds of thousands of people and left over a million destitute. Many factors contributed to the cause of this famine, but all studies are clear that the people who suffered were innocent bystanders to circumstances beyond their control. Many of you may remember the pictures that flashed across the television of the famine victims. If you’ve never seen the images, I suggest you stop reading here and do a quick internet search. The images are frightening. Have you ever seen the HBO series, “Band of Brothers?” If so, remember the moment when the American soldiers stumbled upon the first Nazi concentration camp? The soldiers stood frozen as they gazed upon hundreds of Jewish prisoners literally wasting away to nothing. Many of the soldiers immediately got physically ill at the sight of a human condition they have never encountered. In that moment the American soldiers became aware of the reason why they were fighting and they became passionate for their cause. Abebech Gobena reached her own moment of awareness of a devastating human issue facing her country when she arrived in the Northern region and came face to face with people so thin and sick that they are more like breathing corpses than human beings. Due to lack of good media sources and tighter government control, many people in Ethiopia were unaware of what was occurring in the North. Gobena was no exception; she was shocked at the sight of her own people dying in such an inhumane manner. As she walked through fields of dying victims she saw a baby sucking on its dead mother’s breast. Without any additional thought, she reached down and picked up the child. This child became the first of literally thousands of children she would impact in her lifetime. She came home from that trip with two orphaned children. And was the beginning of her organization, AGOHELMA.


Abebech started orphan care in her home from that day on. Because of this, she faced many problems and paid many sacrifices. Her husband divorced her, divorce is still to this day not socially acceptable in many cases, but even more so devastating during the time of hers. Her family disowned her. She moved into the forest with her children and made items to sell in the market. But this woman was not only a survivor but a person that can effect change. She is in her eighties now and still runs her organization which has grown beyond what she could have imagined when she picked up that first child. When we arrived at her organization we were thrilled to hear she was there and she wanted to meet with us. She is a woman with kind eyes and a sweet spirit. She didn’t speak English so she has an interpreter. But we were going to a part of town where we were clueless so we brought our translator who is AMAZING. Samson was so excited to get to meet her and was even more excited to take his picture with her and before we even left the property was texting all his friends telling them he spent time with her. (She is a national celebrity for her selfless work.) She told us how she got started and everything the organization does. I could go on for literally pages about everything it does, but I will do my best to just give you a quick rundown. It still functions as an orphanage, just as she began in the 1980s. They currently house around 150 orphans. Few of the children in the orphanage are adopted. As I’ve stated before, adoption is somewhat rare in Ethiopia (considering the number of orphans). Abebech doesn’t seek to find her children homes; she leaves that to the agencies that specialize in that. Rather, she raises these children as her own. All of the children receive an education and many go on to technical school or college. She has pictures hanging of her children that have gone on to become engineers, teachers, and other professionals. She beams with pride as she talks about her children. If I stopped here, we would all still agree that this is a remarkable woman, but she does so much more than just become a mother to the motherless. On her compound she has a community hospital providing preventive health and outpatient care. They had literally just delivered a baby when we toured. Her organization provides HIV/AIDS preventative education and has a training center for women to teach them sustainable trades. She supports more than 14,000 orphans and vulnerable children in several locations in Ethiopia. They do micro financing, rural agricultural development, and formal education. The list goes on and on. The impact this one woman has made is incredible.

We asked her what the main issues that her organization faces, and the answer was the same as we heard from nearly all organizations, funding. They lack any sort of major sponsors. They have been supported in the past and still in some capacities, by Oxfam, USAID, UNICEF, and Glimmer of Hope. But the economy is very tough right now and their support has decreased substantially. And as many of you likely know, voting is occurring now on cutting foreign aid. This will likely happen and the organizations supported by this foreign aid will suffer. This is where I believe it is the responsibility of the church and individuals to step in. (In a later post, I will discuss our meeting with USAID. It was very interesting.) I plan on financially supporting this organization and taking our team here when we return to Ethiopia. But I have to do some research on how to financially support. The organization is run completely in Ethiopia and the website is not very helpful. They do have a partner organization in Italy… but again, not very helpful. But that is kind of exciting to me. This is still very much a grassroots organization whose focus is clearly on their mission. I’m hoping some excited Americans can help this organization make reach its fullest potential with the right resources.

As we were leaving, Abebech turned to us and said, “I have raised children older than both of you, you are now my children. You are welcome here anytime.” It was a very sweet moment. I think of all the organizations that I saw on my trip, this is the one that I may choose to focus my time and energy. It’s a worthy organization making an incredible impact.

http://www.telecom.net.et/~agos/Pages/aboutus.html

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Lesson 1: Patience is the greatest virtue

All travelers know that patience is required on any trip to remain sane. My trip to Ethiopia was certainly not an exception. Not only was I in a developing country, but for the first two weeks I was with a group of 12 Americans (a significant percentage who were new to traveling and certainly new to Africa) and 4 translators. While there are many benefits to traveling with a group such as safety, resources, knowledge, and planned daily activities, there are several negatives. The most aggravating is the amount of time it takes to do anything. There is always someone lagging behind, always someone with their own agenda, and always someone who is just clueless. So my patience was often tested, good thing I’m such a easy going and patient individual.  My sister, on the other hand, struggled a bit more than myself. (Have I mentioned she travelled with me? Amy is 25 and a grad student in public policy at University of Maryland. Despite being a seasoned traveler, it was her first time to a developing country.) You see, Amy does not handle groups well. Sometimes I wonder if we grew up in the same family. My teen years and young adulthood consisted of lots of youth group, mission’s trips, and constant group activities. Amy's apparently did not, as the large group made her often anxious. However she was a sport! She is terribly personal (so much so that she will likely be irritated I spoke so much of her... unless I fill this page with praise, then she will be perfectly comfortable with it) and very intellectual, so the nature of the trip tested her patience often but I think the experience was priceless for her.


Another test of our patience was the constant shouting to us (I suppose “at us” would be more appropriate to say) on the streets. When your skin is as light as mine (and even more so for my transparent sister with blonde hair and blue eyes!) you attract a bit of attention in Africa. People of all ages will shout to you on the street, yelling either "Firenjis!" or calling out to practice their English with you, "HOW ARE YOU?!!" The children are the best though, since English is taught in schools from a young age, even the smallest child wants to walk up to you and shake your hand saying "Hello, my names are [insert name I cannot pronounce here]. How are you today? I am fine. Thank you." Why does this require patience? I'm not joking when I say constant shouting. The first couple days it’s a novelty. No big deal... but by the end of the three weeks, Amy and I swore to return to DC where there is a large Ethiopian population and yell "FIRENJIS!" to any Ethiopian as they walk down the street. We literally could not walk five feet in the overcrowded capital without someone shouting something at us. We forced ourselves to smile and remind ourselves that we chose to come to a country where we would clearly stand out... so how could we be angry? And they were never rude to us. The people of Ethiopia are so kind and warm. If anyone showed any disrespect to us, they would immediately be chastised. We were treated better in Ethiopia than even here in the "Bless your heart" South! :) Once a boy purposely ran into me with his bike (he was a young teen boy being a punk... they exist everywhere) and an older man witnessed it and reprimanded him. Despite the respect and warmness, the constant attention (even for two girls that love to be the center of attention) got a little old.

As I referenced in my only post from Ethiopia... the internet requires patience. It was slow and that was if we could find an internet cafe that was open. As I said... it was a luxury that was greatly missed. A friend I met in Ethiopia and I got in an argument over a reference of a movie ("The Hangover" and I WAS RIGHT!) and we could not immediately check the internet to establish who was correct. I wonder if Andy and my marriage would survive that? Public transportation requires patience and elbow throwing. If you want to get on a mini-bus during rush hour, you better be prepared to shove your way in and also hope that you are going the right direction. At lastly, organizing ANYTHING requires patience. I found this out the last week very well. Amy and I stayed a week after our group. We made the most of this time, scheduling appointments with different organizations, volunteering at AHOPE, and making sure we had a translator/guide when exploring new areas. And we made so many new friends and tried our best to make the most of the limited time we had left with them. Now, I'm a planner. I'm an organizer. I am the one that plans the activities for everyone, I send the texts, emails, and occasionally even make phone calls. (I hate the phone.) But in Africa, all my skills were worthless. You can't plan with a simple email (the internet barely works, remember?) and texting usually consisted of getting a response that said "call me." ARGH! So I would call and say, meet here at this time and place. "How about you call me in a little bit?" What?! I just said meet there. "Well, just call me." So after 25 phone calls, the location and time are finally established. Now, I know I make this sound like a negative thing and it was for me because it goes against my nature. But it’s likely a lot better and less stressful way of living. It’s certainly a go with the flow kind of attitude. However, thanks to my dear and hyper father, I did not inherit the ability to just go with the flow. Maybe after a few years of living in Africa I will develop that skill. Who knows? But I did learn a little more patience than I had when I arrived there. I'm more hesitating to plan every moment of every day. I've slowed down a bit. Let's see how long this lasts. :)

Perhaps the greatest lesson of patience I had learned was that things do not change overnight. No matter how good your idea, how great your intentions, or how big your heart, change takes time. The organization I volunteered with my first two weeks is called Mocha Club (http://www.themochaclub.org/). Mocha Club sends approximately 40 street boys in Ambo, Ethiopia to school. Street boys are a large problem in Ethiopia. Often times they are either orphaned children living on the streets, children from poor families that could not support them, or runaways. They are often shunned by society because they are seen as troublesome, aggressive, and often resort to stealing to survive. Mocha Club (while building a school in Ambo) saw the need to find a way to decrease the street boy population in Ambo. Education is one of the best ways to do this. Without education, the boys are left to spend a life on the streets. But perhaps with an education they could find jobs once they graduate. At the very least a basic ability to read and write is necessary for nearly any employment. So Mocha Club found 40 boys to sponsor. They promised the boys either day or evening school, uniforms, books, and a meal when they were attending school. Mocha Club continued to send teams of Americans to spend time with the boys, showing them that we have not forgotten about them and will continue to support them.

My sister and I were always wary of the Ambo portion of our trip. We didn't understand the point of the trip there. They kept saying it was to build relationships with the boys. We couldn't see the value in "building a relationship" in two days. It seemed that it would cause more harm than good. And we were sadly right. When we arrived in Ambo, we quickly saw that the program was not working. A few team members and nationals had gotten an apartment for the "leaders" of the street boys and this caused animosity amongst the street boys. Many of them were saying that they've never been given lunches, so they have had to drop out of school. If they aren't fed, they have to find jobs to work for their food, making it impossible for them to go to school. Others said they never received their uniforms. Others said they didn't have books, etc. Mocha Club had a community contact that was supposed to be ensuring the boys had everything they needed to attend school. He was supposed to check in with them weekly. There was a disconnect occurring somewhere. They said he was lying, he said they were lying. It was chaotic. We tried to do a soccer tournament at a field behind the church and it kept erupting in fights. Many of the team members were overwhelmed by the aggressiveness of the boys. We had to keep reminding ourselves that they were boys raised without parental guidance or supervision. They have had to fight to survive their entire lives, they were not going to act civilized. Most had no more than 2nd grade education, many with far less. We could not expect them to act as we were expected to when we were their age. It was really tough to see. We ended up leaving town early because we clearly were doing harm. They kept asking for things they needed, blankets, food, clothes, etc. All basic needs, but if we helped one and not all (which we could not do) then we would make the problem worse. The program had been in place nearly two years and the problem had not gotten any better.

Now, before you pull your dollars from Mocha Club... change doesn't happen overnight. Mocha Club recognizes that an issue exists and the program needs to be reevaluated. In the next few months they will be sending two professionals that specialize in the education of street boys. They will assess the program and make the necessary changes. Like I said before, no matter how well meaning you are... you cannot expect things to change overnight. You have to be patient and you have to be smart. Sometimes we are so well meaning and we think we can make the world of a difference. But you must have patience. Don't just throw your dollars at something hoping to change the world. Be smart, do the necessary research, and then be patient.

My sister and I went to the American Embassy during our last week to meet with an incredibly intelligent woman that works for USAID (US Agency for International Development.) It was really interesting to hear where our tax dollars were going in Ethiopia. She had worked with NGOs prior to doing governmental work (I will use the term NGO's often. NGO stands for Non-Governmental Organizations. World Bank defines NGO's as private organizations that pursue activities to relieve suffering, promote the interests of the poor, protect the environment, provide basic social services, or undertake community development.) I asked her what it took for a NGO to be successful. Her answer was two-fold. She said first they need to see the big picture. She said this is why World Vision and Oxfam are successful. They see how all the elements intertwine, how education, clean water, healthcare, etc all need to happen to establish poverty relief. They do their research. They don't just implement a program; they do all the necessary research first. They also understand the importance of working with the government to establish support. The second part that makes an NGO successful is the community buy-in. Without community buy in, an organization cannot succeed. It cannot be a foreigner seeking to change an entire village without ever once asking the villagers what they need. The community has to be involved. You can see how after going to Ambo and hearing this, a bit of a light bulb went off in my mind. Mocha Club missed both of these.

But change DOES happen. And I saw firsthand when a group of people look at the big picture and actively engage the community how successful they can be. Enter Ruth and Enut, two remarkable women. Ruth is a nurse at the fistula hospital. She also goes to school at night. Never have I meant as cheerful a woman as Ruth. She is always smiling. Joy just surrounds that woman. She is constantly giggling. One day Ruth was walking through the capital of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa and noticed the large amount of boys not in school. She thought to herself, this should not be. She and her friend Enut started talking to their friends about doing something. They raised some money within their own circle of friends and within a short amount of time they were putting 40 boys into school. Now Ruth isn't a quiet or shy woman. And she is not the type of woman that walks away from a challenge. She personally signed the boys up for school and then she stayed in contact. When she would hear a boy wasn't coming to school, she would find the boy and if he had any family, she would find them too. And she would demand that the boy goes back to school. Sometimes it meant persuading the teachers to allow the child back in school. However, 40 boys are a bit much to handle for one person, especially since she was also in school. To assist with the day to day follow up that is necessary when trying to educate boys that live on the streets, she recruited several women in the community. These women have become the mothers to the boys. They make sure they are in school and they have everything they need. If a problem arises, they find Ruth. I was so impressed with this grassroots organization. Ruth & Enut saw a need and believed they could make a change. It is not easy. They are surely met with disappointment, but they keep going because these boys need someone to care for them.

One of my favorite memories from my trip to Ethiopia is the time spent with the street boys in Addis. Ruth & Enut wanted to celebrate Christmas with the boys. They planned to have a hotel cater the food because cooking a traditional meal for 40+ people is not an easy task. But the women in the community insisted that they do it. And it was quite the feast. We were there to help feed the boys and just hang out and hear how they are doing. The boys were, for a lack of better words, rough around the edges. We could not take any valuable with us because chances are that we would not see them again. I don’t say this to imply that these boys were bad; they were just forced to live life in a way that caused them to blur the moral lines to survive. Most of them had never had any family to serve as a moral compass or if they did have family, it was a bad situation that forced them to leave. As soon as the boys entered the dirt floor church, you could see the wear of the streets on them. They were tired and seemed older than they were. This is interesting because most times in Ethiopia we would guess a child to be much younger than they were. But here, the boys had something about them that aged them. I was given the task of washing their hands before they eat. Ethiopians eat their traditional food with their hands (one hand actually… it’s quite amazing and I have not even come close to mastering that!) So washing your hands is part of their dinner ceremony. I stood outside with a pitcher and a bar of soap as the boys stood in line to wash their hands. I have never seen hands so dirty in all of my life. I am not exaggerating when I say that it appeared that there was months of dirt and grime on their hands. Some were embarrassed by it and washed their hands quickly to get out of the firenji’s sight. But others took as much time as they could justify, trying to get the dirt off of their hands. The sight of this humbled me. I imagined these boys as my son or my brother, lacking the very things we take for granted such as a shower (heck… a hot shower!) or warm meal. These boys likely go days without a real meal or clean water. Tears welled up in my eyes and I fought them. These boys do not want to be pitied. I sucked up the tears and continued to clean their hands, promising myself and God that I would not go back to the U.S. and forget about these boys and others just like them. Government school costs only a couple US dollars a month. Surely I could afford that. School isn’t enough for these boys though. They need uniforms and shoes so they can attend class. And most of all they need at least one meal a day so that they don’t have to drop out of school to work or scavenge to eat. But even with uniforms, books, and food, it only costs a few US dollars a month. I could do that. I can give of my wealth to give these boys an opportunity at life. And I hope others do too. Keep reading my blog and I will be sure to show you ways you can help.

Change takes times. Developing countries are just that… developing. You cannot expect things to happen quickly. We live in one of the most developed countries in the world, but think about the countless times you have been standing in line at the DMV and wondered when on earth they will figure out how to do this more efficiently. Ethiopia has come a long way but it still has a long way to go. No matter how far they have come, there still mindsets there that we would consider behind. Such as the fact that women aren’t treated equally, young girls are still married off and female circumcisions (which is the kinder word, it is in fact mutilation) is still prevalent in the rural areas. Sexual health is not discussed, especially in the rural areas. And as I have shown in my explanations of the street boys, there is a social order and often times it’s the parentless child that is seen as insignificant. The only way to change these mindsets is through education. It has been proven that education makes the single greatest impact on the economic growth of a nation. Education is the most promising route out of poverty and toward sustainable development. You know the saying “give a man a fish and he will eat for a day, but teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime?” The key word in this is TEACH. Education is the single greatest gift you can give to a child. I’ve seen that first hand.

I have about four more stories that prove the importance of education, but I fear this post is already too long that you may have not made it this far. In a couple weeks I will give a listing partnering organizations and I will be sure to include Ruth’s grassroots effort. Stay tuned for my next lesson learned, “One person CAN effect change.”


Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Back on America Time

So my excuse for taking so long is this, I was still on African time. Nothing is rushed, you can take your time. My translator said to me several times... Why do you move so fast? (Well I've been asked that question a thousand of times since I moved South, so maybe that isn't just Africa.) Regardless, I am finally settled back home. I had a bit to do when I arrived home. While Andy did a terrific job at being a single dad for three weeks, the normal things I take care of were slightly neglected (to Andy's credit, I wouldn't grocery shop if I were him either, I chastise him everytime he goes because he refuses to look for sales or use a coupon.) So laundry is caught up, groceries are bought, dusting, sweeping, mopping, etc. are nearly finished. I also took time last week to prepare for my opportunity to share my experiences with the church. I don't think 45 minutes was quite enough, but luckily I speak very quickly. :) You can hear about my experiences in Ethiopia at http://www.tapestrysavannah.com/.

But even if you had the chance to hear me speak on Sunday, you still haven't heard it all. It is a great thing to have a blog, I can go on and on and on about my experiences. I can bore you to death with details, and I never have to witness you roll your eyes. So... sit back and relax. Get ready for a daily recounting of my trip. I will write every day until I've said it all (scared? you should be! This girl has never experienced a shortage of words!) My only fear is that a recounting of my experiences will only lead me back to the place of sadness when I had to leave. If only I could have convinced Andy and Tek to just come there instead of me coming back here (and Lord knows I tried!) But alas, they refused, so back to America I came... with every intention of going back soon... with every intention of one day making Ethiopia my home (Andy fights this one... we shall see...) and with every intention of making you all fall in love with this country as I have.

Where to begin? Well I have exactly 33 minutes before having to leave the comfort of this Starbucks to spend my day in an office. The daily grind... didn't miss it one bit. I missed people, I missed a few luxuries, and I missed my church. But I didn't miss the monotony of life one bit. I enjoy the fluidness of travel, the uncertainity, the unique experiences, and the daily introduction to new and interesting people. Okay, enough whining of what I miss. I'm sure there will be plenty of time for that.

I will follow the format of my speaking on Sunday. I will discuss the 5 things I learned from Africa. I will expand further than I did on each lesson, providing more details and more stories. Each lesson allows me to discuss all of the organizations I was introduced to and also allows me to share how I was impacted by them. I will conclude my series of entries with ways you can get involved. I won't do this to manipulate you into giving, but rather provide you with the opportunity to further your knowledge of the organizations/people and then make an educated decision as to whether you would want to financially support the organizations. And if you feel pressured, just don't read that blog post! :)


Okay, first... Ethiopia. If you haven't figured it out yet, Ethiopia is a country in Africa. (Africa is a continent, not a country, we Americans tend to forget that.) Ethiopia is located in the East of Africa. As you can see, it is a landlocked country surrounded by some of the most unstable and/or oppressive countries in Africa (Sudan, Somalia, Eritrea, Uganda). It is a beautiful country with a diverse landscape. I had the privledge of going to the Northern region to Lalibela, and it was gorgeous. I will add a picture of my trip to the North in this post.

Here are a few statistics:

Population: 81 million
Life expectancy: 49 years
Literacy rate: 36%
Access to safe water: 22%
Annual income: $180 million
Number of orphaned children: 5 million
These and additional statistics can be found here: http://www.worldvision.org/content.nsf/learn/world-vision-ethiopia
Well the clock just struck 8am. So more to come later.

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Off and Runnig!

I apologize for the delay, but it is because I have become very familiar with the term "TIA" which means, "This is Africa." And when it is constantly "TIA" you are without at least one of the following: power, internet access, hot water, a toilet, or an awareness and adherence of schedule or time. So lately when I have wanted to tell my family I am safe and sound, I have often been met with someone shrugging and saying "TIA." But things are finally starting to settle into a routine (I use that term lightly) and I have managed to find some time to write this blog entry up and email to Andy to post.
First, this post will only be an overview of my first week. I plan to write more a extensive entries about my experiences when I return. But I do want to include you all in my trip now, so I hope to accomplish that in providing you with a glimpse of my life in Ethiopia so far.
DISCLAIMER: If my writing appears to be in broken English, or my grammar is slightly off... please ignore. It is the plague of most travelers to revert to the English of a five year old after at least a few days in a country with a different language. While interpreters are very good, you still have to speak slowly and use less slang, less complicated words, and/or shortened sentences. So we find ourselves even speaking to our fellow Americans as if we were speaking to a national. Its quite entertaining actually.
Okay, so let me begin. We arrived in the capital city of Addis Ababa on December 30th after traveling since the 28th. (We had an overnight layover in DC.) It seems as though Ethiopian Airlines wanted to welcome us to Africa in typical African fashion (and our first experience with TIA) by delaying our plane for 90 minutes. Now, it was not 90 minutes for a specific reason, there wasn't poor weather, a missing pilot, or problems with the plane. They just were absolutely not in a hurry. No one seemed stressed or eager, this is just how things go. Therefore, we sat in our seats as patiently as possible, trying our best to leave our impatient and intolerant American attitudes behind.
Let me now interrupt with a slightly entertaining story of our flight, R Kelly was on our flight (in first class of course) and we were aware of that from the beginning. However, the talk was not enough for him, he wanted to be sure to grace the economy section with his presence (in his sunglasses and all... planes are really bright at night, no?) and let me caution you, do NOT try to sleep through his parade through the aisles. I made this mistake and was thankfully elbowed by his bodyguard so that I would not miss this rare sighting. And I am soooo thankful for that! (I believe that "psych!" is appropriate to use at this time if you are a product of the 90's, otherwise, I apologize for my misunderstood reference to 90's slang.)
Our first night in Addis Ababa was pizza for dinner (there is a lot of pizza in Ethiopia which is the saving grace for Americans who do not like spicy food. Italy used to occupy Ethiopia and with that came pizza and "ciao!") We then went to our guest house to try to get some sleep. The only way I can explain our guest house is as bare. It is nice by African standards and I am grateful for the hot water and toilet. But it is very basic. Its a house similar to what you may see in America but without all the frills. It serves its purpose and I cannot complain at all.
Onto the various projects we have worked with. The first is WAR, Women At Risk. This is a program for women who have been found in prostitution and offered a rehabilitation program. They spend six months in counseling and group therapy overcoming the psychological effects of prostitution. They are also taught English and the bible. (The organization is a Christian organization but they do not require the women to be Christian. They teach principles from the bible but they do not require the women who are Muslim to abandon their faith. They accept all women regardless of their beliefs, the director was very clear about this and I very much appreciated his emphasis of this.) After the first six months they are taught a trade and then released following six months of training. Their success rate is wonderful and few women return to prostitution. We visited their daycare facilities and their center for teaching trades such as sewing, baking, and scarf making. (Their scarves are beautiful and we bought quite a few. They are sold on mochaclub.org to support this organization.) We spent several hours over two days with the women. Despite the difficulties of communication (though we do have 4 wonderful translators for our team of 12) we were able to connect with the women and just express that we see their value. The women are treated very poorly in their society because of their time in prostitution and obviously have been treated very badly by men as you would expect in a life of prostitution. But the women were so grateful for our affection. We gave them a spa day (pedicures and makeup), took their pictures and printed out (since many have never had a picture of themselves or their friends) and brought them gifts of jewelry. It is Christmas on the 7th in Ethiopia, so we are able to celebrate with each organization. The women were so incredibly excited and thankful. One woman said on behalf of the others, "Thank you for coming across the world to serve us. Here we are treated very badly and are not valued, but you have shown us today that we have value. And we thank you for that."
Another organization we have spent a lot of time with is Ahope. I'm not going to go into too much detail about this organization because I really want to do a in depth post about it. But an overview of this organization is that it is a orphanage for children infected with HIV. All of the children are given the anti-viral drugs, but many are still very sick (depending on when they started receiving the drugs, how long they have had HIV, etc.) They are the most precious children you could ever imagine. Many will still be adopted as Ahope works with several adoption agencies and more HIV+ children are being adopted each year. So these kids are in fact the lucky ones. The children are so beautiful and this organization has definitely touched our team more than any others. I visited Ahope when we adopted Tek and we have financially supported their work. I have seen first hand the difference this organization makes in the lives of these orphaned children and it is amazing. But more to come later! A glimpse of to come... we were their for their Christmas and Birthday Celebration and it will be an experience that will forever live in my heart and mind. I see my Teketel in every one of those children and to experience this event with them captured my heart. At one point another team member saw the tears well up in my eyes as I interacted with the children during this event and she had to tell me to "Turn it off!" because if you don't, you will simply weep and that does more harm than good.
Another organization that I will definitely do a separate post on is a grassroots organization (I use the term organization lightly) of women putting street boys through school. The short of it is two educated and strong Ethiopian women saw a need and decided they had to help fill it. They used their own and their friend's money (and just because they are educated does not mean they are rich) to put 40 street boys through school. They didn't simply enroll them, they bought their books, paid their fees, bought their uniforms, and weekly follow up with them. We helped them with their Christmas celebration and fed the boys. I had the amazing experience of washing the hands of the boys before and after their meals... but again... more to come. :)
The last organization that we have been introduced to is the Fistula Hospital. I am SOOOO excited to talk about this because all of my small group ladies have read about it in the book "Half the Sky" and if you skipped that chapter (Holly & Misty!!) you should really go back and read it so when I post all about the amazing impact this organization is making on Ethiopia, you will have the necessary knowledge to truly understand. For those of you who are Oprah watchers, you may have seen Dr.Hamlin on Oprah (Oprah also sponsored a building on the grounds) and some of you may have seen "A Walk to Beautiful." For the rest of you, guess you will just have to stay tuned. :) This is the only organization we did not actually volunteer at, but just toured the facility. They only take trained volunteers (such as nurses and doctors) due to the kind of work they do. However, we did drop off small bags of jewelery to be distributed to the women for Christmas... and that jewelry came from Savannah, Georgia, thank you very much! :) I think it is so awesome that the women who were at one time left for dead but have now been given a new chance at life will be wearing the jewelry donated by my friends in Savannah. I hope you think of those women (and say a prayer for them) whenever you open your jewelry box. Thank you to all of you who donated to give them a better Christmas. (I wish you all could see the faces of them women when they receive these gifts, it is priceless. They will likely be their most prized possessions.)
Well, that pretty much sums up what I've been doing for the last week. I hope its a bit of a tease and you all stay tuned for what I have actually been experiencing and also to learn more about some of these extraordinary organizations. I am so excited about the work that is being done here and am anxious to help in any way I can when I return to the states.
On a personal note, my sister and I are doing very well. A couple team members have gotten sick, but Amy and I have managed to stay well. The common cold here in Ethiopia tends to be a terrible stomach virus that will make you miserable for two to three days. Fingers crossed that neither of us experience that (I feel that taking care of my new son during 27 hours of traveling while my husband struggled with that "cold" should give me the karma I need to avoid being a recipient, but I am not pushing my luck and am sanitizing every 5 minutes.) We have eaten a lot, they keep feeding us! For some reason they seem to have this impression that Americans eat a lot. But for once I am not complaining about eating, at least not when its Ethiopian. I used to brag I could make some really good Ethiopian food... oh man was I wrong. I have had the most amazing Ethiopian food! I guess I will just have to practice some more. I keep telling the nationals I will become Ethiopian. But then they laugh as soon as I try some Amharic. I am HORRENDOUS! In my defense, it is not an easy language and why must every language roll their "r"s. SO frustrating. And yes Andy, I hear you laughing at this all the way in Ethiopia.
So, this is all I have for you today. I don't know when I will be able to write again. We travel to Nazareth tomorrow and like is said, TIA! I hope I can update you when we return. The rest of the team leaves in a week and then Amy and I will explore Ethiopia without 10 other people. Stop worrying Mom! We have already made many connections and the interpreters are helping us with all of our arrangements. I'm not trying to falsely reassure you, but it really is more safe for us to walk on the streets here than it is in DC or Savannah at night. It's completely a different culture than America, but you will just have to see it for yourself!
Did I mention it is 2am in Ethiopia right now? Excuse the rambling and possibly even some parts that don't make sense. But I have sacrificed much sleep for this blog, so I hope that you at least made it to the end. Thank you again for all of the support that everyone provided to make this trip a reality. I'm doing my best to make you all proud!
I miss you all BUT MOSTLY TEKETEL!!! (which I can now say like an Ethiopian!) It makes it even harder to be away from him when I see him in the face of every child I meet.