A Life-Changing Way to Spend New Year's Eve

2013 went out with a bang here in Addis for our team. We had a day that was humbling, inspiring, difficult, and wonderful all at the same time. Our schedule for today was rearranged a few times today and we were all so thankful and could see God's hand on each change. We spent the first half of the day at a state-run orphanage called Kibebe Tsehay. This orphanage has a much lower funding base than the other, private ones And a lot more children. The nannies that work there have the hardest job I could imagine but their love for the children was overflowing. Hey- they got 30ish 2 and 3 year olds to sit at a table and wait untIl everyone was served before anyone touched their food! The facility is not ideal for the number of children they have, but it is clear they do the best they can with what they have. The bulk of our donations went to this orphanage including 200 cloth diapers, 3 suitcases of clothing, 2 suitcases full of toys, a suitcase full of blankets, and cash donations that were used to purchase approx 22 cans of formula and 30 boxes of baby cereal. Thank you so much for everything that you all donated! 

After visiting the special needs, infant, and toddler rooms we went to see the preschool and kindergarten age students in their s hook which is also on the orphanage compound. The teachers were all gone for a training so I think the substitutes let them have a little extra recess so we could play longer (sound familiar?). We spent about 2 hours laughing, playing, running, and singing with the kids. Everyone had a really great time and I can guarantee we left exhausted but the kids could have gone on for a few more hours :) They loved styling our hair and some marveled at how they could see our veins through our white skin and how our hair gets hot in the sun. After playing we had the opportunity yo serve lunch to the 2 and 3 year olds. It was wonderful to know we were giving the nannies some extra sets of hands! We will return to this orphanage tomorrow (which is now today for us!) and do some activities on joy and God's love with the older kids. Please join us in praying for the children and the nannies here. There is a lot of pain and loss the children are struggling with at very young ages and the nannies have a huge job in front of them everyday, for 12 hour shifts. Pray that they feel God's love surrounding them and lifting them up, showing them that this season will not last forever and that they are all beautifully and wonderfully made in His image, for His purpose. 

We returned to the guest home for lunch and got to enjoy so e refreshing sodas to give us a special treat before heading back out. The food has been Americanized but wonderful. Mahaleet is our chef and makes everything from scratch and by hand. We are so grateful for her and all the staff at Lulu guest house, they are taking such great care of us!

For the afternoon, we went out to Kingdom Vision International orphanage (KVI). This is a private orphanage with fewer kids and larger funding source. The director spoke to us about the vision for the orphanage which include a wholistic approach to care for the kids and training for families. The children were very happy here and well-adjusted. We spent about two hours there, delivering donations including 100 cloth diapers, 2 suitcases of clothes, a large bag of blankets, and pounds and pounds of rice, peas, lentils, and flour (staples here in Ethiopia). We will return here tomorrow afternoon for activities as well. 

For the evening, we had a traditional Ethiopian dinner of injera with a meat sauce, veggies, and lentil sauce to put on it. Jonathan was ecstatic! The entire team really loved the meal, even those new to injera ;) The guest house the did a coffee ceremony on the roof for us, fresh roasted coffee is so smooth and delicious! To close out the day, 5 of our teammates attended a new year's. eve church service at Beza International church. The pastor spoke on looking to a new season and remembering that in order to be ready for the new season God has in store for us, we have to change ourselves in a at that we are able to receive the change. It is our hope that each of you be blessed in the new year and be ready to receive the changes God has planned for you and your family! 

With love & blessings to you & yours,

Rachel