Help the people

Monday, January 17, 2011

Hi!

It has been awhile, I know. I decided to just let some things go this holiday season, namely anything other than just hanging out with my family and cooking and enjoying my kiddos' Christmas break and time off from school. It was FABULOUS! Just to drop a lot of expectations I have put upon myself and just BE. It made the holiday break an amazing and resorative time for our whole family. However, getting back into school and the busyness that comes with that schedule has been less enjoyale. I was just not built for getting up before 9 am, particularly not in the winter, sigh....Anyone else wrestle with the cold, grey monotany of winter like I do?? Ugh, cannot wait till spring! BUT, this winter might just fly by a little faster because right now we are getting ready for a certain little guy named Juddah and my good friend Cherrie to arrive here Thursday evening and get things rolling on his surgery-God has been so amazing! We are really getting excited and my children have just really been so sweet about it-they went to the store this weekend and bought him little stuffed animals all on their own, it was their idea and they used their own money. I love their heart for others, not much more you could ask for as a mom!! The link to Juddah's blog is here and you can read about his arrival to the US. While you are praying for his arrival and such (and I KNOW you are ;) ), please pray for our family-two have fallen victim to a tummy bug and we have to have a healthy house for he and Cherrie to come stay in so pray it right out of here ASAP!! Thanks for the 2 of you still checking in here and hopefully next post will be a little sooner in coming! (AND have pictures, I know....lame)

Friday, December 3, 2010

Updates

I know I have been scarce around these parts but I wanted to stop in to say hey and share some exciting stuff. Since I last posted, my littlest Thing turned 2!! Woohoo! She has a huge personality and 'tude, loves anything she can fiddle and mess with, and also has had a verbal EXPLOSION in the past 3 weeks and has been hilarious with the new whole phrases she is coming up with daily. She was pretty behind on her language development so when all the sudden she has started not just saying some words but whole sentences, and hilarious ones with great inflection at that, it has been absolutely amazing. One of our favorites is when she runs up and literally pounces on you like a cat and says, "I gotchoo!" SO. STINKIN'. CUTE. Here is a picture to show off her 2 year old cuteness:

She keeps us running ALL the time though because she is a tornado so my energy and time to write is very very scarce right now. No worries, I know I will have more time again for writing some day!


Another VERY AWESOME thing that has been consuming my time is working to get little Judah (remember him? read about him here and here if you don't...) from Ethiopia some medical help. He has been diagnosed with hydrocephalus and fused cranial sutures and cannot get the life-saving surgery he needs there in Ethiopia. Please check out his blog here and read what has been going on. The most recent post shares the most incredibly awesome news though-there is a hospital here where I live that is willing to consider treating him and doing his surgery (donated!!) and so Cherrie, a friend with a deep passion for Korah and with whom I hung out with in ET in October, is flying here to go with me to a meeting with the hospital execs on Monday!!! Yeah, Lord!!!! Way to show off! Cherrie's multiple flights to ET in the last year have made it possible for her to fly here free so she is hopping on a plane in the morning. I CAN NOT WAIT for this meeting-it is surreal!!! I have no other words than PRAISE THE LORD! (And also maybe I better lay off the ALL CAPS and exclamation points!!!!) I will let y'all know how it goes! Please pray for all systems to be go b/c we still have a lot of hurdles to clear with his medical visa, TB and HIV tests, etc.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

A Confession and Some Special Links

Y'all are great-I loved the comments about what things you look forward to about the holidays! Go read them from yesterday's post if you didn't have a chance so you can see what everyone shared! I should use more exclamation points!!!! And no worries about being super "spiritual" in your holiday traditions-we totally watch National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation on Thanksgiving weekend, too, haha!!! Also, my friend Kelly in the comments MIGHT have been being a teensy bit sarcastic about our housegroup because I will let you in on a secret-I HATE CHRISTMAS CAROLING!! I really do. I LOVE to sing, and I LOVE music, and I do lots of sing-y things, but I loathe Christmas caroling. I just hate tromping around ringing on doorbells and such and having to awkwardly stand there singing cheesy Christmas songs at people while they try to smile and not feel awkward also while they listen to you. The whole thing is weird to me and I am not a fan, sorry. I realize I may have just lost most of my 3 followers with that admission...;) But I am happy to be the one who stays behind and make hot chocolate and cider for the weary carolers to come back to at the end-does that count for anything??? (Oh, and in regards to the other part of the comment about miming, do not even get me started on how I feel about miming....)

Ok, now that I have painted such a lovely picture of myself, how about I share a few links that I think are worth taking a look at. First up is something that is VERY dear to my heart and is the exact post I have been trying to write for about a month or so now. It is a post written by a woman who is a missionary in Haiti and the post is about mission trips and working with impoverished people in other countries and a great book that we, too are reading. I have written, fretted over, edited, and ultimately deleted a post several times that was trying to say the very same things the author shared in this post so when I read it I was thrilled b/c now I don't have to try to write it, I will just link y'all to it and tell you to go read it! Ha, it is not being lazy, it is being efficient... I do believe it is worth your time to read it if you are at all interested in missions. Go ahead and read-I'll wait here.

One other link that I wanted to share is to my internet friend Christie's blog. Christie is moving to Uganda in just about 2 weeks to live and work in a village called Bugabo. She has partnered with local people there to help build a school and she will be teaching at this school as well. The children in the village need sponsors to pay for all the needs that go with getting an education. Now, before you say no thanks, get this-sponsorship for a child in ONLY $100 FOR A YEAR!! Hmm, that is less than $10 a month. $100 will cover tuition, uniform, shoes, school supplies, a meal during school, and medical/dental visits (as needed) for one year. That is a pretty sweet return on a small investment. I know not everyone can do this, but for all those of you who wanted to sponsor kiddos in Korah but missed the cut off, here is your chance in Uganda! Christie will be living in the village, with the children and families, in their culture, and being a part of helping them help themselves. In a time when everyone is looking for a "good deal", this is a pretty AMAZING deal for $100. Christie is very open to answering any and all questions about this, too, if you need more info so feel free to give her a shout about it. She has literally given up everything in her life, the entire American dream and all that comes with it, to live among these people she loves. Let's help her do it! Go check out her blog now, if you would please!

And since I have written several posts without pictures, I will leave you with one of my weird kids on Halloween just so you can have a complete picture of how our family rolls :)

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Well, Hello There!

Y'all, I have not fallen off the face of the Earth, I just needed some time to process in my head and heart all that went on on my trip and also spend some much needed just-family time with my hubby and girls. I hope you understand, you seem like an understanding bunch ;), and I will be back to posting more regularly. Sometimes I just need a break from the blog/facebook/email world, ya know? And especially after the trip, I needed to re-group a little since the world did not stop spinning for me and I had to jump right back into mom/school/work/life duties-how rude of that world! But, I am getting VERY excited about the holidays coming up and really looking forward to the time with my family and friends, celebrating the millions of things for which I am thankful and also preparing to celebrate the reason for every single thing I am/have/do, the birth of my Savior!!!

So, to get things back rolling here on the blog, let's do a group discussion. What things are you looking forward to most this holiday season? Share them in the comments so we can all learn a little more about what this little Sheep flock does during Thanksgiving and Christmas and beyond and maybe get some fun ideas to add to our own holiday traditions! I will start with one that is weird and fun all at the same time: the last few years we have done, along with my sister's family (8 of them), a Mayflower dinner some time the week of Thanksgiving. We find an obnoxiously cramped and uncomfortable space (we have used a basement shop/tool room, an outside children's wooden playhouse, etc) and cram all 14 of us in there, much like the pilgrims were on the Mayflower (minus the barf from seasick folks and stink of various "functions"-we are not THAT committed to simulating reality) and we have dried beef and stale crackers and one year even had "ale" (gross!!!) for the kids to take a sip of since that is what they had on the ship as water was not available. Then we read the story of how the Pilgrims did this and more (one baby was even born aboard the Mayflower mid-journey!!), for a LONG time on a cramped ship going where they knew and had NOTHING, so they could come here to a new land where they could be free to worship the one True God. Funny how that part often gets lost in the stories of the Pilgrims and Indians and school plays-but the reason for their sacrifice and suffering was their commitment to honoring God's words in the Bible and not being forced to worship their earthly king. Many of them lost their lives and lost loved ones and suffered so dearly for the cost of religious freedom, so that I can sit here many many years later freely typing about the God I love. So, we laugh about our Mayflower dinner b/c it is weird and cramped and uncomfortable and the little ones cry and fuss and it is not really all that fun, honestly, and that is exactly the point. :) It is a very, very small taste of how it was for those first brave women and men and their families-I have nothing to complain about and so very much to be thankful for.

Ok, your turn-share your family traditions/jokes/things the holidays would be complete without in the comments! :)

Monday, November 1, 2010

An AMAZING Last Day!!

** Sorry this took me a few days to get posted, I have been doing a lot of sleeping since I got home :)**

Well, God pulled out all the stops in sending me out of here with an absolutely great day! I awoke to a Bisrat alarm-I heard his voice calling “hello, Jody?” throughout our house and he showed up at our bedroom door where Danielle and I were asleep. Things here are so different, I just honestly have to laugh about it. Can you imagine that in the States?? hahaha. He came by b/c he was supposed to come with me to the airport to say goodbye when I left but he had something come up for his job so he could not-at least that is what I think happened, I was half asleep for most of it....
After he left, we realized we needed to get up and get moving anyway as we were supposed to head to Korah pretty soon so it all worked out ok. We got to the church office there and did our standard wait around until we could figure out what was going on for the day and while we were waiting, the people with the clay and tools showed up! We were so excited, I wasn't going to miss it after all! D and I got an area set up in the shelter to work with the women on beads and we (surprise!) waited while Pastor and Sammy were supposed to go round up the ladies. We sat for a bit, chatting with Murad and Daniel, the guy who was serving as the translator for the clay lady. Then Murad announced we were actually not doing the clay until next week. WHAT?! I won't be here next week!! I was really heartbroken and not even sure what had happened. I know that is just the way things sometimes go here, that you have to hold plans loosely, but I felt tears welling up in my eyes, thankfully behind my sunglasses. This was the thing I was most excited about on the whole trip! Everything else had gotten switched around and I could deal with that, but this? Not so much. However, I knew good and well there was nothing I could do about it so I asked if we could just go visit the babies one more time before I left. Off we went behind the church, along the rocky trash path to her home with Murad. The babies were asleep completely covered under a blanket (how they can breathe under there I do not know) so I didn't want her to disturb them just b/c I wanted to see them. We asked if things were going ok and how her supply of formula and diapers was and then I asked if she had chosen names for them yet so I could pray for them. Well, this is where God began to show me why I wasn't off doing beads. The mama told Murad she named them the names I had called them the other day, Sarah and Judah! I could not believe that, this time the sunglasses did not hide the tears. She had not named them yet b/c she was waiting on the “right” names, and then she said she liked those that I called them. Oh my heart!! Murad said “Jody, you are very lucky.” No, no luck here, just undeserved blessings from the Lord! I told her I was leaving and would not get to see her again and she came and gave me a big hug and we exchanged kisses on alternating cheeks and I gave her another tight squeeze-now I can pray for those babies by name! The especially fun thing is that we had always planned on using the name Sarah for one of our girls but just never had for one reason or another, and I know my hubby LOVES that name, so that is why I liked it for that tiny sweet girl-so I feel like we really DO have a Sarah now! We said goodbye and I was already on cloud nine as we walked away from there. But alas, God was not done yet!

I had brought a couple shirts for the child my dad sponsors and I wanted to see if I could by any chance find him and give them to him personally. Sammy and Murad talked back and forth and talked with some kids, or as we like to call it their underground communication network, and came back saying “ok, let's go”. I asked how they know how to find people since there are no street names and no addresses, and I explained addresses in America. M laughed and said, “no, here it is not like that, you just ask people and guess”. It seems ridiculous, yet somehow they always know where to find people, it is unreal. You have to see it to understand how crazy it is! We walked for a good bit, past chickens and donkeys and large mats of hot peppers drying in the sun to make into berbere powder, a very hot and spicy pepper blend they use here in most dishes. He lived far from the church and eventually we found his little home tucked back at the end of an alley of sorts. The tin covering the walls was rusted and flimsy and we had to duck to go through the tiny doorway. It was totally dark inside, with the exception of a patch of sunlight from a dinner plate-sized skylight cut into the roof. The floor was dirt covered with dried grass and the walls were made of tarp material rather than the typical mud. It actually had multiple rooms and ornately embroidered maroon curtains, in stark contrast to the dirty, cobbled-together rest of the house, separated the kitchen/bedroom from the main room. The actual sponsored child was not at home as he was taking an exam but his mother and 2 sisters were there and they graciously welcomed us into their home. We explained who we were and I showed her the things I had brought for her son from my dad. She was very happy to have them and then sweetly asked us to sit so she could make us coffee! I am telling you, I love these people. Can you even imagine such a thing in America? A random foreign stranger shows up at your door and asks to come in and then you sit them down and make them coffee? No way, jose! We sat and she ducked through the fancy curtains to prepare the coffee. The 2 younger sisters were there, smiling shyly at us and helping their mother. They were both absolutely beautiful! I called them over to share something in my bag with them, my “modern day phylacteries” as I was calling them. Phylacteries were the things the Pharisees in the Bible wore on their foreheads and wrists, little boxes strapped on with scriptures inside and they were worn in response to the verse Deuteronomy 6:8 that says “Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.” I had almost the same thing, silly bands that are in the shape of pictures and colors that represent the Gospel story! :) (They are called Believer Bands if you want to get some, btw) I had 2 sets in my bag and, with Murad's help, I showed the girls each band, telling them what it represented. There is a black apple, a red cross, a white heart, a green plant, and a gold crown. I shared with them (and their listening mother) that we all have forgiveness and new life offered to us in exchange for sin that we all have-and this forgiveness is b/c of Jesus' death on the cross and if we choose to accept that amazing gift from God, we have a place in His kingdom in heaven! Then I gave them their own set to each wear on their wrist to remind them of that Truth and to also share the story with their friends if they wanted. They were excited to have them and so was I! I couldn't help but think that if I had been up at the shelter making beads, this would never have happened and I saw once again God's perfect timing and plan revealed to us. I was just thrilled to have spent my afternoon in this home, sharing the greatest gift one could ever get, eternal life in Christ through His grace. This day alone made the entire trip worth it to me.

We eventually reluctantly left their home and headed to meet up at the coffee shop with the rest of the guys and Cherrie, all of whom had been off doing various things. We got there and saw the now-familiar mom and her little one who are beggars on the sidewalk, sleeping among the cars and foot traffic whirring by. It tore at my heart that this is their life, and I wondered out loud if she might be able to come to the bead training next week to learn that craft to earn income rather than put her and her daughter in harm's way every day. So, b/c he has a heart of gold, Murad went over and asked her if she lived in Korah, b/c the training is for only Korah people, and she said yes, she does live there! Long story short, it is tentatively set up for her to come either Tuesday or Wednesday to come to the training-PLEASE pray she does!! It could make such a difference in her and her child's life. Eventually everyone collected there at the shop and we set out for home, stopping on the way home to pick up our food for dinner, a live sheep from a herd on the side of the road! Yup, they were going to do a big sheep roast party since I was leaving-I just love these guys!! The sheep here look like our goats back home, but with fat tails. Our fat-tailed dinner rode home INSIDE the van, upside down on the floor while Yiesmachew held it by the ankles, and it protested with loud bleats every now and again. Almost the same as when I am bringing dinner home from Kroger.....The rest of the afternoon was filled with gathering the needed items for the party-firewood (the sheep gets cooked on a HUGE pan on rocks over a fire outside), bread, onions, cokes, etc. I was offered the chance to be the one to cut the sheep's neck, and really was going to do it, but at the last minute chickened out and was really glad I did when I watched them do it. It is just so gross, even though I had seen it before. Poor Cherrie was not watching as she HATES that part and I accidentally told her too many details about it and sent her into a fit of gagging-sorry Cherrie!!! :( The guys had a good time grossing me out by playing with the jaw bone and tongue of the sheep and I decided it would be a good time to go do something else. Little by little different people would show up and they all helped in preparing the meal-at one point Murad, Yiesmachew and our van driver Sammy were all peeling and chopping onions and out of nowhere Maste was there and cutting up chunks of the meat to cook while some other guys were chopping up tomatoes. It was just so fun to watch everyone working like busy bess and getting all excited about the big feast to come! There was no such thing as too many cooks there in the courtyard. Berhanu set up a beautiful coffee ceremony as well, along with the traditional snack served with it, popcorn. Talk about the royal treatment, y'all! I was floored, and my heart was beyond full from all the amazing events of this day with my Ethiopian family. Danielle and I each got a turn at the fire, cooking the sheep, which started out fun and was quickly ruined by the fact that I looked down in the pan and saw TEETH! So nasty, the jaw bone was in there!! I was so grossed out, they thought that was just hilarious-also, I was cooking beside Habtamu one of the other drivers and I thought, where the heck did HE come from?? I am telling you, people just show up all over the place! Here and there one of the guys would snap a sprig of rosemary right off the bush from the yard and throw it in the pan and Maste would come add more salt at various times to the meat and onions and tomatoes already in the pan. This could give Iron Chef a run for it's money, for sure-these guys can cook! Danielle made mashed potatoes to go along with it for the guys to try since they had never had them served like that before. Oh my word, they were SO good, D can also cook!!!! She makes a mean garlic mashed potato, y'all. I sat there, belly full of mashed potatoes and roasted sheep/goat and popcorn and coffee, surrounded by people who are my brothers and sisters in Christ, of all different colors and from different corners of the world, and thought how on earth did God see fit to bless my life in such an amazing manner?? My heart nearly then burst from my chest when the 15 year old boy from Korah, who now lives at Sumer's house, presented me with an ornate and delicate silver cross and said “for your Habesha baby” (meaning for my little Thing 4, adopted from ET) Seriously? I mean was he trying to just kill me from making my heart burst at that moment??? Oh how I felt torn between desperately wanting to see my family back home and yet not wanting to leave this family here. I am so thankful for the internet that will keep us in touch with one another!! The drive to the airport was hard, so many thoughts and feelings rolling around-I never like the beginning of all the flying anyway, it makes me nervous, and we were all a little sad that my time here was at an end, but I also wanted to get home and hug and love on my kids and husband. At the airport, we all gathered in a huddle, they guys, Cherrie, Danielle, Alicia and myself, and they prayed for me and for my trip, and D and I cried as she will stay another week. God has knit our hearts together so well during our time here that leaving her was especially hard-good thing she lives in America and is a little easier to visit!! Then it was finally time to make the dreaded walk up the hill, alone, b/c they cannot come past a certain point if they are not traveling, also. I actually sailed through security and check in ans the exit visa faster than I ever had and was sort of dreading sitting in the airport alone for 2 hours. God once again held me as I saw an American couple we had met a week earlier on the plane who were traveling for their first visit to meet the children they are adopting! They were again on my same flight back to Amsterdam and so we sat and talked the whole time while waiting for our flight. It turned out they had seen the video from my trip this summer as well as had read my blog, haha-small world! We had a great time laughing about our unique experiences over the last week in Ethiopia and we all agreed we were ready for American bathrooms again! Overall, this trip was not at all really what it started out to be, and at times on the trip that frustrated me, but God was more than faithful and the trip was so much more than I could have asked or imagined. He is just so good, ALL the time.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Hurry Up And Wait Day

I don't have any great stories for today as today was filled with a lot of not doing anything other than waiting to do something. We spent the morning at the house while the church guys had a meeting. Since we had nothing really to do as we are at the mercy of the drivers showing up, we went and played with the monkey again (who I think peed on me, ew) and sat on the sidewalk drinking macchiatos that some street vendor kid brought us - a rough life here, I know. Although, just for the record, it is not like a French-style sidewalk cafe or anything, it was sitting on the dirt wall outside the dive bar across the crazy people and animal-filled road with clouds of diesel smoke trailing behind the cars and blue and white taxis whizzing by. Bisrat and Maste showed up and said they were here to go shopping with us so we weren't doing nothing while the meeting was going on so we thought we were in fact going to go. Apparently, I forgot I was in Ethiopia b/c we then sat around another hour just talking about leaving, then Biz and Maste went out of the room, we thought to call the driver. However, after awhile we realized they were totally gone and were nowhere to be found which is completely typical here. We looked around and asked some of the guys out front and they told us the guys were up at the cafe nearby eating lunch. Ack! Sometimes this place makes me crazy, how it is normal for people to just show up and disappear for hours.
Eventually, my American-ness finally took over and I felt restless to do something so I went in search of an internet cafe to try to figure out some blog posting/internet issues. Internet cafes here are basically small rooms like a hole in the wall in the middle of a row of shops. They have a couple computers and for me to use it for 30 minutes cost me about 25 cents. I wrestled with the internet for a bit and eventually got things figured out, only to turn around to Maste showing up in the internet cafe (apparently Bizi had gone back to the guest house - sure, why not...) Later we asked Maste how he found us and he said he just asked and the guys outside in the street (there are ALWAYS people out in the street) told him - he said "everyone knows who you are, you are obvious, firenge" hahaha. I guess we are. Finally, it seemed it was time to go and we hopped in the van, and decided to pick up Bisrat on the way. Another friend of mine from this summer, Tekabe, showed up and was very excited to see me - how fun! He hopped in the van as well and off Danielle and I went with our van full of ET guys, blaring hip hop music all the way down the road. We had a good laugh over our present circumstances vs. your typical image of missionaries. Well, our van pulled into a restaurant and we realized I guess we were stopping for lunch. We actually had a great time at lunch, we laughed and laughed together until our stomachs ached and I realized that these friends across the world are truly an amazing blessing in my life. They all love the Lord, too, and we just get along as if we are not living on completely different continents. We finished our lunch (I had something they call mixed juice - it has "juices" in layers, parfait-style, but they are really more like a pudding consistency-it was avocado, strawberry and mango and it is SO GOOD) and stopped at the bank to exchange some money and FINALLY headed out to shop. Or so we thought. A few guys had left the group and the rest of us went off in the van, only to pull over to the side and sit and wait because the other van with Cherrie and some of the church guys was "right behind us", which is Ethiopian for "sit there for 20 minutes...." Eventually was all met up and did some van switching and then we did actually go to shop, only 5 hours, yes 5 literal hours, after we thought we were going to go. We realized then that doing anything in Korah today for us wasn't going to happen so we figured we'd make the best of the day.
We asked if we could go to the Merkato, an experience neither of us have ever had here. It is a wild marketplace of shops here where you do NOT go by yourself if you are a white woman as there are a lot of thieves and it can get crazy and dangerous. Fortunately, our crew of body guards (the church guys are big and all muscle) got out of the van with us and we each got one who walked by our side and I held my bag slung across me with one hand on it the whole time. It looked like there were individual shops as there were doorways all along the busy street and we went up to one to get some scarves. This place was a festival of colors and textures! Jewel-toned cloths hanging form above, oriental carpets in large heaps, and people everywhere literally throwing brightly colored fabrics at us and calling out to us to buy. The room we were in was at least 15 feet high and the scarves and wraps were stacked to the ceiling! People sitting way up high (on what and how I do not know) clad in head and partial face coverings were calling down to us and unfurling their technicolored wares. The guys with us explained ALL of them were different sellers, in this very crowded room, and we needed to figure out which things we wanted and pay that seller. How in the world they keep track of inventory here is beyond my ability to understand-I have never seen anything like that in my life! It was fascinating and overwhelming and beautiful and a little scary all at the same time. We finished there and headed to an area of silver shops. Silver is very inexpensive here-they sell it by weight, a little less than $2US per gram. I was able to replace my Africa pendant that had gotten ruined for far less than I could at home so I was happy.
We spotted big, huge-muscled Berhanu walking down the sidewalk, hand in hand with a little girl from the street. It was so sweet, he walked and they chatted and he took her into a bakery and bought her something to eat. She came and hung out with us for a bit in one of the shops, not at all shy and aked me in English "what is your name?" She wanted to look at all the pictures of my family that I had in my bag and did not believe that I was the mother of a Habesha (Ethiopian) girl. She walked back with us to the van, holding onto her new love Berhanu, and there she got a special gift. Cherrie had bought her a tiny, delicate silver cross on a chain to wear under her clothes. When they gave it to her, Berhanu told her about Jesus and how He had died on the cross for her and that He loves her very much. Oh my gosh, it was such a sweet thing to watch, she was so beautiful with her radiant smile and new necklace shining against her dark skin. We helped her carefully tuck it under her clothes so she would not have it stolen and she hugged and kissed all of us goodbye. It broke my heart to think of her trust in us-we are not mean people and really enjoyed having her with us, but so easily she could have gone with someone who was not that way and it just brought tears to my eyes. These precious children are in such danger here of child trafficking, sex slavery, kidnapping, being sold to work, etc. It disgusts me to think of how common it is, too-she has a mother but her mother must work to keep them alive and so this little Hannah spends her days unsupervised on the streets. Oh Lord, protect that beautiful child....
We were absolutely wiped out by then because just simple shopping is such an ordeal so we just headed home. Some of us kicked a soccer ball around a bit and then introduced some of the guys to the movie Indiana Jones-Raiders of the Lost Ark. It was hilarious to watch them get into it, and also to watch them cringe and cover their eyes at the snakes. Some things are just the same across all cultures. What a strange day of doing a lot and nothing all at the same day. Tomorrow we have plans to be back in Korah either making beads (durn clay lady not showing up again!!!!Oh Ethiopia, you are killing me....) or going on more home visits. I hope we get to go see the babies again! That will be my last day to serve here in Korah and then I get on the plane late tomorrow night (Thursday) so I will probably not post for a bit. Sorry this post was full of mostly uninteresting details-I hope to have a great report of my last day in Korah to make up for it!

Tuesday

Today was an interesting day as it always is here, with plans being made as you go along. This morning was spent at the church in Korah where all of the guys on staff were treated by a chiropractor here from America. She not only treats backs/spines but does holistic medicine and acupuncture and was treating them for various ailments. I have to say I was pretty skeptical about the whole practice b/c it had a lot to do with "energy systems" in the body but it ended up being more interesting to watch than I felt like admitting and really did seem to work to help relieve some stress and help them feel better. I was, however, eventually getting bored watching so I went outside to wander around and when I was out there, the sweet little man who is the guard at the shelter came up to me. He was saying to a bunch of things I could not understand and pointing to his back and I nodded along, trying to understand what he meant and thinking he wanted to see the doctor. He turned around and pulled his jacket and shirt up and showed me his back, revealing a large hump on his back. I wasn't sure if it was a recent injury so I rubbed my hand across his back to see if he indicated pain and he did not. I pointed to the church building to ask if he wanted to go in - he smiled and so I took him into the church to the doctor and asked if she could look at him. It turns out when he was younger he had fallen off a horse and they told him it was not broken, but the doctor today felt there was no way it had NOT been broken and was very concerned. It had healed back poorly, which had caused the hump, and if left completely untreated would cause worsening problems over time. He got cracked and twisted like the others and then sent over to be a human pincusion all along his back. He is such a sweet man and seemed so happy to be being treated and I was so happy for him.
After a while, Danielle, myself and 2 of the guys walked up to the ALERT hospital, which is the original hospital where leprosy was treated and around which the Korah community has grown. It was, with gorgeous tropical flowers and plant all over with white-coated medical staff walking about. Everything here is sort of indoor/outdoor so it was not like a hospital back in the States, more of a large compound with many separate buildings/shelters that have various purposes. One of the best parts about the compound is the hand craft area. There are several different crafts that are handmade there, by the leprosy patients, some of whom have been there for over 40 years! We went into a tin-walled shelter that had a dirt floor and random cast-off chairs and piles of things to sit on. Inside there was a group of women who were spinning cotton fiber from fluffy wads into yarn on hand-held drop spindles-it was AMAZING!! Some only have parts of their hands and fingers and yet had incredible skill at working that spindle. Danielle got to sit with one woman who showed her how to spin and and D gave it a try as well. It was not easy at all and yet these women do this all day everyday and are so fast! The cotton yarn is then either woven into blankets or crocheted into stunning bed covers/table cloths/sweaters/etc. The crocheters were hard at work in the metal shack next door and we went in to sit with them and see their work. I watched in awe as these women, most with only shiny stumps where fingers once were and some with functioning eyesight in only one eye, deftly making lace items on the tiniest crochet hooks ever. They were so much fun, too! Just like knitting circles back home, they chatted and laughed and let us join in their conversation. They all asked to have their picture taken and gave beautiful smiles as I took their photo. I was just overwhelmed with their beauty, really and truly. Their smiles just lit up their faces, and they just giggled like girls. I really and truly loved the time with them. They told us next time they would make us coffee, today they were not prepared. So sweet!
We eventually said goodbye and walked up to the porch of a building where a very friendly old man wash working on a loom to weave straw mats. He was quite talkative and was happy to have his picture taken and show off his amazing work. He told us he has been doing that for 45 years!!! He wears leg braces and has lost parts of his feet and walks with the aid of crutches and if that is not enough, he does not have fingers-yes, for real. And there is no way I could weave a mat with the skill he did, it was mesmerizing to watch him take the fibrous strand and weave and twist it over and under, again and again. We went into the building into a room filled with giant weaving looms and were led to another sunlight-filled side room by a woman clad in a bright purple dress. In this room, she and another woman, who had had parts of her hands and face and legs brutally claimed by leprosy, wound the spun cotton yarn onto sections of bamboo sticks that served as bobbins. There were boxes of fully wound bobbins in various places and on the floor, small wooden wheels with a simple cranks with which the bobbins were wound. I had the privilege of being taught how to wind by the purple dress lady and sat on the floor, filling up a bobbin (after the 3rd try) and feeling quite pleased with myself, until I turned to see the other woman (the one with no fingers) whizzing along filling up bobbin after bobbin in the time it took me to do half of one. Show off ;).
We next visited the women who sew and hand-embroider the traditional clothing and textiles with the elaborate patterns made of colorful threads. They had ornate antique Singer foot pedal machines to make the items with the woven fabric (woven downstairs from the yarn spun on the drop spindles-this place is a full service operation, all done here and no machines-amazing) and then they are embroidered with the gorgeous patterns. These women were also very welcoming and asked us to eat with them, but we declined knowing it was their lunch, and left them to eat in peace. We ate there at the compound with the guys and then purchased some of the hand-made items in the store they have that sells them. What a fascinating place! It made my heart so full to spend the afternoon there!!
The rest of the afternoon was spent doing laundry outside in a tub and I spent the evening at the home of a family I know who lives here and who has a relative in my home town. They live in a very beautiful home on the other side of the city from where I am staying so it took the whole evening. They made an elaborate meal for me, which was very good for the most part, aside from a few traditional dishes I just cannot really get past, like the one with intestines and organs and assorted things in it. I ate some, and it was honestly not terrible, but finally the spicyness and the thought of what it was just rendered me unable to finish it. We ended the evening with a coffee ceremony and then Bisrat,who had come with me, took me to where he lives to show me his room. It was small, with just a bed and a mat on the floor where he prays and reads his Bible, and I got to meet the family who have the main house in the compound where he rents his room. They are very nice and like a family to Bizy.
We finally made it back to the house where I am staying and who was here when I got home? Maste! (a friend from my trip here this summer, just fyi if you didn't read then) What a nice surprise! We chatted a bit and then I went upstairs to hang out with Danielle and Alicia (who lives here) and I got to do something VERY fun. I got to.....HOLD A REAL LIVE MONKEY!! The guy who lives across the street had just gotten it today, it is some kind that only lives in Ethiopia and they call it a little baboon. Well, it is like a velcro monkey and it grabbed itself right onto me and snuggled onto me! It even made little squeaky monkey sounds!! At last, I got to not only see but HOLD a monkey on this trip. My little Things at home would have LOVED it!! (especially you, Thing 2!!) We took pictures and you can see them above along with shots from the rest of the day. At this point I have no idea what tomorrow holds but I am sure it will be different than whatever we plan since that has been the theme of the week thus far, haha. Please pray the clay will FINALLY get delivered so we can do the beads!! Whatever ends up happening, I am sure it will hold plenty of stories of God's amazing goodness and grace because those seem to be around every corner this trip.

Posted by jody at 3:43 AM 4 comments