Mount Entoto

 Mount Entoto is the highest peak overlooking the city of Addis Ababa, the capitol of Ethiopia. After our visit with the children on Saturday morning, we took a drive up the mountain. Donkeys, women carrying huge bundles of eucalyptus wood on their backs, and herds of goats met us on the winding way up the mountain. When we reached the top, we were about 10,500 feet above sea level.  Our lunch had been packed for us, so we enjoyed a wonderful picnic overlooking the gorgeous scenery. The mountain is densely covered by eucalyptus trees which is an important source of firewood to the city. It was also a source of building material in earlier times. On top of the mountain are two churches that we visited: St. Raguel and Elias Historical Churches. What a wonderful way to see God's beauty in another country! 

Kidane Mehret Children's Home

On Saturday morning, we visited an Ethiopian Catholic orphanage called The Kidane Mehret Children's Home. Here is a bit about this orphanage: 

History

This home was founded around the year 1933 by a French Community. Started by a nun who has since passed, the orphanage is continuing to fully function. The number of children in the home at present is around 150 children. Their ages range from newly born babies up to 16 year old. The youngest that was there today was about 2 months old. The goals of the orphanage are to lift the morale of the children, to give them a better upbringing with family, love, and care, to attend to their health and nourishment, and to better their education and to enhance that in the future they will be worthy citizens. 

Mission Statement

The Mission of Kidane Meheret Children’s home is to love, care, understand and educate children of different ages, tribes and religions. This is based on the words of Our Lord “Let the children come to me for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven”.

Criteria

• Abandoned children under 8 years of age
• Street children under 8 years of age
• Orphans of both parents under 8 years of age
• Children of parents who are sick with HIV (Aids)

Prayer

Every day of the week the children get together and pray. They try to make them understand that first of all it is good to spend some time with the Lord and secondly, that in order to provide for their needs, they need help from donors and sponsors and so prayer to God is needed, so that people around the world will continue to help children on the streets. The most important thing is to thank God for everything we have.

When we first arrived, we were taken to the nursery. Our hearts were quickly stolen by all the little babies who we scooped up into our arms. They receive children as young as a few days old, and sometimes receive children straight from the hospital. They also have children with developmental delays and chromosomal abnormalities that families have abandoned. Please pray for all the children our team encountered today. 

We also played outside with the older children. All the children at this orphanage can be adopted. Some are already in the process of adoption - Praise The Lord! 

I learned how to braid hair! 

To learn more about this orphanage, their website is: http://fcj-kmch.org

We've got spirit......how bout you?

Futbol 

Ethiopia vs Nigeria

Winner will qualify for the World Cup

Game date/time: 11/16/2013 @ 6:00 pm 

Everyone we saw had Ethiopian spirit today

I decided to join in the fun and let them paint my face

Traditional Ethiopian Experience!

YOD Abyssinia Cultural Restaurant

We experienced a traditional Ethiopian meal Friday evening and had a wonderful time. Everything about it was unlike anything I have ever done before, yet I loved learning about different culture: the food, dance, traditions, and more! The place was jam packed with people, and we sat very close to each other. We were served three "trays" of food onto our mesobes or large basket trays, and then we all shared. During and after dinner, there was great Ethiopian music and dancing. Here's picture of our food, and then a little description about their food, coffee, and traditional music and dance. 

Food

The Ethiopian national dish is called wat. It is a hot spicy stew accompanied by injera (traditional large spongy pancake or like sourdough flatbread which is about 20 inches in diameter and made of teff flour and water). Teff is unique to the country and is grown on the Ethiopian highlands. There are many varieties of wat, e.g. chicken, beef, lamb, vegetables, lentils, and ground split peas stewed with hot spice called Berbere. I love love love Berbere, and I'm bringing some home!! 

Berbere is made of dried red hot pepper, herbs, spices, dried onions, dried garlic and salt. Wat is served by placing it on top of the injera which is served in a mesob.  The food is eaten with fingers by tearing off a piece of injera and using it to grab or scoop food in the wat.

We had a variety of food to choose from: beef, chicken, vegetables, split peas, boiled egg, and cow stomach ( yeah.....it was not that great!) Luckily, we did not have the raw meat option! 

 Ethiopians eat exclusively with their right hands, using pieces of injera to pick up bites of entrées and side dishes. Utensils are rarely used with Ethiopian cuisine, however I may have used a fork a few times!!! 

Coffee holds a legitimate claim as originating from Ethiopia, where it is a critical component of the economy and is a central part of Ethiopian beverages. The coffee ceremony is the traditional serving of coffee, usually after a big meal. We were able to experience this during our traditional meal! It often involves the use of a jebena, a clay coffee pot in which the coffee is boiled.  The coffee is put in to the jebena, boiled with water, and then served with small cups called si'ni. Coffee is usually served with sugar but is also served with salt in many parts of Ethiopia. Snacks such as popcorn (fendisha) or toasted barley (kollo) are often served with the coffee, and is accompanied by the burning of frankincense which we also experienced! The popcorn was awesome, and I showed our Ethiopian friends a new way to eat it - with Berbere powder!! They thought it was okay, but the waitress definitely curled her nose at it! 

Music and Dance

Every evening Monday to Monday, live performance of songs of the diverse Ethiopian ethnic groups flow from the stage by untiring singers and dancers accompanied by traditional musical instruments. The Oromo, the Tigrigna, Gurage, the Amhara and other Ethiopian ethnic group dances and music are included on the daily live performance. 

During the final dance, a few of the audience members were called to the stage. They 

picked Ryan! He was a great sport and did a fabulous job trying the Ethiopian dance moves. He only pulled a shoulder out! 

Found this interestin on the back of our menu: 

Hope for the Hopeless

                                                        

Hope for the Hopeless is a child development program begun by Pastor Surafel Gebretsadik in 1993 to support the growth and development of street children and orphans in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The program has grown into a non-profit organization managed both in the United States and by local staff in Ethiopia.

The program is comprised of a rescue center for street children, a residential orphanage and long-term foster care homes where hundreds of children can

• Feel safe and secure
• Learn to trust again
• Learn the truth of Jesus Christ
• Receive food and clothing
• Receive education
• Receive basic medical care

We visited both the drop-in center and 1 of the 2 orphanages that are part of Hope for the Hopeless. We were able to provide soccer balls, jump ropes, shoes, fingernail polish, suckers, kindness, love,  and more to these children. 

The Drop-In Center (Street Home)

Located in the capital city of Addis Ababa, the Hope for the Hopeless Drop-In Center serves as a place of short-term safety for the city’s street children. They can receive a shower, a meal, and clean clothes. Some children are motivated to stay and commit to leaving behind the habits learned while living on the streets. At this point they begin the long journey of healing from the grief and trauma they have already experienced in their short lives.

The process of restoration of hope begins in this small facility where they receive counseling, skill development, education, medical care and nurturing in a safe and supportive environment. Orphan status is verified and attempts are made to re-unite the children with extended family. The children begin learning the truth of Jesus Christ through chapel services and devotionals. If reunification with family is unsuccessful, the children will move to the orphanage when they have demonstrated readiness to thrive in that environment. The children usually stay at the drop-in center up three months before being transitioned to one of the orphanages. "God changes the hearts of these children, nothing else can change them" Drop-in center leader. 

Teaching a little football.

There was only one girl at the drop-in center when we were there, so we made her feel extra special with painted toenails and fingernails. She also wanted to paint ours!!

Hope for the Hopeless Orphanage

Once they are transitioned from the drop-in center, they are moved to one of 2 orphanages. They learn to trust and love again with the help of the committed and compassionate staff. The children are enrolled in school and are transported to the nearest educational facility that is taught in their language. They gave us a great tour of their home. We waited for the children to return home for school, and then we interacted with the for quite a while. What a great day to be able to spend time with these children.   

A bit of soccer! 

More painting nails at the orphanage. 

A bit of fun - learning their language by counting, fish faces, hand clapping, hair braiding, push-ups, a visit to the local fire department, frisbee, jump rope, and more!!

One of their beds - complete with his Bible next to his pillow. The bible shown below is written in their language: Amharic. 

 

Before we left. We all gathered in a circle and we prayed for them in English and they prayed for us in Amharic. They also sang us a song in their language. It was about how God is helping them, how He will be helping them in the future, to trust Him, and that with His strength He can do more than we can alone. 

To learn more about Hope for the Hopeless, their website is: 

http://www.hope4hopeless.org

AHOPE Ethiopia

After our visits with the Mission Ethiopia ladies, we visited AHOPE Ethiopia. This is an orphanage that houses HIV+ orphans and assists them into becoming skilled, self-reliant, and socially integrated citizens. AHOPE strives to provide a nurturing, stimulating, and loving environment for these children. Once the children reach around the age of fourteen, they "graduate" from the orphanage setting and move into a youth transitional home which is structured more like a home environment. This provides a family-like atmosphere and a chance for the teens to become successful as a community member. We had the chance to meet with the program director, visit the orphanage, and interact with the children who were not at school.

Even though we could not communicate with them due to not knowing each others languages, we were able to play a great game of fuseball and generate lots of smiles!  

If you wish to learn more about AHOPE Ethiopia, their website is www.ahopeforchildren.org

Shoes

While we were in the market area on Thursday, Micah and Ryan had their shoes cleaned. Instead of me writing about it, I have copied Micah's account of the experience. He did a wonderful job. 

I’m not sure, but this may be my only post from Ethiopia? I enjoyed sharing all of the pics from Uganda but today was just different. Before today these were just my good old comfy work boots, these boots have walked miles in three countries, been covered in the dirt of an Illinois cornfield, soaked in blood after a successful deer hunt, covered in red Ugandan clay from a day of serving & dancing with beautiful children, covered in silt & sewage after spreading the Word through the village of Lunega, Uganda & finally today, Today they changed my life forever!

Today the stepped onto a street in Addis Ababa Ethiopia, today they were treated like the finest shoes a man could own. Today a young man about 7 or 8 years old, scrubbed, cleaned, buffed & brushed this old pair of boots like his life depended on it & it does! He would not accept a handout, he didn’t want charity, he wanted to earn my business & earn that 10 Birr (less than 1$)

I honestly can’t explain the humbling & sickening feeling of standing there letting a child scrub my filthy boots all because he refuses to take charity but knows the value of work & providing for himself & his family. We live in a world of “mine”, “me first” & a “give me something for nothing” society, & this young man scrubbed, brushed & smiled when I told him “good job”! His persistence was incredible, his work ethic was unquestionable & his will to survive was inspirational! I don’t know what this will mean to anybody else & i’m mainly writing to sort my thoughts & gain perspective but i will never see these boots or my world the same again! One child at a time we can all slowly begin to change our world. I will strive everyday to see this happen, whatever it takes to change my world & my family, to everyday see an opportunity to improve the life of one child! What if that had been my Son?