Will You Join Us?

We have tentatively set the dates for the next trip to Africa: March 27-April 4, 2009. We have a growing list of projects to tackle which include orphanage relief, visiting the Women's Hospital, numerous other orphanages throughout Addis, and a trip to the countryside.

Please let us know if you're involved with a church group or other service organization-we have about a 30 minute presentation that we'd love to share with them! You can comment us and let us know to reach you!

SO--start praying, start reading, start thinking about if you'd like to join us! Let us know if you have any questions.

P.S. We've gotten this question a bunch: Can 1 person really make that much of a difference in Africa?? Well, consider:
One more person to:

• Hold a baby
• Play with a toddler
• Raise more supplies
• Give more money
• Grasp more hands
• Supply more love
• Be the hands and feet of Jesus

SO--YES! You can make a difference! Lets all remember this story:

The Starfish Story
Original Story by: Loren Eisley

One day a man was walking along the beach when he noticed a boy picking something up and gently throwing it into the ocean.

Approaching the boy, he asked, “What are you doing?”

The youth replied, “Throwing starfish back into the ocean. The surf is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them back, they’ll die.”

“Son,” the man said, “don’t you realize there are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish? You can’t make a difference!”

After listening politely, the boy bent down, picked up another starfish, and threw it back into the surf. Then, smiling at the man, he said…"I made a difference for that one.”

Pics from the Trip

We are home!

Here are some pics of the trip--just a glimpse of course! We would like to invite anyone to a presentation of our trip on Sunday, April 20th at Brookdale Church after the second service.

We'd love to see you there! We give God all the glory for being a part of this amazing mission trip.

Boys, older men, women and children always hold hands or put their arms around each other while walking down the street. It was one of my favorite sights to watch.

Jennifer doing exercises with the kids to improve their muscle movement.

Thursday

Today was the last baby care class (did I mentioned we had women drive 10 hours to be trained? We had NO idea…) and after it was done, a local woman thanked me profusely because she had never been trained in how to care for a baby before. What an honor to serve her in that way. I was so blessed to be in their presence.

Jennifer then was asked to teach an American class-she chose recycling and the environment. In Ethiopia, the trash and litter is absolutely disgusting. It litters every corner, flies in the wind, flows through the water system, and clogs drains. Ethiopians have not been taught where to put trash. There are no trash cans, no recycling containers and no regard for the way the city looks. That is one thing that is hard to get used to. It makes everything very dirty. The kids seemed to warm to the idea of how to put trash in its place—and so for a “field trip”, we cleaned the compound. They didn’t care for it, but they learned their lesson. Our favorite phrase: (Us: “Where does the trash go?” Students: THE GARBAGE!” They got it.

This afternoon we were privileged to attend a good-bye ceremony for a young boy who was leaving the orphanage with his new adoptive parents. The tradition is to dress the adopted child in white. As the child and parents entered the meeting room, the children all gathered in the orphanage and sang beautiful Ethiopian songs, accompanied only by an African drum. Throughout the wild singing, the children would shout loud shrill calls, a sign of excitement and praise. The joy of being a part of a family and one day it possibly happening to them was a precious sight…you could tell they all couldn’t wait to be the child in white one day.

An older girl sat in the back of the room and quietly sobbed—her family (a sibling group of 4) is now the longest waiting group at the orphanage. Jennifer held her as they watched the ceremony…she prays every day to have a family. We will now pray with her for that dream to come true. Another note: Mimi has a family, and we are thrilled for her!

Later we donned our best tourist gear and headed to the local market to buy traditional Ethiopian gifts (coffee, scarves, jewelry). Beggars are constant-even babies as young as 2. When they see you are spending money, you can be swarmed in an instant. Our driver acted as our bodyguard and kept us safe. We didn’t shop for long but it was an interesting experience to share together.

Tomorrow is our last day. Jennifer and I hope to pray over many of the children for homes and families. I’m sure it will be emotional for all of us as we prepare to go. I know (and Jennifer does too) that this is not our last trip here. We have already been planning to come back in 2010. Please consider joining us on what I can only say has been the trip of a lifetime.

Thank you for all your prayers and support. We have been covered in favor throughout the trip—our entire group has been sick, but Jennifer and I have not. We are the only ones who have been able to work the entire time—without even being tired—so I know it’s only because of your prayers on our behalf. The other group is recovering and will be able to travel tomorrow, so that is an answer to prayer as well.

Again, thank you. We believe our work has only just begun.

Wednesday cont. (Jennifer's post)

To finish our blog from yesterday—I’ll try and describe what Jennifer saw and did as she traveled the Ethiopian countryside to see beauty we can only imagine when staying in the dusty inner city.

Muketore is a transitional facility where orphans are placed before they enter the care of the Layla House. Jennifer and some other members of our group decided to go there to paint (sidenote—these were not normal walls; it was the inside of a grass hut. The walls were so perfectly made that rollers placed paint nicely throughout the huts.)

The hardest part of the day was a tour of another orphanage run by an Ethiopian monastery that takes care of the elderly, mentally ill, and some children. In Africa, there are no homeless shelters; no senior centers; an entire generation has died from AIDS and has left hundreds of thousands of elderly men and women to fend for themselves. What used to be a strong family unit has dissolved into a nightmare of poverty and self preservation. One younger mentally ill man was chained-his hands behind his back and his feet shackled, since he considered a danger to others and himself. His day was spent staring vacantly as the world passed him by.

These heartbreaking images are all too common here; somehow each new face strained with pain is yet another reminder of the great magnitude this country and its people suffer daily. A walk through the countryside lightened the group’s load as a group of local Ethiopians decided to cliff dive (about 30 feet above a small pond). The greenery and trees were a welcoming site compared to the brown landscape of the city. Another highlight: a true horse and buggy ride through the country lane where locals gathered to wave at the volunteers.

Wednesday

Today was probably one of the most emotional days for me (Joey). The day started as the last few have: playing with the babies and toddlers in the morning, then teaching the newborn care class to the caregivers (there were 16 women today) and then craft class with the older kids in the late morning. (Jennifer went to another orphanage/school today to paint—she isn’t back yet, so I’ll make her post a report in a little bit!)

This afternoon another woman from our group, Angel, asked me to go with her to the Hannah House for Orphans (these children are local children and not up for adoption—their parents have died or cannot care for them anymore). Angel is an American link from her church to the orphanage, because they are looking for a church sponsor for the children. We met the woman in charge, who showed us around. The sparse yard had plastic tables and chairs, and surrounding it were “classrooms”—corrugated metal shacks with a sheer curtain used as a door—no electricity—and broken tables and chairs used for desks. The classrooms were very dark. Rocks and debris littered the yard. This is where the older children stay and attend school. The younger children are about 6 hours away in another city.

The majority of the children at Hannah’s House for Orphans come from the prison system in Addis Ababa. If a child steals or is caught doing another crime, they are sent to prison for kids 9-17. When they are let out, it is to the street to live. Another scenario is that in Ethiopia, children can go live with their mother if the mother is sent to prison (most are in prison for murder). The mothers usually take their children to live with them in the prison-which means no education, stimulation, or play. A dark cell is their home. They grow up ignorant and completely incapable of taking care of themselves. When they are released from prison at the age of 18, most will commit a crime to go back to prison because that is all they know.

The goal for the Hannah House for Orphans is to find these children in prison and try and get the mother to release them to the Hannah House. This way they can go to school, socially interact, and attend learn about Jesus. The hope is that when the children are 18, they will go to the university (if you can understand English well enough to pass the courses... It’s also completely free if, after you graduate, you work for the Ethiopian government for 2 years.)

The woman in charge currently has 2 students at the university who otherwise would be in the streets. There are more than 100 students currently at the compound. They live about a block away in tiny shacks (about 8 x 8) where they cook for themselves, and sleep two to a bunk bed, with a housemother in each room.

As we were in the main area, a girl (who didn’t know her age-she had been on the streets too long)—was found naked on the streets, and dropped off at the compound. They gave her clothing, and a place to live and learn. It was the most amazing site I had ever seen—and Angel and I fought not to cry in front of them. They are very proud of their country and it’s just not appropriate for us to show our emotions in their presence. This is the way they live…and there are some angels of God that are trying to make the orphans of Ethiopia have a safe place to grow up.

It’s one of those days that I need to find a quiet place to cry for awhile and try to grasp the enormity of the situation. As we walked away, again the thoughts raced through my mind—how can we help them? What do they need? Where are we needed? The needs of this city and country are SO great. I have all her information and am going to try and raise some funds for her (for example-$30 a month to feed, clothe and educate a child)—or raise money for textbooks (they use old American ones)…and as she said…anything helps.

Our taxi driver was explaining how helpless the situation in Ethiopia was for orphans-and he pleaded with us to help Americans understand. Now I know what he’s saying-if you come here, you can’t help but be overwhelmed by the poverty and helplessness of the children.

The bright side to all of this is that I also am constantly amazed at how much love the children have for one another. They are each other’s lifelines. The volunteers, caregivers and workers are very proud of the work they do and it shows. Their compassion and encouragement for each other is uplifting to all of us. It is the bright light in the very dark world.

Tonight we will rest. Again, I believe because of your prayers we have amazing energy, are healthy, and rested. It’s easy not to think of your personal needs when you see so many others who are troubled and hurting. I’ll have Jennifer post when she gets back to the volunteer house. Your prayers mean the world to us!

P.S. On the compound wall, a child wrote: My Heart Belongs to Jesus
Amen!

Tuesday

There are many interesting, beautiful, and tragic images of Africa. It literally is a study in contrasts. On one side of the street: beautiful million dollar embassies & private mansions-all with guards posted outside their 9 foot gates with barbed wire or charred pieces of glass sticking from the tops of the gates. On the other side: children sitting in sewage; a man knee deep in the dumpster picking food from the trash; and a raw babbling brook filled with trash and sewage running down the tin roof village. Children, dust, and black pollution fill the grimy streets.

This afternoon, their was a thunderstorm…so the dusty and rocky roads soon changed to sluggish mud that filled our shoes and pants and drenched us to the bone as we walked back from lunch. Nothing here in Africa moves fast. Not the people, the lunch line, or any business. Everything takes an extraordinary amount of time. The power goes out; the internet is slow and unreliable, and life moves at a much different pace. The upside to all of this: the slowness of time makes you appreciate moments, especially with the children. They want to play-and there’s plenty of time to play. A song? No problem, let’s sing many. Hugs—whenever you want one. We’re here for them and it’s nice not to have a watch or to shoo them away or have to hurry things along. That’s the best part so far.

Today, (which started at about 3 a.m. for me—jet lag? A racing mind? Unsettled about why this world is the way it is?? I’ll never really know—lets just say God and I talked for a long time this morning)—we headed to the Layla House for my first official class to teach to the caregivers, about Newborn Care. We sat in the meeting room—a bright blue, welcoming room where about 12 caregivers sat waiting to hear my wisdom about newborn care. (Sidenote—wisdom?? Me?? Newborn?? It’s been a few years. This was very basic—hold the baby, look in the babies eyes—sing songs, diaper rash, ear infections, etc…). At the end of an hour and a half, these women had amazing questions-one was so kind, she held my hand as I tried through a translator to answer them. Another note about Ethiopians—they are very touchy. Men hold hand in the streets—boys always have their arms around each other-and woman hold hands too. They love to hold your hand while they talk to you. I’m not a touchy person, but I loved the way she really seemed to appreciate what we had to say.

After the class, Jennifer and I headed to the Opportunity House to check on the kiddos there. The kids have Downs, cerebral palsy, and many other physical disabilities. They have virtually no stimulation—so we tried to brainstorm ways to interact with them. Most lay in their bed throughout the day, or on a rubber mattress on the floor looking in the mirror at themselves. Here’s what we came up with: beans in bottled water bottles—so when they shake it, they can enjoy the sound. We hurried back to make our makeshift toys, and will deliver them tomorrow. We actually tried out the toys on the toddler group at Layla House, and they loved it.

The afternoon was filled with tutoring, and then Jennifer played a mean game of soccer with the kids from 6 and up. At first they took it easy on her…but then they let her have it when they found out she could actually kick. The massive rainstorm cut the game short, but it was a great bonding experience and fun to watch. I doubt we’ll be able to share pictures—the internet just can’t handle the strain and goes off way too often to finish the connection. It’s more important to us that you continue to pray for this country we’re both growing to love, and of course for the children who live in it too.

We are both healthy, somewhat rested, and look forward to being with the kids tomorrow. We’ll update you then!!