Ethiopia: From St. Joe With LOVE!: April 17- Trees of Glory school --- blog by Matthew Corkins

Welcome to Trees of Glory school!

Mrs. Thornton and Mrs. Bocquin with staff

Mango giveaway

Lunchtime!

Chris, Matthew and Mack

Blog below by Matthew Corkins:

Our day started off with an early rising. We were up at 7:30 so that we could get on the road and be on our way to Trees of Glory. After about two and a half hours, and several stops to pick up groceries for the orphanage, we arrived at Trees of Glory. We pulled into the driveway amidst the singing of all the children. Then, they came up and gave each of us a flower that they picked just for us.

After this, Sam and I went to the market with Sammy, Henok, and a few workers from Trees of Glory to pick up four goats from the market. The market was complete mayhem. There were thousands of people there and many were there to purchase goats for the upcoming Easter holiday. Sam and I can only compare it to a large concert and you are trying to work your way through the crowd and to the front of the stage. I was just happy to have Sammy with us because I knew that no harm could befall us while he was there (btw... Sammy is our 6' 2", 220 lbs translator/bodyguard that towers over every Ethiopian alive). After about an hour of wading through a sea of goats and people, we were finally able to find four goats that had plenty of meat on their bones and came at a reasonable price. We tied their legs up and got them loaded, two on top of the van and two in the backseat, and returned to Trees of Glory.
We arrived to see the children gathered around in the shade of a tree. Kyle, Mack, and Chris were playing with the kids and keeping the entertained. The girls were walking around and playing with the other kids. The goats were taken off and three were tied up together, while one of them was led away for the special dinner that would be provided for us. The guys were all very interested in the plight of this young goat and so, naturally, we all followed. The goat was held down and then they asked who wanted to kill it. I won the honors and proceeded to kill it. More experienced workers took over and skinned the goat.

Then, we handed out the children all of their care packages from their sponsor parents. It was awesome to see their faces light up with joy as they received their gifts and letters in their packages. The next hour or so was filled with the children playing with their new toys. We also took new soccer balls and rubber balls to them. We kicked the soccer ball around for a while and talked to some of the teachers. The girls all found someone that they loved and held them.
Our group was given a short tour of the orphanage and we got to see all of the dormitories. At the end of the tour it began to pour a nice cool, refreshing rain. We got inside and had some goat that they cooked for us. They also made us some amazing coffee for a coffee ceremony. We said goodbye with a group prayer with all of us. A small gift was given to each of us to show the appreciation that the orphanage had for us. For me, this was really touching because it showed the hearts that these people had. Even though we went there to help them and provide for them, they would not let us leave without giving us a gift to help us remember them.
We drove back to the guest house and had some downtime to rest a little. We finished the evening with a nice service to celebrate the Last Supper with each other. We celebrated Jesus' broken body and blood with ritz crackers and water. It was a special time that we spent in thanks for what The Lord has done for us. We went around in a circle and said what each of us was thankful for in each other. We finished by talking about what really touched us throughout the day.
We have only 24 short hours left for our time in Ethiopia, but we plan on making the most of it. Hopefully we will have a good last day and everything will go as planned. Then it will be back to the states.

Matthew Corkins