Wednesday, March 20, 2013

ethiopia {weds and thurs}

Get ready for a lot of pictures because we did A LOT after our visit with Evie on Weds and then on Thursday. These were our last two full days in Ethiopia and we fit in as much as we could!

The Lion of Judah is a big symbol in Ethiopia (our Judah thought that was cool). I couldn't get the front of this one but this is the back of a large Lion of Judah statue.

Mmmmm....more buna (coffee). It's sooooo good!

This is our driver, Yoftahe. He was fantastic!

After lunch and coffee, we went to the National Museum of Ethiopia. This is Elijah with a replica of "Lucy". If you don't know about Lucy, look it up! She is very famous in Ethiopia!

One of the past Emperor's HUGE throne. Apparently he was a tiny little man!

 More Lion of Judah items in the museum. It's everywhere!

A beautiful antique Ethiopian painting. It's the size of an entire wall in case you can't tell.

Then we enjoyed lunch at the Lucy Restaurant outside the museum.

 Jason checking out his Ethiopian beer.

After that it was on to the Lion Zoo. This is not like your typical American zoo. You can get REALLY close to the lions...yikes.




These are some scenes as we headed up Entoto Mountain.

Here you see these women carrying hundreds of pounds of sticks on their backs. They carry them down the mountain daily to make money. It is very hard work....I could not do it. We bought some scarves from Connected in Hope to help benefit these women.

At the top of Mt. Entoto was a museum, church and Emperor's house. Our tour guide was great and insisted on taking pictures for us.


This is the old home of the Emperor that founded Addis Ababa.


The roof was made of beautiful stick work.


The tour guide really loved Elijah and wanted his picture with him.

The view of Addis going down Entoto Mountain. Addis is already at a high altitude so being that high PLUS up a mountain really takes its toll on your lungs!


We bought some oregano from this sweet woman on the way down. This is how most women carry their babies in Ethiopia. She was so sweet to let us take her picture.

Some scenes from the countryside. Beautiful country.


This is not a good picture of this, but this is part of the city dump. You see many many people searching through the trash for food and I believe some people live in it.

As we were driving we just happened to see a place called "Meaza Cafe & Restaurant" so of course we had Yoftahe circle around so we could get a picture!

You see a lot of animals in the middle of the road everywhere you go.

On Thursday afternoon we toured three government orphanages - Kebebe Tsehai, Kechene and Kolfe. It was SO heartbreaking to see so many children without families. These people are doing the best they can but they just don't have the resources or manpower to take adequate care of all of the children, so many of them lay in a crib all day long. There are rows and rows of babies and most don't even cry because they know no one will pick them up. I held one precious little girl who was so sad when I had to put her down. It was probably the most attention she's had in a long time. The older children at Kechene and Kolfe were so beautiful and kind. The boys led us around their campus proudly, taking our hands and showing us where they live. It was one of the most beautiful experiences of my life. 

We were not allowed to take pictures inside of the orphanages but this is the outside of Kebebe Tsehai where Evie spent her first month. It was surreal and sad to see the room where she laid for one month before being transferred to Hilawe. God was looking out for her by having her moved...we are so thankful she has spent the majority of her life at Hilawe.


 Just a little side note, but I HAVE to say it after being there and seeing what I saw. I have to advocate for these precious children. YES the process is hard, YES the process is long and YES it is expensive, but there are SO many children without families all over the world. It is not right...children were not made to grow up in institutions and it has horrific effects on them to do so. Sure there are other ways to care for orphans but who in the world is going to provide homes for all of these babies if not US? I read this quote the other day and it has just stuck in my mind ever since..."If God is father to the fatherless, and the Church is the Bride of Christ, and we are not caring for the orphan, then we are making God out to be a deadbeat dad." OUCH. You do not have to have a big revelation to know if God is calling you to adopt. If you have room in your heart for more children and you read your Bible then you already know that you are called to do SOMETHING. If you have questions about adoption, PLEASE ask me...I would love to answer or find an answer for you! Okay...off soap box. :-)

 The night before we left Ethiopia, we attended a cultural dinner with some Gladney staff and families. It included traditional dancing and was a lot of fun! Jason with some honey wine...
 



From left to right...us, the Janson's (who were bringing their son home on this trip), the Oettinger's (who passed court with us), Dereje (Gladney director) and our drive Yoftahe.

I also want to add a note about a woman we met named Ruth. I wish I had gotten a picture with her. She was staying at the same guest house we were and is 88 years old. She is an American but she travels all over the world spreading the Good News and caring for the poor and orphans. She was an inspiration to me and I loved hearing all about her travels to over 25 countries. She is in Ethiopia for 3 months and I was just amazed by her. She really loved talking with Elijah. I could not believe that she was that old and still traveling everywhere all by herself! Something to strive for, for sure!

1 comment:

Ryane said...

So glad you were able to visit our compound! Thanks!

www.connectedinhope.org