So, it's been awhile

It's true. It's been awhile since I've posted. Well, in all honesty, I never really posted much. My dear and incredible friend, Erin, posted pretty much everything on this blog while we were in Ethiopia...

Internet was incredibly iffy in Addis. It was dial up, for one thing. And for another there were a number of factors that would render us dial-tone-less and unable to, well, dial up, at any given moment. For instance, a rainstorm, electricity being out, or you know, just a little wind. I'd be online for two minutes and then suddenly bumped off, unable to get back on for the rest of the day. It was delightful. And embarrassingly difficult to deal with. I felt pretty disconnected with what was happening (some of which were big happenings) around the world with family and friends.

ANYWAY, there would have never been enough consistent internet time to post...so I would email Erin some pictures and a post and bam! it'd be on the blog. So great.

And while we're talking about Erin, we should also talk about how she cleaned our apartment and cleaned out our fridge and pantry! after we left, did laundry for me, emailed me almost daily, prepped and then cleaned before and after sub-leasers came, kept track of our mail, deposited checks, stocked our refrigerator and had the apartment nice 'n tidy when we walked in the door. Oh yes, she (and another dear friend Holly) also had dinner and chocolate chip cookie bars waiting for us.

Those two friends' kindness and attention to detail (and knowing what would mean love to me) brought me to tears when I walked into our home. Really.

So! Technically it's been a SUPER long time since I'VE posted something on here. :) (I do think that's what I was originally saying before I got side tracked with the huge blessing of friends God has given us here in Dallas)

The past two and a half months at home have flown by. At the end of each week I am amazed that it's Sunday night again and I'm sitting at the computer planning the menu and scribbling out the grocery list for another week.

How is Lucy Dawn six months old?

And Josie old enough to be in Cubbies?

To fast track you, here's a little of what's happened:

I got super sick on the flight to Houston from Dubai - as in, no sleeping, fever, uncomfy sick. It was kind of a mid-air nightmare. Thankfully the girls still did fabulous. LD slept at least half the flight in her bassinet and Josie watched 5 movies (at least that's the number she keeps telling people "I watch FIVE movies on the plane!!"). Honestly, she could have watched 10 and I'm not sure I would have minded. It was sort of that kind of flight.
So we were welcomed as a big sick mess by awaiting family. We weren't TOO sick for pappasitos, though. Chips, salsa and fajitas? Never to sick for that.

That first week back was yucky. I only got out of bed to go to the dr. to find out I had a touch of pnemonia and to attend a meeting for work. Jeremiah did everything that week...it was as if he had forgotten me in Africa...I was that absent. Poor guy.

Towards the end of the week I got better (whoo hoo!) and we welcomed one of Josie's best friends (and cousin) to town for a week long dance camp,
as well as nightly family VBS at our church
(we all went and Jeremiah and I, and Grandma for the couple days she was here, were the leaders). Adding another 3 year old to a 750 sq ft apt and small SUV was funny and as you can imagine, busy. The girls had a blast together and I was so thankful we could have a 2nd annual dallas dance camp week.

Grandma drove the girls back to Houston for yet another dance camp the following week! LD and I drove down in the middle of the week to a) celebrate another best friend cousin's 3rd bday and b) to escape the massive construction noises coming from right outside our windows (we are in the midst of a building-wide construction project that produces noise that even the loudest volume on the stereo can't overcome). We drove home to Dallas the next morning and prepped for a building wide event (part of my new job is to plan the building's events). Josie got her new loft bed and has started swimming! (constantly impressing me with her bravery)


The next week we celebrated our 5th anniversary with an overnight stay at a great hotel in Dallas - and Josie got to spend the night with my long time amazing friend Mary Kathryn (and her husband and her dog, which should be noted, because both her husband and her dog helped occupy Josie while she was there!). (we couldn't leave LD because bless her heart, she won't take a bottle - oh dear.)

We picked Josie up from MK's and drove to the lakehouse that weekend to hang out with the fam, where Jeremiah wake-boarded, Josie tubed for the first time (!!!) LD donned a lifejacket for the first time, and Ellie got bit by a spider for the first time that later got infected and then put her out for ANOTHER week. Slightly pathetic, and very painful. It wasn't pretty. I'll leave it at that.




A couple weeks later we made a super painful drive to Houston for our annual family weekend and really enjoyed time with all of my brothers and sisters and nieces and nephew, and of course the ones that started it all, my parents. They had planned a fun weekend of relaxed time in each other's homes, around tables and in front of ipads and football games (it happens). It was fun. But we dreaded the drive back...little LD is not the quiet traveler that Josie was. :) She's lovely indeed, but you better believe she's verbal.

And now Jeremiah's classes and job interviews have started, Josie's AWANA and ballet classes have started (and "homeschool" started...and pretty much stopped...we play better than we do "school"), Ellie's Bible studies have started (and work responsibilities kept going), dr. appointments for Lucy Dawn have started, our marriage small group started, juggling life with one car started, and a calendar full of other things (like LOTS of time outside and fun with friends) started.

Each semester, thus far in seminary, has brought changes. None has looked exactly like another. So that's kind of where we are now. Sorting through the changes that this semester has brought, and figuring out what our "normal" looks like this fall. I'm a big big fan of routine, and bringing a pretty steady rhythm to our days and weeks, so it takes me awhile to adapt to each semester. Feels like we are almost to a steady beat, though. Almost.

Ethiopia is always a constant in our thoughts. As crazy as life has been, it seems like yesterday we were walking the muddy streets of Addis . Convenience of home (and I do mean home as in the U.S. of A., baby) is fantastic, but the taste of what life could be like one day was great too (hard, but great.)...we won't ever forget our time there.

We have some pretty big items we are praying through right now...Lucy Dawn has some odd joint issues which haven't been diagnosed yet but we are seeing specialists about...Josie has initiated quite a few conversations (and prayers) about Jesus and the cross and heaven...Jeremiah is looking for a job and studying Hebrew (among other things but Hebrew is INTENSE)...and I (I was going to say Ellie, but let's be honest about who is writing this) am struggling to not worry and am just kind of tired.

So there you have it. A little fast track...that wasn't so fast since I'm sure it took you a lot longer than "fast" to read it.

I do hope to post more regularly and also post some of my journals from the rest of our time in Ethiopia. There was so much to say it was hard to make it publishable sometimes. Really, there's so much to say that sometimes I can't even verbalize it!

So, not a promise, but here's to hoping I can find some time to type more. (and maybe less at the same time so people can finish an entry in one setting!)

P.S. tons more pictures to post, but blogger isn't letting me right now...will try again later.

July 10, 2010

9:04 AM

It’s a quiet morning here in “our” house – Jeremiah is resting on the couch next to Josie who is sick now too (with what Jeremiah has and maybe an eye infection? Caught from a little friend at VBS – germ sharing, another universal language) and snuggled in a big chair watching a Looney Toons DVD in the dark living rom. All shutters (heavy duty – like hurricane shutters on a beach house) are drawn and it is dark, mellow and cozy.

Set on routine, Lucy woke at 7:30 (have I made them this way or did God?), which answered the question I had at midnight last night – “will I get to sleep in???” – but she is back in bed for a nap now, so I’m here in my pajamas (there’s something very rewarding about still being in my pajamas at 9AM!) at the table listening to some Phil Whickham and sipping some Ethiopian coffee.

Sigh.

It was a crazy week of VBS and the final week of Jeremiah’s class. Praise the Lord that I was able to hire the head nursery worker from IEC to help me this week. Rahel, a single Mama to Samela (2 yrs old) runs the nursery on Sunday mornings, and works during the week for two missionary families watching their children. I have seen her in the nursery loving on the kids when I’ve been in there nursing Lucy on Sundays. She is amazing with the kids, speaks English incredibly well, and I found out that the two families she works for are out of town for a few weeks! So she met us every morning and took care of Lucy during VBS, enabling me to be free to do the bazillion motions to the songs all day long. She would bring Lucy in for the opening and closing ceremonies, so Lucy was able to enjoy the music as well :)

Rahel would help me with the girls and walk to lunch with us then help me get taxis home, and then she made us some tortillas that rival the best you’ve ever tasted in Texas! We made lasagna and banana bread together – one for us, one for her – she was thrilled. I was too.

Having Rahel around this week was such a blessing for me. It was a hectic week with the combination of VBS all morning, crazy taxi rides, long walks between places, late lunches out, late naps and Jeremiah getting home after baths all but one night (that’s Mama talk for, “we barely saw him”), but with her help I didn’t go crazy. :) I don’t think. Our girls LOVED her – she read Josie lots of books and Lucy was always showing off her dimples and big grin when she would talk to her…and she doesn’t do that for just anybody!

She is such a hard working woman, caring for her mother, two brothers and her own child, while loving and caring for other’s children all day long. She has a bright smile on her face and joy in her heart. She became a Christian through IEC when a neighbor invited her to church when she was 10. Immediately afterwards she began helping in the Sunday school classes and eventually became the head nursery worker. Her husband comes from a wealthy Ethiopian family, and they were never happy with him marrying Rahel, from a much lower class. So they put affairs in order and made a way for him to leave her and live in Sweeden. So when she was 7 months pregnant with their child, he said he was going to visit his family, and instead left and never returned. She was left in her last trimester, with no money and now no house, as she had to move out. From what I can gather, this is when she started to nanny. She has also found time at night to go to school (I think an American family sponsored her education for awhile), where she has learned administrative skills. She now rents a room on a compound where her mother and brothers live as well…they all live together, but there isn’t room for Rahel and Samela, so she has to rent herself. Apparently her brothers are drunks and do not contribute to the family. I think she is considering applying to ETC next semester to take a night class…I so hope she does. It costs $150 US for one whole semester of college at ETC, a private Bible college. But when you put that cost into context, it is quite a sacrifice here to pay for Bible school, or any school, instead of, say, buying a stove/oven. (which she does not have) I think my favorite thing about Rahel, was her attitude about her situation. I had to DRAG information from her…she was never trying to sell me a sob story and ask for a hand-out. She is a Godly, single Mama who is working hard to provide the best life possible for her family (extended included). She quickly became my friend, and I so appreciated her company and help this week. I had to beg her to sit and have coffee with me at the table, she was always wanting more things to help me with. Having been a nanny though, I have experienced the difference between a family who includes you and a family that simply employs you. Besides that, I really did enjoy her.

If I could, I would pack Rahel and Samela (her 2 year old daughter) in a bag and carry them on. Since I cannot, we will at least leave her a few mix CDs (nothing says love like a mix tape, er, CD…sorry Hudson!), attend Samela’s 2nd birthday party this Saturday before we board our plane home, and leave as many of Josie’s clothes and shoes (some of which are Lily Baker’s actually – the gift that keeps on giving :)) for her.

I want to give her everything we have.

Jeremiah has reminded me though, that we live month to month and he works at Starbucks and I work too and he is in school as well. Oh yes. How quickly I forget. :) We are so rich in so many things though, a nice apartment and family and opportunity and true freedom and friends and TIME with our children and convenience and access to so much…not to mention a microwave, dishwasher and oven. Ugh, I wish I could give her all of these things.

Anyway, today begins our last week in Ethiopia! :( None of us can believe our time here is coming to a close…

We are overwhelmed with gratitude – without the prayers and generosity of so many of our friends and family, we would have never been able to experience Ethiopia these past 5 weeks. And even though half our family is sick right now, for the bulk of our trip, we have been healthy and able to function at (close to ;) ) 100%! It has been hard, adventurous, exciting, stretching, tiresome, educational, sad, and all at the same time full of fun and joy. We have really loved being here.

All that said, I am on the verge of being very ready to be home.

It is sad to know we only have one week left – sad to know we have to say goodbye to so many sweet people who we have grown to love in such a short time. But it has been a pretty exhausting 5 weeks for me, personally – physically and emotionally – so it will be nice to be home.

But wow, what a great taste, if even a small one, of what life could possibly look like for us one day. Obviously if we were in a more developed country there would be lots of differences, but evenso, a really great taste. We will be chewing on it for a long time, I’m sure. Wow, that was just cheesy. Sorry.

We will head to the Dr. at SIM Headquarters on Monday as we will be over on that side of town anyway having dinner with Tom and Romanda Lunsford and Ernie and Anne Frey. Hopefully we can kick these illnesses soon and have a great last week here – our team will be down in Langano this week, which we have decided to forgo.

Malaria is very prevalent in Langano, and although we’d love to go enjoy more of Ethiopia, and get to see Emily!, we have received plenty of advice, from locals and missionaries both, that have advised us not to take a baby. Thinking about Lucy getting Malaria, maybe even spiking super high fever on our flight home, unable to take any malaria meds (in the air or on the ground, as she is too little), it seemed way too irresponsible to go. Bringing her to Addis was all the risk/faith combo we could handle right now, we decided.

So instead we will have the house to ourselves and a somewhat “free” schedule. Which we are looking forward to both.

We plan to do a little souvenir shopping at Merkato (largest open air market in Africa), Jeremiah will road trip for the day Tuesday with Tom and Erinie to do some very informal theological training in Sodo (outside of Addis), visit A-Hope (HIV-AIDS children's home), Hope Enterprises (NGO reaching those living in great poverty), learn how to cook injera and doro wat at an Ethiopian’s home with Ramond and Anne, have all of the students over this week (half Tues night and half Wed night), and attend Samela’s party on Saturday before we get picked up at 4:30PM to head to the airport.

Okay, I better go…there are snotty noses to be wiped. Haha…I wish I was kidding.

Some of the VBS kids singing

Josie and her new favorite book reader

Lucy loving Rahel

Lucy expressing her discontent with Papa's grading of Doctrinal Statements

Jeremiah fixing the water tank/lack of water situation

Meeting Kefan, a popular Ethiopian Gospel Singer, at a restaurant

Eating Injera with a few of the students...and yes, I have both children on my lap.

July 9, 2010

11:00PM

Whew – girls finally in bed after a looooong day. We have a lot of those here! I think it’s the blessing and the curse of knowing you only have a short time somewhere – you pack things in, because your departure is always right around the corner.

Fridays are our “team days” usually. Class at ETC for rainy season class is M-Thur.

On past Fridays we have spent the day out of the city breathing clean(er) air…we’ve hiked in the Entoto Hills and seen lots of goats, sheep, a jungle of eucalyptus trees and mountain huts, hung out at Bubagaya Retreat Center/Crater Lake all day and hiked out through fields and mud to a really really old tree, and everyone but me and the girls hiked a mountain last week (I can’t remember the name) enjoying some true Ethiopian countryside (while they were gone, the girls and I enjoyed a fun day with Ramonda!) – the Friday dinner meal is reserved for the team as well, so since we had VBS today, we didn’t breathe clean(er) air, but we did take a big breath of relief that the week is drawing to a close.

Jeremiah actually stayed home today, super sick on the couch (this week WAS killer – sinus infection and fever has him out for the count), and went to the nurse at SIM to get some meds this afternoon.

So the girls and I braved VBS on our own today…it’s safe to say the whole fam is wasted.

But it’s Friday so it’s team dinner night…so tonight we had injera with the team at the Anderson’s home, along with two young families who are full-time missionaries in Ethiopia and who are also DTS grads. One couple had a 4 week old baby boy (that she delivered here – C section – bless her!) and the other had a 18 month old boy. It was nice that our children weren’t the only ones making lots of noise at team dinners/meetings. :)

It was a fun dinner with injera and some SPICY duro wat – a mix of onions, chicken, and lots of spice. I hope that we were able to be an encouragement to these two families/new friends.

Our poor girls, though, this has been such a busy week that I’m sure they will soon come down with the full-on yuck that Jeremiah has :(

At least it’s at the end of our trip and not the beginning! And how amazing is it that for the entire trip Josie has had ZERO breathing issues?!? Thank you to any and all of you that were praying for her about that! We were just commenting tonight on how incredible it is, especially considering the high altitude and polluted air here, that Josie’s lungs have held up so well. We are so thankful!!

Eating lunch at one of our favorite places - overlooking Sarbet roundabout - the roundabout where we get dropped off by taxi's when we we go to church/school.

Josie's way of passing time in Papa's class - chewing every piece of gum in the pack.

Sitting in Jeremiah's class again...a little theology, a little Josie.

Jeremiah's day of hiking with the team in the country off Jima Road (Road to Lunsford's old home - Aromo).

Horrible picture of Ellie, but hilarious of Josie...a 4th of July Ethiopian style with Injera and SO MUCH FOOD.

Josie exhausted on July 4th. Church, no nap, big lunch at someone's house, soaked with rain on our walk home, early bath and pj's on..."rest time" at 4PM, reading in bed turned into this 10 minutes later. Poor baby. Lights out.

Rahel, one of our new favorite Ethiopians, who Lucy smiles and laughs with while Mama and Papa make fools of themselves singing and dancing and Josie enjoys VBS.

Josie's best buddy here, Lydia - ETC's Dean of Student's youngest daughter.

Jeremiah and our VBS music leaders practicing.

Girls in Josie's VBS group following her around...very typical here...the American is the Pied Piper.

July 6, 2010 8:30PM

Whew, obviously it has been awhile. I have written so much in my head

– jotted down notes of rememberance here and there.

But overall, what I’ve said before is just ringing truer and truer.

It’s all just too much.

Really. The poverty and devastation is just too much – my heart and

even my brain can’t process it all. Maybe enough to function and “take

in” life here, but not nearly enough to process it and then put it on

paper.

There aren’t any words. Which is why pictures have been my method of

communication these past few weeks.

(Plus I have this horrible blogging disease – where I lose my filter –

I start typing and say more than I maybe should. This is the number

one reason the old blog went buh-bye. Hard to write but not write.

Hard to say but not say. I am more of a verbal vomitter when it comes

to blogging. Ha…just what everyone should read!)

I feel like Josie is in much of the same place as me. When I try to

fish for information to see what SHE is processing and taking in, I

ask things like “what do you like about Ethiopia?” or “does Ethiopia

look like Dallas?” and she says things like “church” and “yes”…and

that’s it. Haha I see it in her eyes as we are out and about – she is

taking so much in. I asuume, though, that she and I are processing at

about the same speed right now…super super slow.

Yesterday began our week long Vacation Bible School at International

Evangelical Church (IEC). Our team is heading up the weeklong program

for 4 year olds through 12 year olds. We have about 80 kids coming,

and Jeremiah and I are in charge of all the music. David and T, two

Ethiopian college guys are helping.

It is hilarious.

We are using a VBS curriculum that has solidified my belief that my

mom should copyright and sell all the original curriculums she has

written…these songs and stories and skits are killing me.

Curriculum!!!

But that’s okay. The kids are enjoying their days and we are cracking

up while doing a motion (from the curriculum) for almost every word of

every song. To watch these kids try to keep up with this many motions

is so funny! To watch us is probably even funnier.

So yesterday and today started reasonably early…as we have to be at

the church by 8:30…we live about 30 minutes away from the church…break

that down into a 10 minute walk to the taxi stop/underpass Tur High

Loch and about 10 minutes of standing in the mud, haggling with

contract taxis, OR waiting for a mini bus then about a 10 to 15

minutes ride in the vehicle you piled yourself and your children and

your backpack and your laptop into.

I can’t quite put my finger on what makes getting ready and out the

door with two kids early in the morning harder in Ethiopia…to be

honest, before we boarded that plane out of the US, I hadn’t mastered

this small feat in Dallas. Figuring out getting myself ready, getting

a 3 year old fed, ready, and occupied while feeding and getting ready

an infant before 10AM was still pretty daunting. That reads so

pathetic. But it should read very true. At least for me.

Anyway, so getting up and ready and out the door to catch a taxi to

VBS these past two days has been a little eventful. But so far we’ve

made it.

It’s 8:30PM now and Jeremiah is still at the church/school. Poor guy!

He will pull two 12 hour days this week. VBS from 8:30-Noon, teaching

his class from 2-4:45PM and then two days this week (same as every

week) leading a discussion group for Dr. Andersons class from

5:00PM-7:45PM…taxis at night seem to be crammed and take much longer

to catch, so he will probably not be home until 9:30 or so. KILLER!

To pass the time alone, I am watching Aljazeera news. Now there’s

something I’ve never said before! (I won’t have to watch long, though,

because the World Cup semi final starts soon!! Go Netherlands! ☺ )

June 29, 2010

10:00PM

Wow.

Today we met a hero.

Really really amazing.

We went on a tour of the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital today, and we

met and got to visit with Dr. Catherine Hamlin.

I can’t think of any words in my vocabulary to adequately describe

this woman and the impact she is making in Ethiopia.

She has been called a “new Mother Theresa of our age” by the New York

Times. Oprah has interviewed her and given money for a building on the

grounds. She knows the Queen.

I was speechless meeting her. I mumbled out, “it is such an honor to

meet you”, but just as soon as I got those words out, tears found

their way onto my cheeks and I was done for.

Truly amazing. I am still stunned that we got to speak with this very

normal and yet extraordinary woman.

I have stored away all that we saw and heard about at the Fistula

Hospital, and I will revisit it all often in my head and heart, I’m

sure. My sensitivities were for sure heightened as I walked the

hospital grounds wearing my own little Lucy Dawn.

This is an issue that breaks my heart. Women, some very very young

women going into labor days away from a hospital. Their bodies needing

assistance in delivery, so they labor for days…the baby dies in the

birth canal and causes great damage to the Mama’s body…she is left

(among many things) broken hearted, and an outcast, because now she

constantly leaks urine and/or feces.

Women come from ALL over to get surgery to fix this situation at the

Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital that Dr. Hamlin founded and continues to

operate at. (side note – she is EIGHTY SIX!!!) Fathers and brothers

literally carry their broken hearted, hurting, smelly and frail

daughters and sisters for days to bring them to the hospital.

Not one is turned away.

These women wait on the grounds in front of the hospital until they

are admitted and examined before getting a bed and having their

surgery scheduled.

As we walked up to the office for our tour, we passed dozens of women,

wrapped in blankets, face downcast, and wet cement and puddles under

them all.

It’s too much.

But wow. To meet a woman who is doing so much to heal. Not just these

women, but the way the hospital cares and educates truly is changing

Ethiopia.

I still can’t believe we met her. We’ll have to be sure to have Lucy

read her autobiography someday since her hand was kissed by Dr.

Hamlin. ☺ If you haven’t read it, I cannot recommend any higher her

book, The Hospital By The River. You will not regret reading it,

educating yourself and finding a way to be involved in what God is

doing through Dr. Hamlin and her hospital.

P.S. The other thing worth noting from today is that a large light

fixture fell in the kitchen. Josie and I were making pizza dough and

Lucy was laying on a blanket on the floor. I layed Lucy down for a nap

in her bed, and when I came back to the kitchen Josie was playing with

her princesses next to Lucy’s blanket. I asked her to help me again

with the dough, so she came to the other side of the kitchen and as

she helped me stir, the light fixture went CRASH on the floor. She

screamed, and cried. I was stunned. Her princesses were covered in

glass, little tiny pieces were on Lucy’s blanket. But no one was hurt.

Just in the knick of time. Thank you Lord. And can I just say what in

the world is my problem with being overseas and lightbulbs breaking?!

June 24, 2010

Heather, Lucy and I spent the morning exploring an area of town called

“Bole” (Bow-lay) – a long stretch of road leading to the airport.

Supposedly this is a wealthier, newer area of town. We have heard lots

of people talk about Bole, so we decided to check it out for

ourselves.

We met and had a macchiato at Kaldi’s and then walked and walked and

walked. Most impressive, was a public trash can! I can’t say there was

any trash IN it, but it was the first public trash can I’ve seen!

Three children were our shadows for about six blocks, even waiting for

us while we went inside a shop.

Begging is fine with me – being pushy is another thing.

We had given them biscuits as well as coins, and they continued to

follow us…and then one of the boys unzipped the front pocket of my

backpack and that was enough.

We asked an adult to ask them to stop following us. It made me sad,

but it was the only way. I hated it though.

After our adventures on Bole Road, we went to the Deborah House, which

is an SIM run home for a handful of homeless girls to grow up in.

It’s located “near” (a relative term here) the guesthouse.

It was a very simple house, with a housemother and 12 teenage girls

making it their home. Iron bunk beds, two picnic tables, outside

toilets and “showers”, no decorations, one tv and a corner designated

for the traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony.

The girls loved my two girls and through broken English they had a blast.

It could be very detrimental how nuts everyone here is over Josie.

They go nuts over Lucy too, but she’s a little young for it to make

too much of an impact. ☺

I wasn’t paying close attention to the time, so we left a little later

than I had planned. And since we were gone all day, we had to figure

something out fast for dinner. Darn. Where’s Chick Fil A when you need

it? We walked awhile and the sun was starting to go downwards so we

quickly made our way into Loyal, the grocery store/restaurant we

shopped at while living at the guesthouse, and ordered two Fantas to

sip while we waited for our pizza “take away”…hmm…”pizza” should be in

quotes too!

As Josie downed her Fanta and the power went out, I looked outside and

saw the rain POUND down on the pavement. Hmmm, getting dark, two small

pizza boxes, two small children no cell phone, husband in class and

pouring rain.

After a quick pep talk trying to hype myself up for what was sure to

be a lovely walk to find a taxi, we did just that. And we found a taxi

that drove us all the way to our house gate.

Ahhh….long, good day. Glad to be home, glad to have the girls in bed,

glad Jeremiah will be home soon to eat “pizza” and very glad to be in

dry clothes.

(pictures sent 7/1)

A new friend made on our hot 3 mile hike through fields and hills and green green grass in Debrazeit (sp?) - by Lake Bubagaya.

Papa and Josie appreciating the view from a 2,000+ year old tree. SO huge and SO old.

Josie enjoying a splash with Julie in Bubagaya Crater Lake (Josie stayed in the closed-in "pool" part). Papa swam in the 75+ feet deep Crater Lake. YIKES!

Mama not even contemplating getting into that water :) Trying to soothe a baby's aching tummy instead.

Josie playing "King of the Sword!" (??) on the multitude of steps at SIM's retreat center on Lake Bubabgaya

Jeremiah, happy to use his knife, making a spear out of bamboo to get some fish. It was a good thought.

Contract Taxi Ride. Pretty sure we've got a thumb-sucker on our hands. AH!!!

Josie barefoot and out the backdoor cleaning, making soup, and missing her cousins who she knows would LOVE this life.

Jeremiah, Mary, Tommy (L-R) passing our "neighbors" homes and walking the 10 minute trek to Tur High Loch, the underpass where we pick up mini-bus taxis.

Josie tree-hugging the lone tree in the front yard while she waited for the turtle (which we found out in Amharic...EEllie=turtle. Awesome.)

Making Pizza Dough (please note solution to always holding Lucy)

The near-miss disaster. Light fixture out of no where just fell from the ceiling (what is my deal with light bulbs?!) Thanking God that Lucy had just been laid down for a nap and Josie had left her princess play to come back to making pizza dough. Princess Belle was not so lucky. Mama was a little shaken up. Tiny pieces of glass all over Lucy's blanket. Literally fell right where Josie was playing 2 minutes before.

Lucy's method of transportation - the Beco. A happy Beco Baby, though. Cooing and laughing and raising eyebrows in expression all the time.

Teacher Jeremiah discussing Old Testament Sacrifices and Jesus' sacrifice with a student on a break to grab coffee before class resumed. (note the massive puddles...rainy season...Mama and Lucy got SOAKED walking to class)

Survey of Bible Doctrine class. Jeremiah teaching the Doctrine of Salvation.

All of Jeremiah's students. For many, this is their very first college course. They love him! (and they loved meeting Lucy too!) They all have offered him a full time position as their teacher. :)

A little debriefing after class.

Sisters spending a good morning hour playing and reading in Josie's bed.

Jeremiah prepping for class in the office out by the laundry room

Josie loving rainy season.

June 21,2010

Yesterday we moved into “our” house! Technically we moved in last

night, although the move started after church.

We left the gusthouse with gusto…it is a really great place, just not

that appealing for a family with two small children…so we were pumped

to move into our new house.

The house is on the opposite side of town from the guesthouse, so we

will have to learn new mini bus stops, among other new things.

So we drove down a bunch of confusing side-streets and finally

entered our gate and pulled into the drive. We quickly unloaded our

bazillion bags (between Tommy, Mary and us I think we had 10 or so)

and went to get the key from the “next door neighbor” (this is called

a neighborhood, but all houses are hidden behind big cinder block

walls topped with barbed wire and locked aluminum gates, so “next door

neighbor” seems a little too friendly).

That’s when the day got interesting …

The people we are renting from were somewhere in the air on their way

to Canada for 4 months, and the keys to the house were no where to be

found.

The daily rain had started and we found ourselves under awnings and

rationing fruit snacks for Josie to pass the time and stay dry.

After two hours of waiting and the guys all trying to track down the

keys (knocking on neighbors gates, calling the guards, the

houseworker, etc), we finally got a key.

But the key wasn’t our ticket inside. Vic and Jeremiah drove all the

way across town to meet the houseworker to borrow her key, and then

drove all the way back only to discover the keys wouldn’t open the

doors.

Whhhhhhhhhhhhyyyyyy?????

Pouring Rain.

Locked Outside.

Darkness.

Our laughing gradually faded into frustration.

We were all thrilled and pretty tired when Tefsa, the head guard,

walked through the gate jingling a set of keys. Turns out, he was

expecting us on Saturday night, not Sunday afternoon…ah, how simple it

would have been if we would have had cell phones to text.

Solutions to problems in Ethiopia are a looooong process. This is not

your typical microwave-I-want-it-I-get-it America, that’s for sure.

We drug ourselves, our children (in our case at least) and our luggage

inside and with all of the excitement of having our own space, we

pretty much forgot about the hassle of just getting through the door.

Tesfa, the head guard, has two extra thumbs, and is very smart. He has

a business degree, but because of his extra thumbs, he cannot find

work. Isn’t that awful? Ugh, it is so frustrating to me the way people

with the most minute differences are shunned here. They are given a

limit.

I know too many people with differences and disabilities that are

making beautiful contributions to those around them and constantly

exceeding the limitations that their situations bring. Seeing that

Tesfa just has two extra thumbs, but no chance to succeed here is kind

of infuriating.

Not only that, but he is kind and really thoughtful.

Tonight was a long night. And about an hour after we finally got

inside, Tesfa knocked on the door offering to go get groceries for us.

He felt so badly that we were locked out of the house for so long. It

was so sweet of him to offer and I quickly wrote down a list so we

could have some bread for dinner and at least eggs for breakfast

tomorrow. Oh, and a couple Fantas…Josie’s Ethiopian beverage of choice

(she’s NEVER had this much soda…EVER!!! But when you can’t drink water

everywhere and the camelbak is empty, you drink Fanta. Then you brush

your teeth. A lot.)

So he walked to the store for me, and an hour later, we had bread,

bananas, water, eggs and Fanta! We were set!

Ah…it’s nice to be (in a) home.

I’m yawning though, that’s for sure. Ready to hit the sack fast.

June 20, 2010

Last night we went to a “forengi friendly” restaurant called Island

Breeze in an area of town called Piassa. Jeremiah had heard they made

pizza that actually tastes like the kind of pizza we eat at home.

Aaaaaand, since he is currently going through self-diagnosed pizza

withdrawals, we piled into a mini bus and set out to heal his ache.

The mini bus let us out a bit early, so we had to walk maybe a quarter

mile to the restaurant.

On our walk, we passed two small children on beggar’s mats, counting change.

I have a very hard time not giving to the beggars. On a quick 5 minute

walk between a mini bus drop off and a mini bus pick up, it’s typical

to pass maybe 25 or more beggars on mats on both sides of the

sidewalk. Some are amputees, some living with deformed limbs, some

blind, some laying under blankets next to very small children, some

very small children themselves, some just average looking people

begging.

I think I’ve said before that often while we are on the streets, my

eyes and attention are predominately downward. As in, on Josie, and on

the ground my feet (that I cant really see) are stepping on. So while

Jeremiah is looking upwards leading us, seeing billboards and stop

lights and buildings, I’m seeing beggar after beggar down on the

ground.

So back to the two little kids we saw tonight.

They were making stacks of coins on their mats, and since it was the

end of the day, I figured they were counting up their days “earnings”.

They weren’t begging, directly, but it was clear that they were

beggars by the position of their mats, the clothes on their backs, and

the dirt on their faces.

So, I gave them each some money.

I thought I gave them each 1Birr, which is 1/13 of a US dollar,

basically, but much more than a coin’s worth. Instead, I gave the boy

1Birr and accidentally gave the girl 5Birr. BIG deal.

Her eyes got wide and I realized what I did, but no matter – I smiled

and kept walking. I was happy to give, especially because they weren’t

pushy or rude…I did glance over my shoulder though, and I watched her

run very quickly to a man nearby and eagerly hand him the bill. He

took it, added it to a wad in his hand, and shoved them all into his

pocket. She then ran back to her mat to continue counting.

My heart sunk. And scenes from Slumdog Millionare and August Rush

flashed through my mind.

He was her bookie. Or often referred to as her pimp.

I was had.

It sickened me to watch a scene like that play out right before me. I

tried not to let my mind completely wander with her life’s

hypothetical scenarios, but it was hard.

Would she get more bread tonight because she earned an extra 5Birr?

Would she escape abuse tonight because of her extra addition to the

man’s end-of-day-tally? Would she see any of that money?

Another virus, another face to go with it.

I cried for the rest of the walk. I think the past two weeks have

caught up with me. I kept saying to Jeremiah, “It’s just too much.

It’s too much”.

And it really is. It is too too much for us.

Not for Him, but for us.

I told Jeremiah over dinner (which he very much enjoyed – fire baked

pizza rivaling Fireside Pies, maybe? Mmmm maybe not.) that if we ever

live in Ethiopia, I would hands down HAVE to be involved in helping

the children here. It is obvious so many, maybe even most, live in

captivity.

Captivity of all kinds – one of which is just the cyclical pattern

they are thrust into. There is great need for a total re-education of

what life can be like…that it doesn’t have to be the same as mom’s or

dad’s or grandma’s or grandpa’s. There is freedom to be had. There is

unique giftedness that is being wasted. There are little hands that

were made for specific things. Instead lots of those hands are

extended on the side of the road begging.

I tried to sort through my thoughts at dinner, but it really was and

is “too much”.

I understand, though, why on the whole “global social justice” is on

the top of most Christian college students’ interests.

It has been a long time since I’ve been to a third world country. And

before this trip, my short term trips (excluding Ukraine) were well

organized group trips. Which essentially means there was a well placed

buffer of familiarity. Understandable for highschoolers, I guess, but

I’m not so sure anymore.

This trip is different. This trip is in your face. Ethiopia up close

and personal. It may be just for six weeks. But we really live here.

We grocery shop (that’s interesting – and expensive!), we cook (often

without electricity), we walk the muddy streets, we get wet in the

rain, we try to catch the mini buses (and get booted out of line by

over eager and slightly rude individuals), we use dial up, etc etc. No

one is trying to make it easier. No one is holding our hand as we take

baby steps.

We are really here. And for the most part, without a buffer.

It is helping me to really SEE where we are, and although it is too

much for me, it’s very beneficial.

All that to say, my heart is once again heavy as I get ready to lay my

head down on a comfy pillow placed neatly on a big bed sitting pretty

in an enclosed home surrounded by a secure fence and gate in Ethiopia.

(pictures sent 6/24)

Josie lost in translation about to play tag between services at church

After being held (basically) for 2 weeks straight, we are working on a solution...this one is not a winner.

The first batch of laundry on the clothesline...burp cloths of course.

What helps Ellie sleep at night. Our gate. (and guards quarters on far right)

Our kitchen.

Jeremiah grading his student's first papers in the dining room.

Josie enjoying the tv (and dvds) in the living room.

Eating next to Samone, a friend of our next door neighbors in Dallas!

Appreciation Injera Lunch for Rainy Season ETC teachers...Josie being delightful :)

Waiting for the Cheesy Lentil Bake to well, bake. Too bad the oven has no legible settings. That was fun.

Happy (late) Father's Day to Papa! (had to wait for the sports shop to get the water bottle in to give it!)

Josie feeding our house's pet turtle that lives in the red bushes and comes out every once in awhile for a tomato.

USA! USA! Josie jumping for joy right after we scored! YES!

Enjoying a late night snack of the tortillas Mama made dipped in honey that Mama did not make.

Jeremiah is making me send this picture of his dinner. hahahahahaha I think we miss Chuy's :)