Ethiopia Stories

Super delayed, but here are more pics & stories from the trip to Ethiopia.  :)  I'll post the last two days this week as well.  

Tuesday, October 5th

Tuesday was our second day of the medical clinic at the Onesimus care center.  As always, the staff was there to greet us bright and early to help us set up.  They let us know that we would have quite a few school children coming from the area over the next few days.  As the kids rolled in, our local assistants and medical staff helped us tremendously again.  With their help, we were able to serve and treat 140+ kids this day. 

We were able to watch the Onesimus kids receive their uniforms and shoes that the James Initiative donors purchased.  We are so grateful to the donors for generously giving towards purchasing a washing machine and 100 school uniforms and shoes for the kids at the center.  We’re also thankful for all the women who used their time and talent to make and donate cute pillowcase dresses for the girls.  These uniforms and shoes are so important to the kids, because in Addis Ababa, the children are required to have a uniform to attend school. 

As the Onesimus staff started to hand out their new uniforms and shoes, we all washed the children’s feet.  It was so touching to watch the staff serving the kids with such humbleness and love.  You can really see how much they love the kids.  After washing their feet, we fitted the kids with their new shoes, and the staff handed out their uniforms.   They were so excited to get their new digs!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nati's happy dance!  :)

During our breaks, we watched a young man (well...my age...) named Solomon do his magic with charcoal and the sidewalk.  His talent was truly amazing.  Zach met Solomon downtown while shooting video, and invited him to join us at the clinic as a volunteer so he could earn a little money & get connected with the care center.  He had such a kind and humble spirit and was so helpful to me over the four days.  He was always ready to do anything that was needed & was such a great translator. I asked him what his goals were & if he wanted to do something with his art.  Solomon said that he would love to get in the Guinness Book of World Records for his talent – drawing a charcoal portrait on the sidewalk with his mouth, feet and hands in record time.  He also dreams of starting his own business of creating & selling paintings on animal hide.  A few of us, as well as Nega, had the opportunity to share Christ with him, and he accepted the Lord this week.   It was so awesome to see God working on Solomon's heart.

After our day at the clinic, we left to go pick up Yosi’s sweet wife and kids on our way to dinner.   When we arrived at their house, we met his dog, “Kevin”.  Love it!  It still makes me laugh.  One day when we get a dog, I think we just might have to name it Kevin.  After we gathered up the whole crew, we went to Arcobaleno for an Italian dinner then back to the guest house to rest up for our next day at the clinic.