Sunday, August 15, 2010
Picture Video
Here's a video that I made with pictures that I got from others on my trip. I showed this at my church when I talked about the trip. I hope that you can see a little bit what the area was like even though most of them aren't my own pictures.
Monday, August 9, 2010
Back Home!
Hello Again,
I'm back home after a VERY long traveling experience. We were in airports for about 33 hours so that wasn't too fun. The short plane ride from Chicago to Des Moines was very welcomed-we pretty much got in the air and then we landed. We were all so ready to be home by this point. Your prayers for safe travels were very much appreciated going to Ethiopia and back was very smooth so God definitely answered prayers. We got through customs, immigration, and security very quickly and easily.
The last week was great and also allowed for some time for relaxing and reflecting on our experience. Last Monday (2nd) was the last day at our worksites. It was a bittersweet time: fun to be with the kids for one last whole day, but very sad to leave. We played with the younger kids in the morning and helped them paint in coloring books then played a lot of games. In the afternoon we wrote each of the older kids (there are 25 of them) a note and so they read those and each got a piece of gum. Then some of them wrote us notes and so that was nice to see that they appreciated us and truly liked us. Then we played outside and talked with all of the kids before they had a program for us. They had a traditional coffee ceremony and the staff thanked us for coming and spending a month with us. Then we each said thank you to the staff and kids and told them that we would miss them all. They gave us each a gift of a shirt. It was amazing to see how God used the 3 of us to share His love with all of the children and how in return we saw His love through the children. It was very hard to leave the kids as we said our last goodbyes and got tons of hugs and kisses. When we all left the gate we were in tears. I would love to go back to KVI in the future if it is part of God's plan for me because I really fell in love with the kids and staff.
On Tuesday I went to my roommates home and spent the night. It was great to meet her family and friends. They were all very nice and welcoming and I had a great time at her home. Many of her friends spoke English so it was nice to talk to them and I think they enjoyed talking to me and getting to practice speaking in English to me. On Wednesday morning we visited the Compassion site where Dagi went as a child. I'm not sure if I've mentioned before, but my roommate Dagi was sponsored by Compassion. It was great to see that Compassion actually works and the money that is spent actually goes to the children. Being a Compassion child is where she learned about God and Jesus and how she became a Christian. I was able to meet the director of that Compassion site as well as other staff and children that were there. I sat in on a Bible class while I was there. Also one of the worksites was a different Compassion site and the Ethiopian that were at that site were asked to translate letters. We were then able to read the letters one night before they were translated. I would encourage anyone to sponsor a child because it really does make a difference in that child's life. It was awesome to see it in action!
After the homestay we headed to a nearby town called Debra Zeit and stayed at guest house there for our debrief time. It was beautiful-right on a lake and the scenery was amazing. While they were did a lot of reflecting on the trip and what God did while we were in Ethiopia. We also got to relax and have a lot of free time away from the crazyness of the city and spend a couple of last days with our roommates. Then we also talked about adjusting to life in the US and back home. As I was reflecting on my experience of the month I realized a lot of what I had learned and what God showed me during my month in Ethiopia. I learned so much more about God's love. His love for me and His love for creation. I'm sure you could probably tell in a lot of my blog posts. I think I really realized during this trip how much He loves me no matter what I do. I also think I realized a lot more what I want to do with my pharmacy degree. I've always thought about doing missions or something after I graduate and help people with getting medications and I think that is still the case. I really want to serve those people that are underserved. I'm not sure if that will be in the US or in another country, but I want to really work with the poor people of this world to show them how much they are loved and cared for.
Now that I am home and unpacked I cannot find my digital camera. I'm not sure if I left it in Ethiopia or if it's somewhere in my house, and got stuck with something that I put away, but I don't know where it is. Therefore I don't have pictures to post at this moment. Hopefully I will find it and then can post some pictures for you of my time. I also took some pics on a disposable camera which I have so when I get them developed and scanned on the computer I will put them up on the blog. I can also post other people from the trips pictures when they put them online.
Thanks again for your support and prayers and I'll update again later with pictures hopefully and anything else that I've been processing and want to tell you!
I'm back home after a VERY long traveling experience. We were in airports for about 33 hours so that wasn't too fun. The short plane ride from Chicago to Des Moines was very welcomed-we pretty much got in the air and then we landed. We were all so ready to be home by this point. Your prayers for safe travels were very much appreciated going to Ethiopia and back was very smooth so God definitely answered prayers. We got through customs, immigration, and security very quickly and easily.
The last week was great and also allowed for some time for relaxing and reflecting on our experience. Last Monday (2nd) was the last day at our worksites. It was a bittersweet time: fun to be with the kids for one last whole day, but very sad to leave. We played with the younger kids in the morning and helped them paint in coloring books then played a lot of games. In the afternoon we wrote each of the older kids (there are 25 of them) a note and so they read those and each got a piece of gum. Then some of them wrote us notes and so that was nice to see that they appreciated us and truly liked us. Then we played outside and talked with all of the kids before they had a program for us. They had a traditional coffee ceremony and the staff thanked us for coming and spending a month with us. Then we each said thank you to the staff and kids and told them that we would miss them all. They gave us each a gift of a shirt. It was amazing to see how God used the 3 of us to share His love with all of the children and how in return we saw His love through the children. It was very hard to leave the kids as we said our last goodbyes and got tons of hugs and kisses. When we all left the gate we were in tears. I would love to go back to KVI in the future if it is part of God's plan for me because I really fell in love with the kids and staff.
On Tuesday I went to my roommates home and spent the night. It was great to meet her family and friends. They were all very nice and welcoming and I had a great time at her home. Many of her friends spoke English so it was nice to talk to them and I think they enjoyed talking to me and getting to practice speaking in English to me. On Wednesday morning we visited the Compassion site where Dagi went as a child. I'm not sure if I've mentioned before, but my roommate Dagi was sponsored by Compassion. It was great to see that Compassion actually works and the money that is spent actually goes to the children. Being a Compassion child is where she learned about God and Jesus and how she became a Christian. I was able to meet the director of that Compassion site as well as other staff and children that were there. I sat in on a Bible class while I was there. Also one of the worksites was a different Compassion site and the Ethiopian that were at that site were asked to translate letters. We were then able to read the letters one night before they were translated. I would encourage anyone to sponsor a child because it really does make a difference in that child's life. It was awesome to see it in action!
After the homestay we headed to a nearby town called Debra Zeit and stayed at guest house there for our debrief time. It was beautiful-right on a lake and the scenery was amazing. While they were did a lot of reflecting on the trip and what God did while we were in Ethiopia. We also got to relax and have a lot of free time away from the crazyness of the city and spend a couple of last days with our roommates. Then we also talked about adjusting to life in the US and back home. As I was reflecting on my experience of the month I realized a lot of what I had learned and what God showed me during my month in Ethiopia. I learned so much more about God's love. His love for me and His love for creation. I'm sure you could probably tell in a lot of my blog posts. I think I really realized during this trip how much He loves me no matter what I do. I also think I realized a lot more what I want to do with my pharmacy degree. I've always thought about doing missions or something after I graduate and help people with getting medications and I think that is still the case. I really want to serve those people that are underserved. I'm not sure if that will be in the US or in another country, but I want to really work with the poor people of this world to show them how much they are loved and cared for.
Now that I am home and unpacked I cannot find my digital camera. I'm not sure if I left it in Ethiopia or if it's somewhere in my house, and got stuck with something that I put away, but I don't know where it is. Therefore I don't have pictures to post at this moment. Hopefully I will find it and then can post some pictures for you of my time. I also took some pics on a disposable camera which I have so when I get them developed and scanned on the computer I will put them up on the blog. I can also post other people from the trips pictures when they put them online.
Thanks again for your support and prayers and I'll update again later with pictures hopefully and anything else that I've been processing and want to tell you!
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Last Update from Ethiopia
Hey everyone. This will be my last time on the Internet while I'm in Ethiopia. It's crazy how fast the past 3 weeks have gone and that I only have one week left. There is so much to update you all on and I don't have a ton of time so it'll be kind of short, but I'll make sure to update you on everything when I get back to the states and have time.
I went to one of the Ethiopian students houses last weekend and we made traditional food. It was a lot of fun to make and tasted much better than the food that we eat where we live. I'm still not really a fan, but it was better. This coming Tues. we are all going to our roommates houses to spend the night so I'm excited for that. It will be very interesting to see where my roommate lives and to meet her family.
I'm still in love with my worksite. It really makes me wish I was able to adopt kids right now. They are all so loving and many of them have had hard lives before coming to the orphanage. It is nice to know that they are living in this orphanage that is so nice and much better than living on the street, which is where many of them lived before. Our last day at our worksite is Monday and I'm not looking forward to saying goodbye to all of the children. On Friday I gave the younger kids the beanie babies that I brought and they had a lot of fun playing with them.
Other things that we did this week included: going to a healing service, evangelizing on the street, more shopping, and going to a fistula hospital. The fistula hospital that we went to was amazing. They take in any woman who has a fistula and pay for the transportation to the hospital, the surgery to repair, and the rehab after the surgery. They also teach the women skills so they can be independent. They learn how to make baskets, blankets, and other crafts. We also had the opportunity to buy some of their crafts and the money goes to the person that made it. It was an incredible place that was started by an Australian couple in the 1970s. The husband has since died, but the wife is 86 years old and is still practicing surgery. We've met so many people that have had a vision for something and dropped everything to complete it. Very inspirational.
This week we'll go to church, have our last day at our worksites, have our home stays, and then have our debrief at nearby town of Debra Zeit. Thank you all for your support and prayers. I really appreciate them all!
I went to one of the Ethiopian students houses last weekend and we made traditional food. It was a lot of fun to make and tasted much better than the food that we eat where we live. I'm still not really a fan, but it was better. This coming Tues. we are all going to our roommates houses to spend the night so I'm excited for that. It will be very interesting to see where my roommate lives and to meet her family.
I'm still in love with my worksite. It really makes me wish I was able to adopt kids right now. They are all so loving and many of them have had hard lives before coming to the orphanage. It is nice to know that they are living in this orphanage that is so nice and much better than living on the street, which is where many of them lived before. Our last day at our worksite is Monday and I'm not looking forward to saying goodbye to all of the children. On Friday I gave the younger kids the beanie babies that I brought and they had a lot of fun playing with them.
Other things that we did this week included: going to a healing service, evangelizing on the street, more shopping, and going to a fistula hospital. The fistula hospital that we went to was amazing. They take in any woman who has a fistula and pay for the transportation to the hospital, the surgery to repair, and the rehab after the surgery. They also teach the women skills so they can be independent. They learn how to make baskets, blankets, and other crafts. We also had the opportunity to buy some of their crafts and the money goes to the person that made it. It was an incredible place that was started by an Australian couple in the 1970s. The husband has since died, but the wife is 86 years old and is still practicing surgery. We've met so many people that have had a vision for something and dropped everything to complete it. Very inspirational.
This week we'll go to church, have our last day at our worksites, have our home stays, and then have our debrief at nearby town of Debra Zeit. Thank you all for your support and prayers. I really appreciate them all!
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