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!