The best kind of coffee ceremony...

When we arrived at Kolfe, Sunday after church,

I noticed that Emnatu's bed had been

turned sideways, and there was a 

bag of grass on the floor by his bed.

(more on this later)

  I wanted to ask what was going on,

but there wasn't time for answers,

because we were ushered into Room One

for another Graduation Ceremony...

 This one put on and attended by only the boys. 



Solomon



There is a deep, deep pride

that runs through Kolfe, when one of them

achieves something academically.

Academic achievement

is key to an orphan's future.

Solomon (above) wasn't a graduate,

but they had him "fill in" for a boy

who wasn't at the ceremony.

At first, I thought this was odd,

 but then realized that

the boys were so proud of Yonas,

 that they just wanted to be able

 to say  it publicly, even if he

 wasn't there.  There was fendisha

 and crackers, cake and soda

 for the graduates and a few

select others, and

 a traditional Ethiopian drink,

 and speeches... this one didn't

 bother me so much,

 since it was just the kids...

but I did make them

 uncomfortable again by crying a bit.

Crazy American woman...

Sunday evening, the boys threw a

traditional Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony.
"Ethiopia's coffee ceremony
 is an integral part
of their social and cultural life.
An invitation to
attend a coffee ceremony is
considered a mark of
friendship or respect
and is an excellent
example of Ethiopian hospitality."
~ Emily D*oyle

Gizachew, master of the ceremony

This was an honor that I didn't take lightly,

even though I had been thoroughly

stuffed that day.

Breakfast at the guest home,

lunch at the restaurant,

cake, popcorn, crackers and soda at the

graduation ceremony in room 1,

and then this...

After not eating much all week,

I felt like I was being stuffed like a pig.

Sacrifice was the word that kept coming

to mind as they boys struggled

 to get the loose wires on

the heating element to connect so that

the coffee could be prepared.

Sacrifice... they do so much of this.

These boys share everything,

and sacrifice much

to make others feel loved,

welcomed and treasured.

 - - -

Emnatu's bed was moved,

the grass collected...

because they once again were

preparing to sacrifice...

 - - - -

How often do we give

abundantly

 out of our wealth?

 - - -

That's what I love about the Ethiopian people,

 and honestly, Africans in general.

 (our Burundi friends are no different)

They have it figured out,

while we still hold on tight to what

isn't even our's to begin with.

Command those who are rich

in this present world

not to be arrogant

nor to put their

hope in wealth,

which is so uncertain,

but to put their hope in

God, who richly

provides us with everything

for our enjoyment.

~ 1 Timothy 6:17



You can see the traditional grass on the floor,

and the classic Ethiopian coffee set up...

and Biruk, trying to hog the fendisha!

Some of the crew.. I love these kids.

I looked up from my skirt

full of popcorn at one point,

to see that 7 boys had entered the room,

most of whom I hadn't spent much time with

standing with their arms linked and

looking like they were up to something.

They made me laugh as they proceeded to

 do a choreographed
dance/cheer routine for me.

I guess they had thought of everything. :o)

Tamrat, Emnatu, and Ephrem

Funny story...

 I actually HATE coffee (buna)

can't stand the smell, and have always assumed

I would feel the same about the taste.

Turns out I was right. 

I was offered the leftover coffee from

Cherrie's coffee ceremony at her

friend Sumer's house

 within my first 2 hours on Ethiopian soil.

I actually had hoped to get through the whole

week without having to face that issue.

God has a sense of humor...

 - - -  -

Have I mentioned that it is believed that

 coffee originated from Ethiopia??

It's an even bigger deal

over there, than here!

When I saw Kolfe's coffee ceremony,

I started to get nervous,

the traditional coffee ceremony

means that you need to drink

3 cups.  With each cup having

it's own name and blessing. 

 - - - -

 If invited into a home to take part, remember -

it is impolite to retire until you have consumed

 at least three cups, as the third round

is considered to bestow a blessing.

Transformation of the spirit is said to take place

during the coffee ceremony through the completion

of 'Abol' (the first round), 'Tona' (second round)

 and 'Baraka' (third round). ~ Emily D*oyle

 - - - -

Turns out I didn't have anything to

worry about... they remembered.

So, while Emnatu heaped three VERY large 

handfuls of my favorite food onto my skirt...

no one offered me a drop of coffee.

A BIG answer to our prayers...

Well, actually,

our whole family is happy today,

but Emnatu is especially happy.

because after months of his praying,

and our praying...

"mom (you) pray all day this

 is your pray answer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

God has provided this young man with

A  JOB!!!!!

This may seem like a small answer to prayer,

but trust me this is Ethiopia we are talking about.

There are thousands

upon thousands of

young men in Ethiopia

who have graduated at the top

of their class, just like our son...

and now live on the streets,

with no job,

no food,

no future.

Ayal and Emnatu

He is ready, he says.

His days at Kolfe are numbered.

He likely will be gone from the

orphanage within 2 months time.

But with today's news,

and tomorrow's job,

he has a future, and a plan.

And as for that big question of

"Where will you live??"

His answer made me laugh...

"Me and Ayal (his brother)

will live in one house, 

this your idea"

Alrighty then!

That was easy...

Nice to know someone listens to me!

A quick post with some of my favorite kids...

This post is for the Kolfe Moms...

here's a head start on a cheat sheet.

Some of my favorite Kolfe boys...

Emnatu

Mezgebu

 Professor Fendisha..  aka Ephrem

back to just being Ephrem.

 Sintayehu

 Gizachew

and his baby.
The boys were great about carrying my "stuff"
If you look real close at the 11x14 hanging up
 in my front hallway of our 3 boys...
you will see that Emnatu is holding my purse. :o)
 - - - -
Gizachew wanted me to snap this photo to
send to two of the moms back home who are
sporting their own baby, although, neither of their
babies is in the form of a removable backpack.

Behaylu...

 aka "Crazy Boy."  He and Abraham

(below) always had me laughing.
He would just randomly run through Kolfe
kicking up his legs behind him, and shouting.
Why?  Because he's Behaylu...
There's nothing that can be done,
except to laugh and love this crazy boy!

Abraham, so silly...

I was going to wait on the next photo,

but I can't resist...  You will see it twice.

We were having trouble taking photos

 that included Ephrem.

He and the flash did not agree.

Abraham grabbed a roll of tape to

 tape open Ephrem's eyes.

Obviously, this only worked on Abraham.

 Melkamu 

Biniyam...

"Keeper of the cards."  

 Birhanu, I call him "Singer".

 This sweet little guy is the only one at

Kolfe who speaks his language.

A tribal language.

The boys are so good with him,

and he is learning...  Amharic. 

Video was a rarity, because I didn't

have much space on my camera.

We were deleting things every

few hours to make space.

This is just a glimpse of his singing,

and gives you a taste of the sounds

that Ethiopians make in approval...

listen and you will understand.

Roberto

Sisay

"Guwugu"

Genanaw

 Daniel
Someone asked me to tell the
story behind this photo.
It actually looks more touching than it was.
He was being silly,
he had just lost at the game of Pit,
and was crying on my shoulder.
Such a goofball...

 Ibrahim (in the overalls)

I had been avoiding eating all week.

I really didn't want tummy trouble.

The last day, Ibrahim called me into the

room where he was eating with the nannies.

He sweet talked me into letting him feed

me two bites of VERY spicy injera.

I joked with Ibrahim, once I was home, that

I remembered him the whole way home.

He laughed, but just two bites...

gave me tummy trouble on the way home.

Gashaw

Such a sweet kid...

He is deaf, and very smart.

Top honors for his grades.

His face would light up when Fekadu or I

would acknowledge that we recognized him

(remember there were 160+ boys)

 by signing our names in the way he taught us.

I haven't figured out yet if he truly has

 been taught "American Sign" or if some of

it overlaps into Ethiopian Sign....
 - - - -

I just know my sign alphabet I used in
2nd grade to avoid getting in trouble
for talking in class is a little rusty.

Good thing Gashaw is so sweet
and forgiving of my rustiness!

2nd Share Night...

There is something really cool about being able to share 

the memories of my time at Kolfe with friends...

Thank you!!!

Graduation Ceremony... Part 2

 Dancing...

it's was a big part of the graduation ceremony

So much so, that shy Emnatu got into the act.

...and later, drug me up on stage with him.

I don't use the word "drug" lightly.

 I am not a dancer, and I really didn't like

dancing up on stage at the ceremony.

Thankfully, the camera was out of batteries!

 I'm not sure you could call what I did dancing.

It was more like an awkward foot shuffle,

than it was the traditional

Ethiopian shoulder shrug dancing,

but I am know I gave everyone a good laugh.

Fekadu (my friend and translator)

and Kibret (Fekadu's church friend and my driver)

They spent most of the week in the car,

talking, napping, and waiting,

but they joined in on the fun for the ceremony.

A traditional Coffee Ceremony.

(Notice the grass on the floor, it's

a traditional Ethiopian decoration.)

A couple of the older Kolfe boys MC'ed

the program and lead a few crazy games.

In this one Merhawi, Biniyam,

and 2 girls from Ketchene Orphanage

had to grab objects with their teeth.

First in a bowl full of water... 

Then, in a bowl full of...

flour. :o) 

Love this photo of Biniyam!

The second game was the

human musical chairs game.

Lots of laughs on this one. 

Surprisingly the boys were actually

quite shy about girls sitting on their laps!

As if the dancing wasn't torturous enough,

I was asked to speak.

Not sure how Leslie got out of it,

or why Fekadu didn't give me a heads up...

Four of the graduates...

Sisay, Tamirat, Emnatu and Solomon

Two huge loaves of bread,

cut by the graduates,

and served for lunch.

Each of the graduates and honorees were

called up for a round of congratulations,

and presentation of a gift.

A sweet little message from my graduate...

(The hand heart we have seen so often on Skype.)

Everyone did a collective, "Awww",

but I laughed later that he did this in

front of the Govt official gal

who wasn't a member of my fan club.

That was priceless! 

Sisay

The boys' elected leader,
Dereje, aka "Guwugu"...

The boys all love Dereje.

It was awesome to hear them cheer,

"Gu-wu-gu, Gu-wu-gu..."

as he crutched his way to the front.

The boys told me that Ayal was a great dancer,

so after a bit of persuasion, I managed to get

both of the Tamiru-John brothers

to show us their stuff.

Somehow, I managed to avoid both of them trying

to cart me up there with them! Whew!!

How awesome to see them dancing together!

All the boys were in high spirits.

Following the ceremony, lunch was served.

A rare treat, the boys were able to have what

looked like a "normal" Ethiopian meal.

Lots of meat, vegetables, injera, bread, soda.

                                       

Gizachew and Surafel