A new experience... for all of us!

Sunday morning Crystal and I took these

 8 handsome young men out for an afternoon

 of fun away from the orphanage.

It was a chance for them to just be boys...

no studying, no orphanage,

no worries, just fun, and a first for them all:

BOWLING!!!

There are modern lanes in Ethiopia,

but seeing as they were booked for a party,

we headed to the old school way of bowling.

The kind where you have to reset the pins by yourself.

and do the math to get the scores!

Check out the beautiful sky lights!

Funny story... the ball rolls down the lanes

as if it is an old Model T going down a bumpy lane...

The vibration of Emnatu's ball going down the lane

actually caused one of his pins to just fall down

long before the ball arrived.

We also had a humorous moment,

where the pin literally shattered

with the contact of the bowling ball...

Now, that is not likely to happen in the U.S.!

Sweet Abraham... I attempted to teach him how to bowl.

 It took several turns before he stopped hopping

like an Easter bunny on his way to the line.

So much laughter!

If I remember correctly, this one is headed for the gutter.

 The boys quickly determined that gutter balls were

 "Just PRACTICE" and required a do-over.

Except, when I started making gutter balls..

then my stinker son, Emnatu declared that my balls

were gutter balls, and no do-overs would be given...

I showed him... I roped one of the other boys

(he shall remain nameless) into "fixing" my score.

I had no idea that I would come

in 2nd at the end of the day. Whoops!

Two days later, as I was about to step out of the car

with boys at the Brunswick lanes, it seemed like a good

 time to "come clean", and fess up to my cheating...

(caused of course, by Emnatu!!!!!)

Lots of laughter over that admission...

Bowling and soda for 11 people?

(Our driver Yordanos bowled (first time) too)

 $11.34

(granted, the Brunswick a few days              

                    later was much more... but...)

Oh, how I have missed these two!

It's a long way over there, but OH, so worth it!!!

I left for the airport at 9pm Thursday to fly from:

1) Phoenix to Detroit

2) Detroit to Chicago

(where I met up with the rest of the team)

3) Chicago to Amsterdam

4) Amsterdam to Sudan

 (little surprise from KLM that they forgot to mention)

5) Sudan to Addis Ababa

By flight 5 (3 for everyone else)

we were getting a little loopy.

Laughter abounded, and we made quite a scene.

My husband likes to tease me that when I am

over-tired, I will laugh at anything. 

His favorite is making me laugh at the word "hand".

  (inside joke)  This was one of those times.

This was a relief after all those hours of flying.

I waited for no-one to pack up their stuff...

I had hugs waiting for me just outside Customs.

(unfortunately, I am too nice, and got held up finding

every one's luggage... they caught up with me before I

had hoisted all 850 pounds off of the conveyor belt)

Had a few surprises waiting...

I knew Emnatu and Ayal would be there,

but was pleasantly surprised to see little Mezgebu,

 and Emnatu's friend Gizachew.

(Hagos, Wondemnhe, & Sisay were there to greet Crystal)

Emnatu & Wondemnhe saw the hotel drivers holding up

name cards, & decided Emnatu needed one for

his mom, too.  It was a very SWEET idea. ;o)

Stink... most of the photos at the airport were blurry.

So much for those famous first hug photos...

I also don't have a photo of the airport surprise..

What surprise?

Well, our 20 year old son who is a govt driver,

told his boss that his mom was coming to town,

(FYI... that is a big step for a former orphan)

and he wanted to borrow his work car

 to drive her to her guest house.

You will ask, the answer is YES,

he is a very good driver.

Share nights next week...

I've been on the fence about when to dive in and start...

(I have been waiting for some photos from a woman
 I traveled with, which I would love to share...
her camera is top notch, she's really good, and so often
 I was doing, rather than taking the photos...)

I guess there is no time like the present.

How about next Monday night? March 14th

Exactly a year from when this journey began.

It's Emnatu's Addoption Day.

Somehow that just seems fitting,

and might help to keep me distracted.

Maybe Thursday too, March 17

since my house might not have time to get dirty in between!!

6:30pm both nights

 Bring a friend, a neighbor, your spouse, your children...

anyone you think might enjoy a night of love and laughter.

There is much we can do together.

As a family we will head back in 6 months...

Wanna hear?

Our address is listed on the fb post,

but if you are not friends with me there...

leave your email in a comment here.

like this: email at yahoo dot com

Where to start?

I have been posting lots on facebook, and have honestly forgotten that there are so many of you who only look here... I will start working on it today, but in a nutshell, here was my week.... (from an email I sent to a friend)

Here are some quick highlights... of what I hope to post about in the weeks to come.  Bear with me though... John and I are already feverishly working on trips #3 and #4, so time to recap is short... another garage sale is coming soon before it warms up!!


~7 Kolfe kids waiting for us at the airport... then I was honored with a ride in Ayal's work vehicle to the guest house.

~ beach ball party for the little boys

~ first time bowling for 8 of the older kids

~ enrolled a boy in driving school (and then spent the rest of the day giving him some "firsts")

~ bowling on a different day for 3 more boys

~ LOTS of meals at restaurants (boy can teenage boys eat!!!)
~ TWO very full days of shopping with a van load of helpers for new shoes, 2 pair of underwear and 2 pair of socks for the 96 street kids who just moved to Kolfe.... this was my favorite memory. First day's boys (54) got their feet washed by me and a few boys, and were told the story of Jesus washing the disciples feet in their own language... My driver said he had never witnessed anything like it. He was moved almost to tears, and was very sad that he had to drive the other women on the second day, and wasn't allowed to be with me. That was sweet.

~ punch balls for the little boys

~ clothed in a white scarf over my head, I attended an orthodox ceremony, where I had to fight to stay awake.... happiest moment of my day was when a little boy crossed the male/female line of seating to tell me to come with him, because Emnatu had gotten home from work ... hallelujah... nodding off was embarrasing!!

~ honorary traditional dinner with the Yezelalem Minch staff

~ dried fruit and beef jerky for the little boys (older boys wouldn't take it, they insisted the new kids get it)
~ a wonderful time of visiting the Shannons at Korah

~ got a promise (I think) of a job for Ayal in the future, if he is successful at the English classes I
enrolled him in that began last night. :o) His dad and I are excited about this!!

~ muffins/bananas for the little boys provided by a girlfriend of mine who lives there... it was her first time at Kolfe last week, and when she brought the food on her 2nd visit, she inlisted neighbor's to come too... big things will happen from that visit.. God is at work.

~ Emptied my wallet of enough money to hopefully pay for a boy to have possible gangrene surgery. I am working with another friend who will be my feet on this one this week

~ strawberries and fruit for the big boys (just learned there are no photos of this one)

~ Ayal's first birthday party (we turned him 21 on Wed.... he was surprised)

~ a visit to Ayal's house (room) in the ghetto (his words, not mine)

~ celebration of Emnatu's 1st family Anniversary

~ and two rounds of professional photos with my boys.

~ another day of donations... dried fruit that was intended for the BIGs, but they insisted on giving to the LITTLES...  raisins for EVERYONE, toothpaste, more shoes, coloring books/crayons, soap, etc...

My ET friends all said I was able to do an amazing amount of things while there. God directed my time, and ordered my days, and began some wonderful connections with people who can effect change for Kolfe. God was soooo good!

What do you plan to do?

Saturday afternoon (our time)

I will be getting two of these.

My driver will fulfill the wishes of our oldest two

who want to be at the airport when we arrive.

This time, I know what to expect.

I'm not worrying about traveling

across the globe to a country

I've never been to before.

I know what to expect...

and I KNOW it will be WONDERFUL!

What do I plan to do?

Well, this time, I also know that plans in ET are

hopes and wishes.  Time travels a little slower,

things can take a little longer, or may not happen at all.

Things I hope to do, may not end up

happening...  but hope is still good!

I hope to buy fruit, for the boys again.

This time, though, at the suggestion

(and financial donation)

of a Mom who has 2 Kolfe boys in her home...

I am hoping to find strawberries.

Oranges and bananas are common

to Ethiopians who can afford to buy fruit..

(Remember, Kolfe boys don't get fruit regularly.)

Strawberries are not.  Why? They are expensive,

because the are not purchased individually.

So, just for fun and memories,

she thinks the Kolfe boys need the luxury of tasting

a strawberry...  I couldn't agree more!

Pray I find them!!

I hope to be able to let the younger boys play with the

beach balls and punch balls that were donated!

I will do my best to get photos and videos...

Expect lots of noise and laughter!

Ayal has been "20" for as long as we have known him,

due to the fact that 20 is just a guess, and he has no

idea when he was born.  He is the only one of our

sons without an assigned "birthday".  YET!!!

Wednesday night when he gets off of work,

and heads to Kolfe for a visit...

I hope to change that.  There is a bakery

not too far away. I have packed party plates,

balloons, & birthday cards from John and the kids.

I hope Ayal will be walking into his first ever

Birthday and Party.

(Notice how I put an "and" in there...

what would that be like to have your

first ever birthday??  Thrown by the Mom

you never thought you would have?)

11 months ago, (1 year, the week after I get home)

Emnatu became a part of our family.

How, after being an orphan his whole life,

he is so well adjusted, and free from the mental

baggage so many of them carry... 

I will never understand!

I am coming packed with letters of love

from John & the kids...

to celebrate his "Anniversary of Family".

I hope to be able to sneak him away for a special meal

to rejoice in the fact that he is loved.  He belongs.

Beyond all of that...

there is all of this to distribute at Kolfe and Korah.

There are 3 U.S. families living there that need

some encouragement, and I am excited to visit them.

I will also need to spend some time working

on the schooling of a college student that I

helped register last time.

He has an awesome Mom in the states,

who is worried about him and his education.

I plan (this one's not a hope) to get

some answers for her, and help this kid out.

That's where I will be, for the next 10 days!
Blogspot is blocked from ET, so there
won't be updates until the 2nd week of March.
If you haven't already, friend me on facebook...
that's where I will be updating while I am there.

If you would like specifics on praying for us,
please let me know. 
I sent out daily prayer ideas, to my sending team,
and would love to get one in your hands too!

Some are called to go, some are called to SEND....

/// Just finished a day by day prayer guide for those who are called to SEND, and want to cover us with prayer each day of the Ethiopia trip.  Want one?  Let me know! ///

4 days...

until the journey begins.

or maybe, just maybe, the journey is now.

John and I had the chance to say a bit about our journey

at a small home-church, called Agape, last night.

The pastor of this church has been telling people

 about us, and these boys for a month or so,

Last night I got to do what I love the most...

Share our God Story.

I'm not known for my public speaking...

but those have heard say that it's easy to hear my heart

for Kolfe through all of my tangents and stumbles.

Honestly, that's because this isn't my journey,

 it isn't my husband's either...

This is God's Journey, and we're

just hangin' on for the ride!

A year ago,

I would have thought you were making some a joke,

if you had told me we would have sons

in Ethiopia that feel every bit like our own,

AND that I would be preparing to fly to ET

to visit them for the SECOND TIME!!

(not to mention flying either by myself,

or with people I have never met before)

"NO way!" would have been my answer...

and yet, when God has a plan and a purpose,

and you are willing...

He can change EVERYTHING in an instant.

He will take you on a journey unlike anything

 you could have dared to dream.

Something so beautiful, that stretches and challenges you,

 and makes you take a look outside of your little world.

4 days from now,

I will kiss my U.S. kids and my hubby goodbye again,

and head into the world of layovers, 8 plane flights,

 4+ days of travel, new friendships with

5 people I have never met,

(2 that I have never had any contact with)

and Kolfe boys.

Our Kolfe boys, friends' Kolfe boys,

and sweet Kolfe boys who have yet to

find someone to love them, even from afar.

 The prayers of God's people are SO powerful.

Last night as we stood up front and listened to

the church lifting up prayers on our behalf,

I was in awe of how good it feels to

be right where He wants us.

 - - -

So, two things I ask of you...

1) Please pray for my family here,

 and my team and I over there.

Pray that we would be up for whatever

God asks of us in the next two weeks.

2) Think about praying for yourself...

What is it God might be calling YOU to do?

Pray that you would be willing to take His journey.

Packed with love...

A BIG check mark on my To-Do list last night!!!

Hooray for my hubby, who committed to giving

me every commercial break for 2 hours

to help me do this....

PACK my 4 checked bags!!

Hooray!

They are filled (200 pounds) with love

from so many of YOU!!!

And thanks to 5 extra sweet

and generous people...

The extra baggage fees are PAID!!

Praise the Lord!!!

Sadly, all of this...

(and another one with toothbrushes/toothpaste)

didn't make it this round.

BUT...  This is only 1/4 of what we will be able

to take when John and the kids go with me,

so....  It's all good!!!

Thank you!!!  From all of them...

and so many other precious Ethiopians

who will benefit from my Bags of LOVE!!!

Need a little help...

I head for the airport next week to visit our boys at Kolfe Orphanage in Ethiopia. Once again, due to meeting up with people in the U.S. I will have 8 flights to and from the U.S. That's 24 hrs total of layovers.

When I first added up all the layover times, I began to listen to people suggesting that I get one of those book reader deals. (I don't have the room in my bags for books of my own... trying to pack my things light, so I can bless others.) Well, after looking at the prices, I've decided not to buy a book reader... After all, I'm taking the most important book of all, right?? A week with Jesus will be a good thing!

BUT, now I need some help... Do you have a verse or short devotion that you want to send with me to meditate on? Email or leave a message with a favorite, and I will print them and spend time with Jesus... and a piece of you! I am also open for prayer requests to meditate on!

Busy, busy, busy!!!

What's life like 2 weeks before heading to Kolfe?

Well...  it's a bit like CHRISTMAS!!! 

Kathy and her friends from church

mailed all of this from TX.

Beach balls, soccer balls/pumps,

raisins, games and videos!

Fun times are ahead at Kolfe!

Linda, her mom and sister sent

all these yummy foods from WA.

I am so excited to introduce

the boys to some new tastes!

 - - - -  - -

Also shown are 60 punch balls from Lana. 

What little boy wouldn't like to

make some noise with those?!

(And bonus... they pack very small!) 

My sweet daughter donated these...

 Hey, they pack small, anyone have

 any others to bless the boys with?

 

Veggie tales videos will be such a blessing to

 spread God's word to the littlest at Kolfe!

 Just for fun!

All of that fun has been wrapped around scenes like this at our house.

All four of us have been down and out with the yucks...

Silver lining?  You bet'cha!

I figure in 2 weeks, I outta' be healthy,

and leaving a healthy household behind!

God's timing is awesome!! 

As the energy comes, (in spurts)

I drag my pajama clothed body

 off the couch, to work on this.

Praying for large duffle bags at the moment.

I want to bring as much as possible, and some of

 my suitcases weigh too much EMPTY!!