Day 6 in Ethiopia!

So today started off great! We didn?t have to leave until 10am (which
is 2am in KY)! Crazy to think that we are going to be back in KY in
just a few days and will have to adjust to this time difference!
Anyway, we had a 2-3 mile walk to church this morning. Let me
explain, a walk here isn?t like a walk in the states. There are such
extreme smells, livestock randomly in the road, and children with no
parents begging for money, and huge rocks. Oh, not to mention its hot
and high elevation. The church service was so cool! It?s like
getting a taste of heaven! These people are not ashamed to praise the
Lord! There was a guy in the front row with a yellow shirt, his name
is Job. Man, he blessed our hearts! He was dancing, and raising his
hands and just worshipping! It was as if he was right in front of
God. Not ashamed! I LOVED it!!! Then Steve and Holly got up and
introduced us and we sang 2 songs! What an experience! We sang ?How
Great is Our God? and ?Amazing Grace?! They loved it! Wow, to listen
to them sing in Amharic is indescribable! So amazing! So then we met
with a group of the leaders and they shared their hearts about the
needs that the church has. Man, I was convicted! To walk hand in
hand with kids who have no mom or dad and are carrying a bag of trash
from a huge dumpster that stunk so bad and that was their food for the
day. Their clothes are torn, dirty, and smelly, snot is dried on
their faces and flies landing all over them. They have NOTHING! And
to think that the camera that I was carrying cost more than what they
would ever have. I am so blessed! So we are burdened for these kids!
We actually got to pick a few of the needy kids to support. We will
hopefully get to meet them before we leave. How cool to actually get
to meet the family that you are supporting! Such a blessing! For 30
bucks a month they get food for the whole family, clothes, school,
school supplies, school uniform, a birthday present and a Christmas
present. I spend more than 30 a week for just food alone! So eye
opening and heart breaking! I have been praying for God to break me
this whole trip and today broke me. The kids just run from nowhere
and grab our hands and walk with us until we tell them to ciao (that
means goodbye). To realize that these kids that we are walking the
streets hand in hand with have nothing blows me away!
So we ate lunch at our house and then we had the afternoon off! That
was great! Emily and I sat out in the sun and talked all afternoon.
Everyone else got ?toasted? by the sun, except us! We got some sun
today! The rest of the gang played a game in the house, took naps and
emailed peeps back in the states. Then Steve, Emily, Seth, Justin,
Julie and I went for a walk with our cameras! We met some neat people
on the walk. Steve, Emily and I went to where there was a wedding
ceremony going on outside so we took a bunch of pictures! They took
pictures of us; we are feringie (foreigners). That was funny! A guy
carrying a big photo of the bride and groom asked us to sign the
matte. So we did, and laughed and they laughed at us! Julie, Seth
and Justin went a different way and they met an atheist, so they were
able to share their faith with him. So cool!
Holly brought us ?hamburgers? for dinner! Almost American food! I
can?t wait to have some good ol American food! That?s about it for
today. Tomorrow we have to get up at 5am to leave for a 4 hour bus
ride to a place called Debre Bihan. We will be staying there tomorrow
night in a hotel! Should be a bus ride to remember! I am sure it
will be full of singing, laughing and maybe a bit of sleep. Hopefully
none of us have to pop a squat on the way! ? We miss you guys so
much! We are having a great time. God is teaching us so much! We
are anticipating what God is going to do with us once we leave here!
We will see you soon! Your daughters, sons, sisters, and brothers,
husband, fiancé, aunts, uncles, friends!