Sunday, July 3, 2011

ethiopia day 10 (last day!)

 we made the most of our last day in ethiopia.

evan and stacey had met a family last time they were here that have lived in ethiopia for about 1 1/2 years.
they are living in an area called korah (those that live there call it kore)

it's near a dump that many people live on...and make their living off of.

this family is running a day care for women to allow them to work better jobs so that they can provide for their families - and also teaching them about hygiene and giving them many other skills. it was amazing to hear about.

these are the children in their day care.
 you can sponsor the children...and this is the little girl stacey sponsered for evan as his father's day gift!


 the area in the distance is the dump.
many people search the dump for food for themselves...or for things to sell.
 our kids and their kids became friends instantly

 us and the snyders
 we drove around the corner, and were able to meet the women involved with a ministry called mission ethiopia. they make amazing jewelry. a few of them shared their testimonies...so humbling and beautiful! we loved a new necklace that there was only 1 of. so, they got to work and brought about 30 of them by our guest house later that afternoon for us to buy!







 handing out granola bars and candy
 i'm going to be honest.
the sights and smells we saw were VERY hard to process. i still haven't really been able to.
between seeing it, knowing my kids were seeing it and wondering what was going on in their hearts, plus the always there emotion of issues with our 2 new ones...it was just a lot going on in my mind and heart.

pat, hannah and i all 3 came home literally feeling ILL.
i don't know what else to say about it.
not ill,  like "that was gross and i never want to go back." but ill, like "how is it that some people live like this? why????"


 the necklaces that were brought that afternoon

 we finished packing, ate an early dinner, and took a couple pics before being driven to the AIRPORT TO COME HOME!!!!

 i love this picture!
 the beginning of a very long trip home...

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Thank you for making me more aware with your pictures. The jewelry is beautiful, I would love to buy one!

Michelle said...

Thanks you for sharing your journey and your heart. As always you are always honest and to tell the truth while I can't imagine the smells and sights you've seen, I can only see them and the ones I have seen in the US, some pretty poverty stricken areas, and I often ask why? but then I am reminded that God has a plan for everyone and we cannot forget even one of those families, children, mothers or fathers to pray and share the gospel, because as we know this is not our home. We are only here for a moment in time and we want everyone with us in eternity. Welcome home and I pray as you process this journey that god has you on and the continual cohesiveness and transition for your family.

Judy said...

Just sat and shared these pictures with Christian (age 6). He had lots of questions. Hard questions. Good conversation. God's using your journey to touch my little boy's heart and mine too.

scooping it up said...

ethiopia steals one's soul. my heart is still there. your pictures are making me cry because i am itching to go back. thank you for sharing. beautiful.