Tuesday was probably one of the most easy going days we had the whole trip! We were able to sleep in, theoretically... Dan was able to sleep, I woke at 5:45 or so and went downstairs and started journaling. Until that point, I hadn't done such a good job of it, but am now very grateful that I took the time to do it. So much of this that I am writing, I have had to go back and read through the journal to recall it all. So, back to Tuesday, Dan finally woke up and came down as well as the other family there. We all had breakfast and then went to play with the kids. We were expecting two more families at some point that morning, so we had the time to just hand out with the kids. Dan was feeling quite a bit better, so that was great! After the families showed up, Woudenah took us and the other family that had been there with us previously to the Sheraton to eat some lunch. The hotel is super fancy and the food was great! We ate outside near the pool, it was nice. After we finished up, Woudenah's wife Betty came and took us shopping. Woudenah had to go and work with another family. We went shopping and were able to pick up a lot of the things we had wanted. We purchased gifts for all three boys for over the years and special occasions. We didn't get everything we wanted, but quite a bit. After shopping we went back to the guest house and just visited with Betty and one of the new couples. The other family was out meeting their children where they were located off site. The cook at the guest house made us a fabulous dinner and we were all able to just enjoy the evening.
On Wednesday, we got up and going. The final family that was coming arrived Tuesday late night. So, at this point there were 5 families and 15 people total. We all got up and had breakfast. Unfortunately, at this point, Dan and i had shared our stomach bug and gave it to two of the three other people in the family we had spent the previous days with. We felt pretty bad about sharing at that point. Finally we loaded up and headed out. Honestly, at this point, I wasn't sure what we were doing for the day, but as we told Woudenah earlier in the week, we were along for the ride, whatever he wanted us to do! So, we drove about an hour and half to Nazaret and stopped for coffee and a break.
On the way to Nazaret
We loaded us and then headed out the Dhera. This is the town where Woudenah is from. The village/town has about 56,000 people and is one of the most drought ridden areas in Ethiopia. At this point, the nearest source of water is about 7K (4 1/2- 5 miles) away. Betty is the in country director for an organization that works to bring water to areas in need which has been working to bring water to this town. The week prior to us coming, she had just secured the financing to finish the project in Dhera. They had already built the reservoir for the water above the city, but had not had the financing to lay the pipe to bring water from it's source to the reservoir. From there, there is pipe to gravity feed it to the city. It was neat to see the site. There were a bunch of kids and adults alike who had come to see us up there. One of the ladies in our group was prepared and had brought suckers for the kids. They were loving them! We then followed Woudenah down the hill and walked to his parents home. It was so neat to be invited in for lunch! They had provided boiled potatoes and eggs as well as this yummy flat bread. They prepared coffee for us as well. It was such a neat experience to sit and share a meal with them in their home. We said our farewells and headed to a grocery store to pick up bananas.
On the way to Dhera
The city of Dhera
Dhera had the only 'feed lot' that we saw the whole trip. We live in a feed lot community, so it was interesting to see theirs.
The water reservoir
Kids getting tootsie pops
Tasting each others tootsie pops
Lunch at Woudenah's parents place
Woudenah with his parents
Kids waiting outside their place for us to come out.
After gathering a bag of bananas for everyone, we headed to this hotel/resort/camp place to feed monkeys! There were a bunch of monkeys as soon as we got out of the vans. You had to hold your bag tightly because they would try and grab your whole bag of bananas out of your hands. You could just toss them a banana and they would peel it and eat the banana and toss the peel to the side. Woudenah said that later they would come back and gather the peels to eat as well. After all the bananas we gone, we loaded up and headed back to Nazaret.
On the way to the resort/hotel
Monkeys!
There Woudenah took us to an orphanage there. This was an opportunity for one family to meet the birth mother of the children they were adopting. It was neat to watch the two mothers bond instantly over a love of their children. This orphanage was completely fascinating for many reasons. The man who founded the orphanage is working to make the orphanage completely self reliant. They had gardens, cows for milk, and goats. They were getting 60 chickens for eggs. Most of what they ate came from their own grounds. It was just a completely fascinating facility to see. After touring the place, they invited us for a coffee ceremony. We all gathered and a group of the older children came and sang a number of songs to us. It was so great! After the group sang, one of the young ladies came forward and sang two songs beautifully. Her voice was amazing! After the singing was done, we were served coffee and popcorn as well as the kids came around and offered us sodas. It was fun to watch the kids because after they had served us, they each got one as well. Even though they were in this orphanage, there was such joy in these childrens' lives. It showed in their faces. Dan and another guy sat and visited with the founder of the orphanage. I just enjoyed watching the people in our group interact with the children and workers, watching an adoptive mother and birth mother sit and just be together, bonding in love. It was such a wonderful experience. This orphanage has meant a lot to Dan and I, on this trip as well as in our own life since.
Watering system for a garden
The boys room. Dan thought it was neat to see the Bible on the bed by the pillow.
'Our Guest Welcome'
The Kitchen
Milking the cow
Other buildings at the orphanage
The founder of the orphanage praising the Lord during the children singing
Coffee ceremony
Watering a garden
This little girl was cute. She grabbed an almost empty cup of coffee, finished it, and I also have a shot of her using her finger to get every last drop out of it.
Dan and the others who had been chatting saying a prayer before we left.
We spent a fair amount of time at the orphanage and afterwards, we headed out and actually stopped at the same resort we went to the first day Dan and I were in ET.
It was a beautiful evening. We finished up eating and then headed back to the guest house. The next day was what we had all been waiting for. Our time in court! Our chance to go before the judge. We were all anxious and excited. We headed to bed because we had to be ready to load up by 8:30 the next morning!
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