So I told story. I am doing another update. I will probably have to add in a lot of details about things I have seen and done here when I get home and have time to process. I have so much to say about today. I will just say that today I got to realize a dream that has been in my heart for years. I got to go and tour the Hamlin Fistula Hospital in Addis Ababa. It was started in 1959 by Dr. Hamlin. The grounds are so beautiful and the wards are so peaceful. There were so many girls there. It was amazing that so many were being helped, but so sad that so many needed to be helped. It was very beautiful to be there, but also very hard to see. There were so many really really young girls. I can't really put all the details in right now. I promise a longer post about the hospital once I get home and get to process and take time to write in the comfort of my space. At one point we went into the physiotherapy room and got to see them doing some physical therapy. These are the girls who have had Fistulas for 5 to 7 or even more years. They were thought of as sick and sent to die in a hut in the back of a relatives house. They basically sit cross legged in a tiny structure, refuse to eat and wait to die. It took all the strength I could must not to fall apart. I did cry, but I managed to keep some sort of control. I wanted to run up to them, hug them, and tell them how beautiful they are. They have to do months of physical therapy and highly nutritious food to even be strong enough to have surgery to fix the fistula. It was really really hard to see. I feel like I want to do something more to help make things better for them. I know that most of them are having their lives dramatically changed by being treated at the Fistula hospital, but I wish I could do something more for them. At the end we got to go in and buy things the girls had made while they recover. Really amazing beautiful things that I bought a ton of. The money for the crafts goes directly to the girls when they leave the hospital. Like I said, there is so much more to post, but it will be later. It was a beautiful and emotional day. It was the realization of another dream I had in my heart. I got to buy some super cool shoes here called Soul Rebels. They are awesome and made in country here. They are really unique and WAY better than Toms which I refuse to wear b/c everyone wears them now. Only a few more days til I come home.

There is not too much to report. I got to go to an international church yesterday. It was very African. I had a pretty laid back day the rest of the day. I took the first nap I have taken since I got here and ended up regretting it b/c I could not sleep. Sunday night I watched the Benkerts children so they could have a night out. It was nice. We made puppets out of pipe cleaners, popsicle sticks, pom poms and googly eyes. The kids had a blast. It was fun to see how creative they were with different kinds of creatures. We had vegetable soup for dinner.

Today (Monday) we went the market. It was really neat. I bought some stuff bring home so I can cook a little Injira food. I love all the food here and could eat like this every day. I think I could give up most of the western diet. I understood a little better what was going on in the market today. I took a few pictures. I got a lot of attention in the market. I had pants and a long sleeves on when I went into the market the first day. Today I had capris and a short sleeve shirt. People kept stopping and commenting on my tattoos using the Amharic word for beautiful. The market is really really neat. I had a great time walking around. This week I am going to Debre Zeit to do some art with an art class that one of Jessie's friend teaches. Later in the week I am going to tour the Addis Ababa Fistula hospital and I am also going to go and take pictures of the kids at the Embracing Hope for Ethiopia program to give as gifts to the moms.

I am definitely missing my family. I am kind of ready to get back to the normal routine.

sorry this is so short. Nothing to exciting to report.

Hopefully, I can get further today. I was pretty upset when I realized on the way over to the EHE project that I couldn't do the pictures for the kids and the moms b/c my suitcases were somewhere in never land. They were telling Larry and mom that they did not know where they were and Ethiopia was telling me that they were in Dallas. I was trying to keep my cool, but I was not very excited. I came to the point that morning over to the project I started to think that the suitcases were not going to come to me and that I just needed to let go and be okay with that.

I went to the project and got to spend a lot of time visiting with Jerry and Christy Shannon. It was so great to hear how things started out and how much the moms had been impacted. I got to meet the little girl that I sponsor and take her picture. She is usually really shy about new people, but she was all smiles with me and crawled all over me. I took pictures of all of the kids and played a lot. They were so happy and cute. Some of the older ones (they are all 3 and under) kept talking to me in Amharic, but I could not understand them. They love to get pictures made and look at themselves on the camera after. I sad down and worked on some ideas on jewelry for the beads that had been made.

At the end of the day they were doing distribution of goods to the moms. They get Teff and oil every 3 months, plus they got clothing distribution and sanitation distribution b/c it was Ethiopian Christmas this weekend. It is such a great project and it is so good to see how much the little that EHE is able to do is impacting the families. I am blown away to think that these childrens' whole trajectory of life has been shifted b/c of what the Shannons are doing. Some of these babies were very sick and on the brink of death when they were enrolled in the program. To see them walking and smiling and growing is amazing. Many of the moms were not from Addis Ababa, but had come here either looking for a better life or with husbands that have since abandoned them. They have no family and no one here. One of the amazing and great things that has happened due to being in EHE is that the moms have developed community together. They aren't alone anymore. Last week the Shannon's got approved to expand from 31 children to 60, so they will begin this week hiring new staff and interviewing applicants to expand. I am so blessed to be able to be here and see such an amazing program impacting so many people. I feel like the ripples of these type of programs are going to go so much further than we can imagine. If you are looking for a really great and impactful place to give consider this program. At the end of the day I was able to meet Hannah's mom (the little girl our family sponsors). It was so amazing. She told me through the translator thank you and that it was beautiful what I was doing to help. I took a picture with them. It was so great. I am going to print one for her to keep as well.

At the end of the day, Jerry got a text from Levi that the airline called and asked why we hadn't come to get my bags yet. Levi had called just a couple hours earlier and was told that they were still in Dallas. Needless to say, we were very excited. I ate dinner with the Shannon's then Levi picked me up and we headed to the airport. Getting out of the airport the bags have to be run through the xray machine again. They thought my sidewalk chalk was medicine, but when I showed it to them, they let me through. All in all it was a good day. The Bring love In project got an approval letter too, so they are one step closer to being open. Lot's of good news.

At this point it was Wednesday and I had still not been able to take a hot shower, or any shower for that matter.

Thursday we left in the morning and headed north outside of Addis Ababa to the Portuguese bridge. It is an area about two hours north out in the country. It was beautiful. I got some really great pictures. It was super super super cold. I thought I was going to freeze to death. I just thought that the Benkerts house was cold. I did get to take a hot shower. That was really exciting. It was my first hot shower since leaving Dallas on Saturday. We had a great time. In the cabin, though, I had trouble getting to sleep. I was seriously freezing. Even with two wool blankets on the bed my feet were frozen. And the bed was made out of concrete with a thin pad on it. As I dozed in and out trying to sleep, I just kept thinking, "oh man, there are people sleeping in this cold on hard floors and that is just the life they have. I get to go back to the states and have a soft bed, warm shower, and heat. I feel so sad for those who have no other options.

We got up and had another relaxing day at the bridge watching the kids have fun then we headed back. Since the next day was Melkam Gena (Ethiopian Christmas) we passed a market that was swarming with people preparing. I got some really great pictures as we drove. I hope to be able to post them when I get back to the states.

We got back into Addis late last night and we were all totally warn out. I was also burnt to a crisp. We are closer to the sun and closer to the equator. When I got up this morning, this was the first day I really really missed my family. I can't wait to hug their necks. Two weeks was a lot longer than I thought it would be. Jessie Benkert and I went to the movie and lunch today (Saturday). It was really nice. I am going to church with the Shannon's tomorrow. I will try and update next chance I get.

I have been out of internet contact the last day and a half, so I just keep getting further and further behind on my updates.

On my last update I forgot to talk about the bucket bath. The water here has not been working right; it started a few weeks before I got here. That has made things pretty interesting. I really don't mind it at all. It does make things a little more complicated, but I feel like it gives me a more realistic view of life here. I am glad that things are somewhat challenging so that I get the real missionary experience, not a watered down version of it. I have been brushing my teeth and washing my hands with cups of water. We haul water upstairs to fill the tanks in the toilet for flushing. On the first day here, after the day and a half of flying, I felt pretty dirty. I got to take a bucket bath. We boiled a couple of kettles of water, mixed it with some cold water and I used that to wash my hair and body off. It was FREEZING!!!! Anyone who knows me knows that I do not like to be cold. I think I mentioned in my last update that though it gets warm outside each day the nights are cool and the house stays really cold because it does not get hot enough to warm the concrete. I know Larry would love it. I could go out and get warm and he could stay in the cold house. I had a pretty good attitude about the bucket bath, but it was not my favorite. I opted out of taking a bucket bath for the next couple days. I just put in extra deodorant and put my hair in a pony tail. I understand that is just kind of how it goes here.

The second day I was here, my first full day, we got up and had a pretty laid back day. We had planned to go early to the Shannons house and look at the project they run, Embracing Hope Ethiopia, but ended up hanging around the house due to some other things that needed to be taken care of. The way things go, plans are pretty loose around here. Nothing ever really goes as planned or in the timing planned. I did wake up at my usual time about 430. I guess that is really where I left off the last one. I got to read a bit and journal and just relax. That must have been what God knew that I needed. After all the other stuff was taken care of we headed off to the Shannons'. I got to meet Christy first and just as I knew I would totally loved her. We got to visit a bit. After a little bit of visiting, we headed back out to come home. I got to drive by the project and see it in passing. My heart just felt so drawn to it. I was so sad that we could not stop. I really felt such a connection to that part of town. There is a visible change as you head to the part of town where Embracing Hope is. It is in the Korah village which is connected to the land fill. You can see the poverty in the buildings and in the way the people dress. I felt such a draw toward the people. I could not wait til the next day when we could go back and spend some real time at the project.

Levi and I left about 830 am the next morning so I could be dropped off to spend the day at EHE (Embracing Hope Ethiopia). I had packed up the photo printer prepared to take pictures of the kids so we could print them and give them to the mom. On the way over, I realized that I did not have the picture paper to print the pictures on because it was in my suitcases. That morning was the first morning that I was really kind of bothered by the fact the I didn't have my suitcases.

I have to end here b/c the battery is about to die on the computer and everyone has gone to bed. I will pick up more tomorrow.

This one is probably going to be short b/c I have had a long eventful day and I am tired. But I don't want to get too far behind. I want to get through the travel stuff so I can get to the fun stuff.

So I got on the plane from London to Addis Ababa. I had a window seat with someone sitting beside me, so it wasn't nearly as comfortable as the flight to London was. I read for a bit, then fell asleep. Walking around London had been pretty exhausting. I woke up not too long after take off. The guy beside me was really nice. We struck up a conversation about our huge carry on fees. As it turned out he was a Economics professor. We chatted about politics and economics, most of which I did not understand. I wanted to be polite and let him talk though so I nodded and listened. He had been born in Ethiopia and was traveling back to visit. He had been in the US for 36 years. At some point during the flight he got up to go to the bathroom and I jumped up to grab something out of my backpack. I lifted the arm rest up to get up quickly before he came back. I forgot to put it back down. When I fell back asleep and he did too, he ended up all sprawled out on my side in my space. Because the arm rest wasn't down he was seriously in my space. I couldn't, however, put the arm rest down without being rude. So I dozed in and out and reminded myself about how many people warned me that people in Ethiopia do not have personal space or respect for it. I figured this was a good time to start getting used to it and and to be reminded that life wasn't all about me. I did not sleep so well during this leg of the journey.

We arrived in Addis and I was so glad to finally be here. It was definitely a long journey. I had to wait in a really long line to get my visa after waiting a very long time in the wrong line. Then I went get my luggage. My carry on which I had been forced to check came out, but unfortunately after seeing the same box of oil go past me on the luggage belt I realized that the other bags did not make it with me. I had known that there was a chance that the bags wouldn't have made it on the plane. I went to find Levi and figure out where I needed to file a claim. My carry on and back pack had to go through a security check point xray machine. The man tried to get me to pay a bribe to get my photo printer in, but I played dumb and acted like I didn't understand what he was trying to say to me. He finally got annoyed and gave up on me. I got my bags and found Levi. We found out I had to go back into the main arrival gate to file a claim. At the claim site I filed a claim and found out that my bags were still in Dallas. Wow!!!! She assured me that they would go on the next plane to Addis Ababa once she entered the claim and should be here by the next day. I didn't get them until I had been here for 3 days. I was pretty tired but super excited about finally being in Ethiopia. The first few minutes of talking the Jessie and Levi were slightly awkward, but after about 15 minutes we were like old friends. I really love these guys. I feel so comfortable in their house and with them. It's like we have been friends for a lifetime. I knew that the best way to settle into this time zone was to stay awake all day and go to sleep at bed time. I really wanted to do that b/c I didn't want to miss any time here. I wanted to get into the groove and be able to hit the ground running. I fought fiercely to stay awake. There were many times I got myself dozing off sitting straight up. I went to the big market with Jesse; that was neat. I went to the grocery store. We ate a delicious dinner cooked by the cook that prepares food for them. I kept dozing off, but I would get up and walk around when I realized that I had fallen asleep. I was determined to make the transition in one day and not lose any time. Finally at 745 my eyes were starting to cross even standing up and Jessie said she thought it was late enough. I went upstairs and realized that I did not have my super comfy pj's and my security thermal shirt and was sad. Jessie lent me some clothes to sleep in. The house is like a meat locker; seriously. The sun doesn't really hit the house right to warm it and it is all concrete, so it is super cold. I wasn't really expecting that. I put in my ear plugs and fell deep asleep. I woke up at my normal 430 am which I was excited about. It is my favorite time of the day and gave me quiet time to pray and prepare for the day before anyone else was awake. I did my Pilates and went down stairs for coffee and quiet time. I have to say that I LOVE LOVE LOVE Ethiopian coffee. We drink it in a french press at the Benkerts and it is so delicious. It is the best coffee I have ever drunk. I will be bringing a bunch home. I do not like Starbucks Ethiopia Sidamo at all so I wasn't sure how I would feel about it. I love it. I don't want to drink anything else. It has the best flavor and undertone. It is amazing. Oh and milk comes in a bag here. Weird. More tomorrow. I promise tomorrow we will get into the really interesting stuff.

The Flight

Okay here is the update about the trip over. I got to the airport pretty early and made it through security without too much trouble. My glitter and my printer showed up on the xray machines as a problem, so I got to have the security person go through my bag. I was nervous about the bags, what would be a problem or whether my big backpack would be a problem.

I had a good time sitting, reading, working on the hand quilt that I brought to start on this trip. It was nice to not have any real responsibilities or people to tend to. The first complication happened right off the bat. The flight was supposed to leave at 5:25 pm. At 5 they told us that they were waiting to hear from the crew, but that there was going to be a slight delay. At 5:15 they informed us that the pilot had called in sick and they were waiting for the pilot that was going to take his place was tied up in Houston due to weather. The flight was delayed for 2 hours which would effect anyone with a connecting flight in Washington, so we were told to line up so we could try and get things worked out to get to where we were going. While in line the Flight was cancelled. I was a little stressed because I have never traveled internationally like this, so I didn't know what I was supposed to do. I was reminded that the world is not about me and that God is in control. That being the case I saw no reason to get upset. Others around me were getting upset, but I didn't see that it would help the situation at all to get upset or be rude. I just started praying that He would help me stay calm, not be rude and to work things out. As it turned out, everyone was instructed to go to the ticket counter to rebook, except those who were going to London or Boston. That was grace number one. Three of us were going to London. We were rebooked onto an American Airlines flight direct to London. We didn't even have to go to Washington DC. The Flight attendant told me that the flight left in 30 minutes, so I had to literally run to get to the sky tram to the other gate. Also, she told me she wasn't sure that they would be able to get my bags onto the plane before I left. The other option was to leave the next day which totally changed flights, arrival times, etc. I decided I could run and that I would chance the suitcases. When I got to the gate, the Flight Attendant put me in the back row with an empty seat next to me, that would be grace number 2. That was great; I slept like a baby in the plane on the way from DFW to London.

I arrived in London super excited to be there. I left the airport, took the Express train into the city and took off walking. Well, first I checked my rolling suitcase into a storage place; the guy at the storage place gave me a map. I really just wondered around the city. I really had no idea where I was going, but I was really content to be just wondering. It was quiet, there was no pressure to have to be anywhere or worry about where anyone else wanted to go or what they wanted to do. I really enjoyed the quiet, aimless wondering. I found a street with artist exhibiting and selling art. I really like some of the art. I bought a picture that was small enough to put in my backpack. I loved a bunch that I wanted to buy, but I just couldn't get them into me bag. I got the contact of both of the artist who had art that I really loved. Both of them said they could ship to me. The artist I bought from was really sweet and really grateful that I bought one of his pictures. He told me that 2011 had been a really hard year for him and that I had made his day and his year on the last day of the year because I bought a piece of his art. That made buying the picture even better. I bought the picture b/c I really liked it, he negotiated a good price with me, and as an artist I know that I put my heart and my soul into the things that I make just hoping that what I put into it touches someone else. Having someone love something I made and buy it from me really means a lot and makes my day as well. It just made it doubly wonderful that it meant so much to me. I also enjoyed visiting with the two artist for a little while. Here is the web site for one of the artists www.richardpriceart.co.uk

. This is the one I couldn't buy from b/c his pieces were too big. I really wanted a couple of them and hope to be able to purchase from him when I get back.

I found a park and decided to sit down and write about what had happened so far in my journey. At the park a squirrel came up literally a foot from me. I will post pictures of that later. I wondered around some more, but I had worn the wrong shoes. My feet were beginning to hurt really bad. My back was hurting b/c my back pack was ridiculously full causing it to be ridiculously heavy. Once it started to rain on me I decided to call it a day. I had brought a rain poncho, but had left it in the bag I stored rather than having it in my backpack. Yay me!!!! I found some stuff to buy for the kids from London and headed back to the train station. By that point I was exhausted and my back and feet were killing me. I thought it was silly that I had not seen any real tourist spots nor taken a tour. I did enjoy being able to just wonder around pressureless. I had to pay to go to the bathroom at Paddington station. I thought that was pretty silly. I asked a lady to help me with which coins to insert and she said it was on her and paid for me to enter the bathroom. At that point I picked up my bag and headed for the train.

I got back to the airport with lots of time to spare and hung out waiting for the plane. Challenge number two came when the gate finally open for boarding. There I found out that our carry ons could only be 7 kilos. I had been totally unaware of this restriction. I would have definitely packed differently had I known that. I packed my carry ons pretty heavy so that my checked bags would be under weight. The checked bags ended up having like 15 pounds to spare. So when they weighed my bags to be 21 kilos and said the charge was 100 pounds or $200 dollars my heart was not so happy. What could I do, though. Either I pay the fee and check my other carry on or leave my bag (with my clothes, printer, some of my craft supplies and a lot of other stuff) in London. I had prayed an hour earlier for God to give me grace and help me be kind, and to behave in a way the honored Him and dignified the people that I encountered. I prayed that b/c I knew I was exhausted, my feet and back were hurting and I know it can be challenging to be kind and Christlike when in that state of mind. Standing in front of the airline guy who was telling me that I had to give him $200 for my bag, I was really grateful that the Holy Spirit had inspired and stirred me to pray that prayer. I heard a lot of people get really angry and mistreat the airline guy. I didn't want to be one of those people. It was a very large chunk of my mission trip money to cough up. I spoke silently to God telling Him that this was all His money anyway and that the bags were full b/c of all the art supplies and things for my missionary friends that my other bags contained. I told Him that all those art supplies and what I was going to be able to do with them was worth more than $200. In the end I was able to keep my cool and be at peace. God provided all the money for my trip and He knew what I needed to be able to pay my way in Ethiopia for two weeks and even knew that this money was going to be required of me even when I did not. I just had to see the $200 as a gift to the Lord which came from being able to bring art supplies and love on kids. He will provide and take care of me while I am here. I was able to pay the guy, tell him that I was really sorry that he was being mistreated by so many people and to have a great day. All and all God was able to help me take it all in stride, and not act un Christlike.

I will take up the flight from London to Addis Ababa later. I am out of time and there is stuff to talk about on that flight.

Thoughts on travel

This post was technically brewing in my brain before I left, but I did not find the time to write the post before I left. As I woke up Saturday morning, knowing I was leaving to go to Ethiopia that day, I took some time to get really quiet and still, so I could pray and listen. I really wanted to be able to be prepared for the trip. I wanted to be open to whatever God wanted to do in or through me on the way over. I had such an overwhelming sense of God's presence and His peace as I sat quietly. I felt so surrounded and overwhelmed by Him. What I really felt Him impressing on my heart and stirring me to pray about was really, really being present and engaged in everything around me as I traveled. Sometime I can be so distracted by my mind which always seems to be going a million miles an hour. Sometimes I miss what is really going on around me b/c I am so in my head planning or thinking or processing. I am where I am, but just not fully aware of everything that my senses could be taking in. I felt like I needed to be very intentional on the plane, in the airport, and all along the trip to take in what was going one around me.

What did I see with my eyes? Not just this is an airport, but what are the details my eyes see in the airport?

What do I smell?

What do I hear?

I wanted to notice the people around me, what did they look like? What were they doing? What were they saying? Did God have anything to say about them? Did He want me to engage them?

How did I feel? What was going on in my mind? In my emotions?

I just felt like I really needed to take in what was going on around me. God gave me senses to experience the world around me? My senses are to stir my affections for Him and tell me about what is going on that I can see and maybe sometimes what I can't see. It can be so easy to take the fact that my five senses work, because they do work so well. It would be very sad to not truly appreciate my senses until one of them is gone. I had a sense that He did not want me to be so wrapped up in getting to the destination (getting to Ethiopia), that I missed the adventure and experience of the journey. I guess that has kind of been the theme He has been recently speaking to me about life over and over. I have, in the past, been so focused on the end destination of so many times that I missed all that I could have gotten on the journey. I finally understand that the journey is as important as the destination. Yes, where God is taking us is important, but He is also working in us along the way. He wants for me to get so much more as we go than I usually get due to not really understanding the importance of the path that gets me to where I am going.