Day 4: Baby Giggles

Today I am thankful for:

Baby Giggles

It has been just over a month since I started spending time at the baby home. I sat there with the kids this morning in awe of how far this month together has brought us. These little ones have learned to trust me, accept me, and love me. They have welcomed me into their lives and have allowed me to see deeper into their hearts with each priceles smile and every precious giggle. They have taught me even more about what it is to love, and have showed me the value that love holds. 

When I started at the baby home, there was a litlte guy who did not take long to win my heart. He was the 1st name I learned and the 1st little one that I really connected with. He stood out to me because his eyes held an emptiness, a look of mere existance. It broke my heart and yet all I knew to do was hold him close and love him. And so that is what I did. It did not take him long to warm up to the attention that he was getting, and not too much time passed before he became jealous if my attention was elsewhere. I was overjoyed by his jeaousy because that meant we were getting somewhere... we had bonded. For a week he sat limp in my lap, content to just be close. Two weeks ago though he began sitting up on his own, making eye contact, letting out a smile, grasping my finger, and he even began to giggle. The first time he let out a giggle I thought my heart was going to burst. God has been at work in this little one that just a month ago was merely existing. He is a new baby. What a joy-filled transformation it has been. 

Today I sat on the pourch of the baby's room with little ones all around. I was lost in the moment with one little guy on either shoulder and one fast asleep on my legs. It was a moment of pure bliss. There was lots of snuggling, but more than that there were giggles. Today, I am praising God for baby giggles! 

Day 3: Suquar (Sugar)

Today I am thankful for:

Sost Kilos Suquar 

(Three kilos of sugar)

    
It has been about a month since sugar has been available in rural Ethiopia. That's just how things go here sometimes. They run out of stuff. Sometimes eggs, sometimes benzine (gas), sometimes sugar, sometimes electricity, and sometimes even water. It's just a part of life. Picture this though: you go to your local grocery store, walk down the baking aisle, and realize there is no sugar to be had. Two weeks later you go back: Nothing. You spend the next two weeks asking every shop keeper you know if they have sugar. Still none. Until FINALLY, on a beautiful Monday in November sugar has returned. 

Some fun grocery facts:

• The biggest "grocery store" in Soddo is about the size of the average living room and has AN aisle. 
• When you purchase items such as sugar, flour, pasta, lentils, or beans they measure them out on an old fashioned scale and pour them right into a plastic grocery bag. Have you ever tried to pour 5 kilos of flour out of a plastic grocery bag? It's not exactly what you would call easy. 
• Most shopping here happens at a suke. A suke is a walk-up shop where you can get just about anything you need. (See picture)

Not having sugar has not been the end of the world by any means, but it has certainly added an extra layer of complication when I have gotten the urge to bake. What tops this still: we have not only sugar but eggs also. AT THE SAME TIME! It's a marvelous beautiful thing. 


Today, I am thankful to have sost kilos of suquar (three kilos of sugar) in the cupboards waiting to sweeten our lives. 

Day 2: His Plans Trump Mine

Today I am thankful that:

God had a plan for me far beyond any I could have imagined for myself. 

My journey to Africa is one that goes back to 6 1/2 years ago when I was in middle-school and God first laid the idea of going to Africa on my heart. Back then I didn't know details I just knew that when I graduated I was going to a baby orphanage in Africa. As the months turned into years I could barely contain my desire to hop on a plane and cross the ocean that laid between me and my dream... Me and my calling. Up until just last August I thought I was going to Johannesburg, South Africa to serve in a home for babies that were abandoned on the streets of the city. Last August God opened my eyes that the struggles and challenges that would come with being in the crime capital of the world on my own. Bad news bears! It was not long after He closed that door for me that He presented me with HIS plan: Ethiopia. In January I made contact with the family I am staying with now, at which point plans fell into place as perfectly as puzzle pieces and there was no doubt in my mind that God had orchestrated this. 

Yet another plot twist. Originally I thought I was coming here to help homeschool and teach at a local preschool. I was excited about the possibility as working with kids was really where my heart was, but once I got here and we talked about moving from Chencha to Soddo I was even more excited than ever because of what moving would mean for me. Moving to Soddo opened up the door for me to do exactly what I said I was going to do all those years ago: work in a baby orphanage in Africa!

God called me to faithfulness even when I did not have all the details. He called me to follow His plan and be willing to give up my own. He called me to GO and promised that everything would fall into place. And it has. God has been so faithful, and through all the possibilities that have come and gone, He allowed me to follow my heart and serve the babies of Africa. It's a beautiful thing when life's dreams align with God's plan. 

Today as I reflect back on my journey to Africa, I am thankful that God had a plan for me far beyond any I could have imagined for myself.

Day 1: Skype

One of my favorite things to do leading up to Thanksgiving is the 30 days of Thankfulness where each day I intentionally take time to think of something I am thankful for. It's a good time to be intentional about counting your blessings. So... for the next 30 days I'll be doing a daily post (or nearly daily depending on the internet) with items in my life that I am thankful for. During this time I encourage you to spend time thinking about the blessing in your life.

Today I am thankful for...

Skype

Today, as I eagerly await a Skype date with my family later this evening, I am thinking about what a blessing Skype has been since arriving in Ethiopia. I am so thankful for the ability to see my family in real-time and share with one another the joys and struggles of life. Without fail, getting to see the faces of the family that I love so very much brightens up my day and brings a smile to my face!  Even from thousands of miles away, we can be together. For that reason and so many others: today I am thankful for Skype.

All in a Day's Walk

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to take a walk down a street in rural Ethiopia? Yeah, me either. But now it has become a regular part of my life... and WOW!  

Picture this... On the average day I start my day with a 45 minute walk to the baby home. 

On that walk I:

• Get at least a dozen offers for "a lift my sister"
• Turn down at least a dozen offers for "a lift my sister"
• Hold the hand of a child who is a total stranger

• Greet people I do not know as if we were best friends
• Turn down more offers for "a lift my sister"
• Have time to think about life
• Dodge Izusus, Bajajs, motor bikes, donkeys, wheel barrows, women carrying their market loads, sheep, mud puddles, funeral processions, and a myriad of other things
• Attempt to tune out the "feringe" shouts
• Get a healthy dose of Vitamin D
• Huff and puff up the world's steepest hill like a champ

• Enjoy the most beautiful scenery and am reminded of the beauty of our God

Mango Tree R&R

Sometimes, when God gives you beautiful weather, you've just got to drop everything and embrace it. Over the weekend we did just that. A little outdoor rest and relaxation for the win. 

A Drop of Love

Oceans. Have you ever thought about how many drops of water it would take to fill an ocean? As I spent hour after hour flying over the water I was hit by how overwhelmingly HUGE the Atlantic Ocean is. 

Over the past week I have struggled with facing ocean-sized-realities that with all that is in me I want to fix. Babies that cannot get adopted because of a freeze, street children who are left utterly alone in this world, children that I so wish had the love and support I had growing up. As we have pretty well settled into life in Soddo, I find that day by day my eyes are opened more and more to the reality of life here. It is a good town full of great people, but even in my little bubble of life here there is need. Along with facing those harsh realities, I have been struck with the fact that I am one person, totally and completely incapable of solving the world's problems. If I could though, believe me, I would! 

Even after two and a half short months here I came to doubt myself; I wondered if going to the orphanage and spending time with the kids there was enough. After all, I am not with them all the time, and what is a few hours of love in the grand scheme of their lives? This is the question I took to The Lord last night: "Lord, you called me here. Am I doing all that you have on the table for me?"

This morning I got up and began my trek to the baby home dodging motor bikes and donkeys all along the way. Upon arriving I went about the normal routine of greeting the staff, getting hugs and handshakes from the older children, and making my way to the baby room. As I sat there with the little ones this morning, softly humming Baby E to sleep I felt the gracious arms of Christ wrapping around me. "This, my child, is exactly where I have planted you. Spread my love." I looked into Baby E's eyes and stroked his tight curls, and as his face broke into a smile I knew that I was indeed doing everything in my power to bring the love of Jesus into their lives. And the beautiful part is, without even knowing it, they are doing the same thing in my life. 

Sharing love, that is what I am here to do... Giving the thing that my life is overflowing with. Yes, my influence is just a drop in the ocean, but without that drop the ocean would not be complete.