LAST DAY!

Today I am thankful for:

My Longs List of Thankfuls



     After a month of reflecting on the many blessings both great and small I have in my life, I am thankful that I have a long list of things I never got to. I am thankful for new blessings this year, and ones that have carried me through the years! I am thankful for blessings unseen that are still on their way. I am thankful for December and the hope and promise that it brings with the celebration of the birth of Jesus. I am just thankful!
     Even with all the ups and downs of power and internet in Ethiopia, I managed to get something down for almost every day. Looking forward now to going back to a variety in posts, and for more opportunities for the spirit to lead my heard in writing. God is so good to us--I think we all have a great deal of things we can be thankful for this year!

Day 29: Thanksgiving in Ethiopia

Today I am thankful for:

Thanksgiving in Ethiopia 

     I have been asked time and time again about Thanksgiving in Ethiopia. Was it hard to be away from family? What foods do you eat? How do they celebrate?

 

     That last question is my favorite... How do Ethiopians celebrate? They don't. It's an American holiday. But because we live within a community of other missionaries from the states, we did get to celebrate this year with an imported turkey and all the trimmings! It was such a beautiful time of thankfulness and fellowship with those who are in the same boat. So this year, even thousands of miles away from home, I was able to celebrate Thanksgiving. How was it away from my family? Not nearly as difficult as I expected! I attribute most of that to it being warm here and not feeling like the typical Thanksgiving, but along with that I know I have an amazing family at home that is fully supporting me in this so for this year anyway, it is ok that I am away. Did I miss them? Of course! But more than that I am thankful for the opportunity to be here and be in the midst of lives being changed by Christ! What more is there to be thankful for? 

 

Day 28: $ Easy Money Math $

Today I am thankful for:

Birr-Dollar Conversion

     Part of going to a foreign country is figuring out money exchange rates. I remember getting through immigration at the airport and going to exchange my money--I LOVED it because I handed the lady a $50 bill and she handed me a thick stack of birr! I felt rich as could be. It seems like a shallow thing to be thankful for, but the easy 20:1 conversion rate between the Ethiopian birr and the US dollar has made the world of difference in figuring out money matters. Today as family and friends, and the rest of the US are working on getting deals and steals in the chaos of Black Friday sales, it seems only American to have money on the mind. Today I am thankful that I learned to count by 20s in elementary school, and that the conversion rate is easy to follow! 

Day 27: My Family

Today (and every day) I am thankful for:

My Family!

     Happy Thanksgiving!! Though it did not feel much like Thanksgiving here in Ethiopia, I was able to celebrate with my family via Skype. My mom and dad, sister and brother, grandparents, aunt and uncle, and even some cousins stopped in to chat! Seeing all of them together did make me sad that I could not be there too, but I am so in love with the work that I am able to be a part of here that it is ok being away this year. I am so thankful that I have a family I love, a family I am close with, who support and love me. Seeing them all and spending part of the holiday with them was certainly the highlight of my Thanksgiving. Thankful today for my family!

Day 26: The "In"

Today I am thankful for:

The "In"

      Today I spent my morning at the hospital with one of the little boys from the baby home. When I got to there this morning one of the nannies asked me if I would like to go along with her. Of course I said yes! It was such quality time together, even under the circumstances. (The little boy is fine--he had an infection that some antibiotics should clear up). When we returned it was well after lunch, but the ladies back at the orphanage had prepared a meal for us and waited for us to get back to eat. Again, such wonderful time of fellowship with the women that care for the children I so dearly love! And to wrap it all up: a coffee ceremony... Because no habasha (Ethiopian) meal is complete without a 3 pour coffee ceremony! I am thankful today that I am "in" with the ladies. They thanked me over and over for going to the hospital, but I really felt like I should thank them for including me and allowing me to be a part of yet another layer of these children's lives! These ladies are such a special part of the baby home--as you think of it today say a special prayer for them and the work that they do!

Day 25: The Pregnancy Clinic

Today I am thankful for:

The Pregnancy Clinic

     I have connected with some fellow missionaries in the area that operate a rural pregnancy clinic (more on that in my next newsletter). I went quite a few times after our move to Soddo and absolutely fell in love with being a part of sharing the gospel with new lives! Currently I go and help out when they need an extra set of hands--today was one of those days. After bumping an hour and a half down the road we arrived and set up shop. Roughly 40 women later we were packing up for the day. The ministry provides a bit of food, checking of vitals (my role is blood pressure and baby's heart beat), a lesson on care for self and baby incorporated into a gospel lesson, and a time of prayer for the women. It is such a joy to be a part of this awesome ministry that is touching lives of those who are yet to enter the world. Grateful today for the opportunity to be a part of this medical mission, and for the special women who walk for miles and miles to come.

Catching Up

     Well, it has been a few (more like quite a few) days since I have written. Africa has not been cooperating with my 30 days of Thankfulness these past few weeks. Rather than double and triple, or quadruple post as the case may be, I opted to pull another "I have forgiving readers" card and scrap it. Hopefully tomorrow I'll get to start up again and finish out the month strong.
     Just to catch you up on the latest happenings of Ethiopia, in typical Africa fashion we had another few days of power outages. Other than that life has been pretty normal. We are preparing to celebrate Thanksgiving with our missionary friends this week. It is so strange preparing to celebrate without all of the typical holiday buzz. Between the continuation of normal day to day life and the lack of change in temperature it really does not feel like the end of November at all. I think it is weird preparing for Thanksgiving without the typical holiday buzz, I cannot even imagine what it will feel like welcoming Christmas. Either way the month and my projects here are moving right along. Today was our first rainy day since leaving Chencha--the dry season is getting a little break. It made the perfect excuse to stay inside at the orphanage and get a few extra snuggles with the munchkins.

In other news, I started my SECOND newsletter and it should be ready to send out shortly after Thanksgiving. If you are not on the mailing list and would like to receive it, email your name and address to goservelove.giving365@gmail.com . I would love to include you!