BUSY WEEK

Our young blind friend Kaleya was by earlier this week for tutoring in his English grammar. He brings his homework from school and then I read it to him and he tells me the answers and I write them down. We take for granted so many services in the U.S. for the blind...a good education being one of them. Steve has been going to clinics with the vet students this week and has enjoyed it (they treated camels today). We all are working this week on supplying the orphanage with beds, mattresses, sheets, and pillows and had the privilege of delivering some today and will hire a horse and gerry tomorrow to deliver 9 more bunk sets. Their electricity was turned on TODAY at the orphanage so when the city comes out to complete the final wiring, it will be ready- Yea! Tomorrow our family project in the afternoon is to wrap mattresses in plastic tarp wrap to protect them and then puts sheets on beds for the kids. Lord willing, by friday they will be ready (with beds) for 28 kids. Another project for this week is that our guard's baby sister is 11 and has major hearing loss from what is reportedly correctable problems with surgery. So we are sponsoring her and her oldest brother, who has raised her since their mother passed 8 years ago, to leave for Addis on Saturday and travel there to see an ENT specialist. IF he is able to see her and IF her ear isn't currently infected and IF he feels she is old enough for the anasthesia, he will do the surgery and try to correct her hearing loss. She is the most beautiful girl and we just couldnt stand by and do nothing knowing she could have her hearing restored, all for under 300 US dollars, but it wasn't happening because that is her brother's total annual salary. There are many situations like this in Ethiopia, and a surgery fund may be something that God is putting on our hearts for children here. Some of the blind students we will see on Friday when we go to share a short devotion and sing to them have correctable problems with their vision as well, and a surgery is just out of reach because of money. Amounts of money that seem impossible for them here are fairly easy for many Americans...so maybe God will use us to put all the right parties together so that more blessings can happen for these kids. Anyway, that is a run-down of our week; English tutoring, bed construction, lecturing, camel-doctoring, possible ear surgery and sharing with the blind students....just another week in the life of the Zicks. Oh...two great quotes to make you smile: Nati, when praying yesterday, "and thank you God and thank you for your little son too." Curtis, today, when giving a re-cap of his new study in Titus where we are marking the text and learning about rebellious men..."and we learned that they want to come in and teach bad things and do it for sordid gain...that is like when they say, 'just put 20 bucks in this bucket and your sins will be forgiven, but i have to go take all the money right now and buy me a new Ford Toyota!" Gotta love it.