Day 3 – Settling In

I awoke to the sound of laughing children and voices in the streets…a familiar sound of Ethiopia. I started my very hot bath water (thank you Jesus!) and went down to greet the girls who were getting ready to leave for school. After my bath I worked on my computer with the blind student caseworker to update their files. The girls wandered in to study and always showered my cheek with kisses before sitting down. Love it. Later I was asked to define some words for them…”Pom…what is dejected? How about intoxicated?” Hmmm… that was a tough one to describe using only Tigrinya. Finally, by mentioning the homemade brews of Ethiopia (sewa and Tej) and then making hiccup sounds they all broke into giggles and I knew I had been successful. The houseworker had arrived and told me she would have coffee and breakfast ready soon so I enjoyed 2 cups of coffee and some embesha bread with jam as we visited about life. She is a dear woman with wonderful English…I feel so happy to have her in the home! She asked what I want for dinner so she can have it ready and then I headed out. On the way, I kissed as many faces as possible, laughing as children pointed and giggled at me on the way. I stopped in to check on our boy who is now feeling much better and his fever has broken.

At ORE, I spent the day with the staff updating children’s profiles and then enjoyed their prayer time with them at 11am. Entering a room where these staff are praying is like entering a holy temple. Their voices are all simultaneously singing in beautiful melodies as they lift their hands to heaven or sit on their knees with their heads bowed. I was given a translated list of prayer needs for today and went to work…I went back and forth between praying through the list and then simply basking in the wonder of their voices and their prayers, all in another language. The way Ethiopians say God is “Exchiaber” and I love listening to it roll of their lips in song or prayer with the words I recognize to mean “forever”, “praise” and “thank you”. I praised God for the privilege of being here, right now, working with these people who would do literally everything in their power to serve those in need. It is faith in action.

After lunch I got updates from Tigist, the head housemother for the HIV home on all the kids. She talked about each child with such animation, such emotion, sometimes even having tears in her eyes. She talked of their health, their behaviors, their growth since having better nutrition. She talked about the new one, Hagoose, and how his belly is so distended from malnutrition and how he needs close monitoring to finally improve and turn a corner. She talked about how the school at first refused him, saying he looked to unhealthy, but she and Getachew were able to persuade them to admit him. Where would these kids be without advocates such as these? Again, my heart overflows!

We made plans for tomorrow to meet with all 50 students in our blind student project, and I made another coffee appt. with our former caseworker and his wife for Friday. On Monday we will go to Adigrat to explore expansion of ORE’s family-based care project with 100 more kids. We talked about the land behind ORE which is managed by a govt. school. There is an opportunity for ORE to take it over and manage it as a private school, offering free education to 400 students from the community. They talked about the land in the corner, cleared for the next building which will house a multi-purpose room for training widows in income-generating activities and for recreation for the kids on rainy days. All these amazing things that I know God will bring to pass in His time, with His resources, coming from all over the world.

Now I am tucked away with my plate of rice and vegetables typing away listening to the sounds of an Ethiopian neighborhood…music playing, children screaming in joy or in anger, dogs barking, and the sound of my 12 girls outside as they study and visit. Already a request as come from the window…”Miss Pom…hello…how was your day? Can you come now to help me with my English?” I am tired, and part of me would like to just hide in my bedroom with a good book. But this is why I am here, to be with them and to take it all in. “Budehelew Meeshet…at kulta suh-at” I say (after my dinner, at 8pm). “Don’t forget” she says…”I wont forget” I tell her.