"We miss Ayana so bad!!!!! But we are glad we didn't bring her. Too many risks to have her here. The polution is so bad that when I blow my nose, black comes out.
This morning we were at the prostitution ministry and this evening we rode out to a village outside the city where one american missionary couple are. They have started a ministry for the children to school and feed them. It felt like we were on National geographic.
It was a remote village with no electricity or water and they live in mud huts. They held a ceremony for the whole village to bless a new peice of land that they aquired to build a new school for more children. The school is about the size of ourt master bath and closet and it holds at least 20 children. CRAZY! The elders of the community were there to bless the land and to tell the people what was going to happen. They slaughtered an ox and cut it up and put it on a hige platter and used their hands to pass it out to everyone to eat, RAW! I didn't want to be rude but we just could not do it! They also cooked some of it but they were so dirty that I just couldn't eat it either.
They all ate like vultures becasue they hadn't eaten in days. Our group supplied the missionaries with the money to buy bread and the ox for the viallge to eat. Seeing the children there was devastating. They had ripped clothes and were so dirty. Some of the children had fungus growing on their heads and some of their skin looked unrecognizable. Some were covered in scabies and other skin infections. I felt guilty for feeling this way, but I was freaking out on the inside. You know that I am a germaphobe and I was absolutely freakin out on the inside for hours. It was horrible. We couldn't help everyone, there was just too many of them. It was so hard.
On the way home, we stopped at the pharmacy and got scabies creme. My skin is absolutley crawling!!!!
I have so much more to tell but I am so tired. Call when you want, no matter what time. We love you guys and miss you so bad!
Give Ayana a big hug and kiss for us! Love you,
Amber, Rick, Savannah"
That's all I have for now. I'm going to try and call after I get home from work so Ayana can talk too.
-Lindsay
Showing posts with label missions trip. Show all posts
Showing posts with label missions trip. Show all posts
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Monday, November 9, 2009
Africa, here we come...again!
We are excited to tell you that we are going back to Addis in January! No, it's not to bring home another child...We are going to Addis on a missions trip with a small group. The vision for the trip: We are seeking to find the Christian Solution to the Orphan crisis.
We will be spending time with children at drop-in-centers, orphanages, on the streets, and in surrounding villages. As we ask the directors of these centers what they need most, the answer still surprises me. Consistently, they answer that they need others to come and spend time with the children. The message they have received so far in life is that someone does not love them. Although this is often not true (as often parents dying of HIV/AIDS surrender them to an orphanage because they do love them), when others come specifically to love them, it is utterly life changing…for everyone involved.
We will also be spending time with one of the ministries that works to get prostitutes off the street. Many times, they feel they have no choice but to be on the street. There is a ministry that is providing hope to them. They take them in for a certain amount of time and they are given a loom. They them teach them how to use the loom to weave things that they can sell. They provide childcare and food for them and their children while they are there. While they are in the program, the missionaries who run it help them sell their blankets to Americans who want to help over the internet and the women develop a little nest egg before leaving. After they leave they get to keep the loom so that they can continue to sell products to support their families. I am really excited about this ministry because it may keep more children with their parents and provide more of a long term solution.
This trip is also a means Rick and I asking, “What does God have for us?” Are we called to do more in Ethiopia? Whatever it may be, we are excited to go and be part of the solution…and to listen for what God may have for us. Bottom line, we want to show them the love of Jesus!
We are excited to be bringing the whole family on this trip also. We were not able to bring our 14 year old, Savannah, with us when we picked up Ayana and we are eager to take her this time. I think it will be life changing for her to work with us in these situations and to see where her sister came from. We will also take Ayana. We are afraid that being away from her for 10 days after having her for only 9 months may damage the attachment we are growing. We will stay at the Ethiopia Guest house with friends that will watch her during the day while we are ministering. This is financially a huge burden for 4 of us to be going but I know it’s God so He will provide and make a way.
Calling all Prayer Warriors: Please be praying for our group to raise the money we need and for God to move among the ministries we will be working with.
Also, if you have good fundraiser ideas, I am all ears…Please share.
We will be spending time with children at drop-in-centers, orphanages, on the streets, and in surrounding villages. As we ask the directors of these centers what they need most, the answer still surprises me. Consistently, they answer that they need others to come and spend time with the children. The message they have received so far in life is that someone does not love them. Although this is often not true (as often parents dying of HIV/AIDS surrender them to an orphanage because they do love them), when others come specifically to love them, it is utterly life changing…for everyone involved.
We will also be spending time with one of the ministries that works to get prostitutes off the street. Many times, they feel they have no choice but to be on the street. There is a ministry that is providing hope to them. They take them in for a certain amount of time and they are given a loom. They them teach them how to use the loom to weave things that they can sell. They provide childcare and food for them and their children while they are there. While they are in the program, the missionaries who run it help them sell their blankets to Americans who want to help over the internet and the women develop a little nest egg before leaving. After they leave they get to keep the loom so that they can continue to sell products to support their families. I am really excited about this ministry because it may keep more children with their parents and provide more of a long term solution.
This trip is also a means Rick and I asking, “What does God have for us?” Are we called to do more in Ethiopia? Whatever it may be, we are excited to go and be part of the solution…and to listen for what God may have for us. Bottom line, we want to show them the love of Jesus!
We are excited to be bringing the whole family on this trip also. We were not able to bring our 14 year old, Savannah, with us when we picked up Ayana and we are eager to take her this time. I think it will be life changing for her to work with us in these situations and to see where her sister came from. We will also take Ayana. We are afraid that being away from her for 10 days after having her for only 9 months may damage the attachment we are growing. We will stay at the Ethiopia Guest house with friends that will watch her during the day while we are ministering. This is financially a huge burden for 4 of us to be going but I know it’s God so He will provide and make a way.
Calling all Prayer Warriors: Please be praying for our group to raise the money we need and for God to move among the ministries we will be working with.
Also, if you have good fundraiser ideas, I am all ears…Please share.
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