Hello everyone!  It is Friday at 11:35am and I finally made it back to the internet cafe.  I don't always have a chance to get here.  I have been having a great time so far experiencing Ethiopia.  The people here are so welcoming and humble.  I have spent most of my time going on home visits to the children that are in the Blessing the Children program.  The need here is so great that I am overwhelmed at trying to figure out where God would want me to help.  I want to fulfill everyone's needs but I know that is not possible at this time.  I have been praying that God would direct me to specific people with specific needs.  I want to know that God is directing me to who to help, not just my own heart directing me. 

 

One particular family that stole my heart was a little girl named Siyam (7 years old), her mom Zehara, and her little sister who is 9-months old but I don't remember her name.  Zehara's husband died 5 years ago but at the time she didn't know why he died.  After his death, Zehara found out that her and Siyam are "positive" (they just say positive, not HIV positive over here) so she assumes that is what he died of.  Thankfully, Zehara had access to medication that made it possible to not pass HIV to the new baby so Praise the Lord, the 9 month old is "negative".  Siyam and her family live in a one room house that has a tin roof and dirt floor.  The house is approximately 10x12ft!  Can you imagine? 

 

Zehara works at a local factory and when she has to work at night, Siyam stays home and babysits the baby.  That's right, a 7 year old and a 9month old stay home alone at night while their mother is working!  When Zehara has to work during the day she leaves the baby with her neighbor who doesn't charge her any money.  I told Zehara about the daycares in America and how much they cost.  She said she should move to America and run a daycare center!

 

While we were visiting Siyam, a neighbor baby crawled from her house and crawled into Siyam's house (I assume this was to stare at the white girl because she stared at me the whole time!!).  She was probably right around a year old and she was only wearing a dress and shoes.  She didn't have on a diaper or undies and when she would sit on the dirt floor her dress would ride up so her bare bottom was on the dirty floor.  She would play with something on the floor and then put her fingers in her mouth.  It made me think about how in America some families with little ones take off their shoes at the door because they don't want their babies crawling around in the "filth" that they track in on their shoes. 

 

God has opened my eyes to the true definitions of "need" and "want".  Within the past two years God has been working on me showing me how wasteful I am and I have become quite frugal in American standards but seeing the actual need over here I realize that I am still extremely wasteful and spoiled. 

 

I have to run because I pay by the minute at the internet cafe, however, it is cheap in Birr (Ethiopian money) but myself and the two other missionaries I am with decided at the start that we are going to use very, very little of the money that we were given while we are here and just give the rest away.  We were allotted 50 birr/per person/per day while we are here.  That is almost $3.80 a day each.  However, the average wage in Debre Zeyit is $0.66 a day.  Oh, you read that right $0.66/day!!  So by Debre Zeyit standards, I am a very rich woman!  So if Eboni, J, and I give most of that away with the money we already brought-God will do an enormous amount of good through us!

 

Loves!