Bring on the rain, the roof is done!

It has taken me awhile but I wanted to give everyone an update on the roof project for Betselote and Efrata. . .it is done!!  Praise the Lord!  I can’t even explain how happy I am for this precious family to have a solid roof over their heads! 

Thank you so much to those of you that donated your money to this project.  People I don’t even know donated to this roof and that just amazes me.  God is so good and faithful, isn’t he?!?!  Seble, Betselote and Efrata’s aunt, contacted me on FaceBook and thanked me for making this happen for their family but more importantly, she thanked God for “this miracle”.  I didn’t make this happen, God did.  I was just blessed enough to be the vessel that He used.

Here are some pics for you to enjoy:

Here’s what I’ve got coming up to raise more money for Ethiopia:

*I am selling local merchant discount cards that are $10.  The cards are good for one year and can be used multiple times.

*I will be having a big yard sale on April 2^nd.  If you want to do some early spring cleaning, I will be more than happy to take the stuff off of your hands!  J

*Matty’s in downtown Anderson has graciously agreed to do a charity day for me.  I will get 10% of any receipt that has my name written on the back of it on April 4^th from 11am-9:30pm.  Please come out and eat!  J

Wishing Many Blessings on My Ethiopian Family this new year.

It seems so surreal that I have been home from Ethiopia for two months.  I still feel such a strong connection to all of the wonderful people that I met.  Oh how I miss them all!!  This Christmas season has been hard on me.  Not just missing everyone, but realizing how commercialized Christmas has become in America has been a slap in the face.  I always on some level knew that the vast majority of Americans have taken the real meaning out of Christmas but after experiencing everything that I did in Ethiopia and then coming back to the USA during the Christmas season. . .let’s just say it was a huge eye-opener.  Christmas is a time to reflect on the greatest gift that God has given us.  There is no gift that could ever compare to the gift of Jesus. 

I wish countless blessings upon Blessing the Children, the orphans, and the impoverished widows of Debre Zeyit.  I pray that God compels people to give great blessings to these people.  They of course always need financial blessings, but they also need missionaries to come and serve.   The need is so great but the smallest of gifts can change a life forever. 

It is my wish for the New Year that God uses me as a spokesperson for BCI to my family and friends.  Nothing would make me happier then to know that a child was sponsored because of my experience in Ethiopia.  I pray that my family and friends seriously pray about sponsoring one or more of these precious children.  These are the children that need help:  http://blessingthechildren.org/Adana/Child_Info.pdf

“Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.”  (James 1:27 NLT)  I wonder what the world would look like if everyone who claimed to be a Christian lived by this verse?

For more information on how you can help, please visit:  http://www.blogger.com/www.blessingthechildren.org.

Here is an article I wrote for BCI:  http://www.blessingthechildren.ca/Forms/BCC_Post_2010-11.pdf

BCI Academy

A few weeks back I said that I would use my blog to profile families and people that I met during my trip to Ethiopia.  I figured I should start out by profiling the group that I went with.  Blessing the Children International (BCI) is based out of Michigan.  Keith Strawn, BCI President and Founder, was led by God to care for improvised orphans and widows, so in 2001 BCI was born.  This calling eventually led to the opening of the BCI Academy and the Adana Children Center in Debre Zeyit, Ethiopia in January 2008. 

The BCI academy currently houses grades 1-6 but eventually it will go up to grade 12.  BCI has a child sponsorship program that currently has 114 children enrolled in it, approx 80 of those children attend the BCI Academy and the other children attend local schools.  It takes $90/mth to fully care for a child in the BCI program.  ALL, literally 100%, of that money goes straight to Ethiopia.  None of the child sponsorship money stays back in America.  Here is how BCI breaks down how the money is sent:

1/3 – Direct child support (like food and clothing)

1/3 – Education (school tuition, books, uniforms, school supplies, etc.)

1/3 – Ethiopian Programs and Services (like children’s medical care, activity days, social workers, etc.)

Here is an article comparing BCI to other sponsorship programs:  https://webmail.suntrust.com/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://blessingthechildren.org/Forms/BCI_Post_2010-07.pdf

A child can have 1, 2, or 3 sponsors.  You are able to help sponsor a child for $30/mth, $60/mth or you may decide to be that child’s only sponsor for $90/mth.  There are many children in the program that are still awaiting full sponsorship and there are many more children in the community that are waiting to become a “BCI kid” but need sponsors to get accepted.  To sponsor a child go to:  http://blessingthechildren.org/caring/sponsorship.html

The great thing about BCI (other than 100% of the money going to Ethiopia) is that you can truly have a relationship with your sponsor child.  You are able to write them letters and send them packages.  Also, the children write their sponsors once a month and the letters are mailed to the BCI Michigan office and then they mail them out to you.

BCI welcomes mission’s trips all year long.  They have 10 scheduled trips per year that individuals and groups are able to sign up for or if you have a rather large group and you are not able to come during the 10 set dates, you are able to contact BCI and they will work with you to accommodate your travel dates.  BCI was such a pleasure to work with, they were very accommodating and never got upset when I emailed them question after question after question.  Their goal is to help you have the best experience that you can while serving God and the children of Ethiopia.

Once a month, BCI has an activity day at one of the partner churches.  All of the BCI kids and families come and there is a worship service, games and crafts, and a feeding program.  What was really awesome about the feeding program is that they hire some of the BCI moms to prepare and serve the meals so not only are the children and moms being fed, but the moms are being provided with an income!

BCI also has two foster homes; one houses 4 children and the other houses 9 children.  The children accepted into the foster home are in dire situations with absolutely no family that is able to care for them.  BCI doesn’t believe in the “institutionalized care” of children.  They believe that children thrive better when they are in a loving home.  A lot of the children in the BCI program are orphans but BCI has been able to secure loving homes for them but of course, there are children that literally have no one so that is what the two foster homes are there for.

Other than child sponsorship, there are so many ways that you can help BCI.  You can mail money and specify where you want it to go, such as, school construction, food support for a particular family, shoes, etc.  Or you can donate money and allow BCI to decide where to use it.  There is so much that needs to be done.  Please, don’t hesitate to ask me any questions about BCI or my trip. 

I pray that through my trip and experiences, God touches many hearts of my friends and family and many of these children will get sponsored and checks will be sent for projects.  I also pray that God will show others, like He has for me, ways that they can cut back on their spending to bless some of these precious children.  I have, first-hand, seen the difference between wants and true needs.  Needs are scary and devastating and heart-breaking and people with these true needs require assistance.

I have been back in SC for 4 days now and it is still so surreal that I am not with the babies in Ethiopia.  I haven't really been affected by jet-lag but I have felt like I have been in a fog.  When I was in Ethiopia I really immersed myself, not to sound rude but I rarely thought about home-I was just so consumed with what was going on around me, that it has been difficult to get back into the swing of things here in America.  I literally feel like I left my heart behind and it is hard to function without it.

I plan to update this blog occasionally and highlight individual families and people to give you a little more information about the people that I met and what I was doing while over there.  I pray that some of the blog readers are lead to help some of the people that they "met" through my blog.  There is so much need and many ways to be of help.

In an earlier blog I wrote about a family that I met and mentioned that I wanted to repair their roof on their house.  Here are some pics:

This is right above Betselote and Efrata's bed.  I could see the sky through this hole!

Ceiling in the living room.

Living room ceiling.

The precious Aunt.

Betselote and Efrata

The family needs approx. $800 to fix their roof but my goal is to raise $1000 for this family.  We all know how construction goes so it may cost more.  If not, the family will have extra money for clothes and food.  I have already been given $300 for this project!!  I am so excited and grateful that my friends and family care about people that I love half-way across the world. 

I know that everyone cannot go on missions trips and see the need first-hand but it is my hope that through me and my blog, you can help people that you have never met.  If you have any questions as to how you can be used-don't hesitate to ask me.  I know that not everyone can help monetarily and I also know that you may have other projects and people that you are supporting but I ask that everyone please pray for the people of Debre Zeyit, Ethiopia.  They are in desperate need of healing from HIV/AIDS, food, shelter, clothes, and medical care.

It is 7:54pm on October 24th and I am in the Addis Ababa airport awaiting my flight.  I can't believe that it is already time to go home.  There is still so much work that needs to be done in Debre Zeyit, Ethiopia and still so much that I wanted to personally do. 

 

The people of Ethiopia are truly amazing.  They are so generous, humble, resilent, and strong.  The other American missionaries and I kept joking around and saying "Ethiopians-strong, Americans-weak".  We were joking but it is true in so many ways.  I don't say that to put down Americans-but to lift up Ethiopians.  I have been amazed at the work ethic here.  The vast majority of people in Debre Zeyit don't have machines and gadgets to do the work for them.  For example, it takes them about 20-25 minutes just to make coffee and they do it at least three times a day!!  They walk everywhere and then carry back any supplies that they have purchased.  They can make a meal out of next to nothing.  So many evenings I would look in the kitchen trying to figure out what to make for dinner and would decide that I didn't have what I needed.  Then 5 min later Mekdes (a 14year old foster child) would walk in there and prepare a wonderful meal.  In America I consider myself to be a good cook. . .in Ethiopia I just felt helpless!

 

I shared so many wonderful experiences with the people of Debre Zeyit over the past two weeks and I can't wait to share many more with them.  Lord willing, I will be back next October as my heart now belongs to the wonderful people I have met in Debre Zeyit.  My initial plan was to come here every two years but after coming and meeting them-I want to come twice a year but will settle for once a year!

 

Some interesting things I learned about Ethiopia and its people:

 

*Schedules are a suggestion.

*There is only one traffic rule-yield to anything bigger than you.

*Animals are not considered part of the family.

*Water pressure is horrendous. . you will never rinse out all of your conditioner-stop trying!

*You are welcome in anyone's home at any time.

*Your neighbors will pop in if they hear you making boona (coffee).

*Napkins are a commodity.

*They like to follow white people around-just to see what they are going to do.

*Running water and electricity are a luxury.

*Shintabays (basically a hole in the ground used as a toilet) don't have doors.

*You may have a toilet, sink, and shower but you have no running water.

*The government turns off electricity every few days to conserve energy. . .but they do it at 6:30pm because that is the middle of the night for them-their new day starts at 6pm.

*People don't put their feet on furniture because you get so dusty walking around.

*It is unwise to pull out a camera with more than 5 kids around.

*They think you know every American that has been to Debre Zeyit.  They are shocked that I don't know who Tony is-I mean, we both live in America after all.

*Cows and bulls will not just charge you, they are actually nice.

*All prices are negotiable but they go up if you are furunngie (foreign).

*I am considered wufrum (fat) in Ethiopia.

*I may be wufrum but I am also conjoe (pretty).

*Kids laugh hysterically if you call yourself wufrum.

*Kids will not eat or drink anything a furunngie has prepared. . .even water!

*Kids come running if they see you unzip your bookbag.

 

But what I learned most of all from these beautiful people is that their faith is stronger than their circumstances.  So many people's faith is relative to the adversity in their lives.  Not Ethiopians, their faith is extremely high. . .no matter their circumstances.

Today is October 23rd @ 2.12pm.  I leave tomorrow evening and I am so sad!!  So much has happened while I have been here and I can't wait to share with everyone when I get home.  I have some amazing pictures to upload!!  Once a month BCI hosts an activity day at one of the partner churches, and it was today.  All of the BCI kids and siblings come out for a time of worship, games, arts and crafts, and a feeding program.  Yesterday, Cecilia and I pooled our money and bought 26 pairs of shoes for kids that desperately needed them.  26 pairs of shoes cost us around $185!!!  We handed out the shoes today at activity day.  It hurt me to not have shoes for everyone but I know that I can only do so much.

 

Yesterday, I went to visit Betselote and Efrata's home.  They live with their aunt because both of their parents died.  I was so touch by the sacrifices that the aunt has made for her family.  This woman has never married or had children of her own, but she is taking care of her four nieces.  Two of her sister's died and she has selflessly taken in all four children to care for them.  Her other sister, who is much younger, also moved in to attend the university.  So this lady is taking care of 5 girls.  I was amazed by this precious lady but then I found out that she runs a ministry at her church where she meets the needs for her church members.  This lady goes around the church and finds out the needs of her congregation and then prays, buys stuff, and raises funds to meet all of these needs.

 

While I was at the house I was noticing that the ceiling is in horrible condition.  There are watermarks everywhere and some holes where the water just leaks through.  The living room and dining room are really bad but when I went into the girls' bedroom I couldn't believe what I saw.  First of all, the ceiling in there is worse then in the living room and dining room.  But what concerns me most of all, is that right above the girls' pillows is a hole.  I'm not talking about a hole in the ceiling, I'm talking I saw daylight when I looked up there.  Also, two of the girls share a bed and there is no mattress. 

 

I was so touch by this woman's generous spirit and how she cares for everyone else that God has lead me to meet her needs.  I asked her what she needs for her family and she was so humble that she didn't want to request anything.  But she finally said that if I could fix her roof she would be forever grateful.

 

I am going to fix that woman's roof.  As we were walking out of the house, I asked Getu the social worker to get a contractor out to the house to give me an estimate. The contractor came out the same day and I received the estimate today. 

 

My goal is to raise $1000 for this precious lady and her family.  The estimate for the roof is approx $800.  This includes the roof, ceiling, replacing warped cross beams, materials, and labor.  The house is probably 1200sq ft.  I am asking for everyone to pray about this family and if God so leads you, to donate money for the roof.  I know that everyone can not give money, but I know that everyone can pray.  Please pray that God would meet this precious woman's need.

It is October 21st at 11:32am when I am typing this.  I have been here for about a week and a half and I am so overwhelmed by the need here.  Last night was really rough for me because I realized that I can not help everyone that I have met. We went to the BCI Academy yesterday and while I was playing with the children I just kept looking at their sweet, precious faces and thinking. . .there is no way for me to fulfill all of this child's needs.  I have also realized while I have been here that in Ethiopia it is very hard to break the cycle of poverty.  Ethiopians have to apply for a diversity visa to go to countries like America and in all of Ethiopia, only 50,000 visas are granted per year.  This means that there is a strong desire for people to move out of Ethiopia but they can not.  Also, Ethiopians are very much about family and community so it is very hard for someone to move away from their "compound".

 

I went to sleep last night crying about all of the people that I have met and all of the needs that I have calculated and realized that I couldn't meet.  Although, as God promises, joy came in the morning.  God showed me this morning that while I can not meet all of everyone's needs.  I can meet all of one or two people's needs and He will send other missionaries to meet other needs.  I truly understand what Matthew  9 talks about when it says that the harvest is plenty but the workers are few.  I wonder what the world would look like if every person that claims to be a Christian would take the Great Commission seriously?  Oh what a wonderful world that would be!!

 

I was kinda worried about the language barrier before I came here but I have realized that Love is an international language.   It doesn't matter if they don't speak English and that I don't speak Amharic. . .we speak to each other through love.  When I give a child clothes, vitamins, coloring books, or just kisses they know that I love them; and when a child wraps their arms around me or when 7 or 8 of them literally fight each other to hold my hand, I know that they love me.  And when a mother gives me the last of her food because I have shown her baby love-I know that she loves me.  I have learned how to say I love you in Amharic and when I say it to them their little faces light up and they get really, really shy.  It is so sweet. 

 

I have also realized that we really are all the same inside.  Parents here want the same things and opportunities that parents in America want for their children-they just don't have the resources to make it happen.  The children here just want love and affection just like the children in America do.  But I have seen one difference in the children here than in the vast majority of American children-children here share what little they do have with anyone-no matter their "status" and children here are not greedy-they are gracious and thankful.

 

Adana (and his sister Mekides) is currently staying at the Lum-Lum Guest House where I am staying.  Adana is an orphan and he is 9 years old.  One day I bought a slice of cake (I was soooo craving sugar-they aren't really sugar eaters here) from the cafe and I didn't like it because it wasn't sweet.  I asked Adana if he wanted it and his face lit up and he grabbed it and ran.  Well, like 5 minutes later I looked outside and he was sitting on the steps with two of his friends and they all were diving into the cake.  What was so touching about this to me is that Adana's friends (Nahum and Nadi) are what you would consider wealthy here.  They live with both of their parents, who both have good jobs, in a big house (an actual house, not a hut) that has running water, electricity, a roof, and a floor.  Adana has, literally, next to nothing and he was sharing what little he did have with his wealthy neighbors.  That is love.