Wednesday in Ethiopia

Wed. March 14, 2012

This morning, we went out to the dump in Korah to visit with a group of widows through Mission Ethiopia. God continues to draw us to this area, so when asked if we were interested in going back out there this morning to see what the Lord was doing through the ministry of the guest home where we are staying, we jumped on it. We also want to instill in Levi a desire to help others. He will now get to be on the other end of how his life used to be, so our prayer is that he does remember, always love his people, and has a heart for them like we do. There is SO much to learn from them. We can already see so much compassion in this sweet boy. The widows we visited lived in Korah come and make necklaces to sell in order to make a living. We were invited to sit down with them as they showed us how to take a single strip of paper, roll it, and turn it into a bead. Then they cover the “beads” with varnish, paint them, and string them to make beautiful necklaces. Sean’s hands are so big that they got tickled at the way he was trying to roll this small strip of paper. We’re pretty sure there was quite a bit of gossip goin’ round that table about him. One lady had a Bible on the table. Sean asked if it was Amharic, which it was. He opened it, and said, “Which book is this?” The lady with us said it was Jeremiah. I then asked her if she would read Jeremiah 29:11 to the ladies. I asked her to tell them that it was my favorite verse because it is a promise from God that He has a hope and future for each one of us. She read it to them in Amharic, and we heard many “Ah’s” which is Amharic for “yes.” It was so beautiful to watch their faces as it was being read. I was praying they would know the truths that were spoken. We then got to see the finished products, where we bought some of the necklaces to bring back with us. I am so blessed by the resilience of these women and so many here in Ethiopia. The poverty here cannot even begin to be put into words or pictures. There is desperation like I have never seen in my life. Yet, it is their life and they live it with smiles on their faces. They don’t just survive; they thrive. America has much to learn from them. We complain over the dumbest stuff. 

In the afternoon, we went over to the Sheraton hotel. Talk about a contrast! There’s never been two greater extremes. Starting with the armed guards at the gate, the doorman in top hat greeting us at the front of the hotel, the lobby filled with impeccable marble and décor, beautiful lush green gardens throughout the grounds with flowers we had never seen before, it was quite the display. The pool was surrounded by posh chairs and umbrellas, with a restaurant and bar enclosing them, as people came to your chairs to wait on you. It felt so wrong after coming from Korah. I have to constantly remind myself to sit down and enjoy this, and enjoy, we did. The weather was gorgeous-probably 85 degrees, and the water felt great. Levi had never been swimming in a pool like this. I’m not really sure if he had been swimming at all. This boy had a BLAST, and so did we playing with him and watching him soak in yet another new thing. 

Afterwards, we ran by to pick up our visas which were all ready to go even sooner than the Thursday they told us to pick them up. Another “Yay, God!” So, we have EVERYTHING we need to get back to America with Levi. Once he enters the airport in Washington, D.C. and goes through customs he will be an official citizen of the United States of America. Each morning he wakes up, he holds up his hand for the number of days before he gets to come home to America. It is the sweetest thing.

Last night Sean had to go down the street to the market for a few items, so Levi played soccer with our guard and wore the poor man out. This kid has so much energy…if we could bottle it, I am convinced it would sell more than Red Bull. Afterwards, we came up for our bedtime ritual. He got a little giggly and started saying things like this:

“Levi toot!” (then made the sound with his mouth) Boys really are boys no matter where they are.

Then he said, “Daddy toot!” (he made the sound with his mouth again)“Mommies no toot!”

Sean started laughing and said, “Mommies toot!”
Levi says, “Noooo. Daddies toot, Levi toot, mommies no toot. Right, mommy?”

I said, “That’s right, Levi. Mommies no toot!”

Sean started rolling his eyes and then Levi let out one of his huge giggles that you will soon have the blessing of hearing.

So, there you have it folks. In Levi’s world, mommies don’t toot. I’m just gonna stick with him on that. ;)

By the time we finished a story and prayers, he laid his head on the pillow and was gone in 5 minutes. Sean and I both still go in and watch him sleep. It’s just like when our newborns were sleeping. There’s just nothing sweeter than to know God has blessed us with more children and look at them in awe of Him. We thank Him constantly. We can’t wait for Levi to meet his sisters soon. (Andrew had to leave before we could get back.) He is already YELLING out their names all the time. They are going to love him so much!