Day 1: Arrival Day In Addis Ababa

Derek and Deanna after our 13 hour flight, getting our visa and going through customs...ready to go!!

Our guides and the men packing the vans with all of our luggage and crates

The 16 of us were split into 2 of the 5 mission houses that are part of Ethiopian Missions

  

Our bedroom and bathroom in the Mission House

Taking time to take all of Addis Ababa in and see how people live just from our Mission House

This is the view of part of the city from our house on the balcony.

The alley our Mission House is located...we are walking to the 

other Mission House to meet up with the rest of the group.

This is also seen from our balcony, they use this "sticks" to build and use as scaffolding. 

The donkeys hang out everywhere

Monday Morning

It is 5:30 in the morning here which is 10:30pm  your time currently.  We just took our first showers in Ethiopia which really wasn't that bad.  The dogs barked all night but I think I slept through it until 4am this morning.  We are eating breakfast at 6am and then taking an 8 hour ride to Kombolcha.  There is no air but at night it gets cool so we left our sliding door open for air flow.  Did you get the pictures I sent.  I'm not sure if they went through.  

The meal last night was great.  We had Indura (flat bread), dura what (spicy chicken sauce), chick pea and cheese something, and ox with peppers and onions.  It was all pretty good.  It is pretty scary at night by the way, we were at the other mission house that is 2 blocks away from we are and the van had already left so one of our guides/translators walked Derek and I back to where we are staying.  The guides are very nice...there is Fikree, Zalalam, and Hibeta (all men) and very nice and informative. 

We found out we will get to meet Seada's caregiver and see where she lives, We are very excited to meet her.  On the way to Kobolcha we will stop and see the baboons and monkey...oh and we will have to pee outside if we need a bathroom break during the 8 hour drive :(.  We are getting ready now and are interested to see what's for breakfast.  The lunch yesterday was beef with pasta and onions, carrots and peas, along with some type of bread.  It was just okay.  

Oh and there are donkey and goats everywhere when we went out last night.  pretty funny. 

well gotta go and will try again to send some pics.  

love you all

Deanna and Derek

We made it to Ethiopia!!

Hello Everyone, 

Derek and I made it to Ethiopia at 1am (USA time), which was 8 am here in Addis Ababa.  All of our suitcases and crates with the donations made it as well.  We had a long wait to get our Visa and going through customs was chaos!! We are at the Mission House resting for about an hour and then we will eat lunch.  We all pretty much slept on the plane some so we are now on Ethiopian time.  The weather is beautiful!! We have already seen major poverty which amazes me... I will try to attach some pictures for you all and keep you all posted on our blog as well.  It took me about 20 mins to get internet service and the staff here says it goes in and out all the time.  Love you all and Thanks for all the prayers.  

Love, 

Derek and Deanna

It's APRIL 21st, 2012

Today is the day we are leaving for Ethiopia!!!

The day is finally here....this is our schedule.

Leave from Greensboro, NC at 6am to Dulles

Leave Dulles, Wash DC to Ethiopia at 11:15 am

We are set to arrive in Ethiopia 7:45 am on April 22nd

(don't forget there is an 8 hour time difference)

Please pray for our team's safety, easy transition into another country,

 energy for the week ahead, wisdom and for that moment when we meet 

160 Amharic speaking kids that are waiting for us to teach them and play fun games.

We will do our best with the resources we have while we are in Ethiopia when it comes to posting updates on our blog.  The electricity comes and goes, as well as the internet service.

Thank You all for all the prayers and support, 

we can't wait to share what God 

has us doing in Ethiopia. 

Some one told me not to long ago that:

"The Devil is like a lion, when he is scared that we are doing something good in the world he roars and makes a big commotion." I may not have said it quite like Greg did but I hope you get the point.  This quote is so right!!
Things in our lives have been great until this week.  The devil is definitely working on us.  The devil knows we are doing God's work and will do anything in his power to stop us.  We have to remember to keep our eye on God and what he has led us to do.  The devil will not win this fight!!

Kids, like the ones in Ethiopia, are in our hearts!!

1 WEEK and WE WILL BE IN ETHIOPIA!!!!

 "As far as I am concerned, the greatest suffering is to feel alone, unwanted, unloved.  The greatest suffering is also having no one, forgetting what an intimate, truly human relationship is, not knowing what it means to be loved, and not having a family or friends. "                                             Mother Teresa

Project Sew Important Update

Written by Candy Tennant, Our trip Coordinator from HillSong Church

In January I asked if  you would join our church for Project Sew Important.  Almost everyday I receive an e-mail from you, your friends, friends of friends, even your grandmothers asking about the project!!
I have been overwhelmed by the number of women who wanted to help. God was behind it all so I should not have been surprised but I was.


I wanted to thank you for helping, spreading the word and/or praying for this project. Our original goal was to provide kits containing reusable hygiene products for 96 girls at our Children's Hope Chest care-point in Kombolcha, Ethiopia. That meant sewing 192 shields and 960 liners- a very time consuming task. We knew it was a huge undertaking but we thought we could do it.


Because of the overwhelming response we have enough kits for our care point, and the girls at two other Children's Hope Chest care-points- Project Greenlight and Trees of Glory! Praise God!!


Project Sew Important will continue! We will continue to provide vulnerable girls with feminine protection.  Many are still sewing and we are receiving items for the kits.


Thank you all for caring for the girls in Ethiopia who miss many days of school because they lacked protection. I love how many came together to be the body of Christ and serve.


Next month we'll post photos of the girls receiving the kits.


I love going in to the office to see what's in the mail!  Here are just a few of the items sent in the last few weeks and items made by our church's prayer shawl ministry.  Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who made this possible

 Here's 550 liners of the 1,510 needed for the kits!

Completed kits ready for packing!!

Waiting

We have 2 weeks and 5 days until we leave for Ethiopia...It's unbelievable that we are really going.  We are pretty much set to go except for packing and getting together some odds and ends for the trip.  Now, we pray and wait.  A couple of ladies at Hill Song Church in Chapel Hill, NC made us a prayer calendar for the month of April to prepare for our trip.  We would be grateful that you all pray as well.  We couldn't have gotten to this point without prayer.

Sunday, April 1 For protection for the team & for their families back home.	Monday, April 2 For the children to be visited & ministered to, that they will feel loved.	Tuesday, April 3 For the projects needed & how they will be undertaken.	Wednesday, April 4 For translators who will help with communication.	Thursday, April 5 For adequate materials to be donated for craft projects.	Friday, April 6 Let everything that breathes sing praises to the Lord! Praise the Lord! Psalm 150:6	Saturday, April 7 Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies. Psalm 36:5
Sunday, April 8 Praise the Lord, everything he has created, everything in all his kingdom. Let all that I am praise the Lord. Psalm 103:22	Monday, April 9 I love the LORD because he hears & answers my prayers. Because he bends down & listens, I will pray as long as I have breath! Psalm 116:1-2	Tuesday, April 10 Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love & good works. Hebrews 10:24	Wednesday, April 11 Don't be dejected & sad, for the joy of the LORD is your strength! Nehemiah 8:10b	Thursday, April 12 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Philippians 2:5	Friday, April 13 So encourage each other & build each other up, just as you are already doing. I Thessalonians 5:11	Saturday, April 14 The Lord's delight is in those who honor him, those who put their hope in his unfailing love. Psalm 147:11
Sunday, April 15 Your word is a lamp to guide my feet & a light for my path. Psalm 119:105	Monday, April 16 Pray that the group will have a shared heart for this trip.	Tuesday, April 17 Always be joyful. Never stop praying. I Thessalonians 5:16-17	Wednesday, April 18 Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! Philippians 4:4	Thursday, April 19 He guards the paths of the just & protects those who are faithful to him. Proverbs 2:8	Friday, April 20 Therefore, accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory. Romans 15:7	Saturday, April 21 Mission Team leaves for Kombolcha
Sunday, April 22 Pray that the group will form good relationships.	Monday, April 23 Love each other with genuine affection, & take delight in honor­ing each other. Romans 12:10	Tuesday, April 24 Help the team members to adapt to this different environment & logistics	Wednesday, April 25 For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved”. Romans 10:13	Thursday, April 26 So be strong & courageous, all you who put your hope in the Lord! Psalm 31:24	Friday, April 27 For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. Philippians 4:13	Saturday, April 28  Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, & endures through every circumstance. I Corinthians 13:7
Sunday, April 29 It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to the Most High. Psalm 92:1	Monday, April 30 Mission Team returns home!