Do It for the Orphans: Day 2: On the Road to Kombolcha

It took about 9 hours to drive from Addis Abba to Kombolcha through the country road that was absolutely beautiful! Imagine taking a drive from a major city with the hustle and bustle of traffic and people and high rise buildings, driving across the plains to the mountains, across the dessert, over the fertile land, and into the hills all in one day . Along the way there are small villages, decent size towns, people everywhere and more livestock (goats, cattle, sheep, chickens, mules, and camels) than you can ever imagine seeing in one day. We were all a bit tired yet from the flight, but didn’t want to close our eyes to rest or focus on anything else for fear that we would miss something.

Tom:

"I most enjoyed looking at the people. I saw little kids playing along the road, tending livestock, or watching (and waving) curiously as these vans full of people from another place loaded with cargo barreled (yes, barreled) by them. Young men sat idly talking with friends, playing foosball, or working the fields. Women walked with babies or loaded with wood, water, or crops. Old people also watched thinking who knows what about these strangers in their country. We saw a funeral (in a distance), men praying towards Mecca, kids playing soccer and volleyball, women hanging laundry, men bathing themselves in the river, and countless other people doing every day activities as part of their everyday lives."

Deanna:

At 5:30pm we finally made it to the care point where the kids had been waiting for us. We walked into a see of brown faces that were clapping and singing for us. Each of us introduced ourselves and then we were able to mingle with the kids. They loved to have there pictures made and see the picture afterwards. They do not have mirrors, so they are very interested in seeing what they look like. They were all so beautiful. This was very overwhelming but humbling and made us all very happy. It's amazing how excited the kids were to see us and touch us. They all wanted to hug and kiss right away. From the beginning we were showing God's love to theses kids. This was part of our goal...to show them that people know they exist and care for them.

The road that Grace Baptist Care Point is located

This is what you see as you enter the care point building

The kids decorated for us...using toilet paper and balloons with a big banner

And this is what greeted as we walked in!!!

Then we got to mingle, play, take pictures, hug and kiss.

Tom:

"Our surprise for the evening, and a reminder of our need to stay flexible; there is some sort of dispute between the church and the school that is supposed to be resolved this week. In the meantime, we are not spending our time at either of the two locations we knew about. Instead, one of the members of the congregation is letting the school use his land. The land is much smaller than the other parcels, and there is even less space to play than we had counted on. We’re taking it all in stride though, although the soccer goalie is going to have to be really good or else the ball is going to end up in the river."

Deanna:

Later that night, back at Sunny Side Hotel, we ate dinner, prepared by sorting all the donations and getting crafts together for the next day then head to bed for a good nights sleep. As I fall asleep, I can see all those kids faces and wonder who our sponsor child was. She didn't look familiar at all. Was she even there anymore? Was she sick or something happen to her? To our surprise we met her on Day 3.