Stepping Out in Faith - Our Journey to Ethiopia: Ordinary Hero - Church and Streets

It is easy to get overwhelmed when at every turn there is such need and you don't see how you can make a difference. That is how I felt before I went to bed on Day 2 - just overwhelmed and insignificant. Not-adoptable, child-headed households...how do I do anything of lasting impact?

As I'm getting dressed the next morning, I put on my "Change the World for One" shirt. The weight of it all slowly evaporates, and God gently reminds me to be "present" with the children - to focus on one day at a time - one child at a time. I think the devil uses "the problem is too big, and I can't make a difference, so I don't do anything" tactic ALL the time. It creates inaction, and while "I" can't change the world for every child I see, "I" CAN bring a little hope and love to the children I meet. And, if we all do that, then the world WILL change.

We all head to a local church, Beza International, to worship. This is my second time to worship in another country, and I love it! I love seeing people from all over the world worshipping Jesus in the same place. It's how I envision heaven.

What do you think the minister spoke about...about feeling overwhelmed with all the orphan numbers, all the poverty, all the injustice. He went on to say that the battle is with the devil - that it is spiritual. And with a spiritual battle, we need to use spiritual tools - praise and thanksgiving. When we go out with praise and thanksgiving, God's army will take care of the physical battles. I always find it amazing how God speaks.

After we left church, we did a little shopping and then headed over to the post office area. The post office area is where many street children hang out and live. These children are "tough", but our guys immediately got a game of soccer going to break the ice with these children.

Christian, another amazing youth on our trip, easily makes friends. The little boy behind Christian is one who just broke my heart - no shoes, shirt barely hanging on and obviously out of it - maybe he is around 13. His name is Abraham, and he was probably high on glue.

This was really the only place that we didn't hand out any donations. It was not a place where we could control the crowd. As a result, we just hung out with the kids.

We later went out to eat at a traditional Ethiopian restaurant where they have dancing. It was a little tricky getting to it, because the President of South Korea and his entourage was eating there. I'm actually a little surprised that our group was even allowed in. A few nights earlier, we had to wait in our van with snipers on roofs and roads and roads closed as he passed by in front of us.

I LOVE watching the dancing!