Ordinary Hero - Out into the Country - I Love Day 4

  

I love this day!!  These are the children that just hold my heart.

This is me, Amy and Bizrat.  Bizrat was one of our guides and translators.  He is a special human being that just radiates joy.  He was a blessing to me and all the others on the trip.

  

As we head out of town, we see hundreds of these donkeys along the road carrying hay (building material and food for livestock).  You also notice the air - fresh air.  The city air can be a bit overwhelming with the exhaust.

  

  

As we get closer to the village, we definitely attract lots of attention.  I don't think that they get many visitors out here, and the children just come running to see what we are doing there.

  

  

  

  

   

  

We finally make it to the orphanage, and we are let in through the gates.  The children just gather outside all trying to jocky for a spot by the fence to see what we are doing.  We get a tour of the facility.  To be honest, it's pretty depressing.  There isn't a lot for the children to do.  I don't see any toys.  The grass/weeds in the area outside is almost up to my knees in spots.  There are pools of standing water, and several of the children don't have shoes.   The ants bite, and many of the babies have what look like bites on their legs.  I imagine they get some of these when they are sat down in the grass bare bottomed.  

Standing water = increased mosquitoes

increased mosquitoes = increased chances of contracting malaria

The bedrooms for the older children all have protective nets.  However, I'm not sure how effective they are with holes all in them.

   

The baby room doesn't even have nets.  And, they are the ones that are most likely to die if they get malaria.  Every 45 seconds, a child dies from malaria.  Hopefully, they will use some of our nets and get these children protected!

  

  

After we get the tour, we head outside to do some crafts with the children.  Rachel did a wonderful job preparing crafts to do with the children.  This is something that they normally don't get to do, and they love it. 

This is the other building that we do crafts in.  The walls are made of mud and hay.  

  

Even though the orphanage compound is depressing, the children are just so sweet and thankful that we are there.  (I can't show any pics of the children in the orphanages.  Kelly did get to tell one little boy that he was being adopted.  He was just so thrilled, because he knew his time was almost up.  He is 15 and at 16 children are not longer available for adoption.)

After we finished up with the crafts, we headed into the village to visit with some of the families and to hand out donations.  This woman graciously invites us into her house.  This is a muslim household.  We tell her and her family that we come in the name of Jesus and that Jesus loves them.  The whole time this little boys is just crying.  I don't think he has ever seen so many white people :)  I give him a sucker, and he calms down.  Suckers work across all racial lines :)  This lady's house is quite large compared to the others in the village.  Inside there is a radio, small table, 2 pillows, a bowl and several rugs.

  

As we walk down the street, children just surround us.  They love having their picture taken!  You also see many children taking care of babies.

 

  

 

  

  

I just feel in love with this little girl!  She just seemed so vulnerable and alone.  She had no shoes on and was dressed in rags.  Her skirt was falling off because it was too big and missing the zipper and she had no underwear on underneath.  She just clung to my hand.

  

  

We gave her some boots and pants.  When I close my eyes and see the children who live in poverty.  It is this sweet girl's face that I see.  I think of her often!

Here are some of the other children waiting for their turn at the donations.  We have mostly clothes and shoes.  I'm so grateful to be able to hand out shoes.  This gives you an idea of what the children walk/run on.  The rocks are not smooth.  They seem like volcanic rocks, because they are so rough and porous.  I am so grateful that we can protect some of their precious little feet!

  

It was pure joy to be with these children.  Blessing abound!

  

To Be Continued...

Ordinary Hero is trying to set up a sponsorship program for some of these children.  If you are interested, please contact ordinaryhero.org.

Ordinary Hero - Church and Streets - Day 3

  

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!

  

I LOVE the food!  

  

      

LeAnne, Christy, Amy and I

  

  

Kelli, Ashley, Becky, Ashley and Clay

  

We all had a great time!

  

To Be Continued...

Ordinary Hero - A Day in the City - Day 2

  

I got up after a good nights rest, thank you Ambien, ready to go.  We started our day off at a local orphanage.  We didn't see their actual facility, but I was impressed with their approach.  There are approximately 5 to 6 million orphans and street children in Ethiopia.  It is a crisis.  This particular place was attacking the issues from several angles.  However, one of the approaches that made my stomach drop is called "Child-Headed Households".  (It's actually on the bulletin board behind the girls in yellow.) It's basically children taking care of children where the local village looks in on the household, but the head of the household is a child at least 13 years old (not typo - 13 years old). 

  

Another one of the programs supported by this orphanage is sponsorship.  Here is Zak meeting his family's sponsored child.  Zak was one of the amazing youth on our trip.

After we left the orphanage, we headed over to their weekend feeding program.  Here the children are playing a game similar to duck-to-goose while they waited for their food. 

  

The children were all so sweet.  At every place we went, I met at least one special child.  This little girl was so sweet and my special friend.  She taught me how to do a new hand game - just like the ones my daughter and her friends do.  Just another example of how these kids are just like our kids.  And, as she was leaving, she ran back, found me, and gave me the necklace she had been wearing that said "friends".  Melt my heart!

Before I left for my trip, my girls had a bracelet party.  They had some friends over and made about 150 bracelets to hand out to the children in Ethiopia.

  

 The bracelets were a big hit with both girls and boys.  As fast as I could get one tied, I'd have another wrist waiting.

This is their water supply.  The water goes into the basin, and then the children dip their cup into the basin, get their drink, then return their cup into the basin, and then the next child gets the cup and repeats the cycle.  

After we left the feeding program, we headed to another orphanage.  This orphanage is the one that dropped into Ashli (Ordinary Hero Blog) lap.  It was on the brink of shutting down, and she has  been relentlessly trying to keep it open.   

  

This is the playroom room where the children hang out.  I didn't see any toys and it isn't very inviting, and the carpet is....  In spite of the environment, the children were awesome!  (I wish I could post the pictures, but I can't.)   Before we left, the older children gathered in here and sung us songs about Jesus.  Melt my heart!!

This is the toddler room with about 14 toddlers.  Each bed (BTW - most of them were purchased with OH donations) has a picture above it giving the child's brief story.  Two of the children are labeled "Not Adoptable".  This isn't because their parents are in their lives.  It is because paperwork and proper techniques were not exactly followed when the children were found.  As a result, these children will live out their lives "in the system".  Heart-wrenching!

Little Elijah update...  God is good, and miracles happen every day... he got his surgery, and as of latest, he was recovering well.  He still needs prayers as he still has a long recovery road with medical and financial obstacles.  Please continue praying.  If you would like to donate to his medical care, please go to the Ordinary Hero website.  And, my friend, Amy, at filledwithpraise.blogspot.com is having a giveaway to benefit Elijah.

To Be Continued...

  

Ordinary Hero - Arriving in ET

Some people just have a way with words.  I am not one of them.  I haven't written about my trip, because I am having trouble finding the appropriate words to express just how wonderful my trip was.  I just loved it, which kinda sounds weird when you are talking about a missions trip focused on children in extreme poverty.  The children both tear at your soul and bring you great joy.   It's really a holy experience.  One that words could never do justice...

With that, I will at least chronicle my journey for my memory purposes :)

  

My "buddy", Amy, and I eagerly waiting to board ET airlines.  Both of us have adopted children from Ethiopia, so the country and people have a special place in our heart. 

  

Ahhhhh!!! After a long flight, we finally arrive in Addis around 8 am.  It is their rainy season, and the temperature is just perfect, especially since it has been a scorcher at home.  I'm beyond excited to be back in Ethiopia.  

   

  

Here we are waiting for some of our 3,000+ lbs. of donations.  The airport officials thought we had brought much of the stuff into the country to sell, so they held us up for some 5 hours while they searched, researched and re-researched our donation luggage.  It was frustrating, and I really feel like it was spiritual warfare.  The devil wants the children to suffer and remain hopeless, and we were bringing a message of love and hope - all in the name of Jesus.

  

There were 28 people on our team from all over the country, and I must say, everyone was great!  Because of our size, we had 3 vans.  We finally got all of our donations, and they were loaded on top with the rest of our luggage.

     

We turn off the main road to get to our home for the next 7 days.  Most of the roads in the city seem to be like this.  The main road is paved, and all side roads are dirt.  They all seem to look like alleys, because there are gates around everything.  You never know what is behind the gate.

  We arrive at the Ethiopian Guest House.  EGH was started by an adoptive family that wanted to do more, so they started opening up guest houses as non-profits.  They cater to mission groups and adopting families, and the proceeds go back into orphanages and other related programs.  

  

Each day outside our gates, we were met by a group of local children.  When we'd leave in the morning, they would be there to hang out with us, and when we got home in the evening, they would be waiting for us.  They just wanted to hang out.  Sometimes, we'd bring them into our little compound and give them something that they needed.  This little boy needed some shoes.  He was thrilled with his new rain boots we found for him.

  

These 3 boys stayed with us most of the week.  They live at Korah (local trash dump), and each have a sponsor that was on the trip.  It was fun to watch them experience new things and develop a life long bond with their sponsor.  I can tell you firsthand that sponsoring a child CHANGES their world.  These boys lives are forever changed because 3 families stepped up and said yes to sponsorship.  To learn more about sponsoring a child in Korah, you can visit the Project 61 website.

They are so proud of their new clothes.

 TO BE CONTINUED...

"He has to have a name!"

    

After playing with the older children in the courtyard, and after holding the toddlers, we head into a TINY but bright room where the infants are.  There are about 6 of them in this tiny little room.  The nannies due to best they can, but really do they ever go outside this room?  How much are they held and talked to?  We're taking turns holding the babies, talking to them, and reading their bio note (if they have one) when my friend asks, "What is his name?"  He's a tiny cute little thing about a month old.  He's baby "d".  He doesn't have a name, the nanny replies.  We explain through a language barrier that we know that his name is blank on his bio note, but we still want to know what his name is.  She still replies that he doesn't have a name.

Not only had this child been left at a church at birth, but he still, even at a month old, didn't have a name.  Why didn't he have name?  A lot of children + a few nannies who are underpaid + high turnover nannies + an orphanage with no money = a child in the corner with no name.  

Well, this just wasn't going to do.  My friend, LeaAnne, said that he has to have a name.  So, there in that tiny little yellow room, we throw out some names.  When we came to Elijah, which means God's grace, LeaAnne said that's it.  So, we find a pen, and she wrote it on his bio.  So, just like that he went from baby "d" to Elijah and had someone standing with him in his corner.

When we met Elijah, we knew that something wasn't quite right.  His head was a little too big for his cute little body.  Again, my friend, LeaAnne stood with him in his corner and advocated for him to go to the doctor.  She advocated the next day.  She advocated the next day.  She advocated the next day.  She advocated the next day.  

We returned to that orphanage before we left, and again she advocated for little Elijah to go to the doctor.  When we got home, she continued advocating for him to go to the doctor.

Yesterday's text...The doctor doesn't give him more than a month or two to live unless he has brain surgery.  Please please pray!

It's heartbreaking news!  But we serve a mighty God, and he hears our prayers.  So, please join us as we lift up our prayers for little Elijah - for medical miracles - for financial miracles.

  

My Child

  

My Child

You may not know me, but I know everything about you ~ Psalm 139:1

I know when you sit down and when you rise up ~ Psalm 139:2

I am familiar with all your ways ~ Psalm 139:3

Even the very hairs on your head are numbered ~ Matthew 10:29-31

You were made in my image ~ Genesis 1:27

In me you live and move and have your being for you are my offspring ~ Acts 17:28

I knew you even before you were conceived ~ Jeremiah 1:4-5

You were not a mistake, for all your days are written in my book ~ Psalm 139: 15-16

I determined the exact time of your birth and where you would live ~ Acts 17:26

I brought you forth on the day you were born ~ Psalm 71:6

I knit you together in your mother’s womb.  

You are fearfully and wonderfully made ~ Psalm 134: 13, 14

I have been misrepresented by those who don’t know me ~ John 8:41-44

I am not distant and angry, but am the complete expression of love ~ 1 John 4:16

And it is my desire to lavish my love on you simply because you are my child,

 and I am your father ~ 1 John 3:1

I offer you more than your earthly father ever could ~ Matthew 7:11

For I am the perfect father ~ Matthew 5:48

Every good gift that you receive comes from my hand ~ James 1:17

For I am your provider and I meet all your needs ~ Matthew 6:31-33

My plan for your future has always been filled with hope ~ Jeremiah 29:11

Because I love you with an everlasting love ~ Jeremiah 31:3

My thoughts toward you are countless as the sand on the seashore ~ Psalm 139: 17-18

And I rejoice over you with singing ~ Zephaniah 3:17

I will never stop doing good to you ~ Jeremiah 32:40

For you are my treasured possession ~ Exodus 19:5

I want to tell you great and marvelous things ~ Jeremiah 33:3

If you seek me with all your heart, you will find me ~ Deuteronomy 4:29

Delight in me and I will give you the desires of your heart ~ Psalm 37:4

I am able to do more for you than you could possibly imagine ~ Ephesians 3:20

For I am your greatest encourager ~ 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

I am also the Father who comforts you in all your troubles ~ 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

When you are brokenhearted, I am close to you ~ Psalm 34:18

As a shepherd carries a lamb, I have carried you close to my heart ~ Isaiah 40:11

One day I will wipe away every tear from your eyes ~ Revelation 21:4

And I will take away all the pain you have suffered on this earth ~ Revelation 21:4

I am your Father, and I love you even as I love my son, Jesus ~ John 17:23

For in Jesus, my love for your is revealed ~ John 17:26

He is the exact representation of my being ~ Hebrews 1:3

He came to demonstrate that I am for you, not against you ~ Romans 8:31

And to tell you that I am not counting your sins ~ 2 Corinthians 5:19

Jesus died so that you and I could be reconciled ~ 2 Corinthians 5:18

His death was the ultimate expression of my love for you ~ 1 John 4:10

I gave up everything I loved that I might gain your love ~ Romans 8:31-32

If you receive the gift of my son Jesus, you receive me ~ 1 John 2:23

And nothing will ever separate you from my love again ~ Romans 8:38-39

The Holy Spirit will bear witness that you are my child ~ Romans 8:16

And Jesus will prepare a place for you in My house ~ John 14:2

My promise is for you, who I have called to myself ~ Acts 2:39

Keep yourself in my love ~ Jude 21

Love, Your Dad, Almighty God

Today we celebrated "G"'s baptism!  It was a glorious day!
    

Heading to Ethiopia...Ordinary Hero Style

 
I've been waiting for 8 months...Bags are packed - well almost packed...And, tomorrow I leave for Ethiopia, and I am so grateful that I am able to go.  When I board the plane, I will totally be on a spiritual high :)  I can't wait to go love on some little kiddos and tell them how much God loves them.
   
I won't be blogging while I'm there (not that I blog much lately anyways), but you can visit ordinaryheroblogspot.com to see the latest. 
 
Well, I've gotta go finish up some more laundry.

Please say a prayer for our team...that we would love boldly!