I miss Africa. The landscapes. The amazing bloggers I shared the experience with.
The children. The smiles. The joy.
The opportunity to disturb and disrupt.
The puns. The kung-fu moves. The inside jokes.
It has been two months. Eight weeks. Sixty days.
Since the FH Bloggers trip were on the ground in Ethiopia.
And.
I.
Miss.
This.
What are you missing today?
More glimpses into the trip that left us all changed.
{Pictures by David Molnar, photographer extraordinaire. Go check out his stuff. Beg him to shoot for you. Grovel. It’s worth it.}
Thanks for joining us on the journey!
And…It’s not too late to sponsor a child through Food for the Hungry.
Have you been to Ethiopia? How has Africa changed you?
About a year and a half ago, I stepped into a journey, a journey of exploration, to learn everything I could about orphan care. I had heard the alarming statistics at Catalyst and felt a tug to be a part of the solution. Whatever that meant.
I have been to conference after conference, listening and wondering what my part is in this story. I haven’t felt the call to adopt, at least not now.
It wasn’t until I was in Ethiopia on Saturday that I knew. Through FH’s Orphan and Vulnerable Children and Child-Headed Households programs, I could impact the lives of orphans around the world.
We met a 17 year old boy, Bona, who lost both of his parents. While he had some distant relatives who could take him in, without the care of a mother and father he remained vulnerable. But FH stepped in and sheparded the boy. He is now first in his class, studying to take his 12th grade exams and dreaming of the day when he can be a doctor.
We met a 16 year old girl, Mehret, who lost both of her parents to AIDS. She is now responsible for caring for her brother Bedilu {11} and sister Lydia {14}. All three HIV-positive and have the added burden of fighting the stigmatization of those with the disease. Community members had shunned them but FH rushed to them, loved on them, provided food and clothing, offered them legal support for their inheritance, built them a lavatory attached to their house, and trained Mehret to be a hairdresser so she could help provide for her family.
FH might not be all about adoption.
But FH is all about orphan care.
Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause. Isaiah 1:17 ESV
Join me in bringing justice to the world’s most vulnerable.
At least the beautiful slice of it I’ve seen this trip.
{All pictures by David Molnar, the punniest photographer I know. Dude is pretty talented too. Go check out his stuff. }
The Acacia trees.
The bumpy van rides that fostered blogger bonding.
The only lake you can swim in in Ethiopia, Lake Langano. {The red color is from all the minerals not dirt.}
We dipped our feet in {so now we can say we ‘swam’ in Africa, using the term loosely of course}. But had to get a little crafty to get our shoes and socks back on.
The fist bumps.
The dancing.
The laughter.
The smiles.
The relationships.
This trip has been amazing. What a great group of travel companions and African friends. Thanks for following along. More to come on Monday.
Today I met a child I sponsor through FH. His name is Kenenisa Negash Bune and he is 7 years old. Kenenisa lives in a rural community named Jido which is located in the Great Rift Valley, a community that because of its erratic rainfall {which we experienced firsthand} is one of the most food insecure areas in Ethiopia. The kids in Jido live in destitute conditions. Destitute conditions.
It was tough.
I have never seen anything like it. Ever.
While I have seen undeniable poverty, this was inescapable poverty. Everywhere you looked you saw kids with bright eyes and hopeful smiles, but kids that were obviously lacking the most basic of necessities. Many wore tattered t-shirts and well, nothing.
But that didn’t quelch their joy. Not an ounce of it.
They laughed. They danced. They sang. They fist-bumped {yeah, I just made fist-bump into a verb}. And they beamed with every second of attention and snap of camera.
It wasn’t us {let’s face it, we are a pretty rag-tag bunch at this point} that gave them the hope and the fortitude to combat their conditions and choose joy. It is what we represent. It is FH. It is the organization that walked alongside their community leaders and advocated for them. It is the organization that is ensuring that the kids in this community will be able to go to high school.
You see in September the first class of freshman will enter Jido High School. Previously any children who wanted to continue on with their schooling past the 8th grade had to go 27 km away, something that is both expensive and dangerous so few risked it. But not anymore, Kenenisa, his little sister, and his friends will have a high school to attend.
The community leaders in Jido credit FH. And they credit FH’s partners. People like you and me. But they quickly admit that there is more that needs to be done. Food remains scarce and their drinking water is unsafe.
One man said in closing, “God has made you to bring change here. Don’t leave us. Don’t forsake us.” Please join me in bringing change to the world, in bringing change to Ethiopia, in bringing change to Jido by sponsoring a child through Food for the Hungry.
With every breath I breathe
With every song I sing
I want to shout it out
Lord I am listening
To every word You speak
I’ll go where You will lead
To love the least of these
My greatest offering – Spirit Speaks, All Sons & Daughters
Photos courtesy of David Molnar, Daniel White and my handy dandy iPhone.
Disclaimer: This post was written in Johannesburg after our simple travel plans that should have taken us from Nashville to Atlanta to Amsterdam to Addis Ababa got rerouted after delay after delay and we found ourselves making impromptu stops in Accra, Ghana, and Johannesburg, South Africa. Down side…missing a day in Ethiopia with Kristen, Alysa, Emily, and Paige and the sheer exhaustion and just plain dirtiness from 36+hours of travel. Up side…a lot of great bonding time with the Nashville crew {Daniel, Crystal, Alece, Alli, and David} and experiencing more of Africa than we could have ever imagined. So all that to say what follows might be a little cheesy, riddled with typos and doesn’t make much sense.
If there is one thing that God is teaching me this year, it is that too often I delude myself into thinking I am in control, that I know what is coming next, and that life needs to meet {or exceed} my expectations. These lies destroy my ability to trust in His plan and to live with a joyful expectancy.
One of the things I am most excited about as I travel to Addis Ababa and The Rift Valley of Ethiopia with the FH Bloggers is that my limited knowledge about the country I am visiting, the field work of Food for the Hungry, and my travel companions, has prohibited me from framing expectations. And without expectation, I finally find myself sitting calmly, hopefully and faithfully in the hand the of God.
Tomorrow morning {Lord-willing}, I will wake up in Ethiopia and be amazed by a God who created the Heavens and the Earth, a God who moves mountains, and a God who hasn’t forgotten the children of Africa and certainly hasn’t forgotten me.
Stay tuned, friends. Adventure awaits.
I’m listening to Toto as I write this post. Don’t judge me. It’s a great song.
In 13 days, we leave for Africa. I know Africa might be old hat for some of you. But for me, it’s new. Brand new. A clean slate. What I know about Africa, I learned from Toto. And Sally Struthers. And National Geographic. And Bono. And most recently, from Food for the Hungry.
In 13 days, we leave for Africa. I am intentionally not asking a lot of questions about the place, or the trip, or the people. I don’t want to fill my head with any more images or statistics. I want to see. I want to feel. And I want to know Africa intimately.
In 13 days, we leave for Africa. I am pretty sure that this will be the trip where I fall in love. {No, not like that. Sorry, Bianca.} I already seriously crushing on FH {what everyone around here affectionately calls Food for the Hungry.} But on this trip, I anticipate I am going to fall deeply, madly, and whole-heartedly in love with this organization. So I will go ahead and apologize, if I blush and gush and go on and on about the work we do. Please just promise to nod and act interested and I promise I will extend the same courtesy to you when your heart is stolen away from you.
In 13 days, we leave for Africa. I will be traveling with an incredible group of bloggers. Some are old friends. Some are new friends. But they are all, each and every one, worth following in their own right. Do yourself a favor and go spend some time to get to know Alece, Alli, Alysa, Kristen, Emily, David and Daniel.
In 13 days, we leave for Africa. Sponsor a child. Tell your friends. Add the below banner to your blog. Pray for us. And please follow along on our journey.
Where’s one place you’ve never been that you’d like to go?
