Hello everyone. It's Stand-up Dad and Sweet Momma writing to you from Mekele, Ethiopia.
We arrived in Addis Ababa Saturday morning (Ethiopia time) about 9:00 a.m. We never left the airport, as we waited for our flight to Mekele later Saturday afternoon. We arrived in Mekele about 4:30 p.m. Saturday afternoon.
In Mekele, we were greeted by Gebe, who along with his wife Connie run the orphanage where Sunshine and Little Buddy have lived for the past 14 months. Gebe took us to our hotel in Mekele and we had a nice dinner with him last night.
Today (Sunday) we visited a Bible College in Mekele, where 120 men are learning to be pastors. We then traveled to the orphanage where our kids have been until just a few weeks ago when they were transported to the House of Hope in Addis Ababa (the transition house for our orphanage).
The orphanage in Mekele is beautiful, as are all the children who live here. They are truly delightful children, full of love and hugs and we feel very welcomed. One of the little girls who lives here made and served us our very first Ethiopian coffee ceremony. It is also an honor to vist and get to know Gebe and Connie and see the marvelous work they are doing here. We also get to learn more about Sunshine and Little Buddy. Later this afternoon we will get to meet with our new children's brothers and sisters.
Gebe and I just finished putting together the bike that we brought for the kids (it's a Green Machine and it's really cool). We've also been playing with the kids outside. Mekele is a bit windy this time of year, and the hills around us remind Sweet Momma of the hills and mountains she grew up around in eastern Washington.
Tomorrow we leave Mekele to return to Addis Ababa where will we meet our kids for the first time! We are very excited to take this next step in our journey. Thank you so much for all of your prayers - please keep praying for safety, for our first meeting with our new children and for a smooth rest of the trip.
We'd also like to ask for prayers for our four children back in Washington. To Elsie, M&M, Sweet Pea and Pumpkin - we love you very much and we miss you. We know how excited you are about having a new brother and sister. We'll be home before you know it! To Pumpkin - Happy 7th Birthday! We are very proud of you and how you turned your birthday into show of love and support for the orphanage here in Mekele. We will try to call later tonight (Sunday morning Washington time) to wish Pumpkin a a happy birthday and say hello to you all - but we aren't sure if we will be able to get through. If not, we will certainly call from Addis Ababa. Finally, thanks to the host families back in Washington - we couldn't do this without you!
We give thanks to God for bringing on this adoption journey and bringing us here to Ethiopia. God is truly at work here.
We'll post again from Addis Ababa if we can.
Stand-up Dad
2 comments:
So glad to read your post from Mekele! I know you are anxiously awaiting meeting Sunshine & Little Buddy. We're praying for you all and that you have a smooth transition.
We've been keeping up through your blog and have been praying, praying, praying as our hearts are so connected with what you are experiencing!! Today we told the boys that it's Pumpkin's birthday and they asked why he has two birthdays. We explained the other one was his party. Anyhow, very cute! Happy Birthday, kiddo!! Also, they know tomorrow is when you are united and boy, were they excited! They shared about when they first saw us and we had a good cry. We are surprised at the length of this last posting as we had such limited access to the internet. Very cool!! Thanks so much for the update. Many, many hugs and kisses, R & SJ
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