Ethiopia ~ Day 7 | Southeast Wisconsin newborn baby family photographer

 * Thank you for visiting! This is a personal blog series about my time in Ethiopia in Jan 2012. If you are looking for newborn/baby/family sessions, please feel free to check the ‘Galleries’ drop-down in the menu bar above. Thank you! 

 

 

Our last day in Ethiopia. Kind of difficult to believe. Months of preparation and very busy days and now to imagine it being our last day… sort of crazy. I was ready to get home and see my kids and husband for sure, but also realizing what an amazing journey this had been and how this has been (aside from my wedding day and having the blessing of my children) 7 of the most impactful days of my life so far.

We spent our last day in Dahley, Ethiopia. Daley is a village in the countryside and it is quickly being developed into an area where the wealthy are building their homes nearby. A few of the ladies who had been to Dahley the year prior were stunned to see all the wealthy homes built so quickly. The traditional stick and grass huts are being replaced with the dung/mud/tin homes. The air was amazingly fresh compared to the exhaust-filled streets in Addis Ababa. It was a relief to our eyes and noses and throats to be in fresh air.

 

We partnered with a group called ‘ 6 Baer Essentials‘ to bring bananas and bread to the children in the school. The school is the turquoise building below. The door on the left is for the young children and the door on the right is for the older children. The rooms are plain except for a chalkboard, some posters on the wall, some long wooden desks and another table with paper and pencils. A room with books and extra tables was to the left off of the photo.

The kids were SO well behaved. Being a former public school elementary teacher, I was seriously thinking that they definitely have a secret to keeping the children so quiet. ha! I complimented them on how nice they listened (and these were 3, 4 and 5 year olds in the young room). We read to them, sang some songs and then played some games before passing out the bananas and bread. The children peeled their banana and carved out the middle of the bread and stuck the banana inside the bread. Voila! Instant ‘banana bread’. Brilliant. 😉

Afterwards we played outdoor games with the children. At one point we had to shoo off a cow from the school year. Here are some photos from our last day 🙂

 

The little girl that is turned around on the right captured my attention with her personality.

* Below, the little girls’ shoes really stood out to me. Such a gorgeous child.

* The little girl on the left was such a little peanut. So teeny. She was shy too. Later on she and I played a little game of tag. 🙂

* And this little one was quiet but had ants in her pants. I loved her spunk and her big brown eyes.

We spent some time next with the older class. They were much more outgoing. Such a great sense of humor. Many of the people in Ethiopia focus on relationships and supporting each other emotionally.

How often I saw kids hugging other kids (adults are often the same way), speaking highly of each other, etc. Absolutely the way it should be.

We learned a new windmill/clapping game (I’m not sure of it’s name). This little boy was the grand champion. 🙂

Dancing is really an important part of the culture. These 3 little girls did a little dance for us as well.

We also see a lot of older children caring for their younger siblings. This little girl carried her baby sister on her back the entire time keeping her comfortable.

*Photos from the van as we left the village

* Cattle walking in circles to break down the straw

Once we returned to the guest house we packed up our belongings, had dinner together and met for the last time as a group. How bittersweet it was. Many of us are mothers and we missed our husbands and children – and of course we were excited to go home. But, there was an incredible bond that developed with each other. I knew no one from this trip prior to our 2 short team meetings and within a day or two these women became my sisters. I love each of them. They are so precious to me. God perfectly formed our group and we were sad to know that this experience was ending. Our interpreter Aki and our new friend, Joe (from Nebraska) were with us at our last meeting and when Aki spoke to us saying how deeply touched he was to have us wash the feet of the street children and give them shoes (his passion is the street children) it sent us all into tears. He explained ‘God bless you and I hope we meet again. If not in America or Ethiopia, then in Heaven” { insert lots of tears}

At 8pm we loaded into the vans and made our way to the Addis Ababa airport. We had one very ill team member and the airline wasn’t eager to let her on the plane at all. They almost made her stay in Ethiopia. God absolutely took care of her – a medical team from Madison, WI was on our flight (an ER RN and MD) and they put our friend into top concern and monitored her on the flight (and amazingly they let her board the plane). So she was allowed to board and then had a personal ER RN and MD for the trip. Such a blessing by God. No doubt about that. She made it home safely to Virginia!

For weeks after the return home I would wake up from sleeping in the middle of the night and see the faces of the poor people we met – especially those in Korah. It was very strange, but I believe it is because the trip was so impactful on me. I will never ever look at things the same way. I thank God for this amazing trip and absolutely hope and pray I am able to return to Africa in the future. This from a person who was extremely fearful of planes (not afraid anymore – yay!). Given a choice between resting on a beach in the Bahamas or serving the poor… I’d serve the poor in a heartbeat. There is no greater reward than serving others out of love and compassion.

 

Thank you for following my journey! Thank you for the many of you who prayed, supported financially, encouraged our team, donated shoes to Soles for Jesus and even made meals for my family while I was away. Thank you to my mother in law who helped with my children and for my loving husband for being a single parent for 10 days. Thank you to Diane Studor for the amazing ministry of Soles for Jesus and her humble leadership. Thank you to our team leaders, Sherry Mahnke and Kris Jansen from Soles for Jesus as well. Thank you to my church family at Community Church in West Bend for their amazing support.

My advice to you is to listen to God and when you feel him placing a calling on your heart. Obey him. I had so  much fear and anxiety upon applying for the trip because I strongly dislike planes and also I love being home with my children. I knew he was asking me to go on this trip though and felt very called to go. After SO much prayer the fear in me died. Absolutely died. I was never afraid on this entire trip and that is absolutely God blessing me with courage that I don’t have naturally. If I hadn’t obeyed God, I would never have received this amazing blessing and experience. So, my advice is to just listen, pray, read his Word (bible) and obey the one who knows everything.

 

Thanks to the LORD, I am filled with much gratitude and joy!  May God bless you,  Jill