Archive for June, 2010
The End Of An Era
Sunday, June 6th, 2010 | Uncategorized | 1 Comment
Cindy and I in front of Kaldi's-the Starbuck's of Ethiopia
I feel like a chapter of my life in Ethiopia is ending. Cindy will be leaving Ethiopia for good before I come back next time. It is strange to think of her not being there when I get back. We tended to call each other and or get together about once a week after we stopped being roommates and finished our teaching jobs. She has become a dear friend to me, and some of the best family I have had in Ethiopia thus far. I will miss her a lot but am hoping to stop by Holland again some time on my way to or from Ethiopia so I can visit her and her boyfriend Andrew. Love and miss you, Cindy!
E’s FIRST BIRTHDAY!!!
Sunday, June 6th, 2010 | Uncategorized | 1 Comment
The Cake
playing with the toy I gave him
We had a little party for E on his first birthday. He was his usual happy self as you can see. I really enjoy being E’s Auntie Ruth. He’s such a joy to be around. What more can I say? I think the pictures speak for themselves!
Florida Team–Thank you!!!
Sunday, June 6th, 2010 | Uncategorized | 1 Comment
Florida Team--second from left and far right with WAR staff
We had two very helpful ladies from Florida spend a week with us and help Seble and I with the day care program. They cleaned all of our toys for us, organized them into weekly bins that will be changed once a week, helped us organize our nutrition program for the kids, decorate our day care room, and over all just were a great encouragement to us. One of them is in charge of the preschool program at her church and it was wonderful to talk with someone who has much more experience in early child development. I realized that I had been approaching the day care more from an elementary child development perspective, but now that I have learned more from this team, I feel much better and at ease about what we are doing for the day care program. I was making it more difficult than it actually was. Thanks Florida Team! Please come back again soon!
Fortuna–My Starfish
Sunday, June 6th, 2010 | Uncategorized | 1 Comment
There’s a story about a man who was on a beach. There were thousands of starfish that had been washed up on the beach and without being thrown back in the water, they would die. So this one man, picked up one starfish at a time and threw it back into the water so that it could live. Along came another man who asked him, “How can you throw those starfish back? There are thousands of them that will die anyways. You will never make a difference.” The man throwing starfish into the water picked up one starfish and as he tossed it back into the ocean he said, “It made a difference to that one.”
I often think of this story when I am in Ethiopia. This is what helping people is like here. We only serve 20-40 women a year and there are statistically 150,000 prostituted women on the streets of Addis. We could get so easily overwhelmed by the numbers of women who we are not helping or we could count our blessings and celebrate and try our best to help the women who are currently in our care. We choose the latter.
Fortuna is a baby in need of much care. She lives in poor air quality conditions in a mud hut with her mom. She has been fed the local cereal in a bottle from the time she was born and has had a cough for over two month now. So, I’ve decided to help her to improve her situaion. There are many more babies like her but I know that at WAR we are making a difference for her and her mom and that makes it all worth it. Jesus cared about the one in the multitude and as Christians so should we.
E’s First Haircut/Mohawk
Sunday, June 6th, 2010 | Uncategorized | 3 Comments
Before the haircut--not sure what to make of it all
Before the haircut, from the back
Getting Ready and looking a little scared
Getting shaved
Adding lines
Afterwards with a smile on his face
Since E was turning 1 year old soon, it was decided that he needed to get his first haircut and not just any hair cut–a mohawk! Although he didn’t seem to like the whole process, he didn’t cry and as you can tell he was his usual happy self afterwards. I’m glad I got to be there for this special occasion!
Obama Cafe
Sunday, June 6th, 2010 | Uncategorized | 1 Comment
About a 1 1/2 years ago I posted something about how people in Ethiopia reacted when Obama won he presidency. They LOVED it! In Addis, there is at least one Obama Cafe and this is one of them. It makes me laugh because regardless of what we think of Obama in the states, most people probably wouldn’t think to start a cafe in honor of him.
Some people in Ethiopia tend to think that because Obama has some African blood, he will make a huge difference in Africa itself. I try to tell these people that Obama has a very big job already dealing with the needs of the USA and not to expect this. Sometimes when I mention that I’m from America the next word out of people’s mouths is Obama because many people here are definitely his fans. I tried to tell one taxi driver that Obama might do some good things and some bad things but he is definitely not the savior of the world. The taxi driver smiled and nodded, agreeing with me. Then I told him that only God can fill that job.
E In The Tuperware Cupboard
Sunday, June 6th, 2010 | Uncategorized | No Comments
I haven’t posted anything about E lately, the cute little boy who I live with in Ethiopia. He can take six steps by himself now and I’m sure that when I return to Ethiopia in September he will be walking all over the house by himself. I will miss having him crawl across the room to me in the mornings and getting nice 1 year old hugs. He’s a very loveable kid.
The only cupboard E is allowed to play in is the tuperware one. Hope you enjoy the pics!