Still no visa (warning - whiny post ahead!)

Another week, still no visa.  This is getting old.  We are still waiting, and have no idea how long it will be.  We had to move to the new guesthouse, and while it is relatively nice, the sheets are scratchy, the kitchen is under-equipped and the wifi hasn’t worked since we got here! The lack of internet leaves us feeling bored and disconnected from life back home.  Everyone is feeling cranky and it just really sucks.  And every day here at this point just sucks us dry financially. 

This is the point where I’m going to kindly ask you not to tell me to look on the bright side... Yes, we are all together. Yes, we have our new son. Yes, we are safe and healthy.  I know these things, but I don’t want to hear it. 

Sorry, I know whining is obnoxious.  I’m stressed out.  I think Dave and Faith and Thomas are going to head home, as we just can’t leave life at home on “pause” much longer.  Of course, that has its own stresses; both in terms of being here with Bereket by myself, and the eventual “reintegration” when we get home.  I kind of feel like it would be easier for us all to be jet-lagged at once, but both home and able to spell each other off, vs. Dave already being back at work and I’m on my own with all three kids right off the bat.

I typed this up at Chilallo, and then went to visit Karen at GT to post it.  I’ll also spend a few minutes on FB and try to download Faith a few more ebooks; man, that kid can read!

                                                                                                                                                                               

Another fun day...

Well, today was our last full day at GT Guesthouse (hopefully - we may return here if we are still in Ethiopia after Oct. 5). I just can't say enough good things about this place. The space itself is just about perfect for our family, but more than that, the owners and staff are so amazing!  Lee is like having an on-site concierge.  She helps with everything from tracking down specific kids DVDs, ordering take-out, helping me make an appointment for a haircut and spa treatment (coming up on Monday!), and so much more.  Her hospitality (and excellent English) are so incredible.  Today, Faith was upset about something in the courtyard, so Lee asked if Faith liked to color.  Faith said yes, and Lee proceeded to DRAW her a beautiful Ethiopian princess to color.  Faith went upstairs to get the markers, and was planning to color outside, but couldn't find a suitable surface.  So we asked if she could use the coffee table in Lee's office.  Before long, Bereket was in the office too, wondering what was going on.  So she drew him a picture, too! So now Faith and Bereket were both coloring in her office (while Thomas was upstairs playing with Ibssa) and Dave and I were just hanging around!

Anyway, we took it pretty easy today.  We had mostly packed yesterday, and our only real plans were to have Markos, Menisa, Jacob, Ashe, and Aserat over for supper so they could Skype with Bekah and Arnie.  Around 4, I went with Rob and Candy to order the food.  We are learning how the whole take-away thing works... They don't make the food until you show up to pay, so don't bother phoning if it is close enough to do the pickup yourself.  And bring your own containers, as other wise they charge you through the roof. (Plus, the little foil pans with cardboard lids don't work well for things like Shiro).  We lucked out and got a server that spoke excellent English and was just SO helpful with helping us order and make sure we had lots of food.  He took our containers back to the kitchen, and at one point, came out and said, you need more space, do you have other containers (I did have some smaller ones).  I thought that was so honest, as it would have been very easy to just fill the containers and give us less food. Also, I requested that they packed the injera in ziploc bags, so it wasn't all soggy before we got home.  Anyway, all that to say we had an awesome feast, all for only $35!  For 14 people!!!

We were just walking up to the guesthouse when Markos and 3 of the boys arrived.  One thing I love about GT is that they don't mind us having guests, even if those guests happen to be shoe-shine boys. ;)  I've heard some of the guesthouses can be very snobby about who they let in.  We went upstairs and I got busy preparing the platters of food while the boys said their hellos to everyone else.  We quickly tried to Skype, as the wifi was on and working well, but we couldn't get ahold of Bekah and Arnie.  So we ate first.

I think everyone was able to find something they liked.  I still find ordering traditional Ethiopian food a bit of a gamble... I'm never quite sure what we are getting!  But it was a good assortment of meats, sauces, and even some veggies.  The boys ate lots, and we packed up the leftovers for Jacob, who wasn't able to come.

During supper, I did get ahold of Bekah by iMessage, and they had misunderstood the time we were scheduled to Skype!  And they were driving, so we tried, but between their cell service, and our less than awesome wifi, we couldn't connect.  We tried many times throughout the evening, but eventually gave up.  We did record a video message for them, which I hope went through properly.

The boys, including the 18 year old, had lots of fun with the Playmobil toys.  It was so fun to watch.  I'm guessing they haven't had many toys in their lives.

Anyway, it was another fun night.  It is so great to be able to love on these boys just a little bit while we are here.  Karen gave them each some money to buy something they need.  And Markos was such a sport all night... He didn't eat (maybe fasting again?) and I think he would have just left without asking for any payment for driving the boys over if I hadn't paid him.  And as always, he is so great with the kids.  Oh, and we were able to show him the little video that friends of ours had made of their little boy talking to Markos.  So for anyone who has been trying to get ahold of Markos, he has no internet access as the gov't has blocked it.  I guess phone is the best way to get in contact with him.

All in all, it was a great day!  Now we will soon go to sleep for our last night at GT, and then tomorrow we will move to the new place.  And hopefully, we are in the final leg and will get to come home soon!

An update on Thomas...

We haven’t had internet for almost 24 hours, and who knows when we will, but I realized I could type this up and post it when it eventually comes back on.

So Thomas... He’s doing alright.  He has probably had the hardest transition, which is what we expected, as Bereket is so close in age to him.  And yet, emotionally and socially, Bereket is behind, which can lead to some interesting encounters.   Both boys are intensely competitive, and they do best when we can set it up so they are on the same team, competing against an adult or older boy.   They both have a very highly developed sense of “fair” (is that a 6 year old thing?), and of course, life is regularly unfair.  We are trying our best to give each child what they need during this tricky time, but they don’t all need the same things at the same time.

Still, though, generally Thomas is his usual fun self.  He does enjoy having a playmate, even if it doesn’t always work out perfectly.  He has been having a blast playing basketball in the courtyard, and loves Ashe, the boy who lives here, and Sinteyehu, the regular driver here.  He also has gotten over much of his shyness, and when we go to the grocery store or somewhere, he often chooses to wait in the van with Sinteyehu.   He is friendly with people on the street, and is quick to wave and smile if he notices someone trying to get his attention.

Thomas also has passed a lot of time drawing in his notebook.  His drawings are starting to be very detailed:

He also asks regularly for me to “give him some math”.  That is definitely his favorite subject in school – other than PE, of course! He still isn’t really interested in reading, though he’ll end up learning just because he wants to be able to label all his drawings! He loves listening to books read aloud, though.

Thomas is enjoying having his own room, just as a place to get away from Bereket when he is being too intense.  It has me questioning how it will work to have them share when we get home.  Maybe we will set up a room in the basement for Thomas to hang out in, even if he still prefers to sleep upstairs on the bunkbed.  A few weeks ago, he told me he was “Bereket-ed out for the whole week!” which I thought was a pretty accurate way of putting it.  So we try to watch for signs that they need a break from each other and then give them each the space they need.

This feels like a tough update to write, as there really isn’t much to say.  We are having some challenges, but mostly he is his usual self.  I know he is ready to get home, as we all are! 😊

An update on Faith

Ok, this series of posts is inspired by requests from the grandparents on how the kids are doing... So I won't be at all offended if some of you choose to skip them!  Just in case some of my newer readers do choose to read on, I thought I would back up and tell you a little bit about the girl who first made me a mommy.

Faith is almost 9 (next week!) and is such a blessing in our lives.  She is smart, funny, articulate and caring.  She is also very sensitive, both emotionally and to changes in routine.  She likes things "just so" and can sometimes have the intense reactions one would typically expect from a younger child.  In other words, she is not a kid I would consider a great candidate for the challenges of living in a developing country, all while adjusting to a new family member!  We were prepared for lots of outbursts, emotional regression, and just needing to manage her very carefully.

However, we couldn't have been more surprised!  She has done AMAZINGLY well... Handled all the changes and new places and faces like a trouper!  Even with the food, which is very different from home, she has just rolled with the punches and ordered things that "sound good" and handled it so well when they don't taste at all as expected.  She has been friendly and outgoing with all the new people we have encountered, including things like letting the tour guide hold her hand in busy places, or crowding into vehicles with people she doesn't know well.

We joke she has matured two years since we got here... and it's true!  We are so proud of her... Don't get me wrong; we have always been proud of her, but seeing how she has handled the challenges we have faced, especially knowing it is not necessarily in her nature to be flexible, ;) has been especially impressive.

When we got to GT, she was so thrilled to have her own bedroom.  She went in to read and didn't come out for 2 hours! lol

This is a very common sight around here... She has read 9 books since we got to Ethiopia and is half-way through the 10th.  I've had to start borrowing e-books from the library to keep up with her!  Love technology (even though it takes just about as long for me to download the book as it does for her to read them!)


 Goofing around with her new brother!


One of the main ways Faith has passed the days here is by writing in her notebook.  She has written a few stories and poems, but the thing I have gotten such a kick out of are her "schedules".  I have a homeschool book at home that teaches how to write a daily schedule for homeschooling moms and their kids.  Faith LOVES that book and has spent a lot of time at home looking at the sample schedules.  For whatever reason, since we've been here, she has had a ton of fun writing up schedules for imaginary families.  Here is an example:

 She has done dozens of these!  She also has made a few meal plans:

When I was looking in her notebook to take these pictures (with her permission) I also found the following pages that made me giggle:

(Sorry I don't know why those ones are sideways)

I think its so funny that she spends her free time making healthy eating charts! haha.

As always, Faith has a huge imagination and has no trouble coming up with stuff to do...  Today she "lassoed" this "horse" and went for a ride.

A few minutes later, I noticed she had upgraded horses...

Anyway, she does miss home, as evidenced by her list I posted the other day... But all in all, she is doing so well, and we are so glad to have her along with us!

One month later...

Today marks one month since Bereket came to live with us forever!  I had hoped to mark today with celebrating his visa arriving, but that is not to be.  However, I wanted to take a moment to jot down some thoughts about this first month as a family of 5...

First of all, Bereket is doing really well. He is smart, affectionate, thoughtful and creative.  I can't wait to see more of his personality unfold as his language skills develop.

Secondly, when I say he is doing "really well", I mean in the context of everything he has experienced... Losing his family, and then his orphanage friends, adjusting to a new language, a new family, new expectations... Given everything he has been through, he is doing great.  Please understand, though, that this does not mean everything is sunshine and roses.  Temper tantrums do not make cute Facebook status updates!  There are many things that we take for granted which are actually learned skills:  taking turns, sharing, waiting for anything, playing gently, hygiene, telling the truth, table manners, complying with parental instructions. ;)

I share this, not to sound critical, but to be, well, real, about the transition.  And also so that you understand some of our parental fatigue... It is hard to be "on" 24-7, especially when our previous kids had finally gotten to a relatively independent stage.  We just never know what he is going to do... Bite a ball (popping it), spray the hallway with a toilet sprayer, run into the street... it is impossible to stay 2 steps ahead all the time!  Although we obviously now require hand holding at all times in public (much to his chagrin)!

Ok, now that I've got that out, I'd love to share some of the "fun" things... the moments that let us glimpse the "real" boy who we no doubt will see more of as time goes on...

~Bereket is very creative.  He loves to draw pictures in his journal and "write" stories.  And he loves to share what he has created with us... He will explain in as many words as he has exactly what is in the picture.  One day I still wasn't getting it, so he got out the ESL picture dictionary and found a photograph of the "excavator" he had drawn. 

His notebook is filled with pages he has copied out of various books... He even found my notebook where I had written our flight numbers for our tour of Ethiopia and he carefully copied it all down.

~Bereket loves card games.  He learned how to play Old Maid within 2 days of being with us!  He has also learned "Go Fish" and "War".  War is pretty funny... He starts off pretty "honest" but after a few hands, he starts trying to claim any cards, even if his "3" is clearly less than my "7".  So you have to watch carefully, and it's not a great game for him to play with the other kids.  Faith and Thomas have both learned to play Solitaire, and Bereket desperately wants to play too, but it's just a little too complicated (descending alternating colors, etc).  So he has made up his own version that always ends up with him as "champion"!

~Speaking of "champion", Bereket is VERY competitive. He LOVES to win and is very distressed if he doesn't.  We are working on the idea of being a gracious winner AND loser.   As challenging as this particular trait can be, I also like to think it is a sign of a person who pursues excellence. ;)

~Bereket loves to play with Playmobil.  I wasn't sure if he would, as I've heard that older adoptees sometimes don't "play" the way we westerners traditionally do.  But he loves playing with the little miniature figures.  People, animals, and bicycles are his favorites so far!  A gift idea would be assorted Playmobil animals, or maybe the Super Spy series.  He has shown me that page in the catalog many times. ;)

~ Despite the fact that it must sound like an absolute sea of words, Bereket (usually) likes story time.  We have read two chapter books since picking him up, and he actually sits better for those than the picture books.  He asks every night for "story-story" and is very disappointed if for some reason it is not happening (late night, etc).

~Like Thomas, Bereket loves playing sports.  He is pretty coordinated, and I can tell his strength will improve over time.  As I said above, he is very competitive, and it works best if we find a way for he and Thomas to be on the same "team" against one of the older boys, or they often end up fighting.  I'm hoping as Bereket's language and family skills improve, the boys will be able to play together on their own.

~Bereket is an awesome helper.  He made our bed, and has helped me with meal prep and washing dishes.  If he is melting down about something, I can often distract him by getting him to help me with some random task.

~Bereket loves self-portraits.  He has filled my phone camera with pictures of his chin and nostrils, but he occasionally gets a good one!

~Bereket loves to count.  He can count to mid-teens in English and much higher in Amharic.  He often will count things for no apparent reason.  We are working on matching the numerals with the number of objects they represent.  (Ie, he can count seven cars, but if I show him the number "7" he might say "five")

~Speaking of counting, Bereket has spontaneously figured out the "I love you more" game... When he says "I love you", I usually say "I love you, too"... Just the other day, he replied back with "I love you three" and we went up from there!  After about 15, he jumped to 50, and then 100, and then we went up by hundreds until we got to "one hundred zero" which I think is 1000.  So cute!

I hope this gives you a little glimpse into our newest boy... We love him so much and are so proud of him!  He will have many challenges to overcome, but we can tell he is a fighter!

No visa...

So, we learned that Bereket's visa still isn't ready, and we will be here in Ethiopia at least another 10 days.  I am so homesick. Please pray it comes next week, and that the situation in Kenya does not delay things further. (The visa comes from the Canadian High Commission in Nairobi, Kenya, and a CIC worker was tragically killed in the terrorist attack).

Also, we have to leave this lovely guesthouse on the 29th. Please pray that we either find the perfect place or that someone cancels their reservation. It is a big holiday in Ehiopia next week so it might be hard to find a place for the 5 of us, plus the other two families are in the same situation. 

Heather

Faith's list: "Things I Miss from Home"

This is a repeat if you are on FB, but too funny not to share here, too. Faith wrote this on her own during quiet time today. Check out number 9... I laughed so hard...

Hopefully the visa will come tomorrow and we can get home to grass and cheddar cheese and produce! Lol

Amazing boys...

Sorry for yet another long break between blog posts... It seems the conditions have to be just optimal... Kids to bed on time, Mom not out of steam, wifi working... I find it easier to just post a quick status update on Facebook, though that does not serve as well for creating a long term record of our time here...

Anyway, I've been wanting to write about another group of boys that we met, and one boy in particular.  I've mentioned Tilehun a couple times; he is the boy we met on our first trip to church, the one who knew Bereket from volunteering at KVI.  He is also the one who came with us to Adama to meet Bereket's enat, acting as translator and just an excellent travel companion.  You may be wondering his story, and I'm going to back up and tell what I know.

Tilehun was born to a very poor family in a rural village. He told me that when he was 8, he preferred to leave his mother and come to Addis "to make himself a future".  He lived on the streets at the Merkato and worked as a shoe shine boy.  When he was 12, a Canadian woman named Shelley was in Addis to adopt a little girl.  She was overwhelmed at the number of street children, and asked her driver what they could do to brighten their day a little.  He suggested taking a group of boys out for lunch.  So she invited Tilehun and 5 of his friends out for lunch, and they were excited to accept.  After lunch, she asked the driver if there wasn't more she could do.  He said, well, if you really want to make a difference, you could help with school.  So she quickly found 5 other families who wanted to make a difference, and together they sent the boys to boarding school for the year!  After the year was up, they asked if it would be possible to live together and attend day school instead of boarding school.  So Shelley and the other families arranged a house to rent for the boys and a woman to act as cook and housekeeper.  We have visited their home, and it is simple and lovely.

So here are these boys, former street children, now with a safe, clean home, food to eat and school to attend. But what is so incredible is the hearts of these boys.  They are so grateful and want to help out and give back however they can.  When we asked Tilehun to come with us to Adama, we wanted to pay him for his time.  He refused outright, and so we decided to pay attention and try to figure out a way we could bless him.  

On the drive, Tilehun was telling us how this fall he begins highschool, and it is further from his home than the elementary school.  We asked how he was going to get there, and he said he hoped to ride a bike.  This planted a seed in my mind, and I wondered if maybe we could get a bike for him.

Also on the drive to Adama, Tilehun invited us to spend Ethiopian New Years with him.  He said he and the other boys would be preparing a meal to hand out to other children on the street.  We eagerly accepted the invitation, and planned to attend with the other families.  We also all contributed towards the cost of the meal, but understand, the boys planned to buy the food and do this on their own with their own money.

I asked Karen if she knew about the bike situation, and she talked to Shelley.  Four of the boys would be starting high school, and only 1 had a bike.  She agreed that bikes would be a good gift, and so the three families that are here decided we would buy three bikes.  We hoped we would be able to find good used bikes, but we wanted to give them as a New Years gift, and so the tight time frame meant we ended up buying new bikes. They were a little more than we had hoped to spend, but  we decided the boys probably don't get new things very often.  Dave and Rob went with Markos to get the bikes, and we had them delivered to GT.  When Lee (the manager) saw them, she asked what on earth we were doing with bikes?! I joked we should have told her we were tired of always hiring a ride! lol.  The plan was to deliver them on New Years Day when we went to help with the meal delivery.

Tuesday night, we learned that our ride would be coming to get us at 5:30 am!  Oh my!  That changed our plans slightly.  We decided that our boys would likely not do well with such an early start, and so just Faith and I went along.  

When we got to Tilehun's and the other boys' house, operation goat was well under way.  They had stayed up all night cooking.  The goat head was still laying in the middle of the yard!   I took a few pictures, but then discovered I had failed to put the memory card in the camera.  And now the few I took are trapped on the internal memory of the camera.  I did snap this one of one of the younger boys with a bike.  He was pretty amazed!  When we gave the bikes, we said they were a gift for the whole household; that the older boys had first priority to use them for school, but the others could use them on weekends and evenings.  

This was the first day of what turned out to be 4 days of extreme sickness for me... And so I had the "experience" of using the boys' squatty potty, in the dark, with no door, and half a dozen teenage boys 6 feet away. Oy.  

We had to wait for the injera shop to be open, and so it was about 7 am by the time we were bagging up the food.  They folded a whole injera, put it in a plastic bag, and then added two scoops of meat and sauce to each bag.  The filled bags went into a large rubbermaid tub.  I think we ended up with 75 bags in the end.  When we were ready to go, we loaded everything into the van and headed for the Merkato.  

I guess the reason it had to be so early in the morning was so that the street boys would all still be gathered in one area... As the day gets going, they scatter to various places to work, usually as shoe shine boys.  We drove past the place where Shelley had first met Tilehun and the others, and then to the area where their friends were.  We were told to stay in the van, and asked not to take pictures.  They kept the bin of food in the van, and one boy passed it out the door to another who gave it to anyone who wanted it.  Mostly it was 8-16 year old boys, but there were some girls, some mothers with little ones, some grown men, too.  After we had given out about two thirds of the food there, we drove slowly along the street and passed it out the window to people who approached.

I had been worried that we would be swarmed, but it was very orderly.  The only "kerfuffle" at all was at the very end... A group of 5 or 6 people approached, and we only had 2 bags of food left.  So there was a little upset among them as to who was going to get the food.  We drove off before they sorted it out.

After that, they drove us home to GT.  We were home by about 10 am.  I was feeling terrible, and went to bed, and basically didn't come out again for 4 days! Very glad that is now behind me!

Anyway, it was a fantastic day, and something I would definitely plan to do again if we are back in Ethiopia.  

Visiting the boys' home... and a shopping spree!

So I mentioned a while ago that we had been able to connect with some boys that our friends Bekah and Arnie had met when they were here.  We took the three younger boys for lunch and made plans to visit their home and spend the money that Bekah and Arnie had sent us to bless them with.

Monday morning, Markos picked us up bright and early at 8:30.  It had to be early so that we could see the boys home and they would still have time to work that day.  At least, that was the plan.  I think in the end, the shopping took most of the day.  But anyway...

We met the boys off the side of a busy highway, and had to cross over a pedestrian footbridge to get to the path to their village.  The boys were very excited to see us and had dressed up in their nicest outfits.  They were all so helpful with the kids on the walk down...

The four boys live in a tiny room about 8' x 12' big, if that.  They all sleep together in a single cot, not even a cot really, as it was missing it's mattress.  They have decorated the walls with posters and newpaper, and their belongings were mostly hung on the walls on nails.

This "fence" is right along the river path.

The door to their apartment

The apartment.  There really isn't much more than you see here.

The driver, Markos, is so good with all the kids.

After a little visit at the boys' home, we began the walk back up the mountain.  Of course it is harder work going up than down!  And it was sunny and warm.  The boys ended up carrying our backpack and at times, our children! up the hill.  They walk this walk every day, rain or shine.  It is about 20 minutes up the hill, and then about 40 minutes to the area where they work shining shoes.

Aren't these two just the cutest?! I think there was a little crush going on... ;)

When we got back to the car, we had a little discussion about what all the boys would buy when Markos took them shopping.  We decided the priority was a bigger bed and blankets, school books, and some extra food since it was New Years that week.  We don't all fit in Markos' car, so he drove us back to GT, and then went and met the boys again and took them shopping.   After they had shopped for a while, he brought them and the stuff to GT so that they could show us what they bought.  Both Markos and the boys wanted to be sure that Bekah and Arnie knew how they had spent the money.

Showing off their school books!

Pasta!  We asked if there was any special food they wanted for New Years, and this was it!  27 lbs of pasta! haha. We also insisted they get some meat.  

At the furniture store buying the bed.

When they came to show us their purchases.

Menisa with the mattress. Funny story below!

From left to right: Ashanuf (9), Aserat (10), Jacob (7), and Menisa (18)

Ok, funny story.  Markos called to say he and the boys were outside GT, so Dave and I went down to see how they had fared.  When we got out the gate, Markos and Menisa were talking excitedly, and then Menisa took off running down the alley.  I asked what that was all about, and he said they had left the mattress tied to the top of the taxi that had delivered it!!!  Menisa when running to try to catch the taxi and I'm assuming from the pictures Markos took that he did!  I would have  laughed so hard if they managed to end up with another bed without a mattress (and then bought them a replacement). ;) But, it all worked out in the end.

At this point, they had bought the bed, blankets, sheets, pillows, school books and pasta, and had about 2500 birr left to spend.  Markos thought he could get them shoes for about 200 birr each, and then some other kitchen things and maybe a t-shirt each.  So he took them out again for more shopping.

I think this was a hard day for Markos.  At the shoe store, they wanted shoes that were 1000 birr per pair!  So he had to be the "bad guy" and make them get the shoes they could afford.  Then they bought cooking oil, berbere, cutlery, two pots, some plastic baskets, and a duffel bag to put it all in.  As well as t-shirts for everyone.  And of course it's not like going to Walmart and putting it all in a cart... They'd have gone from shop to shop and negotiated prices, etc. And when I was looking through the pictures today, I noticed a picture of the boys with a radio!  I said to Dave, I don't think a radio was on the list Markos gave me, and he told me that he think Markos bought it for the boys out of his own money.  What a gem!

After they finished the shopping, they went to Markos' house, where he used his tools to help them build the bed.  Then he hired a friend with a van to drive it to their neighborhood, where the boys and their friends carried the bed down the hill to their home.  What a day!

Bekah and Arnie!  Look at all the stuff Markos was able to get!!  Your gift was so generous and went so far!!!

After that, Markos took Dave and Rob bike shopping for the other boys we know!  But I will save that story for another post...

Church...

So, this week, we didn't go to church, but I'm going to back up and write a bit about church last week.  It was our second time going to church in Addis.  The first time, we went to the International Evangelical Church, which I wrote about earlier.  This time, we wanted to go somewhere more "local" and so we asked Tilehun if we could go with him to church.  He said his church had an English service and so we decided we would go to that.  The first week that we planned to go was the week that "the roads were closed", and so last week was the first opportunity we had to go.  He thought that the English service was at 10:00, so we arranged a driver to come at 9:15.

We made our way to his church, which is called Beza International Church.  The earlier service, in Amharic, was still in progress, and it just went on and on.  Thankfully they had a little coffee stand in front of the church where one could buy snacks and drinks, which helped the time go more quickly.  Eventually, after 11:00, it was time for us to go in to church.  Once again, the kids' patience was largely used up before we got into the building! haha.  Imagine my surprise when the bulletin was passed out and I saw that English church was booked at 11:15!  So it didn't start late, we were just over an hour early.  Again.

Not a great picture but here we all are! You can see we were basically the first ones in the building for the English service.

I was trying to get the Canada Flag, but it's hard to see...

Not a great shot, again, but you get the idea.

Church began with about an hour of very fervent worship.  The songs were in English, and while not familiar, easy enough to sing after the 10th repetition. ;) I would say the congregation was about 80% African and 20% White/Asian/Indian/everything else.  It was a large church, at least 1000 people.  I greatly enjoyed the worship; singing, dancing, jumping, and shouting were all involved.  It was the last Sunday before the Ethiopian New Year, and so everyone was in a very joyful noisy mood.  After the worship, the children were dismissed to their classes.  I had talked with my kids ahead of time, and we had decided they would rather go to class than have to sit through the adult service.  I asked if Faith could stay in the boys' group (age 6) and I stayed with them the whole time.

Sunday school was something else.  It started with a large group session for ages 6+, which we missed most of trying to find our room (which was a large tent in the parking lot).  Then it split into "small groups" based on age.  Our group of six year olds numbered at least 24 students with one leader in his early 20's.  The pulled the benches that had been used as seating in the large group into clusters and tried to engage the kids in some discussion.  Our group, and the two nearest us, were absolute chaos.  The kids were pretty squished on the benches, so of course there was shoving, pushing, etc. The poor leader tried to use humor to engage the kids but they would hardly listen at all.  One little girl repeated climbed all over the leader until he basically restrained her on his lap, and even then she kept trying to interrupt, whether with words or by licking him, etc.  I felt so bad for the leader, as the materials and environment he was trying to work with just weren't doing him any favors.  It was awkward to watch, and I'm sure he felt conspicuous.  I hardly blamed him... this particular group, on this particular day, needed to be summarily marched back to their parents! To handle as they saw fit. ;)

One other comment about this group... Considering they were all supposed to be 6 years old, they were huge!  WAY bigger than Thomas and Bereket, or any of the Ethiopian kids we have met here. The kids were mostly black, but as it was the English service, I wonder if they were expat families from other African countries.   Anyway, that was something interesting that stood out to me...

After Sunday School, we went looking for the rest of the group.  They all said that the sermon had been excellent, if a little long. We decided to go for lunch, as it was 2 pm and we were starving.  The driver suggested Lucy's which is by the National Museum.  We had eaten here our very first week in Ethiopia and enjoyed it, so we agreed.  Everyone enjoyed their lunch, and it was nearly supper time by the time we got home to GT.  The driver lives near Tilehun, so he gave him a ride home.

So anyway, like I said, this week we just stayed home.  We are all kind of feeling under the weather, and just sort of "experienced" out. lol.  I am going to try to go back and blog about the other activities of note from the past week.