There is no sugar coating it.
Leaving Jemo was HARD!
In all honesty, I am still getting over it. I have been so sad all weekend. There are a few things that have gone into that sadness, but one of them is missing Ethiopia. Wondering when I will be able to return, wondering how the kids are, treasuring the fact that we made some really special connections and longing to grow those has caused a heaviness to settle over my heart. I am praying through it, giving it to the Lord, trusting it all to Him.
It is amazing how so many things can change in just a few days. When we arrived at Jemo, almost all the kids looked like strangers. I had studied and studied their profile pictures. I had practiced pronouncing each name. I wanted to arrive ready. I wanted to love, serve, and invest from the very first moment I arrived.
My studying did help. As kids told me their names, many times I instantly remembered who their sponsor family was. However, even with all my studying, when I first saw all the kids - I was totally overwhelmed! It looked like a sea of unfamiliar and very scared faces!
This was the children lined up to greet us on our first day at Jemo.
As I look closely at these photos after I got to know the kids, the fear and nervousness on many of their faces has become so evident. They were so brave in welcoming us, accepting us, allowing us to love them, and loving us in return.
Look very closely at this photo.
Do you see the beads of sweat? They are absolute evidence of how nervous the kids were. It was NOT hot enough for the kids to be sweating this much. We did not see them sweating like this at any time during the rest of the week. (Or at least I didn't.) I remember Joshua sweating just like this when he was very, very scared when he first joined our family. Just like these brave kidos, he put on a happy face and "performed" in the happy way he assumed we expected.
I am SO thankful that in both cases, relationship and love changed everything!
By Thursday, our final day at Jemo, the kids were truly joyful in our presence.
And I knew many of the children by name.
It was so wonderful to greet the children with an Ethiopian handshake/kiss combo and be able to say "Salem (hello) Tigist!"
We spent Thursday morning in various ways.
Chad had truly enjoyed working with the men, so he spent time helping them with the fence project.
After greeting the children, we broke them into four groups.
One group decorated t-shirts.
One played games.
The third group enjoyed another Bible story.
The final group simply colored pictures.
(Each child rotated through all 4 groups.)
As I mentioned before, the kids worked well no matter how small their personal space was.
We gave each child 3 crayons. They were satisfied with that. They traded as they wished.
The favorite colors were red, yellow, and green - the colors of the Ethiopian flag.
Ashlee and the kids found a spot with a bit of shade for the Bible story.
The favorite game was a bit like Duck, Duck, Goose.
One person circled the group holding a jacket.
All of the children sang a rhyme in Amharic.
The child holding the jacket eventually dropped the jacket behind someone. That child then picked up the jacket and chased the other around the circle, trying to be the first one in the empty space.
Adults and teens watched the game with wide smiles, singing and clapping along to the song.
Getting to know this boy was so fun! His profile photo made him look like a difficult "thug." His sponsor mom is experienced and loves all teens. She helped me hang the profile pictures before the launch and I teased her that this boy was one only she could win over.
Her prayers have obviously been effective (smile) because this boy was nothing like I would have expected from his profile photo! He was kind, polite, and very proud of the t-shirt he had made!
In Ethiopia the meaning of one's name is important.
Kidist means saint. Does she not look like a saint?
Haimanote did a beautiful job on her shirt!
Kristen did a beautiful job helping and encouraging the young artists.
By Thursday, we were all cozy together.
Friendships had been made.
Trust was beginning to be evident in the children
and between leaders.
We were all feeling a lot like family.
At lunch time, the feast was served.
(I blogged more about this earlier.)
The kids were joyful and celebratory.
I loved watching them eat
and drink!
After we finished lunch, we wandered back into the center of the compound and discovered the children had been seated for a good-bye ceremony.
As it became clear in our hearts that we needed to prepare to say good-bye, Chad gathered the fence crew for a photo. He will hang this in his office. Building is a part of who he is, having the opportunity to build with these men was a blessing to them all.
I was so proud of Chad that week. He was genuinely accepted by the crew. That did not come easy. He chose to persistently work with them. He chose to ignore their concern that it was too hard for him. He chose to follow - not to lead. He is used to leading in construction, but in Ethiopia he followed. He labored, and he earned trust and friendship because of those decisions.
It was awesome to witness.
Fikre told us to join the kids for a final photo.
Where we were once separate - the kids in one line, us in another - here we are united.
Where once the kids were fearful - here they are silly and joyful.
(happy sniff)
I expected that this photo would be our good-bye.
But the leaders of Jemo had another plan.
It was totally unexpected, and it shocked us all completely.
Each of the male leaders of the church spoke to us (through Fikre's translation).
They each blessed us with words of thanks, gratitude, and hope.
My mind and heart were too full to be able to quote each man, but one comment caused my heart to rejoice more than the others. One of the men spoke about trust being built during our time at Jemo. He said that our time there proved to them that we really do love their children. Through our visit they fully understood that we are all one family and are together working for the future of the children and the community.
That was an answer to my personal prayer for this trip, and I am so very thankful that God allowed me to hear those words spoken aloud.
After they made their thank you speeches, they presented each member of our team with a beautifully wrapped gift.
That was so humbling to me. In many ways we give out of our "much." Chad and I had to sacrifice to go on this trip. We robbed some of our savings, worked hard to fund-raise, took time away from jobs, etc. . . However the tiny amount we sacrificed can not even begin to compare to the sacrifice these people make to give. They gave out of their "little." They are among the most amazing, beautiful, loving people I have ever been surrounded by.
They took great joy in giving us these gifts.
I love the smiles on the faces of these ladies. They were so concerned when we arrived. Yet - they trusted us with their children. They allowed us access to their most precious gifts. They were kind and courageous and gracious to us in many, many ways. Trust and hope and understanding blossomed in their hearts and in each of ours during our time together.
They have little, but they gave with great joy.
I am so humbled, and I have so much to learn from these sisters.
As we were called up to receive out gifts, the ladies and children started clapping and chanting some words I did not know. Helina finally caught my eye and motioned that they were telling us to open our gifts. We quickly tore into them.
Inside each gift was a beautiful, hand-loomed, Ethiopian scarf.
Each is stunning.
Each will be worn with pride and serve to remind us of the special memories of lessons learned and friendships made during this trip.
After the gifts were opened, we were instructed to head to the bus. The children were instructed to wave good-bye, and remain seated until we were loaded on the bus. After we were gone, they each were to receive a mango as a farewell treat.
The very wise and helpful CHC staff had chosen this procedure - hoping it would be easy for all of us.
I do not like good-byes. I was already feeling overwhelmed, and so I followed orders and headed straight to the bus. The children quickly figured out that this good-bye was final. Many of them left their seats in order to be close to us.
One young beauty caught me for a big hug as she sobbed.
It was HARD! The miles and language barrier seemed so huge as I longed to pray with her, bless her, and comfort her. Instead I hugged her for a minute and said "Ciao! amisayganalo!" (Good-bye! Thank you!)
I walked onto the bus sniffing as did the rest of our team.
This was my final glimpse of Jemo.
Some cheers, some waves, and my brother, Desaleng, with his usually happy eyes so sad.
He always greeted us with much joy.
Not this time.
This time hehad snuck around the compound so he could watch us leave, but he could not bring himself to smile. Once again, I hated the barriers. I wanted to run off the bus. Give him a huge hug and tell him I would call him soon. All I could do was blow him a kiss, say a silent prayer, and hope to visit him again in the coming years.
I miss him.
For real.
Always the perfect hosts, Fikre and Helina allowed us to sniffle as we drove away.
They seemed to understand.
They drove us back to the guest home to pack.
Since we had no water, packing did not take long.
Discovering there was no water, meaning NO showers before we began our loooooong trip home was one of the moments I was most proud of this team. It was a real bummer! We were all really dreading the flights. We all really, really wanted to shower before we elft the country. Yet no one threw a fit. No one was mad or grumpy. Instead we shared baby wipes and made the best of things.
After we finished packing, Fikre and Helina took us back to the market and then out for supper.
We had supper at a place called "Rodeo Addis." It was a Texas themed restaurant in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia! It was a light-hearted and fun meal.
Fikre modeled the menu!
(The menu was shaped like a cowboy hat.)
Helina got a hold of Troy's phone and watched all his videos.
She laughed and laughed.
(Especially when she saw the "sausage dance.")
We all did.
We got to the airport about 2.5 hours before our flight. I was once again shocked at how things had changed. The process was so simple and organized. (It was crazy when we were there to bring JG home.) We got through lines with ease. It is clear that making things go smoothly for travelers has been a priority to the Ethiopian people. While in the airport I asked Chad if he had seen the restroom. An Ethiopian worker overheard me and politely pointed the way. This happened again when I was looking for our gate. The service was truly incredible. In my opinion it was the best we received at any airport.
While none of us were looking forward to the flights - (there is NO way to look forward to the flights!) by the time we were at the airport, we were looking forward to being home with family. We had had NO Internet access all week (save 20 minutes one day) and we were anxious to land in Washington, DC and check in with the ones we love and the ones we work with.
Sierra snapped this photo hoping to catch a little bit of WiFi at the airport.
She was unsuccessful, but the photo is sure cute!
The flights home were. . . looooooong!
16 hours from Addis to DC.
One chair in our row did not recline.
Sierra got airsick.
Chad barely slept.
Yet, I slept a lot.
I played a lot of solataire.
The food was OK.
The time passed more quickly than I had hoped.
When we landed in DC, Chad's dad and his wife were waiting for us as we had an 8 hour layover. They were very gracious when we asked if we could just go to their home rather than on a driving tour of DC. We probably should have checked out the city, but we were so weary. We also stunk! It had been way too long since we had showered. A shower and a couch sounded like heaven.
(I do confess that I also felt like a traitor! The rest of our team was sitting in the airport while we showered.)
Sierra was feeling a bit better, but not great as we prepared to board our nect flight, so I picked up some Dramamine for her. She took two before I could stop her. Two is the recommended dosage, but I am really sensitive to the sleep med in Dramamine. I would never be able to take 2, but Sierra does fine with Benadryl so I thought she might be OK. . .
She was OK alright!
She was totally oblivious! She slept like a rock all the way to Denver. Chad and I kept a very close eye on her in Denver as she was clearly out of it. We made her eat, and I had to keep reminding her to chew! She does not remember anything about being in Denver and we were there for at least 6 hours!
Just as we were to board our flight from Denver to Bismarck, it was delayed. Once again we all hung in there - even though we really did NOT want to sleep on the floor of the Denver airport that night. It came really, really close - but God sent us a determined pilot who braved a storm and flew us home. God even put the members of our team who hated flying the most to sleep on this lightning filled flight. As Fran told me this week, "God protected us from beginning to end of this trip."
He certainly did.
We were very, very blessed.
(sniff)
