Nkosi Sikelel' Afrika (God Bless Africa)

Anybody can observe the Sabbath, but making it holy surely takes the rest of the week. - Alice Walker, author The Color Purple

Day 5 - Our Sabbath

When planning the trip, Moody and Emily wisely worked in a day just to rest, regroup and and process through some of the things we had seen. The original plan was for the day to be used however each person wanted, and then to have a gathering in the evening to share and discuss what we'd experienced. One tiny little thing intervened. Actually, it was dozens of tiny little things. We had the chance to go to the main orphanage in Ethiopia where all children are supposed to come first before they are assigned to the different orphanages and adoption agencies throughout the country. The way the system is set up, if a child is abandoned or orphaned they must come to this place first and then literally by chance they are sent to the next place. As we would learn at the end of the week this can mean the difference between a very low income agency with little means and overcrowding or a well financed one with trained staff and clean accommodations. Mind blowing to think that a lottery system changes the course of these children's lives.

The fabulous part about getting to go rock babies was the connection that was made before we went. I mentioned before that people who have a heart for the poor and orphans in Ethiopia are often connected by 6 degrees of separation. True in the case of the parents who were to adopt baby Brighton. After receiving an email that their dreams of having a new baby were coming true one November 26th, their elation turned to heartbreak when they began to get follow up emails that Brighton had been very ill. Before they had a chance to bring their baby home, Brighton went to Heaven. In the midst of their devastation this couple was not sure what to do with this experience or how to regroup from such a tragedy. In their grief they created the non-profit Brighton Their World to honor the son they never had they chance to raise. If you click on the name, it will take you to their page and their mission. Among their grand purpose of bringing attention to the orphan crisis, they also do the very practical and MUCH needed task of collecting formula to ship around the world to places like Addis Ababa whose buildings are filled with tiny babies who can no longer depend on their parents for nourishment. Having a HUGE amount of formula to send to Ethiopia, Brighton's parents made the connection with Moody and Emily and physically drove from Georgia to Texas so that the 67 folks we were taking could load up their bags with formula in every form and size.

On our Sabbath we had the chance to take that formula to the state run clearinghouse and feed that formula to these little babies who generally get their bottles fed to them from a pillow propped up under their chin. I want to be clear that this is not a criticism of the men and women who work at this orphanage. It is a picture of the reality of the crisis this country and the continent as a whole are in. As you can see, rocking the babies and giving them bottles was a task we were all eager to perform.



In addition to the babies there were other children we got to meet. The orphanage itself was established when a wealthy couple discovered they could not have children of their own. They donated the land to the government to use to take care of these children. It bears the name of the donor's wife and while there is not a lot of money running through the place there is clearly a lot of love. Each nurse knows the name and story of every child. There is one building dedicated to children with special needs. My friend Laurel who is a speech therapist back home fell in love with this cutie.

Precious child dressed in an infant's onesie. With obvious developmental issues it was difficult to know how old she was. It was more difficult to learn that she was 6. We watched as the nurses poured love on her and the other children who had a difficult time. I know it sounds redundant, but Ethiopia is not kind to people, especially children, who have physical or mental challenges. We sat in awe of the nurse who lined the children with these special needs up on a couch. One blind, several grossly underdeveloped or with obvious physical deformities. She gentle took injera, gathered the meat onto it and placed it in each child's mouth. The obvious image was of a mama bird feeding her young. But this woman did it with a kindness and a love in her eyes. I can only imagine what her wages are and I'm ashamed to think about the fact that I probably squander that amount each month on frivolous things each onth. And yet for these mere pennies she took the time to make sure each of these souls were tended to and assured that they would not go hungry. Not as long as she was there. My world of work back home sees mothers who neglect their children. Where they allow the men in their lives to do unthinkable things. I've handled cases with children who are scarred physically and emotionally I couldn't help but think how ironic it was to watch this woman - in one of the poorest countries of the world, with no connection to theses children other than her occupation, with very little to offer them. She gave these children abundantly more than all of the parents I come across in the court system combined. Another lesson about what children TRULY need. An especially good lesson for a mother who wants nothing more than to make her children happy.

OK...so we did enjoy some play time too. As much as i would like to say we then spent the rest of our day building houses, the absolute truth is we went shopping. After spending hours watching these ladies care for these children and feeling a sense of hopelessness, retail therapy did seem like kind of a shallow response. We were reminded that spending money in the local economy is one of the best things we can do as a whole. (Don't judge.....sure we were justifying it in our minds, but the truth is it does help) We spent the day at a small market behind the large post office in town.

Store after store of beautiful hand crafted curios and then some not so hand crafted, straight up souvenir items. Everyone found their treasures and items people from home had requested. They also found a way to negotiate in the local language and how to make great deals with the shop owners.

We reassembled in the garden of one of the guest houses at 5:00 for a time of sharing. David Daniels who is the pastor of the church where I am a member, Pantego Bible Church lead our time. On a side note - not many people get to spend a week in Africa with their pastor. We had about 20 come from our church. For me it is such an encouragement to see the person who teaches from the pulpit every Sunday put his words into action. Never one to shy away from work or loving people, I was so encouraged to what this man who is put on a pedestal by thousands in his congregation come to his knees to serve the "least of these". He and his wife Tiffany are very special and I am so glad I had the chance to experience this with them.

During our time David asked us to talk about what we had seen and what we thought God wanted us to do with what we saw. After the challenging first day of being overwhelmed and having to turn so many away, to the desolate conditions of Korah and the faces of the children in each orphanage we had a lot on our hearts. Consistently we did not want to go back to our lives in America where we were spoiled and comfortable and not take some kind of action. We shared stories about specific people we met and how our short encounters with them made a huge impact.

I share this story, but it is really not mine to tell. It belongs to my sweet friend Susan who was my roommate in Africa and my sounding board every night (and most of the day) for what I was experiencing. She shared about one of the people who made the biggest impact on her. It was in Korah. She was working in the pedo area treating the children all day long. A little boy came in who needed his tooth pulled. The dentist had a difficult time getting the tooth out and as the father stood and watch his son writhe in pain, tears began streaming down his face. As any parent knows there is nothing worse than watching your child experience hurt. You immediately want to fix it and would give anything to take on the burden yourself so you don't have to see it imposed on your child. As this father struggled to watch this experience for his son, his tears of empathy turned into a plea for help. He begged Susan and the team she was working with to take his son. Take him to America where he can live a better life. To America where he can get an education and be provided all of the things that his life in Korah could not give him. How many fathers in this world don't even know where their children sleep at night and aren't willing to provide for their very basic needs and this man - recognizing his lot in life, broken by what he had just seen his child physically go through, this man was willing for his heart to be ripped from his chest and let his boy go half way around the world because he longed so deeply for him to thrive in this world. Children in America should be so lucky.