Nkosi Sikelel' Afrika (God Bless Africa)

DAY 1

My head spins trying to find a way to capture everything that happened the first day. We have MARGINGAL internet reception here so I won't get to write much. I'll skip all of the travel details except to say it truly was a miracle that 67 people got here with over $50,000 worth of supplies including medicine and medical equipment and we only lost one bag of clothes. AMAZING. Our hotel here is wonderful and they have provided a great room for us to sort all the supplies to be distributed everyday.

After 20 hours of travel and arriving at the hotel and sorting out everything we were ready to meet some kids. I want to begin by letting you know I will not be using any true names of locations or children unless they are already on the internet. Ethiopia is a very proud country. They are a very loving, hard-working people. They truly do the very best they can with what they have. I want to be sensitive to their perspective too. Many Westerners have come for short stints and used the informaiton they gathered to criticize this country. This is not my intention. This is the reason for the annonymity.

Our plan for the day was very laid back. We were meeting at 10:00 and then going to the orphanage where Abe Alexander (the inspiration for all of this) was adopted from. We had 5 or 6 vans of folks pulling up and we were welcomed by a sea of beautiful, happy faces. As each one of us entered the courtyard we were bombarded with hugs and kisses and the sweetest affection. (MAKING FOAM VISORS)

Each person became liked a pied piper with a group of 10 to 14 children around them. We started handing out lollipops and sillybands and while each child could not contain their excitement, they were also very mindful to wait their turn.
(SWEET FACE EXCITED ABOUT SOME CANDY!)

I was amazed to watch the older children wait for the younger ones. The dentist got set up. There "examining tables" were benches from the side of the picnic tables covered with fuzzy mats for comfort. (DR. MOODY LOOKING AT SOME PATIENTS)

They did amazing work outside and inside another dentist performed extractions or fillings with the means he had. Each person had an assignment. One group instructed each child in groups of 3 or 4 in oral hygeiene. It was apparent that they had never brushed their teeth before.
(LAUREL TEACHING TOOTHBRUSH LESSON)

They were THRILLED to recieve a new toothbrush with paste. One group painted a room. The toodlers quarters needed a freshen up and gallons of green paint gave the room a whole new look. Nate Berkus would have been proud. Then the nannies needed help getting the infants to sleep. I walked in the room to what seemed liked dozens of babies. (Actually only 9, but when they are crawling in every direction it multiplies. God knew what He was doing when he gave me twins because withing minutes I was balancing one baby on my leg and keeping one over my shoulder. Each nanny took such loving care of each child. There were at least 2 babies to every bed and one had three. They were clean but dressed in onesies that looked liked they made it through the Brady Bunch and then were sent over. We were lucky to be able to bring some new onesies and formula and disposable diapers. One little one seemed to have some difficulty. She was the one over my shoulder. As I held her she labored with every breath and at times coughed to the point it seemed to pain her. When aked how old she was the nurse said "six month". I looked at her and couldn't help of thinking of when Gabby was born and the skin on her legs just hung of her bones. This 6 month old child could not have weighed 10 pounds. I knew when I heard her age and felt her coughs that she was very ill. Possible like many orphans in Ethiopia that she was HIV positive. Possible that it was just an infetion. The reality of the situation is that she willl probably not make it to her 1st birthday. Knowing that I held her as long as the nurses would let me, wanting her to know in some small way that she was loved and her live was seen here on earth.

The men had a different task. Several guys from our group had heard that buying a goat or sheep could provide a lot of meat for the kids. So off they went and bought 4 sheep. You can imagine what happened when they returned. Let me just say if you are squimish to blood you didn't want to be around. (OUR DINNER - DON'T LOOK TOO CLOSE, YOU WILL SEE TEETH. IRONIC FOR A DENTAL TRIP)

These four sheep became our Bar-B-Q dinner and it all happened right there in the courtyard. It was very good and traditional preparation made it very spicy. A classic example of the people of Ethiopia. Here we hoped to give them some food for the week and they invited all of us to stay to partake.

But the true highlight of my day came in the form of an 18 year old girl. She was not an orphan there, but the biological mother of Abe. We knew she was coming and in preparation I found a necklace for her with Abe's name on it. As an adoptee I knew the sacrifice she made. And as the Alexanders found discovered Abe's diagnosis I knew that she literally saved his life when she allowed him to be adopted. Here she came in the gates. You would know her from a mile away because she has the most gorgeous caramel skin and bright brown eyes. When she saw Abe it was very difficult. Abe had a hard time too and she was seeing face to face the reality of what she had just learned only weeks before about his condition. As the tears melted away I was able to let her know what a gift she had given and how I thanked my birth mother every day for allowing me to be adopted by my parents and that her decision truly changed the course of Abe's life. As the tears dried off she was able to tell us how she knew when she was pregnant that God was going to do a miracle in the child she carried. As Emily and I sat with her and the precious director of the orphanage interpretted for all of us, she was assured that he is in fact a miracle and the reason we are all here. (ABE AND HIS TWO MOMS)


I could have left after the first day and my trip would have been so worthwhile. But.....today was just as good! More on that tomorrow. AND....I have to send pictures later as well.