April 15, 2009 Well today was our last full day in Ethiopia, and it has been a full day and still is not over. We began the morning by going shopping with a guide and the O'Connors, another family that have adopted a baby boy through Bethany. The merchants here are not nearly as obnoxious as they have been in other countries that we have visited. There are thousands of small open shops lining the streets. Some are more touristy, selling bright colored clothes, jewelry, etc. and others are more specific like toilets, furniture, hardware, car belts, fruit, and just about everything else that you can imagine. And here and there people have thrown a blanket or tarp on the ground and sell items right there. We also have the occasional salesman that walks through traffic selling things at the few traffic lights in Addis. We have been approached for such things as sunglasses, maps of Addis Ababa, and lots of other goodies. After shopping for an hour (which did not prove to be long enough for the ladies), we went to a historic orthodox church on a mountain (huge hill anyways). The scenery was breathtaking. The road was well paved but there were no guard rails, which was causing Erin a little anxiety on the way up. Luckily there was very little traffic except for dozens of people (mostly women) and donkeys carrying wood down from the hilltop to be used to cook. The loads that these women carried were extraordinary, and I am not talking a little distance. They were very adamant that no pictures be taken, though. The church was very interesting, too. It was a beautiful round building painted in several bright colors. There were hundreds of people around it and in the surrounding courtyards. They celebrate Easter this Sunday, so many of them have been fasting for some time. We went through a small museum there where it showed several of the items used by the king and queen of Ethiopia in the 1870's, including clothes worn by them and many gifts that they had received from leaders of other countries. Next we walked through a small compound where 50 to 60 monks live and went to see the actual home of the Royal family from the late 1800s. The next stop was the Gegela orphanage. We met the director, which was an older woman that had 10 of her own children, but because she had such a big heart she began taking in orphans off the street. She has been so blessed that she now has the funds to take care of 60 to 70 children in the facility that we visited, as well has 16 to 19 children in another facility. The children were so warm and friendly. They flocked around us and wanted to hold hands or touch us. Dagem and Mintesnot were very nervous for the first 5 minutes or so that we got there. We assured them that we were only visiting, but they still held onto Erin and my hands very firmly. After a bit and some reassurance they relaxed and began doing their own thing. I enjoyed seeing all of the kids, yet it was heart wrenching at the same time. It was very hard on Erin and she could not go into the rooms where they keep the babies. Afterwards us guys and kids returned to the guesthouses and the women have gone out to do some serious shopping. The last two times that we went, there were men from the adoption agency that went with us, but tonight Burtikan offered to take the women out. The ladies were excited to have another woman to do the leading. I am more than happy to stay home with the boys. After about an hour of playing soccer with my boys and one of Nesibu's sons, I was feeling my age and decided to chill out on the computer for a while. I normally wait until Erin is home, and we write this together, but Nesibu said that they have something special for supper for us tonight, and I may not get a chance later. We fly out at 9:50 tomorrow night (1:50 EST). Please say a few prayers for us tonight. It is going to be a lot of excitement and very little sleep for the boys for the next couple of days. We can not wait to see their reactions to the US. They have gotten so excited over some very small things so far. One thing that we have discovered is that they do not like cartoons. But if you put on an action movie, they are both glued to the TV. We are all still learning so much about one another. I know that we all have so much more to learn, but I thank God that things are going as smoothly as they have. We are all very excited about returning home.     Boys watching action shows     Acklers and O'Connors on way up to Church   Orthodox Church     Orthodox Church   Women carrying wood down side of mountain     Toddlers at Gegela orphanage     Children playing at orphanage       This page hosted by