Our Trip to Ethiopia, Day 4

Monday, July 13, 2015

I woke up around 6:00 this morning, got ready for the day, and enjoyed the morning views from Chris and Richard's balcony. The team ate breakfast together, and then Mathewos and Yohannes came to meet us. Yohannes played soccer with Chris and Alyssa in the courtyard until it was time to leave.

We headed to Kechene Orphanage for the day, which houses over 300 girls, ages 8-20. We weren't allowed to take photos of the girls since it was a government-run facility, so unfortunately I can't show you their beautiful faces. Some of the girls met us as soon as we climbed out of the van and held our hands as we walked around the compound. Our task for the day was to put a fresh coat of paint on some of the dorm bedrooms and a dining room, so we got to work moving the cold, metal bunk beds away from the walls so we could start. There were so many beds crammed into each room that it was difficult to get around, so we carried many of them outside.

We saw many holes in the ceilings, walls, and floors, and I wondered what kinds of varmints made their homes here, too. It was very sobering to see the living conditions of the girls.

Most of the walls desperately needed a little spruce-up.

We took a break for lunch and went to Lucy's Restaurant at the National Museum. Some of the team members got to experience traditional Ethiopian food for the first time.

Afterward, it was back to painting at Kechene. It started raining heavily as the afternoon drew to a close, so we took the opportunity to wash all of our brushes and rollers in the muddy gutter.

When we were finished painting for the day, we drove through heavy traffic to Tomoca, where we all enjoyed macchiatos. There's nothing like Ethiopian coffee! We also browsed through the rooms to see all of the original artwork hanging on the walls.

Wass, Yohannes, and Chris.

Haile surrounded by girls and their drinks.

Jessica, Alyssa, Kristi, and Shana.

Wass drove us back to Ember, where we ate dinner and then took a walk in the darkening streets. Chris was hoping to buy some of his beloved Coffee Coke at one of the little roadside stands, but we were unable to find any. We had devotions with the team, and watched and discussed the first "Helping Without Hurting" missions video (these videos go along with the book "When Helping Hurts.") We then called the kids, got updates from home, and went to bed.