hey guys!! merry christmas!! happy new year!! I wanted to give you a little update on my life! sooo in case you didn’t know i’m in Ethiopia now! it’s not at all what you would expect and, to my team’s disappointment, there are no roaming giraffes:( BUT as far as landscape goes… in the words of my friend Meskerem, it pretty much looks like Ohio, who definitely has never been to Ohio, but she’s not wrong! The sunrises and sunsets are beautiful and they live up to all the hype!
The second day we were here God met me in worship and told me that he set this time aside for me… he told me that in these three months, he was going to break chains and bring restoration to my heart. he told me he was faithful… we are a month and a half in and i’ve already stood on the other end of that promise. I really love it here. Jesus is everywhere here.
We are about 3 hours from the capital Addis Ababa and we are staying in a town called Harbu Chulule. we are staying at an orphanage named HopeEtheiopa (it’s amazing you should look it up)! We get to do everyday life with the kids that live here and, although it can be very exhausting, it’s incredible. We are completely disconnected from wifi and our adventure days are spent watching action movies together! We love to get popcorn kernels from the nearest “store” and, let me just say, team 3.2 has absolutely mastered the balance between salt and sugar seasoning. (probably because we watch, minimum, 8 movies a week and what’s a movie without popcorn?)
anyway! my heart is here! I love getting to live here! Jesus is easy to find here! it’s beautiful and quiet and simple and complex all at the same time. The kids love friday night movies, and holding hands, and playing ping pong, and water fights, and Jesus. they love Jesus. Getting to live with them has already taught me so much… and even on the hard days i’m in awe of how lucky I am to get to do this life. I can’t wait to tell you the stories about cold showers, sky’s full of stars, kids walking into our room without knocking, friday night movies, and the simplicity of this season. it’s beautiful.
be praying for boldness in this season i’m in! be praying that i truly choose to listen & hear what God is saying. be praying for the kids here! these kids want to be presidents, and health ambassadors, and social workers, and teachers! these kids dream big! pray that it never stops! pray that the ground of HopeEtheopia raises kids that change Ethiopia, change Africa, change the world. I miss you all!! thank you for loving me enough to get me here! talk soon!
