Here is something I wrote on the bus leaving Ethiopia:
I can barely see the letters in front of me as I write this. Tears are running down my face and my heart aches. I just said some of the hardest goodbyes of my life. I had to leave a place that held so much healing, restoration and growth for me. I had to leave people who made me a part of their family. I honestly think Im dehydrated from crying this much haha. Working with HOPEthiopia was an amazing experience. Getting to do many different ministries and seeing Gods kingdom brought within our squad and the community. Each kid and staff member hold a special place in my heart. Here are a few of my favorite memories/things about some of them…
Abdii, he was my first friend when I arrived at HOPEthiopia. He is 11 years old. We have the same favorite color, yellow! His favorite animal is a lion and he is really good at football (soccer). We were instantly friends. I spent time with him and his brother Burka everyday. In January they went to the capital to visit his aunt. They were gone for 4 days….it felt like an eternity. One Tuesday as I was doing road construction I saw Adbii running down the path toward me. I dropped my shovel and ran to meet him in the field. It was the sweetest embrace. Seemed like something from a movie. Another memory I love was sitting next to each other in church. He placed both hands on my shoulder and started praying for me. He prayed in Amharic so I couldn’t understand him but it meant so much to me! We also had dance parties, looked at the stars together, watched movies & basically anything in between! He even brought me flowers at my window one day! I love him so deeply & leaving him breaks my heart.
Keeso: A joyous 6yr old. He has the cutest, most contagious laugh I have ever heard. One afternoon we were both pretty tired after many tickle fights so we decided to just lay down in the grass and watch the clouds. He saw a lot of dinosaurs, they looked more like ducks to me haha.
Arassa: the most warm-hearted, gentle, kind, loving little boy I have ever met. I got the opportunity to teach him English and it improved so much over the 3 months we were there! I’m so proud of what a hard worker he is! He has had such a hard childhood. His dad left when he was a baby and his mom died of cancer last year. Leaving him and his 6 siblings as orphans. He doesn’t act out of anger or sadness though. Instead he cheers others up, gives the best hugs and has the cutest facial expressions. On our last day I was walking him to the end of the compound, it was time for him to go to school. I was holding him and began crying. He wiped my tears and told me “No cry. I love you. Its going to be okay”. Such a tender and unforgettable moment.
Masko: The first day she told Savanah and I her name was mas-care-um. We thought she was saying mascara and that she was playing a joke on us haha. Anytime we asked her again to say her name, she would say “my name is gracie” or “my name is savanah”. She is such a jokester. Always made me smile with her sense of humor.
ElDonna, Zenit, Buze: our amazing kitchen ladies! They are hard workers who are in love with the Lord and love to serve others first. As humble and caring as they were, they also had a crazy side haha. Our kitchen was full of laughter and dance parties. I loved flipping pancakes (when we got that luxury) with them, joking around and building friendships with each of them.
Mange: the social worker for HOPEthiopia. Someone who is nice to everyone and is willing to serve you in any way. He would sneak my teammate and I Nutella! He has such a huge heart for each orphan and their story. He is constantly looking for people in the community who need help. He has the biggest heart. I loved hanging out with him, he even took us to a coffee ceremony in a “plastic house.”
Ruut: a house mom who took care of 4 children. She is only 1 year older than me but carries so much wisdom and love. It was so encouraging and inspiring to see her love those 4 children like they were her own. We giggled, did the kids laundry together, had coffee ceremonies, she put my weave/braids in, and she made me the best cultural food! Proof that she means a lot to me is I gave her my sweatshirt. (if you know me you know that’s important haha)
I love each and every member of HOPEthiopia’s organization. I have a friendship with each of the orphans, each of the house moms and each of the staff members. I could talk about them all day long. There are so many other stories and ways they each touched my heart deeply. I’m so grateful that God brought me to this place in this specific season. I will forever be thankful for the relationships made and the memories that will last a lifetime.
