Trip to Awassa and Shone- Days 8 and 9

We wanted to see some of the countryside of Ethiopia and meet our sponsor child, so on Friday morning we headed south. What we saw was exactly like all the pictures of Africa that you see back home. There were mud huts and people and animals everywhere. I expected to see a few little villages here and there, but there was village after village the whole 6 hours we drove south. I couldn’t believe the amount of people we saw walking or riding on carts led by donkeys. Our guide told us that everyone was heading to market. But there was seriously not a time that we didn’t see people out walking. There were children that were 5 or 6 years old that were shepherds in charge of their cows, goats, or donkeys. There were so many young children around 4-6 that were in charge of the babies too. The babies didn’t have any diapers or pants on, and the children were just carrying them around. There were many rivers and lakes we passed by and saw many people bathing and washing their clothes in the water. We got to see some people farming their land also, it was also just like we have seen on TV, everything done by hand. These people were some of the hardest workers we have ever seen. We wouldn’t even consider doing half of what they do everyday. Some people were walking miles upon miles to the big city where the market was. The women carried the biggest loads of wood or large baskets on their backs and walked and walked and walked. We took tons of pictures because we were so amazed by what we saw. Another reminder to be very thankful for our life in Illinois. But you know these people were so nice and smiled and waved at us as we drove by, they didn’t look upset or bitter, they just kept on going.
We drove for about 4 hours and stopped in Shashemene to eat lunch. I had to go to the bathroom so bad, but there is nowhere to stop. I was very thankful to stop for lunch. We stopped at a very nice little resort and we ate pasta and fish. I was glad to see some soft bread (a lot of the bread has been hard so far), with my upset stomach I needed something bland to fill me up. It was yummy bread, I hope we can find some like it at the store in Addis! After lunch we were heading to Shone to meet our sponsor child. On the way we found out she didn’t have 2 brothers, but she has two sisters. So we stopped to get two girl outfits. Then we continued on to Shone, another 2 hours down the road. So far we had a paved smooth road, until we got a little bit out of Shashemene then it was a bumping and curvy road.
Once we got to what looked like a tiny little village of Shone (we later found out there were 20,000 people) we went to the office of Look Development Ethiopia (the sponsorship office). There was an office worker and social worker that met us there and showed us around their office. They also went to the store for us before we got their so we could give the family some food. We saw some children playing outside and they thought us white people were funny. We were the talk of the community. Everyone wanted to come and see the white people. It was funny to see them look at us like we were aliens. I’m guessing not many white people go all the way out to this village. Next we got the food and 2 goats that we bought for the family and went to their house. They were all waiting for us. Many relatives came to meet us too. The sponsor child is a 5 year old girl named, Tedeke. She lives with her father, mother, two sisters and grandma. Tedeke was very shy but came and sat on Mary and I’s lap. The grandma kept saying “God bless you, God bless you, God bless you.” They were so grateful we would make the trip to meet them. We were so grateful they let us come and see their home and village. We spent about 45 minutes there, we gave them the food and gifts. We went in their house and the first room we went into was a decent size room (for a mud hut) with lots of chairs in it. We all sat down and talked through the translators. We also were able to buy 2 goats for their family. Right before we left their house the grandma wanted to pray for us. We have no idea what she said, but it was a sweet prayer to our Lord. What a neat experience! I was humbled by her prayer. Just knowing she was thanking God for us and our visit, when we were the ones honored to be helping them. What a blessing!
After leaving the family’s home we went to the Look Development Care Center. They have 20 children that they take care of there. They are in need of several items to function. If you want to give to a nonprofit, I would encourage you to look them up. They had nothing for these children except for beds and food. There were zero toys or equipment. The kids just sat there the whole time we were there. They waiting for government approval to turn the care center into an orphanage and possibly start letting these children be adopted. I was so thankful to see the company functioning that we have been sponsoring. It was such a blessing to meet the little girl that we have been praying for and see her family in their home.
Next we left Shone and went to Awassa, so back in the car for about 2 hours. It was only about 100km away, but you have to stop for all the cows, donkeys, and goats that are constantly in the road so driving takes a long time. We got to Awassa and checked into our hotel. It was really nice and only about $30 per room. We were all so exhausted from the busy and long day. The guys took a nap before dinner. We went downstairs and had dinner then went to bed early. Life in Ethiopia starts early in the day, like by 6am everyone is up and going, 6am our time is 1 Ethiopian time. The streets are busy and people are up going. Since we were out of the city of Addis we had to worry a little bit about the mosquitos and malaria. It isn’t the really bad time of year, but still a little concern. So we slept with a bug net around us at night. It reminded me of Girl Scout camp many years ago. It was also hotter in Awassa and I had a hard time falling asleep.
On Saturday morning, Brad and I both woke up and we were ready to head back to Addis and see Jacob. We planned on going out on the lake in Awassa to see the hippos, but we were missing Jacob and we all decided to just head back. The guide took us to see two beautiful resorts that were on the lake. He told us they were too expensive to stay at, so we’d just go look. They were gorgeous! We asked how much it would cost to stay there and it was only $50-60 per night. Wow! They would have been well over $200 per night back home. One of them even had private villas. If we didn’t have to worry about the malaria, we would head back down there to stay. It’s cheaper there than in Addis. So we left Awassa around 8:30am and made it back to Addis a little after 1pm. We had the driver take us over to the TH to see Jacob! We couldn’t wait to get our hands on him again!! It was so sweet to see his smile again!! We spent the afternoon with Jacob and got to see 5 families meet their children. Such a special day!! Our friends from Burlington made it here today and got to meet their sweet 4 year old daughter. She was sick today, so it took her awhile to come out of her shell, but once she got her medicine, she was the same sweet child we have seen all week. We have to leave the TH at 4:30pm each day. So we came back to Yebsabi and had a very full house for dinner! Last week there were usually about 6-8 people each night at dinner. Last night there had to be close to 30! We all visited for a while downstairs then turned in. We have been going to bed around 9pm most nights since we are all up by 6am!
What a wonderful first week in Ethiopia! God’s blessings are everywhere!! Thank you for all the prayers as we continue to wait to pass court, we really appreciate them!!