The Spirit Of Ethiopia!

I want to share with you about some of the wonderful –warm people I spent the week with in Addis Ababa! Ethiopian people are warm and friendly. First, let me tell you about an awesome woman named Sister Lugarta. She is an Italian nun who has run Kidane Merit for over 40 years. She is vibrant and cares deeply for the kids. She loves God and also has quite a quick wit! An example of this was on one of the last days Faith was hugging on Sister and in a flash Faith smacked sister with a big kiss on the lips. Faith giggled with glee and Sister didn’t skip a beat and proclaimed that Faith had just “won the lotto”

Now there is a wonderful 26 year old teacher at KM named Messeret. She was one of the people who Faith had asked me to bring a gift for. Mesereth is a gem! She loves our girls and we shared many meals together with this faithful –beautiful woman! God bless Messeret!

Belleyuo (Belly-you) is a beautiful Ethiopian cook at the orphanage. She spends long hours in a little room making injera bread for 210 orphans. Faith had spent countless hours hanging out in the kitchen with this woman. She truly was her mother for the 5 years she was there. The girls tears ran and ran when it came time to say goodbye. Faith has begged me to somehow help Belleyou .

Japi is another young vibrant woman who runs a program out of the orphanage. She is beautiful, and articulate and loved our girls well.

Mesfint was our wonderful driver. He allowed me to call him Muffin. So he became Uncle Muffin to the kids. After an absolutely harrowing taxi drive at the beginning of my trip I was so relieved to find Muffin. We spent every day with him. He would come into the café to eat with us, he bartered in the market for us, at one point at the end of my trip I ran out of cash and my debit card was acting up – he said “Annie no worries- I go to my bank and I will get you my money- you can send it to me in the new year.” This was a man I had known for a few days and he was willing to lend me his life savings at the drop of the hat. I was so humbled by his offer, but thankfully later that day my card worked. One day near the end of our trip we were sitting in a café drinking strong coffee and eating injera and he started to speak to Faith in a serious tone in Amharic. He was giving her - her farewell instructions. “Be good- this is a huge opputunity- you are going to the land of opportunity…..etc… “ Muffin is a man with big faith in God and hope for the people of Ethiopia! Mesfint has called the girls 2 times to check up on them!

Yoseph (Joseph) reached out to us. He worked at the concierge desk at the Hilton. Everyday he helped Mom and I find our way around. Yoseph shared with us pictures of his wife and 1 month old daughter. He was very excited for our girls to get adopted. The last day we were able to bring the girls to the Hilton to bathe them. Yoseph embraced them like he had known them for years and then took their little faces in his hands and began to do exactly what Muffin had done a day earlier – he instructed them to be good. Yoseph also promised he would call the girls when they arrived in America. The day we arrived home Yoseph called to talk to the girls. He barely knew them, but with his kind spirit he was watching out for them. We feel so blessed by the people of Ethiopia!