(happy easter)

Sunday I celebrated Easter for the second time this year, as is true for many holidays while being a non-Habesha living in Ethiopia. I spent the night at the orphanage to attend and photograph two services.

Saturday evening (Easter’s eve) was a special service for the children. The evening started with complete darkness, to represent Christ’s death. Then a giant ball of hay was lit on fire to show the power of Christ’s resurrection.

Saturday was also a baptism for some of the children. Here is my precious Leaha before she is baptized. Ohh I cannot explain the joy in my heart when I saw her in her beautiful ‘wedding dress-esk’ outfit.  

Some of the young girls praising the Lord on Easter Sunday. Listening to all the children sing together is such a sweet sweet noise. 

Meskie was recently dropped off by her mother. She said she was no longer able to take care of her child. As staff tried to encourage her to raise her sweet little girl, the mother confessed to beating Meskie, so the orphanage accepted her in as one of our own.

Mickie, ohh what a sweet little boy. He is one of the sick room favorites. 

Last week I got to visit Project Mercy in Yetebon, Ethiopia. Many people told me I HAD to meet Marta, the executive director of the project, and I feel overwhelmed with blessing for the day we spent together. The work she and the rest of her team are doing is amazing. Project Mercy is helping to feed, educate, provide health care and empower an entire community. You should really check of the website, as its much more eloquent than anything I can say here:  http://www.projectmercy.org

Here are women hand crafting beads. One of the projects recent focus’ is to educate woman on a particular skill to provide a sustainable income for their family. 

A young boy hanging out at the school after class is over. Over 1,000 students who otherwise would not be able to attend school are receiving an education as a result of Project Mercy. 

Engdu, doing knuckle push-ups. This young man has such a sweet heart. He also is one of the funniest folks I have ever met.  

A little over a month ago I began teaching photography to another group of teenagers. They are apart of the same Youth Impact group that the girl’s house is apart of and they refer to their home as the Love Center. These 16 guys are unbelievable, none of them have parents and they enjoy life as a family. They are the most well-mannered, respectful and loving teenagers I have ever met, and it has been a sweet privilege to spent time with them the last few weeks. 

I feel so privileged every time I visit their home. I am excited to spent Tuesday evening with them, as they will celebrate Easter that evening. 

This is Sintayo. His smile brightens my day. 

Chad, a fellow Cherokee volunteer, is teaching some of the boys to do back flips

Monday

“It’s not who you are, it’s whose you are” 

I have heard this saying many times since high school, mostly referring to finding one’s identity in Christ. Tonight I saw a sweet living example of this phrase.

There is a 2-year-old girl in the sick room name Ribka. She has a lot of liver problems, which have turned the ‘whites’ of her eyes yellow, and all toilet-related substances the same color. Ribka’s body is weak, so she cannot walk and she rarely smiles. She’s very quite often neglected by the staff and volunteers alike. 

This evening while hanging out in the clinic past regular hours, my friend Teddy, a nurse aid who works the night shift, opened my eyes to the power of the above statement.

Before preparing the night meds, Teddy deemed Ribka as his ‘secretary,’ placing her tiny body in a large office chair. He gave her a pen and scrap piece of paper, directing her to take messages for him. It is really beautiful to watch their relationship. She lights up when he is around, so excited to openly receive his outpour of love. 

 Here is Ribka the next morning, with Ronite, a volunteer from Israel.

Before, when I spent time around Ribka I saw her and had pity for her situation, but tonight, my eyes were opened to how precious she is to Teddy, and how much of an impact this love had on her attitude.

Love is a very beautiful gift that keeps on giving!

Tuesday

Medanakia is one of my roommates at the orphanage this week. She is Habesha and recently lived in France for a while. She is around the same age as me, smiles all the time and is very generous and thankful. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know her, despite the significant language barrier. This girl is pretty much a rock star. Both of her arms end at the elbow, and on her right arm she has a finger and a half. She only has a left leg. She was in France getting a 6 kilo prosthetic leg, which she wears like a purse when she is outside the room. 

It’s pretty incredible to watch her make her bed, tie her shoes and eat injera without any hands. This woman is a true inspiration to those she is around. 

She is also loads of fun, here is an image we took while playing with Photo Booth.

Wednesday 

Even though I passed university level math, this evening I was having some difficult with Grade 7 problems. The kids who are above grade 4 go outside the compound for school in various locations around the city, so this week I’ve had the sweet privilege of helping some of the older girls with homework.. Sentayo, one of the most delightful teenagers I have ever met, is an incredible student. She is number 2 in her class, dedicated to her studies and spends much more time than other students on her homework.

 Here is a sweet moment with Sentayo captured right before homework time.

Yesterday evening we spent a few hours on a number of different algebraic problems, and I was so surprised when I went to the library this afternoon. Sentayo had rewritten all the work we completed in different colored pens and precise calculations. I was VERY impressed and encouraged by her hard work. I cannot wait to see where she ends up in 10 years.

Friday

Dr. Fulvia, the Italian doctor who works full time at the orphanage, allowed me to photograph her work today. Her and Sister Maria are the two doctors at the clinic, and they both see the kids at the orphanage – doing checkings, blood work, etc. but they also see a good number of impoverished women and children in the Asco community who come to the clinic to receive Anti-retroviral therapy and other medicine.

Saturday

This evening I watched “Beyond Borders” with the other volunteers. Everyone was thrilled to have a break from the long week, watch a movie and celebrate Christine’s (one of the long term volunteers) birthday.

Even though the situation in Ethiopia has improved much since the setting of this film, it was eye opening to see this motion picture while being here. I really encourage you to check out this Angelina Jo Lee feature film.

Sunday

I attended mass this morning. Every-other weekday and Saturday and Sunday the students attend mass at the Catholic Church directly next to the orphanage.

 Here is one of the alter boys after mass.

The congregation is predominately children, with only a few other visitors and volunteers. It’s pretty incredible to watch all the children sit still for so long, but it’s even more glorious to hear them sing together. I took a voice recording of mass, so yall can hear it when I get back home. Wow. Its so majestic, hearing all their voices sing prayers and songs of praise to our Father. Very powerful!

Tonight I will start a new project.

I am packing my bags. Clothes, toothbrush, computer and cameras. And I will live at Asco this week. God has opened doors for my computer to be fixed and for a documentary to begin. I plan to capture, in images, a week in the life of Asco, the Mother Teresa/Sisters of Charity Children’s center…as it has never been photographed before…

Can’t wait to see what is in store.

Easter was really sweet. Most everyone from the house traveled north for the weekend, but I decided to stay here in Addis to get my computer fixed and do some work…its hard to believe there is only a month left!

So this morning our house church had an outside sunrise service at 6 am, and we had a guest from the states, Roy “Soup” Campbell, share the message. BOY! Did he share some powerful pieces of truth with us! His sermon really encouraged me to receive my strength in Christ’s resurrection and to allow Him to use me to share his Light to the world.  

Here is the passage he spoke on:

 “I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.”  Ephesians 1:18-23

Coffee is a big deal in Ethiopia. From the plant to the coffee cup, this ‘black gold’ is an inescapable component of Habesha culture. It’s a drink that connects people and communities. It’s a national symbol for hospitality and generosity. And it’s a livelihood for many Ethiopian farmers that is being exploited by retailers, cafes, roasters and importers around the world.

 

Friday night Heather, Hareg and I viewed Black Gold, http://www.blackgoldmovie.com/, a documentary about the Ethiopian Coffee Trade, screened at the opening of the 2^nd Addis International Film Festival on Rights and Justice (http://www.addisfilmfestival.org/).

Nick Francis, the filmmaker, provided a short introduction to the documentary before it began. He so obviously stated, “many solutions can actually be found where the problem actually exists…” So in this film he explores the reasoning behind why coffee farmers in Ethiopia do not make enough money to feed their families, while Starbucks and other coffee shops which are supplied by these impoverished farmers are booming all around the western world.

The exposed paradox is alarming. Coffee is the second most actively traded commodity in the world, and in Ethiopia (the birthplace of coffee) exports this precious bean to nations all over the world. However, since the price of coffee determined in New York and London, not by the farmers who actually put time, energy and sweat into the growing of this commodity, you can guess who is getting the crappy end of the deal. You end up with farmers who cannot afford clean water, food for their family or education for their children, while you have world barista championships that are making bank.

The documentary does a fantastic job at point out how willing the west is to throw money and grain at the developing world, but how stubborn these we are on our trade policy, which is essentially the reason why so many economies around the world have been crippled.

America and Starbucks are not the enemy, but it is very important to think about where our foodstuff is coming from. Who is putting the time and labor into making our coffee and bananas and tomatoes grow, and if they, themselves are being crippled by the decisions we, as consumers, make.

Just some food for thought.

I was told “Apple computers do not get viruses…” this may be true, but they sure do have operating system failures, which, in my opinion, is much more frustrating.

About a week ago my computer wouldn’t turn on. This was pretty crappy timing considering that same day I received permission from Sister Maria to do a documentary on Asco, the Mother Teresa orphanage where I work (I have been trying to get this permission since September). After a lot of praying, trying different keyboard tricks and inserting start up disks, talking with folks in the states, explaining the problem to friends and friends of friends in Addis who love their Apples, no one had any idea what was wrong with my computer.

To make a long story short, Amanuel A, the only Apple Product Professional in Ethiopia, is a lifesaver. He patiently figured out why my MacBook Pro was so sick and he nursed it back to health. He was an answer to many people’s prayers and I am SO thankful for his education and kindness.  

Since my data is locked with a keychain password (highest level security) he was not able to open any of my information, but he put a new hard drive in my computer and instructed me to go to the apple store when I get home to have them unlock the info.

If you are ever in Ethiopia and have some computer issues (He knows Apple well, but he also fixed other computers) Amanuel is your man. He has an office in Tele, in the same building at GreenView.

applecomputer@ethionet.et

+251-911-64-05-30

After I finish loading programs, downloading countless emails and getting organized again, I plan to spend the next 5 weeks I am in Ethiopia to work on 2 photo documentary projects.

Thank you, Amanuel A, for making this possible   

This precious girl has done a 180. She is now very active in class, practices Amharic all the time, energetic and about twice the size as before. It’s a real blessing to see these miracles happen right before my eyes. Praise God for his beloved children!