Days 2 & 3

Things are going so great here. It's unbelievable the things that my eyes have seen... We spent yesterday in this town called Kore (pronounced Kora), and basically it's a village that is way outside the city. It was founded for people with leprosy and has been around for over 50 years. Before that, it was (and still kinda is) viewed as a curse so people that got it were killed. About 50 years ago, a doctor from America came to the king in Ethiopia and said that people don't have to be killed bc there is medicine that can help them. The king gave this doctor land far away from the city and built a church for the people and sent them there. He then placed the trash dump (a landfill) right next to it. This was better than being murdered but still they were treated poorly and outcast. Since then, their families have been born there and most will never get out. There is a vision to get them out and we got to be a part of it. One of the guys Sammy grew up in East Africa and lived at the dump for seven years until one day God provided a miracle and created dreams hat he never had. Literally, he lived in the dump, searched and fought for food, and slept there. One day (12 years ago) a group of Young Life kids from the States were there and ministered to them. With the help of translators they loved on them and shared the gospel with them. It was then that Sammy and his friends surrendered their life to Christ and became Christians. He said his life was forever changed. One of the leaders from Young Life gave Sammy hope by providing him the funds to have clothes, food, and the chance to go to school. He paid for it all. Now Sammy dedicates his life to providing the same opportunity for the kids at the dump. The goal is that all the ones that are double orphaned (no parents) will be sponsored to go to boarding school. For only $700 American dollars it would pay for a child to go to boarding school (3 hrs away), their bed, clothes, and 3 meals a day (more than they have ever had). I was amazed. So our role was to help out with their summer program (preparing them for school). God is so good. As much as they think they did for us, they taught us a lot. These kids are the most joyous, respectful, loving, and generous people I have ever met. A couple quick stories...

*So they absolutely LOVE having their picture and then getting to see it on your camera, so I had my picture taken with a few of the kids. As I crouched down to smile with them, I ended up loosing balance and falling back a little. I didn't end up in the mud, but my hand kinda did and got dirty. Immediately one of the little boys looked at me and said, "Come, come" and he pulled me to a place where there was water, He poured water over my hands allowing me to wash them. So precious. Then I picked up a little girl, no older than 3 and we smiled for a picture. She noticed that my hands were wet, and grabbed her skirt and began to dry them. I was so blown away at how they care so much.

*We sang songs and hung out. They sang to us and knew a couple songs in English so would sing with us. They smiled ear to ear, because people were there to love on them and spend time with them. They have never really felt important because their culture views them as outcasts. Our group was working with 8th graders, and when we sang the little ones came in and joined us. As they were leaving, I wanted to tell them thank you in their language, but butchered it. We all laughed, and then one tiny girl pulled at my arm to come near her, and started to sound it out for me... "Ama, say, ganalu" and continued until I could say it.

I know these may not mean much, but they touched my heart in a big way. I have loved getting to know them and talk to them. Thank God we have translators because they only know so much English and I don't know any Emarek.

The other part of yesterday was spending time doing home visits and meeting some of the community.We met moms that have recently lost their husbands and have four kids to care for, and no money. They live in homes that are literally the size of our walk in closets with no light. They sleep on hard dirty ground with hardly anything. It was heartbreaking. The worst part is that if they don't pay rent they get kicked out and have to sleep at the dump. They can go back when paid, but until then their door is locked. I understand that this is normal, but the cost of their monthly rent is $12 American dollars. I was shocked. It was truly an emotional day because I can't grasp or understand what they go through and what their lives are like. It was a blessing to spend the day with them and love on them. I will never forget my time in East Africa.

Today, is my birthday!! Yeah for that. We spent the morning in the country side and planned on painting a school building and serving lunch... but that didn't go as planned. The paint never showed up, and the kids never showed up for lunch. So, we ended up helping some women carry water to their homes. They carry 60 lbs of water on their back two times a day. They go to this river and there's a spot where the water goes slower and they can get clean water. They fill cup by cup, until they reach the capacity, then tie it on their back with what looks like a shawl. It was insane, definitely heavy. Then since the other plans fell through, we had the chance to go back to the village we were at yesterday. We were greeted with hugs and smiles, it was the coolest feeling. We taught them more English- math and some grammar. They taught us some Emarek, we served lunch and hung out. Other than that, hung out with my team tonight and played some games and had dinner.

It's so weird being here when I look at my phone to realize that you are still a half day behind me... it weirds me out, but my body has adapted well. I have been sleeping great, just not a ton because I'm up a lot. We are all still doing well, staying healthy and eating great. Thanks for praying for that. Please continue to pray for that as well as our travel to Uganda. Pray for the kids we are meeting and that our time spent with them, even though may be short, will bring them hope. Also our team, that we stay well connected and working well as a team, staying united and humbly serving. Thanks in advance for that...

I feel blessed to be here. Thank you to all of you for supporting me and giving me the privilege of being here. I can't wait to show you pictures and tell you more. Thank you for your prayers, I have been able to see emails every few days, and I love getting them. Thanks for sending notes. We leave for Uganda on Friday, and from there I'm not sure if we will have much access to internet... if I do, you will hear when we arrive, if not, you will hear when we arrive back in the States.

Thanks again for everything, I love each of you, and am grateful for you.

Kim