Celebrations

Today was a day of many celebrations!  August 19th is an Ethiopian holiday called Behu. On this day the Christian Orthodox Church celebrates the Transfiguration of Jesus. The local boys go around town singing rhythmic chant-type songs of praise. We experienced this first thing this morning when a group of boys came to the gate of Ember House and sang for us. They played homemade instruments while they sang. It was a great way to start our day!

Then we were off to the America World transition home. This is where children live who are already in the midst of the adoption process. Most of them already have a "forever family" but are still in Ethiopia waiting for all of the proper paperwork to go through. While we were there the celebrations continued!  Two of our team members were able to bring care packages to a few of the children who already have parents in the United States and are just waiting on the final stages if their process. What a joy it was to watch these children open their packages!  The smiles on their faces were precious as they opened their gifts to find clothing, stickers, candy, jewelry, toys, pictures, and special notes from Mom and Dad. Our team members who were sent with these packages were honored to be able to deliver them. 

We also got to experience another joyous celebration while we were at the transition home. After a two year process, two brothers finally got to go home with their dad today. What a privilege it was for our team to witness this!  A few of our team members are in the midst of the adoption process. They watched with hope and anticipation that it will be their turn to do the very same thing one day soon. 

Before leaving the transition home, the staff made a beautiful traditional Ethiopian coffee service for us. The boys sang for us in celebration of Behu. We were honored and blessed by their loving kindness toward us. 

This afternoon we traveled to another orphanage where we were able to love on more children. We spent time with the older children making friendship bracelets. We also visited the babies and the special needs nursery. It was there that we met Elsa. She is a precious little girl with some serious medical challenges. I, along with a couple of other teammates, spent some time with her and loved on her. She was a blessing to us for sure!  Please join us in praying specifically for Elsa, her medical needs, and that she might find her "forever family". 

We ended the day with more celebration!  We went out for a traditional Ethiopian meal. While we ate delicious food, we were entertained by an Ethiopian band and a group of dancers. A few of our team members even did a bit of dancing themselves!

All in all it was a great day!  A day full of celebrations!

Written by : Angie Hudgins