Day Thirteen - Visiting AIDS Patients

Kyle moved out of the Hilton today, and is back at the mission compound, so unfortunately his emails will be a little shorter. He had a very long day today, so he just wrote a quick email before going to bed. Of course, you know I always cut out the personal stuff before I post (we're doing team parenting by email, so there is always lots of stuff about the kids!). But here is what they did today. I wish he had written more, but there are several people sharing a computer at the compound, so emails have to be short and sweet.

From Kyle:

Today, we went to one of Mary Joy's facilities and it was an amazing experience. We went with a group of volunteer caregivers who go out and provide basic care for bed-ridden AIDS victims. We saw a woman just about dead. She was too weak to get up. Her husband has died of AIDS. She has one 7 year-old son who goes to school and then comes home and cares for her. She is soon scheduled to begin taking the ARV's. Hope it's not too late.

Goodnight and I love and miss you all,
Kyle

Off-Topic: My Friend is Off to Peru!

Kyle is doing well. Had one of those "ho-hum" days (his first), and so not much to post from Ethiopia. Trips are much like life - there are good days, and days that aren't so good. He's doing well, and excited about Wednesday when he will meet with the director of Project Mercy and some government officials to talk about humanitarian work for orphans. Thanks for all the continuing prayers, and I'll post from him tomorrow.

So let's turn our attention to South America, shall we? My dearest friend in the world who I have known since baby days (as in, when WE were babies), is leaving on Wednesday, Oct. 31 for Pausa, Peru. Here is a little snippet of an email she sent out to supporters:

"God has led me to go to Peru on a mission trip this October 31-November 17th. I will be going with a retired missionary from our church and meeting up with two other people from a church in Florida. We will be working with local believers in evangelism and discipleship to start home Bible studies and establish house churches. There are no evangelical churches in the area and no services being held in the existing Catholic church building.
As explained to me thus far, my responsibilities will be to:
share my faith
explain the plan of salvation
prepare and teach Bible studies on topics such as “How to live a Christian life” and “How to study the Bible in order to teach it to someone else”,
be prepared to baptize new believers
and anything else the Spirit directs me to do while there.
I’m sure I will get to practice my Spanish but we will be assigned a translator.
I’m still trying to figure out the geography of it all, but the name of the town we are doing the work in is Pausa. It sounds a bit off the beaten path since we will fly to Lima, then fly another 4 hours to Arequipa, then drive another 5 hours to Atico where we stay the night before heading out on a 12 hour drive to Pausa the following morning. The people in the area are considered part of the Ayacucho People, a subgroup of the Quechua, and speak Spanish with Quechua."

This is quite an arduous trip, and I learned tonight that she thought she would have a translator, but as it turns out, the translator is depending on her for help with Spanish. She does speak Spanish, but she was counting on someone who spoke very, very fluent Spanish. So...she is trying to be flexible, and say, "whatever!"

After she makes this trip, she is going to take me back and we are going to climb Machu Picchu together. Right, Shan? Actually, we almost planned to do it at the tail end of her trip, but she decided (wisely) that she would be ready to get back to her two boys and husband after 18 days away. This sounds like a challenging trip, so if you get a chance to say a prayer for her, I would so appreciate it. She knows that God is leading her to do this, and that His hand has been on her throughout all the preparations, so I know that it will be a great 18 days. She will hate this photo I posted, but my prayer is that she will kick back, trust God, and continue that "whatever" attitude as she leans on Him.

Bon Voyage dear friend! My prayers go with you.

Day Eleven - More Visits With Children in the Redlight Slum

From Kyle:

Good morning!!
I hope that your Monday morning has been pleasant.
Today, I began the morning more or less by myself, as as we didn't have anything on tap. So, I went outside where the combination of warm sun and steady breeze was very pleasant. I worked on preparing my Noah storytelling. Then, John, Ashrat and Fickre joined me and Jerry, driven by Jose, as we returned to the redlight slum that we visited last Friday. Jerry had not felt well the day we went there and we had run out of crocs. So, we went back today at lunch (the kids come to this safe haven during their school lunch break), armed with Jerry and a bag full of crocs. Every croc was taken. The kids ate their likely one meal of the day. It was amazing again to see these kids so happy and living in such squalor. They have such beautiful faces. I hope that some of the pictures reflect the love that these kids have and also desire.
Tomorrow, we are again light in the morning, have one orphanage visit for the afternoon. Then, we join John and his team for dinner.

Well, again I pass along my love to everyone. It's time to download a bunch of pics, then head off to bed.

Kyle

Project Mercy - Day Ten

From Kyle:

Today was a good day. It was good to get out into the countryside. Project Mercy is located in the Rift Valley; so the scenery was incredible. Marta is an incredible woman. I would love for you to be able to meet her and see the most amazing work they do in a remote and very poor section of Ethiopia. We toured the hospital, the kindergarten and the compound. You just wouldn’t believe what all gets done and how the people in this region are being empowered to help themselves. It’s amazing all of the different people that know and support her work. For example, we were touring the children’s computer lab. She would not have offered it up, but I asked “who donated the computers.” She informed me that Steve Case (the multi-billionaire founder of AOL). He flew to Ethiopia on his private jet for the sole purpose of setting her up with the computers. He and his wife spent a day and a night at the compound, had a quick meeting with the Prime Minister and then flew back home.

It took 2.5 hours to get there. We toured, ate lunch and toured somemore. Then, we were heading back to the main road on what was until a few years ago not even a year-round road. We had car trouble (a wheel issue). So, we became the afternoon matinee for the locals. What would have undoubtedly stressed me out in the States, I savored. While I helped Joseph (Jose) with the wheel, I also took time to take pictures of the locals and play soccer with a tiny ball with two boys. Everyone in town knew Marta and called her their mother. They said that she knows them all by name. After about a 1.5 hour delay, we headed back to Addis. It’s 9:15 and my room service has just now arrived. That’s okay. Another day that was worth it.

Please tell everyone that I am doing well and that I love them, miss them, pray for them daily and am excited to see them.
Love,
Kyle

Shopping and Hanging Out With Kids - Day Nine

From Kyle:

Today was another amazing day.

We began by going to the bizarre. It was so cool. It’s a gathering for all manner of evangelical NGO’s to sell all kinds of Ethiopian crafts. I bought a number of souvenirs, including 10 of the embroideries.

Then, we came back to talk with the visitor from Kenya. Pastor Ochoo heads an orphanage in Kenya that serves some 1,000 orphans. He was with us throughout the day, too. We had dinner with him tonight. Then, this afternoon, we visited a start up orphanage for street children and orphans. While they currently only minister to 7 children; those were the most adorable kids. These were filthy, dirty kids with the biggest smiles you’ve ever seen. They loved the shoes and craved touch. Even though it is the smallest place we have visited, I think it was my favorite. It’s being run by a young Ethiopian man who is still in seminary and a young Ethiopian woman who is a teacher. Many of the kids still run the streets during the week, but they hang out at the orphanage all day on Saturdays.

Then, we went to Marta’s house in Addis with John and his entire team, Jerry and Deniese and Pastor Ochoo. She was very gracious and her house was elegant. It’s amazing that a woman of such privilege cares so deeply about and spends so much of her life working with the poor. I’m looking forward to driving out to Project Mercy tomorrow.

I’m tired tonight and we leave out early tomorrow. So, I’m going to wrap it up and get ready for bed.
I love you and miss you all
Good night,
Kyle

Visiting Ministries That Serve the Orphans - Day Eight

Email from Kyle:

We visited two different places today. The first place was supported by Dorcas Aid. It was an extremely impressive compound. They work with approximately 100 orphans. However, none of the orphans live in the compound. Rather, they live with extended families. They only have 2 that live in a foster care environment. All of these orphans attend school. They have a fabulous vocational training program. The girls have a sewing room and learn quilting. The boys have an incredible wood working shop. All of the furniture in the Administrative offices had been made in the shop. It was high quality stuff. In fact, Joseph (our driver, whose a dead ringer for Waymon Tisdale) ordered a couch, two chairs and some tables while we were there. He’s looking to get married in the next year.

The other place we visited was in the slum of slums. The ministry was called Bethany. It cared for about 25 orphans, all of whom live with extended family. Bethany runs on a shoestring and a prayer and is supported primarily by one lady from Germany. They provide these children with medical care, school tuition, modest uniforms for school, some after school tutoring and one meal a day. For most of these children, that lunch meal is the one meal they will get. We were there today as they got their lunch. It consisted of water, injera, a small amount of meatless wat and maybe two tablespoons of what looked like coleslaw. The guy who runs the program lives in a small room accessed by ladder right above the room that serves as dining hall and classroom. He’s a virtual mother Teresa. Unfortunately, we were not able to give them any shoes. I have very few left with me and my last bag that still has some smaller sizes is still at John’s. So, I am going back again next week to take crayons and shoes. The living conditions in this part of the city are almost indescribable. There is virtually no sanitation. Bethany provides showers for these kids 2 times per week. Otherwise, they would never bathe. At night, this area becomes a den of prostitution with girls younger than 14 selling sex. The going cost for sex is 5 ETB (Ethiopian Birr). That’s about 55 cents. It’s an incubator for HIV. Imagine selling your life (literally) for half a dollar.

Tomorrow morning we go to the Bizarre. It’s a gathering for all of the Addis NGO’s that make goods for sale. It’s an opportunity not only to buy things but to help support the numerous ministries.

Give everyone my love.
Love,
Kyle

Visiting Children In Ethiopian Care Systems and Orphanages - Day Seven

Email from Kyle:

The first place we went was called Yezelalem Minch ("Eternal Spring"). The service approximately 315 children. The majority are orphans with extended families. However, they currently have 16 children that are living under foster care. They are separated boys from girls. They live in a house each with 2 foster mothers. It's a much much healthier environment than the institutional orphanage. However, it does place some limits on the number of and ages of the children they take in. Still, they were very impressive and have a very strong Christian emphasis. While they are largely supported by Help International Ministries and World Vision Ethiopia, they are completely run by Ethiopians. Again, a very positive thing for the well-being of the children.

The next place that we went was called "My Sisters". It's been around for 20 something years and is a Danish Evangelical Mission. It primarily provides services of all kinds to women who live in the Mekenesa area of Addis and who have nobody to provide for them. Logically, many of these women have children and a large percentage of the women are HIV positive. However, the availability of ARV's to these positive women means that in many instances My Sisters is able to provide help without necessarily having children in need of adoption. They currently have only about 8 children that they have been unable to place, although they are currently servicing between 200 and 300 children.

The last place we went was Layla House. Yes, it was "the" Layla House. We actually got the tour from Merrily Ripely's son, Nate. It is a very impressive place. They currently have about 150 children ranging from several months to 13 years of age. There are countless agencies that adopt from them. The Ethiopian guys and I went back out to see some of the kids from the first organization returning home from school; just so that we could give them their crocs and play a little soccer with them.

Storytelling Evangelism - Day Five

Email from Kyle:

Today, we drove out into the countryside to work on storytelling evangelism with the Ethiopian evangelists. There were approximately 13 Evangelists who gathered in a rural hotel. Two of the evangelists walked 3 hours just to get to this meeting (and that was taking the shortcut through the wheat and teff fields). I had been given the task of storytelling. We did the story of Creation and the story of the Fall of Adam and Eve. You wouldn't believe how well it went and was received by the evangelists. We will meet in a follow-up session with these leaders next Thursday, where John has asked me to storytell the Flood.

On the way back from the training, we stopped at a rural house (not a house really), just a rented hole-in-the-wall to say "hello" to a lady that John's CHE (Community Health Evangelism) had helped by purchasing for her an oven with which she makes injera to sell. She had gone from the depths of suicidal depression to making a way for her and her three children. Of course, we stayed to observe the coffee ceremony. On the wall of her extremely humble dwelling were numerous verses of scripture. I took a picture of Proverbs 1:7 which states that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. It's in Oromipha, so you and I won't be able to read what it says.

Then, tonight I got a telephone call from Brother Kurkura. He has invited me to go with him not this Friday but the next about 250 km south of Addis to spend Friday and Saturday night in an extremely rural area of Ethiopia praying with the church leaders down there and then preaching Sunday morning. The place is called Sheshemone. He wants me to preach the same sermon there that I preached in his church on this past Sunday. This is an opportunity of a lifetime; as people in this region do not often get visited by Ferenge. Nonetheless, before I commit to a 2-night overstay in rural Ethiopia, I want to visit with John and get his counsel.

All that to say, I feel as though I am seeing God on this incredible journey. I credit everything that is happening to the prayer support that is coming from back home. To date, I've only delivered 5 pairs of crocs but, I suspect that the crocs will begin flooding out of our hands tomorrow and over the next 7 days.

Sunday in Addis

An email from Kyle:

Today was amazing. As you know, I got to preach. It was so wonderful. The service lasted from 10 until 12:15. The worship was free. The church is a satellite from a much larger church. The satellite started just two years ago with 25 people. It now has over 300. They still meet in something like an outdoor tent facility, but it was standing room only with many people standing in the doorways and outside. Today, the elders voted to purchase the land on which the tent-like facility is currently located, so that they can build a permanent structure.

It was a wonderful experience that I will never forget. After the service all of the elders wanted to have a group picture with me; so, we took several. I made certain Kurkura wrote down all of the names of the people in the pictures. I am horrible at being able to pronounce much less remember African names.

After church was over, I went to Kurkura's house. Even though Kurkura lost his job with World Vision some 3 months ago, they completely rolled out the red carpet. We had homemade everything. The injera with wat and a host of other Ethiopian dishes. On top of that, because they feared I might not like Ethiopian food, she also served several pasta dishes and mixed vegetables. It got to the point where I was simply stuffed, but still had half a roll of injera on my plate. Kurkura showed me his empty plate and told me that was how my plate was supposed to look. So, I proceeded to eat the last half of the injera roll. But nooo, Kurkura's wife would not allow me to eat it dry. So, she insisted on pouring some more wat on my plate with chicken meat. While I cleaned my plate, I completely skipped dinner. I'm still full. Then, we had a coffee ceremony. Kurkura's wife roasted the coffee right in the living room so that I could see how it was done.

They have three children: son (15), daughter (14) and son (9). I also have Kurkura's wife and childrens' names written down. His kids were wonderful and so smart. His daughter asked me many questions and reminded me of Erin with her glasses and infectious curiosity. They drove me home in their poor little car. Of course, we had a flat tire along the way, which we had to eventually air up.

Kurkura has an amazing testimony, which I have in writing. He converted from Islam at 13 and was thrown out of his family. He now has a successful ministry among the Muslims. Christianity is experiencing a measurable amount of growth among both the Muslim and Orthodox communities. Indeed, one of the elders in the church today was a former bishop in the Orthodox church and there are many in the Orthodox church meeting underground to enhance their witness within the Orthodox community without risking excommunication.

Sorry for the long e-mail. There just seemed to be a lot to share. I love and miss all of you.

Kyle in Dukem, Ethiopia - A Visit with Teshome

You're just now getting up on Friday and here we are winding down what was a fabulous day. Getting to spend the day with Teshome was a real treat. He is extremely shy, but was so happy. After visiting the Compassion school and handing out candy to his friends, we went back to his humble house. His mother, younger sister and little brother live with his relatives in a tiny, but hospitable house. They had simple snacks, bread and fruit for us. The house was filled with incense and we enjoyed a coffee ceremony. It was a true highlight to present Teshome with his gifts. I was able to give crocs to him, his mother, his sister and baby brother. Yes, I have pictures. The absolute most amazing thing and the one thing that brought Teshome out of his shell was his horse. With the extra money that we've sent to Teshome, he was able to buy a horse (which was clearly well cared for and healthy) and a carriage. With that investment he operates an after school business as a taxi driver. He makes good money (about 200 bir/week). That allows him to provide a great deal of support for his family. He reserved the honor of naming the horse to me. I chose the name Colin. Teshome had already heard about Colin and was honored to give his horse that name. He insisted on giving me a ride. So, together we rode down the dirt streets of Dukem with Colin pulling us. You can let Colin know that Colin the horse took a nice dump on my duffel bag, but it cleaned off easily. Teshome let me drive and insisted that we see Colin gallop at high speed. At one point the Compassion guide joined us on the ride. Teshome told him "I am so happy this day." Then, he asked me whether I was happy? You know the answer.

Day One in Addis

A snapshot from Kyle's first day:

"For dinner John, Asrat, Fikre and I went to a local pizzeria. After dinner, John and I took a walk. Halfway through the walk we were joined by a little boy of maybe 8 years of age. His name was Pedrish (sp?). He walked beside us for perhaps a mile. He said nothing and I played with him with my flashlight. He simply stared at us with a smile and walked down the street seemingly proud to be associated with the only two grown white men around. After a while, he had to turn back. We said "bye bye". He said "bye bye." That was it. If I'd had something to give him, I would have, but maybe in some small way we did."

Kyle in Addis!

Kyle arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia today at about noon, which was 8 p.m. in the evening there. Everything went smoothly - all the bags with the Crocs made it! On Friday, he is planning on visiting his Compassion child, who is really not a child, but a 17 year-old boy named Teshome who lives in Dukem, north of Addis. It's amazing to realize that after so many months of praying and planning, he is really there. As I hear from him, I will post the information here. So stay tuned!

Indigenous Outreach International

Kyle will be doing some work with this organization, including the work with Dillon International adoption agency. He leaves on Tuesday. We're packing, laundering, and generally feeling amazed that he leaves in less than two days!

Croc Stuffing

How many Crocs can you stuff into one duffel bag? As it turns out, about 50, if you place small inside large ones inside larger ones. And how many duffel bags can one team take to Ethiopia? That remains to be seen. We would love to get all the Crocs over, but not sure we're going to be able to do it on this trip. But we'll get them there eventually.

Erin and her friends did an awesome job of stuffing Crocs. They were amazed by the amount of shoes. So are we. God is gracious.

Another Story

So here's another story about the Ethioipia trip. Several weeks ago, before I left on my trip, we decided to make a plea to a few family and friends. We wanted to take shoes over to the children in the orphanages Kyle would be visiting, and we decided that Crocs, or Croc-type shoes would be the most practical - they're light, indestructible, easy-to-clean, inexpensive, and they come in all kinds of fun colors! So...we sent out an email to about thirty people, plus our Community class at Asbury. Somehow this thing has exploded. People have been over-and-above generous, as they always seem to be. Our church never ceases to amaze me. People grumble about the size of the building, and the worship music...same old stuff. But when it comes to giving, I've never been in a church that does it with the level of love, enthusiasm and sacrifice as our church does. And I will include our family members (most which do not attend our church) in that group. Both sides of our family have responded to needs in an unbelievable way. When I asked for help with funds for orphanage toys, our family was right there, supplying all that we needed and more. It's beautiful. So, we have somewhere around 500 pairs of Crocs and the knock-offs right now, with many more to come. We are strategizing how to fit them all into a large suitcase and three duffel bags, but it's a good problem to have. Our plan right now is to fit small Crocs into medium Crocs into large Crocs. We'll see.

Here's why shoes are so important: when we were talking about taking medicines over for the children, we included in the list worm medicine. The missionary who works over there said that would be fine, but that the worm medicine only solves the problem for a time, then they get worms again, and need more medicine...an endless cycle. What they really need, he said, is shoes, because many times they get the worms through their feet because they are barefoot. I did not know this, but then again I am no expert on worms (thank goodness). As a child, I went barefoot all the time in the summer, and I can attest that I had all kinds of things happen (rusty nails, scratches, cuts, bruises, etc.). Imagine what could happen in a third world country with barefeet. So Kyle is taking somewhere around 500 Crocs. And yes, it is a drop in the bucket. But for those kids that get a new pair of shoes, it's a very important drop.

It's bedtime in Ethiopia

I know this because I added a clock for Addis Ababa. Look to the right. Kyle will be there in nine days. He'll be staying for three weeks, visiting orphanages, doing Bible Storying (not sure what this is, but he's reading up on it) and visiting his Compassion child, Teshome. I'm confident Alison will ask more than once a day what Dad is doing, and it's easier for me to imagine what that might be if I have an idea of what time it is. For the second half of each day, I'll be able to tell her that he is sleeping. Amazing. I think she is getting the concept that there is life happening on the other side of the world. For the first year of her life, HER life was happening on the other side of the world. Or maybe - better put - our life was happening on the other side of the world.

Ethiopia is the only African country that was never colonized. It is a proud place, and the culture is rich and deep. The people are full of life and and gracious hospitality. There are 5 million orphans in Ethiopia - which is most likely an extremely conservative estimate. Most of the children are true orphans - the technical definition for an orphan is a child who has lost both parents to death. The children are orphaned because of AIDS, tuberculosis, hunger, malaria. We can do so little. Anything seems like an almost worthless drop in the bucket. For a long time, we couldn't imagine investing so much into a place that seemed without hope. For a while, I began asking God why He would allow such a pandemic to exist - parents dying of AIDS every few minutes, children being orphaned. Why, God, don't you do something about this, since you have the power? You could ask that question about a lot of things. Why allow war to continue? Why allow people to live in dark places where they are treated without dignity? Why doesn't God do something about it? And then, I realized that perhaps the idea is that those of us who are supposed to be the hands and feet of God here on earth are the ones who are supposed to be doing something about it. There are enough of us here, and if we decided to do something....anything....then perhaps quite a lot could get done. We seem to find ourselves doing so many other things that seem sort of trivial. Me included. I'm the queen of trivial time-wasting. I'm sitting here blogging aren't I?

So Kyle is going to Ethiopia, not to save 5 million children, but to look some of them in the eye and let them know that there are people on the other side of the world who care. And it's true. We have about 500 shoes in our garage to prove it. But that's another story....

More Trip Photos

Back Home

We're back. I was unable to post except for once due to concerns about security, which was understandable, but frustrating anyway. We had an awesome trip and this is our awesome team. We got home last night (except for Thomas, who is staying for a while to do more of what we did). I am wondering how many times I can make this trip, come back changed, and then continue on with life as usual. Re-entry was even harder this time, but I am glad. I can't imagine seeing what we have seen, experiencing what we have experienced, doing what we have done - and then coming home and not being affected by it. It took me a while last year to process and find out how to bring all that has changed me and apply it to my life here.

The people in Azerbaijan are extraordinary. They have resilience, persistence and an enduring hope that lies far beneath the surface. They do not always trust or embrace with immediency, but once they do they get inside your heart and stay there. Faces, smiles, laughter and touch will remain with me until I return. We shopped with two young girls at the market the day before we left. They were leading us through as we looked for shoes for patients in the psychiatric hospital. The girl who was walking beside me slowly and deliberately linked her arm in mine, and we walked that way for the rest of the day. She patted my hand as we walked and although we could not communicate, her gesture spoke volumes. As I said before I left, we are blessed by them just as much as we bless. What a beautiful place. What beautiful people.