The Finale

Day 24:  Today was the last day seeing the Compassion kids all together. For their "Sunday school" on a Saturday we lead them in song (music is not one of our talents), and had them act out Noah's Ark that they learned yesterday. It was great fun, and I was sure to give my favorite girl, Marta, a necklace I have been waiting to give away at the end of the trip. She absolutely loved it and said "Thank You!" in perfect English. I also made sure to take a picture with my favorite boy, Gulano.

We went on the most stressful stroll through the market in the afternoon. The market is several dirt roads where anything you could possibly want is sold. The tricky part is that there are literally thousands of people walking in every direction, the ground is a concoction of mud/poop/trash, and you may get run over by donkey, horse, or goat at any point in time. I was literally nudged over by a donkey... Well Excuse Me! It was overwhelming to say the least. Everyone just stops and stares at you because you are white, and I was physically stopped by several beggars. It was very memorable experience.

All day we were anxiously awaiting a surprise Missy and Asher had planned for us. Before getting cleaned up for dinner Missy handed all the girls "shitties" aka local Ethiopian dresses with matching scarves and all the boys huge straw hats. Once all the wannabe African princesses were ready for dinner, Asher lead us to the top dining room of the hotel, and to our shock the room was decorated for an Ethiopian dinner party, They had a slideshow playing (cue tears), and a special surprise at the dessert table. Our craving for chocolate was at an all-time high so when we found out we had nutella and "doughnuts" for dessert our reactions were a little extreme. After we stuffed ourselves, Missy and Asher had us sit down for a coffee ceremony. Asher began reading John 13 where Jesus washes the disciples' feet, and he asked our four boys if we could wash their feet- this was even a surprise to the team. At first they said absolutely not, but then we finally convinced them and we were able to wash their feet. It was such a beautiful night. I shed a few tears while drying off Missy's feet.

Day 25: We left Ambo for the last time today, and our send-off was the two hour plus church service- goodness. Marta and Gulano sat with me throughout the entire service. We said our final goodbyes, and they kept asking if I would be back tomorrow- I wanted so bad to tell them I would. I will miss these kids. i'm excited to see everyone at home, but I know it won't be long before I'm heartbroken. I'm going to miss this country so much, and I know it will be hard looking at pictures being so far away. During the bus ride to Addis we stopped in a small town and gave a man a pair of rainboots. He was so appreciative he even kissed Asher's hand. That's the hardest part of the trip- finding the balance between giving tangible items and providing people abstract skills. I want to give kids a pair of shoes, but I also want to be able to provide them a means of education. Without a skill set the child will grow into an adult still needing shoe donations. We want them to prosper so they can in turn give to others.

Leaving: I can't believe I'm not in Ethiopia anymore. I've already started to miss it more than anticipated. This morning I got my hair braided, and I officially look like a black girl. Surafel would say, "you wish" to that. Our four boys traveled from Ambo to Addis to see us off. I hope we've made an impact in some aspect of their lives. At one point they said they could see God's love in us, and I hope they were sincere in speaking those words. We had last minute souvenir shopping, and a final dinner with everyone. Even Beza came as a surprise to eat with us. It was hardest saying goodbye to our translators Surafel, Beza, and Samson. They were practically with us 24/7, and I become good friends with them. I can only hope I will see them again. Once I get home I will start to process everything, but in the meantime I have a 15 hour plane flight to focus on conquering.