The last 2 days have been pretty great. We're adjusting to Addis and the guest house quite nicely. Dan is our resident African GPS and bug killer. He claims he killed a maggot in the bathroom this morning. I'm choosing to believe it was something else. Christmas is coming soon and the kids are putting on a program on Sunday. In preparation, Dan & Judi sorted, wrapped, and labeled 150 Christmas presents for the kids. Each child at Little Ahope, Big Ahope, and the CDC will be getting a gift wrapped in shiny paper. Yay!

We stopped for lunch yesterday at a cute cafe and stumbled upon a coffee ceremony. These are very common in Ethiopia and the owner of the cafe invited us to join her. She also gave her phone number to us in case we need anything during our stay. Most Ethiopians we encounter are so happy to have us here. Most want to say hello and practice their English. Any time someone gives us a bit of a hard time, another Ethiopian steps in. I always say it but the hospitality here is so wonderful here.

Last night we spent a bit of time at Big Ahope. They now have a foosball table! The kids took turns playing with Dan, Judi, and me. We learned that both Judi and I suck at foosball, but Dan is amazing. The kids were impressed by his skills. 

Today we went shopping at a micro finance handicraft shop in the Mexico neighborhood. We got some fun things and it all goes towards helping others. My kind of shopping! Not to mention it didn't exactly break the bank. The exchange rate is now 16 birr to 1 dollar. This afternoon we are going to stop for some mixed juice and then do some arts & crafts with the little kids. We are decorating the orphanage compound for the Christmas program with construction paper windsocks, lanterns, and paper chains. We'll also be listening to some great kids' songs...thanks again, Erin! 

I have no idea what our plans for tonight will be, but I'm sure something exciting will come up. Every day here is an adventure!

Baggage Fun

As I previously mentioned, my carry on was checked at the gate in Frankfurt. It didn't make the flight and was supposed to arrive Wednesday night. Yesterday I went to the airport to get it. Everything was going very smoothly until the lady started writing Dan's name on the claim slip. Guess what. The lovely lady in Germany not only failed to put my bag on the flight...she also put the bag in Dan's name. Since he wasn't with me and I didn't have his passport they refused to release it to me. Thanks, Lufthansa!!! We went back this morning and Dan had to search through a room full of bags for mine. I finally have it. Until less than an hour ago I had been wearing the same clothes since Monday. As they say here in Addis, Chigger Yellum (no problem)!

Dear Family and Friends,
We all arrived to Addis safely! Well, I guess not all of us. One of
my bags is still in Frankfurt. Of course it's the bag containing my
clothes, not the donations. It was a carry on but the gate attendant
made me check it because the flight was full. Hopefully I'll get it
tomorrow!
I was reunited with Selam, our housekeeper, this morning. I was wide
awake at 5 am because I couldn't wait to see her. I think she was just
as excited! She made a great breakfast of crepes and tea. :)
I saw most of my Ahope kids today. They didn't know I was coming and
the looks on their faces were priceless. The big kids were at Little A
practicing for their Christmas program on Sunday. K, the girl my
parents sponsor child, braided half of my hair before it was time to
leave. I'm sporting quite the fancy hairdo! Most of the little kids
were surprised when I knew their names and didn't show much
recognition of me. As soon as I said my name, it was like a light bulb
went off and they remembered SO much about my last trip. One of the
boys, A, is still trying to teach me more Amharic. I hope he's
impressed by what I remember.
There's lots of new kids at Little Ahope. One little girl loves to
say, "anchi!" (you) and then I reply "enni?" (me?). She always laughs
and says "ow" (yes). Then we switch roles and repeat a million times.
She's hilarious.
Lots is going on here as it's almost Ethiopian Christmas. Tomorrow
at 9:30 am we're wrapping 200 gifts for the kids at Little Ahope, Big
Ahope, and the Community Development Center. The Christmas program is
January 2nd and Christmas is January 7th. January 8th I'm taking the
kids to Sodere, the hot springs again. Can't wait! We're also going to
be doing game night on Wednesdays with the big kids. Glad we have lots
of ideas! :)
Overall it's been a great day! I'll keep you all updated!

And We're Off!

The day has finally arrived!

Packing has been quite interesting. Both of my checked bags are donations and then I have a little suitcase for myself that will be a carry on. We have 6 checked bags total and countless carry ons! This is just a tiny tiny portion of the goodies on their way. :)

We have some great activities planned! Fun stuff from face painting and drawing with sidewalk chalk to arts & craft projects like making salt dough and paper bag dogs and cats. We'll also be doing some more serious (but still fun!) self-esteem boosting activities. Oh, and of course game night will be back! As you can tell we've been busy!

Thank you so much to everyone who has donated to this trip! I know all 3 of us have been overwhelmed by the checks/supplies/time/ideas donated by you all. You have helped make this trip a reality!

We should be logging on every few days, so be sure to check for updates!

Ethiopia Reads - Finally Meeting Jane Kurtz

It began a year and a half ago. Prior to my 1st Ethiopian trip, I planned on spending a day at Shola Children's Library in Addis which was run by Ethiopia Reads. As soon as I walked through the gate I noticed this:


Who are these people and how in the world is Kansas involved with something going on in Ethiopia? I posted this on my blog and my Step-Dad sprung into action. He was able to contact Stan & Le Ann Clark who are very involved with Ethiopia Reads. They receive, organize, and ship the books to Ethiopia. They also live a few minutes drive from my parents! Now my parents live in a small rural town, so this is a HUGE coincidence! Ever since my trip, my Mom has been helping LeAnn organize the books.

Earlier today, Jane Kurtz came to town to speak about her latest books. She wrote the books for American Girl's doll of the year, Lanie. Jane grew up in Ethiopia and is highly involved in Ethiopia Reads. All of the donations from today went to this great organization. Jane was SO nice and I immediately felt at ease talking with her. We've been hearing about each other for quite awhile and she made me feel as if she was just as excited to meet me as I was to meet her. She is a huge inspiration to me, it was great to talk with her for awhile! In addition to buying books for myself, I got a signed book for my AHOPE kids. It has both English and Amharic on each page. I think they'll really like it!

Ethiopia Reads works hard to provide children in Ethiopia with books. They help add libraries to schools and also started numerous DONKEY mobile libraries! See one in action here (First pause the music on my page on the Ipod):

Ethiopia Reads - Donkey Mobile Libraries from Brent Weaver on Vimeo.

If you are looking for a great organization to support, I highly recommend Ethiopia Reads. See their website here: http://ethiopiareads.org/home.

Trip #2!

I'm back! For the last year and a half I have been dreaming of returning to Ethiopia and spending more time with my favorite kids! I am so lucky that my dream is coming true! I am returning to AHOPE this month, and I can not contain my excitement!

Even better, I have recruited 2 other people to go with me! Ever since my first trip, my cousin, Dan, said he wanted to see AHOPE. He was kind enough to agree to go with me this time! Once our plans were made public, a great friend, Judi, asked if she could join us. I'm so grateful that they're willing to give up their time to see a place so close to my heart. That's 2 more people that will get to experience Ethiopia and tell others about this amazing country!

Unfortunately, we're only able to spend 2 1/2 weeks there this time, but we are going to make the most of it. I'm so excited about some of our awesome ideas and can't wait to share them with you! More will be coming soon!

Think the kids will enjoy these? :)