Orphanages and Malachi’s Aunt

The last few days have been incredibly full, so I haven’t been able to make it to the Hilton to get on the internet. Thursday morning, we got to take a tour of the Holy Trinity Church, one of the centers of worship for the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. The history here is so rich and so ancient, it’s pretty amazing. Belay, who is the country director for Gladney here in Ethiopia, was kind enough to come and act as our tour guide. What made this more special is that Belay’s father was the Commander in Chief of the Imperial Guard in the 70s before the Derg Regime (communist) came into power. When they came and conquered the Ethiopian Emperor, Belay’s father and 59 others were sentenced to death and killed by firing squad. They are now entombed at the Holy Trinity Church and there is a really nice monument to them there as national heroes and martyrs. Pretty cool stuff.

After that, we met up with Peter Abera of Children’s Hope Chest and he took us around to a couple of the orphanages that Hope Chest sponsors. The children don’t live at these orphanages, but do come there for school and for meals every day, but they weren’t there on Thursday because it was a national holiday (one of 29 on the year). We were bummed but made plans to come back the next day.

After a short rest, we went with all of the Gladney families in country to pick up their kiddos to an Ethiopian cultural dinner. The food was just like the Ethiopian food we like so much in Dallas but it was accompanied by music and cultural dancing. If you want to know where the dance style “Pop & Lock” (see So You Think You Can Dance) got it’s beginning, pretty sure it was from ancient Ethiopia. It was a long day, but so much fun.

Yesterday was by far my favorite day so far. We started off by getting the chance to meet Malachi’s aunt at the Gladney Center. It was a very sweet moment, while at the same time a very sad moment. She clearly wanted to hold Malachi, but he didn’t recognize her and clung desperately to Brandy. In the long run, that’s a good thing, but I can only imagine how tough that must have been for her. We had the chance to ask her some questions and for her to do the same through 3 way translation (English to Amharic to whatever language she spoke). We told her we were Christians and she was thrilled to hear that. She is a Protestant (7th Day Adventist) and was so thankful to know that Malachi would grow up hearing about Jesus. I got to pray with her and we exchanged the traditional 3 kisses (believers do this to symbolize the Trinity). We got the whole thing on video which will be such a good thing for Malachi as he gets older.

Speaking of Malachi, he’s doing great. He still has moments where he looks shocked that we are still there, especially after he has been with a caregiver. But we are doing a lot of attachment work with him and are being rewarded with smiles, giggles and snuggles. He is finally eating(after about four days of eating almost nothing except bottles) and so that is a relief. He sleeps like a champ and has not woken up in the night. The doctor told us yesterday that he has tonsillitis, but you wouldn’t know it as happy as he is apart from the congestion and cough at night. He’s really bonded well with Brandy, always looking for her and reaching for her if someone else is holding him, and he’s starting to warm up to me. Mostly, he just thinks I’m funny, which is great with me. One of the funniest things about him is that he knows how to whistle. Josiah will be so jealous!

After meeting Mally’s aunt, Travis, from Gladney, took us and the other families to the Gladney orphanages, specifically Kolfe and another orphanage we can’t say much less spell. We have mixed emotions about the whole thing. On one hand, getting to interact with the orphans was great. Kolfe is an older boys home, so they followed us around and we spent about 10 minutes playing American football with them, and teaching them to throw the football. They told us how much they like Beyonce and one boy even sang a Beyonce song for me(I got it on video!). They all wanted our email, so I’ll have a bunch of random emails from guys at the orphanage when I get back. The other orphanage was a co-ed home for younger children. We got to hold babies, and play on the playground with the other kids. One of the little girls who was hearing impaired latched on to Brandy and wouldn’t let go. One of the saddest things is that Brandy asked what her name was, and one girl answered that the deaf child did not have a name. She was very sweet and just grinned at her the whole time. Another of the girls braided Brandy’s hair (Belay suggested I let them do the same to me . . . the kids are totally freaked and laugh at my baldness). While we loved the boys and the children, the condition of the homes is not at all ideal and there seems to be very little structure other than feeding them and trying to educate them. We are glad there is something for them, but pray that something will be done for these orphanages to improve and to set these children up for success (I may write more in another blog post since this one is already crazy long and I’m not done).

Lastly, and the highlight of our trip apart from Malachi, we returned to the Kichene orphanage that Peter had taken us to the day before and Brandy and I got to throw a party for them. We were so impressed with the staff at the orphanage. One of the teachers, a young man, was absolutely incredible with the kids, engaging, funny, and energetic as he told them stories about Jesus and sang songs with them. The singing of the children was exuberant and so much fun to watch. Peter then asked me to teach them from God’s Word, so I spoke about the wise man and the foolish man from Matthew 7 and then taught them the song. Afterwards, they fed the children and gave each one a soda, a treat for them, and then we joined them in the meal. Again, I can’t overstate how impressed I was with Peter, Nicodemas, the director of this orphanage, and so many others. They clearly love these children and have a vision for them to know and love Jesus in addition to setting them up for success as they get older and leave the orphanage. Please join me in praying for Nicodemas and the others who are working at Kichene and for the children, that they would grow to love and follow Jesus. As the children left, we were swamped with kisses and hugs that make your heart happy. I love the delight that the Lord gives us as He delights in us when we join Him in what He is doing around the world.

OK, sorry for the long post. Lots to say and catch up on. There is no way to describe all that we saw or felt today, but we look forward to telling you all about it when we get home. Today, we are going to go shopping at the market and then we’re hoping to take it easy for the rest of the day and for tomorrow as well. Still not done here in Ethiopia, so we’ll see you soon!