It was the best day, it was the worse day

   Friday I woke up early and started to journal while the room was still quiet.  A little after seven I heard a knock on our door.  It was Eric bringing the most beautiful words with him, "Andrea's boy is here."  I jumped out of bed and got dressed as fast as I could.  Angela's, Eric's, and my sponsor kids had WALKED 10 km this morning to see us.  It was not on the agenda to see them today so I was THRILLED!  Greetings were so warm and natural now with Teshome.  I sent him back out to the soccer game the boys were playing in the courtyard and I grabbed a cup of coffee and headed out.  I giggled to myself thinking 'I'm a soccer mom and I'm loving it!'

Angela made the boys oatmeal for breakfast and it was nice to do normal mom things for Teshome.  The simple act of being able to go to the kitchen and pour him a glass of mango juice...priceless.  The boys played our phones and ipads while we all got ready for our day.  To my surprise, instead of dropping them off back in Korah they were going to join us for the day.  Hooray!!  Exactly what I had prayed for, a chance to serve together!  Our first stop was to Embracing Hope which is a daycare.  This ministry offers free daycare for working moms from the struggling communities around them.  The childcare is free as long as the women are working and it must not be begging or prostitution.  Embracing Hope is clean, has good toys, the kids are happy, and the nannies seems to love their jobs and are very creative.  It's unbelievable how wonderful this place is.

I really can't find the right words to express my feelings watching Teshome with these children.  He was fantastic!!  When all the other boys ran off to play by themselves or to the van to play with the phones, Teshome was right with the kids.  Comfortable, gentle, funny, and playful.  The American's might as well have not been there because the kids just followed Teshome around wanting to play with him.  My heart was so full I thought it would literally burst!!
While walking from one daycare house to the next, we passed a woman in the street that came up and started talking to Teshome.  Then she turned and greeted me but I didn't understand much of what she said.  Turns out that was Teshome's bible teacher.  Love the small community :)
This ministry was so unexpected.  The good conditions, the lively energy from the nannies.  The schedule is strict and filled with good play and music class.  I felt like I was at Ethiopian Gymboree.  The best sight was seeing that all the nannies are locals.  It made me happy to see the care and routine poured into these children who at the end of the day are picked up by their parents.  At this young age, so much good is happening for them.

After EH, it was time for lunch.  We headed to the resturant inside the city museum called Lucy's.  By far the fanciest place we had been, but it was very cold and rainy and the food was not that good.  I sat on the same end of the table as our sponsor kids and by now it was easy for me to forget where they come from because they were just part of our group.  After the boys polished off a huge plate of ingera (topped with meat and eggs and all sorts of stuff), one of the boys wanted a toothpick.  He unwrapped it and casually tossed the paper over his shoulder.  I was shocked for a second but then I thought about where they usually eat.  They live at the trash dump and it really isn't a problem to throw trash there.

Teshome and the boys also came along with us to Kadane, the catholic orphanage.  Seeing him in an orphanage for the first time made me thankful he isn't in one.  I'm not sure his funny, gentle, loving personality would have survived in institutional living.  I prayed for his safety in Korah but was thankful for his freedom there.  We decided as a team that this would be our last day together with the boys from Korah since we had the whole day together that day.  On the porch of the orphanage, AB our translator helped Teshome and I be able to talk a little more.  It was great to have the help.

When we headed back to the van, instead of sitting in a two seat aisle, Teshome scrambled all the way to the back with the other boys, put headphone right on, and put his head down.  We both knew what was coming.  The few times I did look back and make eye contact with him he looked so sad.  The driver decided to drop us off at the guest house first and then take the boys home.  At the guest house, we piled out of the van and the team was saying our good byes to the boys.  Teshome came and fell into my arms and cried.  I cried.  I wiped his tears and told him how special he is.  We hugged and cried and I prayed for him.  Then it was time to really say the impossible good-bye.  He jumped on the van and ran to the back seat. The others were still saying good-byes and  I saw that he was struggling to open the back window of the van.  I ran to the end of the van and helped pull from my side.  We held hands and I stared at his tear filled sad face knowing there was nothing I could do to make it better and at that moment my heart shattered into a million pieces and my knees wanted to buckle.  We held hands until the van was ready to pull away.  I touched his face one last time and told him I loved him.

Here are the moments why you should ALWAYS bring your best friend with you to Africa.  As soon as the van drove around the corner and I stepped into the guest house courtyard, my knees finally gave way as I went into the ugliest cry I have EVER had.  Kendra was there to literally catch me and hold me up as I sobbed all over her coat.  I will never be the same after this day.  God blessed Teshome and I with some emotional highs today and He will pick us up from this pit of sadness. 

Just because things are hard or sad, doesn't mean we shouldn't do them.  The biggest blessings come from some of the hardest things.