We started out our day by going to get some sheep to drop off at the church in Korah. We are going to feed about 300 people in that community tomorrow so we are taking the sheep in order for them to prepare them.
This is always a new experience for our teams. They have never seen people purchase sheep and load them up on the top of our van. It's a "different" type of market. It makes you appreciate the meat department at the grocery store...unless you are a vegetarian. :-)
We dropped the sheep off at the church in Korah and they took them off to get the ready for tomorrow's feast.
While we were there we stopped in on some kids that are sponsored by other Ordinary Heroes from the States. It was great to meet these kids.
After our visit with the kids we made our way over to the Kore Beth Coffee site.
This is a very special coffee roasting site!
This brand new coffee roasting headquarters came from the dream and vision of our friend, Maste. He grew up in Korah and now wants to provide a way for the women to have sustainable income to feed their children and to keep them from living from the trash dump.
Maste met Michael Venable on our trip to Ethiopia last October right after Michael's wife, Beth, had passed away from a brain disease. Michael loved Maste's idea and decided to sow into this coffee business. As a surprise to Michael, Maste later revealed the name of the new coffee business as
KORE BETH COFFEE!
Beth and Michael's youngest son is adopted from Ethiopia and now Beth's love for this country and her legacy lives on through this coffee. It is the love of one mother being passed on to all the moms that this coffee helps.
This was a very touching sight to see without a doubt!
Our team got to all see the women sorting and roasting the coffee, firsthand.
This is some of the best coffee you will ever taste!
Our next stop in Korah was the Leprosy hospital.
Being in Ethiopia is kind of like stepping back into the Bible times anyway, but when you go to the Leprosy Hospital and discover that there are still so many people today that live with Leprosy, it is so eye opening!
We all met beautiful people that weave and make beautiful handcrafted items, and most of them do this with no or limited fingers because of Leprosy.
Seeing their drive and their passion for what they do in spite of the odds is very encouraging.
It kind of wipes out the excuses that a lot of us have in life.
Everyone enjoyed their trip inside the small market where they got to purchase some of these handcrafted items to support the people living there.
After a quick stop to eat our packed lunch that we brought along, we made one last sheep purchase. We purchased three sheep for our friends at an orphanage in town that wanted to try their hand at breeding them. We purchased two female and one male. One of the female happened to be expecting as it turned out, so hopefully that was an added bonus. :-)
Big thanks to our big helper and friend, Bira, for carrying the sheep in for us.
These sheep bless a lot of people!
Our team was excited to be back at the orphanage for one last visit to say goodbye to some of their friends they had met during a visit earlier in the week.
BIG THANKS to this large North Dakota group that traveled with us! They were able to donate lots of much needed items to this orphanage.
Our team posed for one last picture with one of the Sisters that helps run this orphanage.
Their hearts for the children here are incredible!
One of our last visits for the day was back over to Hope For The Hopeless, Countryside.
Our teams always bond with the children there and everyone wanted to stop in to say their goodbyes and see the children one last time and get their beds all set up and ready for them with new sheets and toiletry items for their rooms. This was the final touch to their rooms after our day of painting that we had earlier in the week.
While we were waiting for the children to return home from school, we noticed that the village children were beginning to gather outside of the gate. Before we knew it, our guide Bissy had them all lined up in order for them to receive a Blessing Bag. They were so excited and waiting patiently.
They each came in about two or three at a time. Our entire team helped get them dressed in their new outfits, complete with wiping the dirt off of their little faces and making them feel fresh and clean.
These were some of the sweetest little children.
We really thank all of you who sent Blessing Bags along on this trip. We can't tell you what a blessing it is to be able to take off the mud stained, torn clothes and replace them with something new for these children who most likely have never had anything new before.
The kids feel so good about themselves when they are dressed.
We watch them transform before our eyes.
Little smiles light up their faces.
It is hard to believe how some of these children live, and yet it is so amazing how something as little as a new outfit and toy can make a difference as we share with them the practical love of Jesus and His provision.
We enjoyed a game of soccer with the kids...cowboy boots and all!
(We have a country boy on our team) :-)
We had a great little soccer team! Lots of fun!!
Our time with the kids came to a close and we had to say our goodbyes, which is always tough!
We then headed over to one of the Ethiopian Cultural Restaurants for dinner.
We brought along some of our sponsored kids to eat dinner with us, which is always great to be able to spend time with them.
This is always a fun experience for our team to get to eat Injera, which is the main dish in Ethiopia, and see the cultural dances of Ethiopia.
Some of our little guys joined the dancers for a song.
This was a great end to a very packed day!
We fly home tomorrow night. Our last day on the ground in Ethiopia is coming up as we feed sheep and pass out chickens before we board the plane!
