Ethiopia Team 3, 2013, Day 2 ~ Korah

On our second day we went to Korah. Our teams always love visiting Korah. We visited a small church in Korah that is run by Pastor Tesfye and a group of awesome leaders. 

Pastor Tesfye had gathered an entire church full of children from the community for us to bless with our blessing bags. Children in Korah always lack clothing. Our blessing bags were a perfect blessing for these kids. Many thanks to those of you who have donated blessing bags for our trips. 

The first thing the team did was wipe the children down with baby wipes and clean them up a little bit. It is so humbling to see a sweet child get so excited over wiping herself with a wipe to get clean. Truly the smallest things are such huge blessings to these children. 

This was a sweet mother that I met in the church. She shared her story with me and told me that her baby was sick and that she is a widow and has nothing to offer her child. Tears began to stream down this sweet woman's face as she looked at me with a look of desperation to see if I could help her. I asked the Pastor about her and he said she comes to the church every single day to ask if someone could sponsor her child. I told her that I would help find her a sponsor and she just kept kissing my hands and thanking me. Later in the evening as our team was sharing in our group, one of the team members shared how this woman touched her to and that she has decided that her family is going to sponsor this mother and her two children. Everyone cheered! God is so good! Everywhere we go we see needs that break our hearts and He has already provided the answers and is just waiting for us to show up. 

We brought the children in one by one and put their new clothes on them. Several team members shared how some of  children would not even look them in the eye, and after they put the new outfit on them, their little heads lifted and they got a big smile on their face and their whole countenance changed. Again, the smallest things really give these children hope and show them that they have a father in heaven that loves them a whole lot! 

We have some of our sponsored children helping us on this trip. I truly love seeing these kids giving back to the kids of Korah, when just three years ago, they themselves were just a part of the crowd that we helped. These kids really love giving back and helping the kids with us! It is teaching them to serve others themselves. 

Cessie enjoyed getting her hair braided. It looked so cute when they got done!

We went back to the guest house for some lunch. 

We invited Pastor Tesfye and Sinkonesh, who is the worship leader at the church, back to the guest house to join us for lunch. Tesfye shared his amazing testimony that just really touched my team in many ways! We are motivated more than ever to start getting as many family sponsorships as we can for the people of Korah. If you are interested in sponsoring a family in Korah, please email Info@ordinaryhero.org. It is truly life changing. Pastor Tesfye is an amazing example of that. 

We then headed over to Kore Beth Coffee!

This was an extra special trip because Michael Venable and his daughter are on our team.  Kore Beth was named in honor of Michael's wife, Beth, who passed away last August. This new coffee business is changing the lives of mothers living in the Kore community of Addis. These mothers could not provide for their children and would dig through the trash dump for food. Now they are employed making some of the best coffee I have ever tasted, which in turn, gives them income and a fresh start on life for them and their families.   

Philimon helps run the business and got up and shared the story and the vision behind Kore Beth Coffee. It is one mother's legacy and love for Ethiopia giving back to so many mothers in Ethiopia in so many amazing ways. Beth is definitely smiling from heaven. 

Our group photo at Kore Beth Coffee

After our visit we went back to the guest house where some of the team members found a little boy who was bleeding on his feet. His shoes were completely worn down and he had fallen and cut his feet and hands. The team really blessed this little boy. They helped him with his wounds and gave him clothes and shoes. Again, everyone noticed how his entire countenance changed from hopeless to hopeful. He was shown love by many on our team in that moment when he fell, cut himself, and just  really needed a mother. We were grateful that he was led to cross our paths.  

Before dinner there were some local boys that I know from previous trips. They said they had formed a soccer team and asked us to come watch them practice. So we made a short walk to their field and really enjoyed watching these young boys. 

The walk over and the field that they practice in really was beautiful. 

Allie met up with her young friend that she met on last year's trip. 

These boys really played with their all. They are very passionate about soccer and their new team. They asked OH to sponsor them so I may be seeing a new OH Soccer team in our future here in Ethiopia. 

They were super thankful and all gathered in a circle and prayed for me and the new team before we all left. 

Rob and Holli, our adoptive family staying in our guest house, joined us for the outing to watch the boys. 

Everyone really enjoyed hanging with some of the boys. 

Time to head back!

Such cute boys!

While watching the boys, we ran into a new friend, Stacey, who is in Ethiopia serving with another group. We have many mutual friends.  It was great to meet you, Stacey! You really find out what a small world it is, even in Ethiopia. 

We had an amazing day!! 

We are thankful to be serving in Ethiopia and all the opportunities that jump right in front of us every single day as we walk this out in faith!

Our amazing day of serving the mountain women is coming up next....