Day 7 – Last but not least

We woke up with heavy hearts.  It was our last day in Africa and goodbyes were imminent.  By the time the 7am median-strip aerobics had commenced outside our windows (one of the entertainment perks not mentioned on the EGH website), two team members had flown off to explore other parts of Ethiopia…and more goodbyes were coming.  Yet our flight didn’t leave until midnight and we had a lot to accomplish in short time.

Our team was touched by the little hearts beating over at Elolam, and we decided to pool our money together and go shopping for their most immediate needs. Going shopping in Ethiopia is certainly NOT like America. It requires patience. There are no Wal Marts or Targets here (much to our chagrin). We started off at one place that looked like a scaled down version of BJ’s….minus the fun little food samples. Kim bought a bag of gum and was rewarded with a full page receipt.  With the gum transaction taking 15 minutes, we knew we were in for a long process since we were ordering boxes of formula. We let Dani and Tam do the shopping/bargaining for us since it would likely save us money having them negotiate. Unfortunately this particular BJ’s didn’t have everything we needed…so it was off to another “store.” The next store didn’t have infant formula either, nor the next. Finally, after three stops and three hours, we had everything we needed…including bedsores from sitting in the van for so long.

We headed back to Elolam with the supplies stocked high on top of our van: soaps, milk, diapers, formula…this would be such a tremendous help for them.  But to our surprise, they had gifts for us.  We each received shirts that were hand-made by women who are supported by the Elolam ministry.  We were beside ourselves…how could they be giving gifts to us?

We were thrilled to hand over approximately 50 “I am Loved” t-shirts that you all helped us purchase (thank you!) and were thrilled to see the kids wearing them with such joy and pride!

We were also able to give them some money ($3K) to buy additional cribs, mattresses, bedding, and really, whatever else they needed to keep those sweet babies healthy.  It wasn’t enough – but it was what we had.  And greater was our resolve to continue to help when we returned home.

A-Team member Kim was loving on the kids and noticed one of the caregivers watching us from the upstairs window with tears rolling down her cheeks.  With a baby in her arms, she raised one hand in the air in an act of overwhelming gratitude and worship.  We were an answered prayer.  How incredibly humbling.

After Elolam we headed back out for some economy stimulus (tourist shopping) at Entoto.  Time was ticking and the drive to Entoto seemed to take hours.  Before we knew it, it was time to head back to the guesthouse to pack up.

On the way back to the guesthouse we stopped at Kolfe to drop off a donated laptop to one of the boys who was heading to medical school.  We said our goodbyes and were handed several gifts from many of the boys that they asked us to mail to their “mamas” in the US.  How touching that these boys who live in abject poverty, use whatever little money they have to buy gifts for their long-distance moms?  Many of the gifts were even wrapped!

We picked up pizzas and ate them at the guest house. It was our last meal with our sweet friends (Dani, Tam, Zi, Getch and “Baby”). These sweet young men then surprised us by presenting us with gifts. I think we were all teary eyed by the end of that meal!  And of course no meal could be complete without a coffee ceremony (complete with popcorn)!  We rebounded from our sentimental meal by tossing popcorn into each other mouths and goofing off, as we had been doing all week.

We said our final goodbyes and then retreated to our rooms to pack our bags.  Although we dreaded the long trip home, we were excited to see our families.  Plus the long journey would provide time to begin processing this amazing trip.

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