Ethiopia Trip Update #1 - We have arrived!

For those of you who have visited Ethiopia before most of this will sound familiar. I am writing this as we are driving through the Ethiopian countryside, the smell of diesel fuel is in the air, the windows are open, I have sneezed a few times from the dust, I am greeted by big grins and waves when people spot me in the car window, and I am filled with mixed emotions as I pass by the young boys herding the sheep. However, the landscape is a bit different this trip versus my last two visits. I am amazed at the 4 month old 6 lane highway that has been built from Addis heading down to Hawassa. It looks just like an interstate back at home with the fancy green signage, nice off ramps, and even overpasses. It is great to see this level of development since my first trip in 2011. Alex, our host, says that the new road cuts almost 2 hours off the trip to Hawassa.

It is great to be back in Ethiopia. I can't believe it's been 2 years. We have the same host from Children's HopeChest, Alex, and the same awesome translator, Tommy, whom our team loved back in 2013. My team this year is very small, just 3 of us and I am OK with that. My oldest son, Colin, is along and I don't feel the pressure of leading a team, I can just be a mom, sharing with my son why Ethiopia has grabbed my heart and hoping that it grabs his to or at the least the reason why being a follower of Jesus means obeying the command to care for "the least of these." I am also excited to have my friend, Linda, along. She has been so encouraging to me and is such a prayer warrior. She is also sponsoring a child in Shanto and I am excited for her to meet him.

The trip here was SO long. We left our house in Minneapolis around 3 a.m., flew out at 6:05 a.m. after somewhat of stressful time getting checked in at the airport. Next time I am definitely going to arrive a full 3 hours before our flight. We flew to Toronto  where we made our connecting direct flight to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. We took off around 11:05 a.m., and after 12 hours and 7,000 miles, we landed in Ethiopia. It is such a crazy flight because you cross an entire night and land the next morning in Ethiopia. It really messes with your head. My first two trip to Ethiopia were uneventful as far as my experience in the Addis airport but this trip was different. It took us 2-1/2 hours to get our visas, get through customs and collect our luggage. 3 of our bags didn't arrive and a wonderful man working in the baggage area helped us out so much. He showed me where to go to report it, stayed with us, pushed our luggage cart, let me use his phone to call Alex, and saw us all the way out to the parking lot. I tipped him well and thanked him so much. Our bags will arrive tomorrow and be driven down to where we are staying. Thankfully, we packed all our personal items in our carry-ons. I was amazed at how calm I felt during that process, being here a third time brings much relief, knowing what to expect, understanding a bit more about Ethiopia. This time I bought a detailed map of the country and hope that my son and I can learn so much about the history, culture, and regions of Ethiopia.

We should be at our hotel this evening  by 7 p.m. By then we will have been traveling a total of 32 hours. I guarantee we will all sleep well tonight. Colin is fast asleep next to me as I write. Tomorrow we visit FOVC's Dale site. Even though Dale is not partnered with Children's HopeChest I am so thankful they are more than willing to accommodate me and make sure we visit. I can't wait to see the 22 precious Dale children. It should be a fun day!

Flat Stanley is joining us in Ethiopia.

Flying through a night to the next morning is a strange feeling.

Macchiatos are a favorite treat in Ethiopia.

A more desert like part of Ethiopia on the way to Hawassa.

There is extreme poverty in Ethiopia, there is also extremely beauty. We are spending our first two nights at the Lewi Resort on Lake Hawassa. It's very nice & by American standards in expensive.

Lake Hawassa sunset on a overcast night.