We made it...

*Tiny wormy disclaimer---This post has and will not be edited. It’s from the heart and right off of the top of the dome.
**Feel free to comment and add some words of encouragement…

Caden and I are finally settled into our hotel for the duration of our stay.  Our flights were great!  I enjoyed the views, especially when we were leaving DC... we saw this beautiful rainbow.

Rainbow over DC

View over Istanbul, Turkey

We also experienced some great views flying into Istanbul, Turkey for our layover. We met up with our group E3partners in Istanbul.  They all flew in from California.  I know you all are wondering how did I get connected with them. The short answer: On the internet.  For the longest, I felt like the girl on this State Farm Commercial .  Prior to meeting up, we did have several conference calls etc. which eased my fears some.  Our group leaders are Katie and Pastor J.T. Katie has been to Ethiopia 13 times.  The others in our group range from ages 13-22 and for most of them, this is their 2nd or 3rd time coming to Ethiopia. It's amazing to me the love that they have for the people here and their desire to do God's work.  When I was 13-22, Ethiopia was no where on my mind. 

We arrived to our hotel in Addis Ababa around 2am and left early for our 6-9 hour bumpy drive to Arba Minch.   We all piled in three vans with our luggage strapped to the top.  Our hosts/drivers, Pastor Samuel and Solomon are amazing! On another note, I've never seen so many goats, chickens, cows, donkeys on "main roads" ever in my life. Very interesting.  Caden was definitely in awe.  There were so many people smiling, waving and dancing as we passed by.  They seem to labor continuously.  Caden and I rode in the van with Pastor Samuel, Kevin (20), Jonathan (19), Sidney (19) and Pastor Samuel. During our ride, we all shared our testimonies of how we came to know Christ. That was truly something special and allowed Caden and I to get to know some of the group a little better. It was also great to hear about their previous missions in Ethiopia and Honduras. 

The hotel we stayed in in Addis Ababa was very nice! I had high hopes for our Arba Minch hotel :(  I have to keep reminding myself of why I'm here. God has definitely removed me from my comfort zone. Caden has adjusted much better than I have. Kids are so resilient.  As I type this message, I am sitting on my twin sized bed covered with a mosquito net and Caden is snoring away in his bed.  We've been trying new foods. Caden is a picky eater and he's been doing very well.  We eat breakfast and dinner at the hotel everyday, but we had to bring things over to pack our lunches. My proudest accomplishments so far are these two loaves of bread that were tucked into a shoe box in my luggage.  If nothing else, Caden and I will be able to enjoy us some yummy PBJ sandwiches.

Tomorrow, we will meet with our translators and complete some Priceless Cube training and go over some do's/don'ts etc.

Ministry starts on Monday!

Thanks again to everyone who has donated and is praying with us!


Here are a few more pics and a video....