Day Seven

*I couldn’t blog again until now. No matter how much I’d like to say, most of this trip is a precious piece of our lives that will never be told. But here’s what I CAN tell you. :) *

Day 7

How has it been a week? Didn’t I just get here a day or two ago? 

Today was mine and Micah’s second day alone. Abe and the kids left Thursday night (today is Saturday), and I couldn’t blog because of confidential stuff. But here I am today. 

This morning, Micah and I tidied up our room. Then we went downstairs with a pad of paper and some sketching tools, and drew some kind of expensive race car. Two of my dear friends came, and we spent the next two and a half hours catching up. 

After that, Micah and I went to the big boy group home. At one intersection on the way, a horde of child beggars surrounded our car, sticking their hands through the windows and asking for money. Now there are two reasons you can’t hand out money during a time like that: it encourages children to run into the street during heavy traffic (there are no rules of the road here), and while many children do need food/money, many are targeting me because I am “firinge” (a foreigner). So I decided to have some fun with them. As they were asking me for money, I said (in Amharic), “Don’t ask me for money. I am Habesha (a native Ethiopian).” They stared at me, open-mouthed. “You are HABESHA???” they repeated incredulously. “I am,” I responded in Amharic. They stared at me. I smiled and shooed them away. “Don’t ask her for money, she’s Habesha! A true Habesha!” they chattered to each other as we pulled away. 

When we arrived at the big boy group home, I was pleasantly surprised. It was a nice building, and several nannies that I have known for years came out to greet me. I started calling for *Philemon* (cover name). They brought me too him (one of Micah’s previous best friends and a kid I spent hours with three years ago), and all of a sudden I was being hugged by a giant man.....the young teenager I knew was gone, and in his place was a man, who stood almost a foot taller than me. I hugged him extra. 

The nannies had prepared a beautiful feast....shiro (a chickpea paste) and messir wet (savory lentil stew), cake, oranges, popcorn, and of course, buna (coffee). We gathered round the table, a chattering, laughing group of young men, and prayed over the food. 

It was one of my favorite meals that I’ve ever eaten here. One of the cultural pieces of Ethiopia that I love, is that people share. If someone gets something, they give some away. The love that surrounded that table, the way they treated us, their guests, was overwhelming. The servanthood and helpfulness the boys showed as they hurried to help the nannies and to make sure we always had a full plate ; it blew me away. We ate and laughed, and took a million pictures. When the lunch was gone, we moved to the couches, where we were served a piece of delicious cake. They had Micah cut the cake while they sang and clapped. The boys squished onto a couch (like, eight of them), practically sitting on each other’s shoulders, and watched every single one of my ninja videos. 

I laughed at one point, because there was this beautiful scene of love in the room; the nannies performing the coffee ceremony, people eating handfuls of popcorn and cake, these giant young men laughing and jostling each other on the couch....while “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy (I assume the final movie?!) was playing the the background. Frodo was lying on a stone floor, wrapped up in some kind of spider slime, dying on the ground, while monsters stabbed each other. It was such a contrast to what was happening in the room. I was cracking up. 

Near the end of the party, the boys lined up and gave Micah presents. Everyone had drawn him a picture, or written him a letter. They came, one by one, to hug him and deliver their notes, while everyone watched and clapped. It was so beautiful. They love him so much. 

Then we took more pictures (they had a SELFIE STICK) and hugged a million times. I will never forget these boys. They are the ones who showed my son love, who included him, who tried to communicate with him. They are his Ethiopian family. And I am forever in their debt. 

After we finished, we drove out to see a friend. She cares for a little girl that I love dearly, and I was able to see both of them, which was a gift of itself beyond words. We met them at a playground, and while we were waiting, I flew across the monkey bars. The Ethiopian children stared at me, open-mouthed, and the little boy who appeared to be the leader of the group cried out, “You’re better than me!!!” I showed him again, and then all the children were trying to climb. I did the monkey bars a few more times and then I taught them a few tricks. 

We went shopping for silver orthodox cross necklaces after. Technically we aren’t supposed to be out at night, or shopping, just because it’s not really safe for “tourists”, but this is my seventh time here, and since when do I follow ALL the rules? (Shhhh!) I wanted one cross for each of my girls and a couple as gifts. So we went out to and walked around a few shops. I got the girls their necklaces and I found one that is almost a Star of David shape, and I love it. I put it on when I got it, and haven’t taken it off.