Africa Continued...

A Full Day in Addis Abbaba…. 8/15/09

This day may have been the single most incredible day in my life. I’ve been to Hawaii, I’ve slept in the White House, I’ve sang the National Anthem for the nascar race at Bristol, I’ve driven a racecar, I’ve scored the winning goal in a soccer game, and none of those days compare to this one. I woke up this morning to the sound of Muslim men worshiping at their temple that is just two blocks from where I am staying. They were obediently worshiping Allah just as the Qur'an requires them to do. Never before have I been in a place where Muslims openly worship. And what is so incredible to me is that here in Addis Muslims and Christians are neighbors. After Breakfast and a quick debrief meeting we traveled to Brihanus’ wife’s school. God gave her a vision to start a Christian based elementary school in one of the poorest areas of Addis. UCF supports Brihanu and his wife in this ministry. She gave us a tour of the school and told us her incredible testimony. Our team brought clothes for her kids, books for her library, and two microscopes. She panicked with joy. It was awesome! The government does not allow there to be a “Christian” school so this ministry reaches out to the unknown, and the lost. She told us that the majority of boys that come to the school don’t have beds to sleep in and they never have a guaranteed meal. A couple of people within UCF started a ministry to support this school. That ministry raises money to support 105 children to have lunch at school everyday they attend…….From there we drove to the Akacki Christian Church. They are a congregation of 750 people and growing like crazy. They are the only church in Addis who has an HIV/aids relief program, the only church that welcomes HIV positive people. UCF started a ministry with the Akacki church to help provide medicine and care for HIV positive families. We were able to walk through some jacked up “neighborhoods” and visit two of the families which we support. The first house was one mother and her one 12 year old daughter. The husband/Dad died 10 years ago from the HIV virus. The mother and daughter currently attend the Akacki Church and receive counseling and HIV medication. The second family was a mother, 2 daughters, and a baby boy. They too attend the Akacki Church.

We then spent the afternoon at the Mother Teresa Aids Orphanage. It’s the home to hundreds of boys and girls who’s parents died from aids and/or they are HIV positive. These kids can NEVER be adopted because of this. They will never experience a loving mother or father for themselves. After spending a good 20 minutes picking up boys, spinning them in circles, being jumped on and my hand held, I decided to take a break from being a human jungle gym, I went into the infant room. Just as I walked into the room there was a table to the left of the entrance. On top of that table sat six children less than a year and a half old. At first I had to do a double take because they looked like dolls sitting on top of a dresser. These babies were set out on a table for people like us to just come and hold, and love for a while. They had snot running out of their noses, stains on their clothes, cuts on their faces, and diapers filled to the brim. I picked up one little girl and held her for a good 10 minutes. (I am currently crying as I write this) We played with a whinny the poo bear for a while cause that seemed to put the biggest smile on her face. We then spent time over by the window so that she could watch the big kids play football (soccer). After that 10 minutes she began to get heavy in my arms so I placed her back down on that table and walked away from that innocent child, that child that God loves just as much as He loves you and I. When I walked out of that infant room two boys grabbed me by the hand and gave me the grand tour of the orphanage. They showed me where they eat, sleep, learn, and play. After that we strolled over to the soccer field where I sat with the two boys. I then retreated to the van and departed with the rest of the team. We had dinner at Paradise restaurant. It sat on the third floor of a very nice building. It had a balcony that looked out over a residential section of Addis. I say residential I mean 15, 000 people living in 7,000 glorified sheds. The team and I ate a delicious meal while the community below found there one meal of the day in the local city dump. That just didn’t sit well with me……..Once we returned to the SIM guest house I went straight over to the piano to unwind for a bit. After that I picked up the guitar and practiced through some worship songs which somehow turned into Trent and I writing a song about Trent’s love for Macchiatos. My face hurts from laughing so hard. After the laughter died down Chris, Lee, Mike and I went for a little stroll through the city streets of Addis at 10pm. Our 2 plus mile walk ended at the Hilton hotel which randomly enough was hosting the Miss Ethiopia beauty pageant finals…..very random….but very cool. We then jumped in a cab and went back to the SIM guest house….Thank you God for your love, mercy, and grace. I am yours.