Two Weeks!

Two weeks from right now I'll be on a plane heading to Washington D.C. to catch the flight to Ethiopia! I am so excited! My crates of donations are packed, weighing in at 48 pounds and 45 pounds. Hopefully our scale is fairly accurate so I don't have to leave anything behind at the airport.

I haven't had much time to work on my Amharic lately, so I'll have to step it up these last two weeks. I have worked on it enough to feel like I'm starting to see some patterns and connections. It is an interesting and beautiful language. I would really like to be able to understand the kids even if it is on a very basic level, so I'll keep working!

The first trip of short-term volunteers to AHOPE got back a couple of weeks ago. They spent a week at AHOPE working on the orphanage and spending time with this amazing group of kids that is beating HIV with joy and hope for a new future. They had an amazing trip and were very impressed with the kids and the orphanage. I am so excited to see it all myself!

I've been getting updates on our trip. We're going to visit a girls school a couple hours outside of Addis, and an orphanage outside the city. We'll spend a day working at AHOPE's outreach center. This is a new project that started last fall. It is a place for kids and families to come where the kids can get medical treatment for HIV, and the whole family can receive help and counseling. The idea is to create a successful program where kids can stay with the family members they have left, and still survive this now-treatable disease.

I believe the rest of the time we will be at Layla House. I think I am most excited about this. I have read so many people's stories about this place and the kids, especially people who spent good chunks of time there. I am so looking forward to being there myself!