Acacia Tree

Last week I mentioned my first close-up encounter with an acacia tree while in Ethiopia. I commented on how beautiful and stunning the image of a lone tree in a landscape is but yet how fierce and thorny the tree is up close. A close friend and mentor, Norma Smith, provided some additional background on the tree that I thought I would share.

Read your blog and noted the comment about the acacia tree. I actually centered a Sunday School lesson on the acacia tree a few months ago. There are many different varieties throughout the world, however a few of the salient points that would probably interest you are....

• Scholars believe it is quite likely the acacia wood is what the ark of the covenant was made from. This is because of the incredible strength/durability of the wood.
• The acacia tree has a tap root that can extend 200 ft + down into the earth. This is how it can thrive in the driest of desserts (ie., Holy Land, etc.)
• Some scholars think that gopher wood is the same thing as acacia wood. if this is accurate, then Noah's ark was also made of this wood.

Thought you might like to know that, as you suspected that the acacia had some deeper meaning, symbolism...

I have been burned. I have been bruised.

I am back in the U.S. this week, back at work, back doing things with my family. I am grateful for all of these things yet much of me is still left behind in Ethiopia. 

I have such memories of playing soccer with the children at Trees of Glory. Memories of volleyball and soccer with the boys of Kolfe. Watching the youth on our team interacting with their peers half a world away, teaching them four square and being taught Ethiopia games and dances. 

I have been burned. 

Today the skin is peeling on my face from the burn that the bright sunshine of Ethiopia left. A reminder that while my time in Ethiopia was full of highlights, the harsh reality is that there are so many children left in a situation that is not comfortable. 

I have been bruised.

This is a photo of the side of my leg. It is a bruise that received over one week ago while playing soccer on a field of rocks. It is a reminder of the pain and burden that each of these orphans bears each day. 

I was able to return to my family and my home knowing that I have family that loves, supports and cares for me. The boys at Kolfe remained there, with many of them asking for a 'mom', even if just a virtual one unable to give a hug or wipe away their tears. 

On Sunday I attended church in Addis Ababa and part of the message related to the overwhelming burden that is placed on us, and the importance of not giving into this burden. Despite many challenges, I am not ready to let this burden overcome me and will persist in being a voice for the orphan.

Hello from Addis Ababa! (guest blog)

This is Jane Campbell and Katy Gorden reporting on behalf of the team.

The best thing about being here is that the weather is AWESOME; the sun is shining, there is no wind, it’s 70 degrees… oh, and no snow! We hear it’s blizzarding in Fargo… that’s unfortunate. But really, if the best thing about being here were the weather, we probably wouldn’t have come.

On Tuesday of this week, the team had the privilege of meeting the boys at the Kolfe Orphanage for the first time. After touring the compound, the boys showed us how bad we are at soccer (excuse me, football). Everyone was sore the next day, especially David, due to a face plant from diving after the ball. No worries, we got it on camera. (Insert evil laugh here.)

The next day, we went to Fregenet Kidan Ehitsanat School in Addis Ababa, the same location as a library named Ethiopia Reads. Much to our dismay, the book Twilight was on the shelves. Vampires aren’t just taking over the U.S., they’re taking over the world. Eek! We didn’t see Harry Potter represented; everyone was deeply saddened. Anyway, the classes that we visited sang some songs for us in English and Amharic, the national language of Ethiopia. One class sang about how much they loved school and they thanked their moms for being able to go to school. We were reminded that when we may not want to go to school, some kids are extremely grateful for the opportunity to go. While there, we met a little boy named Nati, who was probably most excited by us being there. Everywhere we went around campus, he followed and made sure to do some sort of acrobatic trick to impress us, and it worked!

That afternoon, our team split into two groups. One group went to go shopping for the material needs of the Kolfe boys, while the other group, our group, went back to Kolfe for more time with the boys. While our group was at Kolfe, we learned some cultural dances from some of the boys, which Julie Boe loved. Katy and I also got an added tour from our new best friend, Filiman. The group that went shopping purchased multiple t-shirts, undershirts and underwear (among other things) for the boys.

Thursday morning, we took a long trek to the Trees of Glory just outside Addis Ababa. Here, we got a tour of the beautiful 11,000 square meter compound. After lunch and a coffee ceremony, we were given the chance to play some games with the kids. There was a volleyball game (which Katy was beast at and I was… not) and a soccer game going while the younger kids were learning fun songs. The hardest part of the day was having to say goodbye to the kids; they were just so grateful for our presence. After having a delicious pizza dinner at Island Breeze, we all went back to the Guest Home for a good, long slumber.

Today, we went to Alert, the leprosy colony/hospital in Addis Ababa. This trip was extremely eye-opening for everyone in the group. We saw people with stubs for hands and eyes sealed shut. In Korah, the city surrounding the hospital, many of the 75,000 people living there make handicrafts, such as floor mats, scarves, tablecloths and clothing, to gain income for their family. So, after seeing the people making their various crafts, everyone on the team bought something beautiful at the gift shop.

That afternoon, we went to the National Museum of Ethiopia and the Lion Zoo. The museum was really interesting, as most exhibits displayed the history of humans. At the Lion Zoo, most people enjoyed being able to see the lions from a safe distance.

All-in-all, the trip so far has been lots of fun, but also very humbling at the same time. We’re both extremely excited to keep going with our trip, but also excited to bring back our many stories to our friends at Olivet and in Fargo. Happy New Year to all and see you in five days!

Day 1 - Kolfe Boys Orphanage

Today we spent the day at Kolfe, getting to know the boys. It was such fun to see the group interact with the boys, playing soccer, american football and many games such as hide and seek and the human tug-of-war.

For those familiar with Kolfe, you understand the brilliance that are the boys of Kolfe, but also may realize the challenges that a group of 150 pre-teen and teenage boys present when living in an orphanage setting.

As the Olivet organization we discussed many of these challenges before agreeing to lock our hands in partnership with these boys. As our relationship has been built with Children's Hopechest and Kolfe, these challenges have proven to be true.

Today, four boys from Kolfe were able to address the leadership at Olivet, Hopechest USA and Hopechest Ethiopia together in one room. We were able to listen to them describe their wants and needs, and expectations of us working together. In turn, we were able to define and re-set expectations. It was a great meeting and one that needed to happen. Hopefully from this point forward our relationships can continue to grow in both trust and love amongst all parties.

While we were meeting the rest of our group was out on the soccer field playing with the boys. The youth on our trip had so much fun interacting with the boys. They played hard and laughed a lot. It is so gratifying being able to watch these peers from two different sides of the globe come together as one in play.

We finished the evening with dinner at Carnivore Addis (isn't that the best name ever for a restaurant!) which was a great experience and our first option to try traditional Ethiopian food. It was also the second meal at which machiatto's were served, and over half the group had fallen in love with this delicious treat.

Dorms at Kolfe

Hopechest leadership Mesiker and Ben Savage

Playing some American "football" with the boys at Kolfe.

The newest boy at Kolfe, he overcomes his handicap (deaf) with amazing sweetness and the help of his brothers at Kolfe.

Travel to Addis Ababa

Our travel plans began with a two-hour delay in Fargo, as we waited for the plane to arrive from Chicago. As luck would have it our connecting flight to Frankfurt was also delayed so it all worked out and there were no missed flights or anxieties.

The rest of the flight went ok, as well as two 6+ hour flights back to back can be I guess. We had a three-hour layover in Germany, and there was little to do there outside of breakfast (it was 2:30am our time back home.)

Some photos from our trip.

Walking through the airport in Chicago.

Leftover cots from the big storm in Frankfurt over Christmas.

Getting some sleep on the flight.

Our arrival to Addis Ababa and long waiting line for our Visa.

On the way to Ethiopia!

I am on the plane writing this message. To be honest, I have had the goal to write this for many weeks, but the time simply got away from me.

I am on a trip to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to spend a week with a group of amazing people from Olivet Lutheran Church. We have a busy agenda planned with the boys at Kolfe at the center of our week.

The boys hold a special place in my heart and I hope that through our visit a strong bond and relationship can be built to finally take the sponsorship program with Hopechest to the level that all parties expect.

I will be blogging our trip so be sure to check back often this week. On the agenda in addition to the boys at Kolfe are Ethiopia Reads, a trip north to the rural part of Ethiopia and another orphanage, and the Alert hospital (you can read more about this hospital and the people that have built a community around it here.)