"We Got You Covered!"

WE DID IT!

56 children are all sponsored! They all have a family from afar that are writing to them and praying for them! They are ALL connected with a family! Such a great feeling!

Yesterday, I had a sponsor contact me. She had been reading the blog and each time she saw those pictures of kids left that were not sponsored, her heart just broke and she wanted to call and just sponsor them ALL! I know all of the sponsors, and others reading, feel this pull and desire to take them all! I hear it all the time. However, yesterday, she called to take the last 3. Someone was already interested in sponsoring, but hadn't had a chance to come over yet. She sponsored 2 of the last 3! So amazing what God will do with our hearts and then push us to just DO IT!

Then, last night the last child, Abele, was sponsored! What a momentous moment! The best part about it, was it was 2 boys and their siblings! Children themselves wanted to take on this risk, with their work money, their allowance, whatever they can do to be big brothers and sisters to this little boy so far away! It was really touching and I will never forget this entire experience summed up by these kids reaching out beyond their worlds for someone they don't even know. Thank you, Driscolls!

...and thank you everyone! WE DID IT!

Almost there!

3 KIDS LEFT!

Once there were 56 children in a very poor neighborhood of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia who were vulnerable, very poor, hungry, no money to attend school, yet they found a care point who would look after them and give then what they had. They started coming one by one until there were 56 in all! However, the food ran dry and the teachers weren't getting paid. There was no money left in the budget.

That was Nov. 2010. Today, 53 children are sponsored! Food is being served twice a day and the teachers are getting paid. Education is being offered to all 56 children as well as 72 others from the neighborhood! Children from the Kechene community in Addis Ababa are hearing the Gospel every day and learning about their God given talents and the plan God has for their lives.

All 53 children KNOW they are sponsored. They have been receiving letters, pictures, and hope from families here in the U.S. who contacted me because it broke their hearts and they wanted to DO SOMETHING! Well, they did! 53 children have hope and a future. They are able to eat every day, live in a community where they are loved and taken care of, and know God!

However, there are also 3 children that KNOW they are NOT sponsored. They are waiting for that connection to a family. They are waiting for that hope in having someone who will DO SOMETHING for them.

Abele - Just turned 5 in June. Loves sports, music, singing, writing stories, drawing, and reading, as well learning about farming.

Tsehaynesh- 10 years old. Alayu is 8 years old and his father has died.

Textbooks and smiles!

Textbooks !

The director of Kechene Care Point, Nicodemus

I just love the look on the children's faces in these pictures! It shows that they are having fun, they are learning with their new books, and their director (pictured by the books) couldn't be more proud of where the school is than now. It is a monumental thing to these people to receive textbooks for so many subjects and so many levels of learning.

When I visited this care point, Kechene, I watched the children file into the room quietly and quickly, 56 in all. They all took their seat to listen for their next direction. I noticed a little boy limping and using his crutch to get to his seat. He was holding under his arm, his book. It was his only book and it was curled up under his arm. When he laid it on his desk, it was still rolled up. I noticed it how old and crumpled it was.

Now, can you imagine the excitement in their eyes when they got their new books? The director, Nicodemus, is very pleased and again, couldn't be more proud of his school that he started years ago. Thank you everyone for your support to make these pictures possible!

Care Packages being collected

In November, last year, I had the amazing opportunity to help pass out care packages to all the children sponsored by Karen Wistrom's team. We all had our own care package to give our sponsored child. We got to sit next to them, or put them on our laps, and share what our family had put together for them, specifically. We explained what they were getting, since some of the things were foreign to them, and what they would use it for; toothbrushes, underwear, hairties, stickers, matchbox cars, an other small gifts.

The interpreters tried their best to keep up and to put into Amharic words the best they could. This was an overwhelming task on so many levels. For one, it was amazing that we were actually sitting there with our sponsor child loving them and talking with them. For another, we did this with over 200 children! Some of the more emotional care packages to hand out were from other sponsors who were not able to be there with their child. Their words of love and prayers were overwhelming to read that many times, the tears would just come and not stop.

This year, someone else will read our family's care package letter and give our gift to Bizuayehu. Maybe they will also find it difficult to read as we love her so much, yet are unable to hold her or give her unending hugs.

Karen's team will be going in Nov. again, but this time, they will be delivering over 300 care packages!! What a task that will be! We were busy every day with 200. They will graciously visit Kechene, our care point, and take pictures of our little ones with their care package and with their loving note from a family like ours from afar.

For Sponsors...

If you are a sponsor, please send me your care package before Sept. 15 and I will make sure it gets to a team member going to Kechene. Because there are so many children this year and no one from our care point going with the team to get them there, we are limited to a small care package. Please wrap a t-shirt (size ranging from 6-10) around a family picture, letter and small gifts like a toothbrush, underwear, stickers, hairties, etc. and rubber band it twice like a burrito with your child's name on it and their reference number. I know this is very disappointing not sending more, yet the team also has so many other care packages ( just as small) that have to be delivered. If someone from our care point was going, we would be dedicating one entire suitcase to the care packages and there would be more room.

If you can't send a care package to me, let me know and I will make sure your sponsored child gets a package. We certainly do not want anyone not getiing one when the entire school will be getting the packages. Please contact me if you do not have my address and I will email it to you. gretabcg@hotmail.com

It will be so amazing to see all the children receiving their packages and hearing their letters being read to them. Below are just a few pictures of the experience they will get that the other care points had last year...

This was a little book I published from Snapfish of our family for Bizuayehu. We read it together and Misikir (left) interpreted for me. What a blessing this was to explain our entire family with her through this little book to her!