So the girls woke up today pretty fearless, then came getting ready in the bathrooms. The smell engulfs you as you are greeted with soiled damp concrete and you can’t really tell the difference between the showers, the toilet and the sinks. The water coming out of the faucets is a shade of sand brown that turns your stomach. With horror on their faces Kim and Maddie realized that they had washed their faces in this water the night before in the dark……yes they did. After getting ready you feel dirtier than then you went into the bathroom.
I opted for washing my hair in the spigot in the courtyard and taking a baby wipe bath. God bless baby wipes. Not glamorous but it worked just fine. We then were given tea and sweet bread with jelly which we enjoyed casually on the porch. I can’t say enough about how much I love out team. We all fit together just like a puzzle. Each one of us is uniquely different and beautiful, but together we all are a wonderful powerhouse and a picture of beauty. It is such a joy being together.
They told us we were not allowed to work on the day of rest so we were planning on visiting a sugar cane plantation but instead headed up the mountain where we found some hot springs. As we pulled up, working our way through the most desolated town I had ever seen, we were greeted and flocked by 50 kids. To say the least we stood out. They all kept looking up at us with watery eyes, their hands out saying “one birr, a gift for me”. We were all slightly taken aback since we all have a huge heart for children. We proceeded to hike up mountain accompanied by a local guide and about 10 kids. As we crossed over the bridges made of logs and stones and piles of baboon poop (which I stepped in ;)……in my flip flops), we learned the language and all stayed in awe of what we would see next. About half way up the mountain we realized we each had a child that had “adopted” us for the hike to make sure we were safe.
They were all little angles. We got to see volcano glass, showers that were hot springs flowing out of the mountain, a small village family that lived at the peak of the mountain and views that made us stop and took our breath away. I just can’t even describe how much you could feel the spirit of Jesus as we stood up on the top of that mountain. So we headed back down for lunch after a choral of a welcome song from the kids at the top of the mountain.
The hardest part for me was the end of the hike when the little guy who was my angel had brought me some sugar cane. It meant so much to me until he held out his hand and said 20 birr. At that moment I realized I was being used and it wasn’t about the fun, or the friendship or keeping us safe. Every moment of every day that he lives, he is living to make money for survival. I almost started crying but at the same time felt a bit angry. I had been punked into caring.
So we went to lunch and enjoyed the sugar cane I paid so much for. We had spaghetti and mystery meat sauce. I am just telling myself it is goat 😉 Then back home we went. On the way home I was talking to Yosi and he opened my eyes to the fact that it was no easier for him to see these children than it was for us. I guess it doesn’t matter how much you see it….the sight of poverty breaks everyone’s heart. Living here doesn’t make it any easier. So after returning to the school we took naps and had some quiet time. We then ate dinner which consisted of 2 pieces of Njira which is a sour crape like patty with some kind of sauce resembling very thing chili. We had our team meeting then the girls decided to take showers.
We opted for the spigot shower in the moonlight and the other three not showering were portable walls for both privacy and for the sake of the other women in the compound. Kim almost fell over trying to put her clothes back on. As you can imaging we were all rolling with laughter. Then came Lizzy’s turn. She did fantastic and was multitasking….washing her clothes while she showered. Then Maddie lit up the whole experience. She couldn’t get over how she felt like an elephant in the rain forest. She proceeded to throw her arm over her head like a trunk while soaking the moral support team (me ;). Her giggles were so cute and she said to pass on the word that if you haven’t had to live in Shashameni…… “Put your big boy pants on ;)”.
So after throwing out the bug spray…. Summer is not in the room with us. Goodnight to a fantastic day…..Goodnight Day 3
-“Jesus Juker “ ie Averee 😉