Of markets and orphanages

Good afternoon, this is Matt. I figured with my name on the blog I might as well update it at least once.

First off, last night I had the privelege of bathing, feeding, and putting our little girl down for bed. It was a blessing, even though she merely tolerates bathing.

Enough about yesterday. Today has been a day of shopping and orphanage hopping. First we headed to the market to pick up some traditional Ethiopian clothes and gifts for the kids. We ended up with a cute set of "matching" outfits, an Amharic Bible, a childrens' Amharic picture bible, and plenty of lauded Ethiopian coffee. Our driver, Yoseph, was a very Godly man who has a huge heart for the homeless Children in Addis. He ministers on the streets with a few friends and is looking for ways that God can use them to reach the children of Ethiopia. We were both humbled to see how big God's plan is and hope to keep in touch with those in the Lord's service in Ethiopia.

After lunch we headed out to The Care Center, the "orphanage" that our children stayed at after being referred to us. It was very different than Bethzata, which we saw on Monday. It also good to see Michael and our friends the Gothmans' boy Yonas at their old stomping grounds. There are no children there right now as there have been some changes in orphange laws, so the two boys were able to run the place. We got to see Liliana's old room and the room that Michael shared with Yonas and two other boys. At The Care Center our hearts were blessed by the warm hearts of the Better Futures staff and our stomachs were blessed by the warmth of their coffee and home-made kettle korn. From The Care Center we went to another orphanage, this one tiny.

Well, I need to go eat as food is now on the table. Maybe we will have another update today. Lucky you if we do.