Day 4: Futbol Queen and Dinner by Candlelight

June 4, 2009

Groom helped Blair and I get to work today. He is a friend of Cherokee that just graduated from college. He was sponsored by Cherokee in high school and now helps out Cherokee if they need him, as he is looking for a job. I met him yesterday because he helped Brittany and Mark get around the city. We took Blair to Asco first and then headed to Kechene. This caused me to be very late, but it was okay because I still wasn’t teaching today. They had not had time to make my schedule yet so I just sat in on classes again and played with the kids during free time. I played futbol again, but this time my team won like 5 times! Again at lunch we had rice with potatoes, carrots, and onions, but I think they doubled my portion from yesterday. I struggled big time finishing it. After I cleaned my plate, I do not think I could physically eat anything else without throwing up. During free time a little boy from the Grade 1 class (though he is a lot smaller than the other kids in that class) was looking at a world atlas book with me and was reading all the names of the countries and continents in the book. He then went and got a Winnie-the-Pooh book off the table and read it to me. His English was incredible! One of the teachers told me that he was one of the best students in the class and one of the smartest (he is also one of the most adorable). At the end of the day I was shown my schedule or “program” as they call it, and tomorrow I am teaching KG1 math and KG2 and Grade 1 ethics (Bible).

For dinner tonight we had pasta and garlic bread by candle light, for the power had gone out again (the government turns it off about every other day). It was nice though because Briana got to eat with us for the first time, so we were all together. A new girl, Allison, is flying in tonight but her flight was delayed and now she won’t be getting in until 2 am, meaning it will be around 3:30am before she gets to the house.

Day 3: Conquering the Mini-Buses

June 3, 2009

“Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?”
1 Corinthians 3:16

“...and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God”
1 Corinthians 3:23

Today was an awesome, incredibly draining day. First off, the call to prayer at 5:45 was louder then it was the morning before and kept me up for forever. Then , Briana went with me and Blair to work. We walked to where I would pick up my first mini-bus (oh by the way, I’ll be traveling throughout the city by myself) where she told me I had to listen to hear where the buses were going (from the guy leaning out the window yelling) and to get on the one going to Piazza. I swear though, these people talk so fast that I can’t understand a word they say. After we got on that mini-bus, I had to pay attention to where we were going so I would know where to get off. Once we got off, we had to walk down and around and across a few more streets (all of which I am supposed to remember!) to catch another mini-bus (more intangible yelling) to another stop I’m supposed to remember, and then walk down a few more roads to the school.

Once we finally made it to the school, we talked to Nicodemus, the man who started the school. I filled out a paper to become an “official volunteer” and Briana and Blair left for Asco. I was outside then and a ton of the children mobbed me, shouting my name and wanting to give me hugs and kisses. We ended up playing games outside (it was recess or break or something) and we played something like ring-a-round-the-rosy, and another game sort of like follow- the -leader or a conga line. The children kept singing me songs too. Some of the kids actually started getting into shoving fights over who would hold my hand or sit next to me. Finally, the kids went into their classrooms and a teacher told me I would be sitting in on Azarat’s KG2 class, so the kids I was with dragged me back there and I sat in as Azarat taught science, mostly in Amharic.

After that, the lunch was brought to the class room and I got to help serve it. I also ate the food with them. It was a huge portion of rice with potatoes, carrots, and onions, and it was really good~ but it was just so much food I had trouble eating it all. After that it was free time again and I ended up playing futbol with the boys, which was pretty fun. They all seemed to think I was a pretty good player! Then I went to the first grade room and sat in on their art exam and English exam.

Hyptomu, a friend of Briana’s and of Cherokee (plus a taxi driver) came and picked me up. He was so sweet and concerned and reminded me of a worried parent because he was lecturing me about how to get home on my own and warning me about talking to strangers. He then showed me a map he had drawn and told me about how I would need to go by mini-buses once I was going to Kechene by myself. He told me that I would need to hail a mini-bus going to Piazza and get off after the big round-about with the statue in the middle - then he told me to get out of his cab and do it….by myself!! He told me he would follow me in his cab but that the best way to learn is to be “practical” and do it yourself. For about 2 seconds, the greatest fear ever seized me and I was terrified, but Hyptomu hailed the mini-bus for me and I got on and everything was fine. Once I got off I got back into Hyptomu’s cab and he told me about all the other roads I would need to walk down and which buildings I should pass to get on another min-bus that leads to Tor Highluch, where Cherokee House is. We then went and picked up Blair from Asco Orphanage and repeated the process, except I went with Blair in the min-buses.

It has been quite the day and though it has been good and I have learned a lot, I am not ready to face the mini-buses on my own yet!

Day 2: First Visit to Kechene School

June 2, 2009

However, as it is written: No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him.

1 Corinthians 2:9

Today has been a good day. We had Demis drive us in the private van again and we went to visit the places where Brittany, Blair, and I will be working . Rachel and Mark came with us because Rachel doesn’t start work until tomorrow and Mark still doesn’t know where his place is yet, because it just moved locations.

We first went and visited Destiny School, which is a private school where Brittany will be teaching. We got to sit down and talk to the man and his wife who started the school, and learn about the kids and sponsorship program there along with the micro business plan they have to help the poverty stricken mothers of their students.

After that we traveled to Kechene School where I will be working. The school was hard to find and is a very poor school, but the people there are so joyful. There are three grades ,K-2, and we went and visited all three classes and introduced ourselves to the kids. The children would welcome us by name and yell and cheer for us. One of the teachers brought us to the two younger classes and the children in those classes were so excited to see us! As soon as we walked into the room we were mauled by children yelling greetings and wanting a hug or to hold our hands or give us kisses, and they were all fighting to get close to us. After we were introduced, the children sang us songs. They sang Jesus Loves Me, other songs in Amharic, and then both classes sang Father Abraham, motions and all. The children there were all so precious and just wanted to be with you. I almost got dragged to the ground multiple times by children who wanted me to come sit next to them in there little desks and give me kisses on the cheek. They didn’t want to let go either and it took me forever to be able to leave the classrooms. They also kept calling my name because it translates into Amharic (because it is a Biblical name I was told) and wanting to show me their school work in their notebooks. I couldn’t understand any of it because it was in Amharic, but I would still nod my head and smile in encouragement. I’m feeling nervous about teaching there, not because of the kids or the teachers, but because I’m not sure what to teach (the guy who was teaching before me was teaching math, English, and environmental science) and I don’t know the language and even though the teachers know some English, it’s very broken and can be hard to understand. On top of that, I think I will be by myself traveling by taxi and then will be alone at the school - and I’m just all sorts of scared.

After Kechene we went out to lunch and had yummy pizza at a fringe (foreigner) restaurant and then headed to Mother Teresa’s orphanage, Asco, were Blair will be working. The facilities there are extremely nice. We were shown around the clinic and where the children stayed. Again, we were attacked when we went into the little kids room. The kids were probably 2 and younger and where yelling for attention and wanted to be picked up and be held. This one little girl came up to me very quetly and she looked so sad, so I reached down to pick her up and as soon as she was in my arms she lay her head down on my shoulder and put her arms around me neck and just lay there. The coolest thing we saw at Asco was a weaving room where a master weaver comes and teaches the boys at the orphanage to weave scarves in order to make money. We were told that the money they make from the scarves goes to paying for the materials, but then each boy has their own bank account and after the expenses are subtracted they get to keep the money they made.

After Asco we came back to Cherokee House, talked with Kate, who got back from her first day working for Bethany Adoption, and then Asni, the house cook, made us a delicious dinner of lasagna and garlic bread and salad. Tomorrow I think I head to Kechene to teach while every one else heads out to their prospective work places.

First Day in Addis

June 1, 2009

“For in Him you have been enriched in every way- in all your speaking and in all your knowledge- because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you. Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gifts as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.”
1 Corinthians 1:5-9

Today has been a good day so far. This morning we slept in until around 8:30 (though we all woke up a lot earlier because of the call for prayer and yelling in the street outside our house) and hung around Cherokee House until Briana (Cherokee program director ) got back with two new people, Brittany and Mark. We girls are staying out in the bunk house, which is a building separate from the main house with one room with 3 bunk beds and a bathroom.

After they arrived, the five of us (minus Briana because she had meetings and things to do) were picked up by Demi, and taken to a party/lunch gathering thing for a new orphanage that is just starting. It is run by an Ethiopian man named Peter,who also helps run the Kechene School where I will be working , and he was kind enough to show us around the building. We ate lunch there and had real Ethiopian food - injera, which is a flat bread that is kind of sour like sourdough bread, some sort of meat stew, salad that had vinegar dressing on it, and rice that had some spicy sauce on it. You put all the ingredients on top of the injera and then use it like a scoop to eat. It was very tasty. After we ate, all the kids started coming up to us. First a bunch of the girls attacked Rachel’s hair and started braiding it, and then all the kids discovered that we had sunglasses on our heads. We took them off and gave them to the kids to wear and they were ecstatic. There was one little girl who shyly came over to me and sat down in my lap and then she wouldn’t let go for the longest time. She wouldn’t say anything, but kept hugging me closer like she was afraid I would put her down. She was so precious and I was ready to take her home with me right then. Alas, the children had to leave and then Peter gave us the tour of the building. We also learned that Peter had worked for Young Life in Ethiopia for the past 10 years and that Young Life is HUGE here, with hundreds of kids showing up for the weekly club meetings and thousands to their bigger meetings.
At this lunch we also met a couple who are adopting an 18 month old boy through Gladney. Wes and his wife (whose name I cannot remember) are from Houston, TX , where he is a singles minister at a church. Rachel and I were talking to the woman and she actually follows Ms. Eileen’s blog, Job’s Daughters, and knew who she was. The lady told me they and gone to visit Kolfe orphanage, which is the older boys orphanage, where Ms. Eileen’s unofficial son, Solomon, lives. She said they did not get the chance to meet him, though they had wanted to, because he was out at the time they had visited. She said that all the other boys though kept saying they wished they were Solomon and could have a family to love and care for them just like Solomon has the Mestases.

After visiting Peter’s orphanage, we went to one of Mother Teresa’s homes for the dying and destitute. Rachel had worked there with the boys with handicaps and disabilities when she was here two years ago, so we went back to visit. The people and children were overjoyed to see Rachel because they remembered her and the boys were so happy to see all of us in general. There were lots of smiling faces and hugs and kisses and lots of noise and laughter about the boys' antics. One boy kept crawling on all of us like a monkey and we were all afraid we would drop him! Another kept running around yelling jokes in Ahmaric that we didn’t understand, but he liked to hold our hands and give kisses and jump up and down.

After we left there we made a quick stop at Moses Orphanage where Rachel had also worked two years before, so that she could see the older girls she had worked with. They were all very shy towards us, but the man that runs the place came and gave us a quick tour. He said there are 8 girls and 12 boys who live there and he and Rachel were telling us how smart all the boys and girls were. Now we’re back at the house, exhausted and waiting for dinner. We don’t have power at the moment because apparently the government turns the power off every other day, so we all might be going to bed early tonight! I don’t think any of us will complain.

I am in AFRICA!!!

May 31, 2009 (Sunday)
Cherokee House, Addis Ababa

I have arrived! So, funny story (or GOD STORY) - after getting to Dulles airport in DC I was walking to my gate after getting something to eat and I hear someone say "Are you Sarah Herbert?" It was a girl named Rachel that I had been facebook messaging back and forth for a few weeks , who is also staying at Cherokee House with me. It turns out that she and Blair (another girl also staying at Cherokee House) were supposed to fly out 3 days earlier, but something had happened and they were stuck in D.C. and were supposed to fly out this coming Monday, but had come to the airport hoping to get on an earlier flight. And they got seats on the same flight that I was on! It truly was a "God thing" because I cannot imagine having to go through visa application, immigration, and customs all by myself. It was total craziness. The line for visas was insane and took like 2 hours to go through. Rachel described it best by saying we were like gumballs in a gumball machine, all trying to go through the same little opening (the doorway), though I don't think gumballs would have been as pushy as the people we were crammed up against. Everything went fine though and one of the Cherokee people, Brianna ( I think that's her name...I'll get back to you on that) was there to meet us (though she actually still wasn't expecting me until the next night... another way Rachel and Blair being on my flight was a God thing!!!).

The most exciting thing so far? Being hit on by a big, older, black man while in line for our visas. Apparently I have very nice left handed hand writing and a bunch of other things I couldn't understand, and he wanted the number of where I was going to be staying in Ethiopia. I'm telling you, 21 years in America and I can't get a man, but 1 hour in the Addis Ababa airport and I have one asking for my number. So everything is good and we're just settling in, taking showers and heading to bed. Right now, we're the only guests in the house, but 2 more are coming tomorrow morning and then I believe we are spending the day visiting places together.

On My Way

Blog Post:
May 30, 2009 (Saturday)
Dullas Int'l Airport- Washington D.C

So I'm on my way! My plane for Ethiopia leaves in about 3 hours, but my adventure actually started yesterday when Sabrina Freeland, my travel agent who is also a friend of my mom's, called. You see, my mom and I were under the impression that I wasn't leaving until Sunday, May 31st , until Mrs. Freeland called around noom on the 29th asking if I was ready for my flight the next day. Mom and I looked at each other and said "Tomorrow?" at which point I flew over to my bag and lo and behold it said May 30th and not May 31st!! How we mixed that up.....I'm not sure. Mind you, Mom had also looked at my ticket multiple times and did not catch the right date either. So after panicking for about 20 minutes, the rest of Friday was spent running around getting the last few things I needed and figuring out how to pack everything into 2 suitcases and a carry-on! The scene from Gilmore Girls where Lorelai and Rory get back from backpacking around Europe and think they have a week before Rory heads off to Yale, but find out she leaves in 2 days kept running through my mind. But it all worked out and I was ready to get on the plane by Saturday afternoon. I believe the whole situation was just another sign from God that he wants me in Ethiopia. If Mrs. Freeland had not called to check on me I would have shown up at the airport on Sunday May 31st and would have missed my flight. My God is truly an amazing God!

1 Week and Counting!

Can you believe it? I leave in exactly one week for Ethiopia!!! I have raised all the money I need, I have bought my plane ticket and gotten all my shots, all my paperwork is in order, and now all I have to do is pack (which is actually a lot harder and stressful then it sounds). As of right now, I'll have a carry on and then I'm checking one bag with my stuff in it and then also checking another bag that will be predominately supplies for the school I will be working at. I know some of you have read the list of supplies I had posted and have been collecting items for me and I very much appreciate it. If I could get those items ASAP that would be great and take some of the stress off me as I try to pack. You can either drop the stuff off at my house or let me know if I need to come pick them up somewhere. Just drop me or my mom and email to let us know.

The plan is to be updating this blog as I am in Ethiopia (there is dial up internet at the house I am staying at), but I have no idea what my schedule will be like when I get there so I will do the best I can. If much doesn't get posted while I'm there, I'll be sure to post everything once I get home.

Well, that's it I guess! My next post will hopefully be from Ethiopia! Please keep my in your prayers as I am about to step WAY outside my comfort zone into the unknown where only God will be able to get me through.

I thank God everytime I remember you...

I am completely overwhelmed by the amount of support I have been given by all my friends and family. Because of your generosity I have met and exceeded my fundrasing goals for my trip. My plane tickets, traveler's insurance, room and board, and immunizations have all been completely payed for with more money left over. Any money I receive on top of these costs will be spent either paying for my transportation costs back and forth from the school I will be working at or to buy supplies for the school itself. From the bottom of my heart, thank you to everyone who helped finance my trip. There is no way that I would have been able to afford to go on my own, but through your generosity and willingness to be a part of where God is leading me, I can go and do God's will where He wants me. I am soooo excited to see what He has in store for me in Ethiopia and what path He will direct me on from there. Please, please, please, continue to pray for me as I leave in 23 days that my eyes would be open to what God would have me do and that I would be ever focused on our loving Savior. I am awed once again in how He has provided for me.

Need some more help from my friends

I just received another email from Cherokee giving me more details about working at Kechene School and I need your help again in two areas.

First, this list was given to me of some of Kechene's basic needs and I would love to bring as much of this stuff as possible with me. So if you and your family, church, homeschool co-op, etc would partner with me again and help me get this stuff that would be amazing.

School needs: The school doesn’t even have electricity and lacks the resources of even the most basic schools in the US. The following list details the current needs of the school and includes suggestions of items to bring from home. Please, please try to bring some of these items, as they will greatly improve the school.

1. Teaching Aides: the walls of the school are pretty bare and don’t offer the students visual aides from which to learn. Thus, if you can, it’s highly suggested that you bring posters with which to decorate the walls and reinforce learning points. The students have responded extremely well to the posters I have made by hand (I’m an awful artist) and would benefit greatly from other visual aides. Posters are cheap, easy to pack, and rare in Addis Ababa. Anything that offers a visual supplement to English-learning would be a huge help (depictions of emotions, physical characteristics, weather, math, school supplies, basically anything you can find at a teacher’s resource store would be great!)

2. Classroom/school supplies: chalkboard erasers, pencils, pens, pencil sharpeners (individual or for the class), erasers, notebooks

3. Medical supplies: hydrogen peroxide/rubbing alcohol, cotton swabs, antibiotic ointment, a scale to track the growth of students, eye drops, ear drops, nose drops, splints, gauze

4. Funds: teacher salaries, rent, school supplies, door guards, food, and other expenses add up quickly. If you can raise money in any way for Kechene, it will directly improve their quality of life and education.

Second, while I am at Kechene School I will be helping teach. Now, my gift is not teaching so I am going to need a lot of help getting ready to do this! I will need to make lesson plans and come up with ways to engage the children. Now, all you homeschool moms and elementary ed teachers out there I know have learned a few tricks of the trade and I would love love love it if you would help me with this. Here is what I was told:

Teaching Suggestions:

1. Be energetic: The students are young and have short attention spans. Act out things whenever possible, be goofy if necessary, and always engage the students. I found that asking the class questions, getting students to help act out the lesson, and using hand motions to reinforce teaching points were all effective ways to maintain the attention of the class and increase the likelihood of the students remembering what was taught. Basically, the kids will learn more and you will have more fun if you are energetic!

2. Incorporate visual aides: Drawings on the chalkboard, posters on the wall, and any photos you can bring will catch the attention of the students. For example, when teaching the kids adjectives such as tall, short, fat, thin, strong, and weak, I brought pictures from my safari to incorporate into the lesson. They absolutely love to look at photos, especially if you are in them, and it makes the lesson more exciting for them (The giraffe is ____. The hippo is ___.)

3. Prepare lesson plans: Though the concepts you will be teaching are simple, you will be much more effective if you have a game plan heading into each class. Have the concept you plan on teaching, examples, a few questions, and ways to engage the class prepared each day.

4. Learn basic Amharic: For basic communication at the school and in Addis, it is to your advantage to learn some basic Amharic. Particularly at Kechene, learning basic math vocabulary is very helpful, as it allows you can understand and help the children more.

Thank you for all your help and support thus far and please continue to pray for me as I step farther and farther outside my comfort zone to follow God's will.

Job Placement

I got an email today from Cherokee Gives Back- Ethiopia Program with a description of where I will most likely be working.

Probable placement: Kechene School:
Kechene School is located in Kechene neighborhood, one of the poorest in Addis Ababa. All of the students attending Kechene are from destitute families and 36 of the 82 students are orphans. Luckily, the orphaned children are living with relatives in the local community. The school consists of grade levels KG-1, KG-2 and a 1st grade class.
Cherokee Volunteers assist in teaching and tutoring students, serving meals – breakfast and lunch are served daily, organizing games during recess, and helping with overall facility improvement – such as installing a water tank and plumbing for a shower, shelves for organizing the storage room and classrooms, installing trashcans, etc. Volunteers have personally raised funds to support these initiatives and also contributed to Kechene’s overall budget.

I am soooo excited!!