We met up with Bereket and set off on an adventure into the mountains of Ethiopia. There were many donkeys, cows and villagers roaming the roads. We all expressed our amazement of the driver because the driving conditions were crazy. Some people smiled and waved, others do nothing and frown. We made several stops to take pictures with the little children and villagers. One point, as we were driving, two little boys started to run beside our truck. They followed us for quite awhile and then Dave decided he wanted to join in the fun. Dave ran with the kids for a bit and asked them where they sleep, and other questions to find out why they were up in the mountains by themselves. He gave them bracelets and some money. It was a special moment. We visited some churches and museums which were all very fascinating. Stopped for lunch at a local restaurant, quite tasty.
Next we went and visited a local orphanage that left many in tears. "I just want to take all of them home" we handed out bracelets, pencils, candies and hugs. Took lots of photos and all of the children were amazed to see themselves on the screen. It's one thing to see those sad commercials showing the orphan children - but actually being here, seeing it first hand, is almost an out of body experience. It's so sad to hear that almost all of the cute little kids in the orphanage had been found on the streets of Ethiopia. Their mothers who didn't want them had put them out on the street as garbage. It's overwhelming and heart wrenching to hear something like that and then to see these cute little kids. As we handed out little StarBurst candies to all the little kids, we saw each of their little faces light up as if it was Christmas morning. They were so generous too! Even though they had nothing, the little kids were sharing the little candies that they valued so dearly. If they saw a friend who didn't have one, they would spread them out to make sure everyone was happy. Then we moved into the nursery. Here we saw many orphan babies, some were crying, some were smiling. We walked around to each room and met each one. Every baby was so helpless, it broke our hearts knowing they had once been left out on the street. We went into this one room where we saw some toddlers who were walking, crawling, screaming and throwing stuffed animals around the room. One girl in specific, kept throwing a stuffed animal at us and every time we gave it back she would wind up and throw it as hard as she could at us. Not in anger but in fun. Now all the kids were getting anxious and making noise so it was time for us to leave. We said our goodbyes, took one last picture and departed.
Our next stop was a local coffee shop, where we enjoyed several hot beverages as well as some milkshakes. After that we went back to our hotel, had dinner a little bit later and our first day was over.
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