Friday, April 4, 2008

More Memories From Ethiopia



One of the things that I got to do while in Addis was to visit an AIDS orphanage. This was such a hard thing to see. When parents of these children find out that they are HIV+, they are kicked out of the house and left to fend for themselves. This orphanage takes those children in and cares for them. These children are not able to be adopted because of their condition and it was SO sad to see and listen to some of the their stories. We came with gifts for the children and gave them some toys to play with. They were so happy for everything! They all sang songs for us and afterwards, they fed us STRONG coffee and bread. This was an experience that I won't ever forget!
One of the fun tours we went on was to the Hot Springs just outside of the city. It was fun for everyone, except Abinet. He hated the water for the first 1 1/2 hours! Mesele, on the other hand, had no fear of water at all! He would jump in, dunk his head, and try to get away from all adult supervision! It wasn't until the last half hour that Abinet actually started to enjoy himself in the water. YEAH!
There were also LOTS of monkeys around and the boys loved watching them! The would run and scream if a monkey looked at them or started to come towards them. It was so cute to watch!

When we were walking to our taxi, we saw this mommy monkey and her baby. All the kids were so excited and they kept on pointing and laughing. While we were so busy laughing, a money jumped into our car! Mesfin, our driver, had to chase him out! It was pretty funny to watch!
















On our way home from the Hot Springs, our driver pointed out these houses to us. He said that these would more than likely be the type of home our boys lived in. There is nothing around these houses except dirt, and maybe the odd tree. Sometimes you will see a couple houses close together, but they are few and far between. What a change for our boys to go from a house like that to what they live in now!
Well, that's all I have for now. I try to put more on tomorrow!

3 comments:

Victoria said...

Hey guys its been really cool to see new pictures and hear more stories of your time over there. I'm missing the boys so much already!( and you guys too!!) I know you are doing a wonderful job with settling in with them and beginning to bond as a family. Have a great day and I'm sure we'll be talking soon. Luv Ya!

Victoria

Ray and Jill said...

Man, I can only imagine how it felt seeing all of these places your boys knew once as "home". So thankful that they now have a wonderful home and wonderful parents and their future is not uncertain. Hopefully we can all get together soon once the Wiebe household is out of quarantine :) Miss you!

Wilf & Carol said...

Your dad (Roy) filled us in on your adoption of the boys and we are very excited and happy for you. As I am adopted also, this touches a very special place in my heart. You will make wonderful parents and words cannot express the joy you will bring into these boys lives. May God bless you as a family and give you wisdom parents.
With love & prayer,
Uncle Wilf & Aunt Carol