Trip#1 Day 4 Part 1

  Another early morning.  Our alarm went off at 4:00 a.m., although I'm not sure one was needed because at this time every morning the dogs bark, roosters crow, and the chanting begins (both orthodox and muslim).  Actually, the dogs bark the majority of the night.
   Our driver picked us up at 4:30a.m. to make our 6:00a.m. flight to Mekele...Home of our babes!!!
  On the 50 minute flight up to Mekele, Dave sat next to Charlie, who turns out to be a friend and supporter of Gabe's(our orphanage director).  He is a single man in his late 50's/early 60's who has a non-profit through which he built the cow barn for Hope Community Serveices (Gabe's orphanage).

Charlie turned out to be our friend and companion while we were in Mekele.  Love how he is spending his retirement serving and giving to those most in need.  Thanks Charlie for the example!!
   Mekele is like Addis in that it is high, but different in that it feels more like a town/village rather than a city.  It also sits right on the southern edge of the Sahara desert so it is much more brown and dusty/sandy than Addis.

    Gabe met us at the airport and took us all to breakfast.  He is the same fun-loving, jokster of a guy that I remember him to be.  He also remains a man on a mission to serve God every second of every day!
   After breakfast Gabe took us to the Ethiopian Bible Society that I think he started or helps operate.  It is there that scripture translation is occurring and almost complete.  This will provide God's word in Tigrinya (our kid's first language) for the first time in thousands of years.  There have been parts, but not the whole.  They have also added a library.  This is a place where anyone can come to read and check out books.  Books are VERY rare!  Gabe is very purposeful and intentional in everything he does!

     Our next stop was our hotel where we met another group of people who are friends/visitors of Gabes.

  This group, Kathleen from CA, Sammy from Addis and 3 lovely young American women who are teaching at a school in Addis, would be joining us on our next stop:  The School for the Blind.  Although Gabe didn't start and doesn't run this school, he is responsible for making it a MUCH better place than it was when he first visited.He shared how HORRIBLE the conditions were when he first checked it out and even now there is much room for improvement.  Kathleen has a huge heart for this place and would love to take over operation of this school, but has run into red tape with the government.  She does hope to open a house for the boys who age out of the school and are left to the street (A girl's house has already been established).  The Blind school really touched us.  Most of these kids are blind due to a preventable eye disease that went untreated...how sad!!  They are all so kind and good mannered and are so grateful to meet you!  They have very few visitors.  We spent the morning and afternoon just being with them.  God I pray for your protection and provision for these very vulnerable sweet souls.
  Dave's entry about the Blind School:
We also visited a blind school compound for orphans. The conditions were better than a few years ago but a far cry worse than America. I was amazed at how well these kids got around without stumbling or falling. For most of the children there, the blindness was cause by a preventable process such as infection. They all helped each other walking arm in arm in pairs of two or three. Kids with nothing other than dilapidated living conditions could see more than many of us with vision because the eyes of their heart are open.
   By the end of our time at the Blind School, Charlie was barely hanging on.  He is on the tail end of a around the world (literally) trip and he is being sacked with the hit of plane travel along with picking something up that is wearing him down.  So we took Charlie back to the hotel to rest.  But for us...NOW IS THE TIME TO GO TO THE ORPHANAGE AND MEET OUR KIDS!!!!!