The other day I was driving with some gals through Mercato, the largest open air market in Africa, and this guy literally ran in front of our car!!! We were so impressed by the number of mattresses he was carrying and the speed at which he was moving. I think I could have carried only 2 at about half the pace!!! 

When we first moved to Langano, Loli was terrified of Bryan. For months she would run away crying if she saw him. Oh how a year changes things! Now she loves him and every time she spots a stray dog , she shouts "Bryan, na! Woosha alle!" Bryan come! There is a dog! Per her request Bryan grabs his pellet gun and shoots the dog loitering around the outdoor kitchen. When he hits the target the dog runs away, and Loli laughs as a goofy grin spreads across Bryan's face..two peas in a pod! 

*Note: Bryan uses a pellet gun as to not harm the animals. He only shots the stray dogs and baboons that bother the kitchen staff and campers. Many people in the community have contracted rabies after being bitten by the stray dogs. With the dynamic duo of Loli & Bryan protecting the compound, all are safe to work and play! 

#4 - Learning Cultural chants! During the last week of camp we had a group of kids from Wolaita, an area in the Southern part of Ethiopia. Multiple times a day we would all gather arm in arm and sing! "Ahshumb"!!!

#3 - I LOVE this man! I'm so blessed to get to see my husband throughout the work day and serve along side him.

Earlier this month we had a number of larger items in Addis that needed to be brought down to Langano. They included a couple of sofas, a dining room table and chairs and even some fence posts. Things that we could not fit all in our truck for one trip. So I decided to use the Isuzu truck that SIM owns to bring it all down in one trip. It is about the size of a flatbed tow truck. I was able to load everything and decided to head out to Langano in the morning. Those of you who have been to Langano can confirm that the drive down here is not exactly a peaceful relaxing experience. But what’s the big deal, I have driven that road many, many times over year and a half, right? The difference this time was that the truck’s windshield wipers were not working. As in, they just made things worse. Now, that is a problem seeing that most of the drive was through a complete down pour! Every small town I went through, I tried to find new wipers without any luck. Finally, four hours into the drive, I found some, but those first four hours where the most intense driving of my life. I am so grateful for the protection and safety along the way. Thanks for the prayers, they are literally keeping me alive :) 

#2 - Morning dew on a flower pedal

A couple weeks ago I received the book One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp. I’m sure many of you women have probably read it or have it on your “To Read” list. Can I just say for a ‘non-reader,’ this book has been super fun to read. It is like Voskamp put all of her thoughts straight down on paper without being pressured into things like complete sentences :) How brilliant! I’m sure she did it all on purpose in some genius type of poetic prose. Her book dares the reader to live fully by celebrate grace and the power in gratitude by naming the blessings/gifts they receive.

Instead of just listing the blessings, I’m going to attempt to capture them in photos or videos. So here goes nothing :)

#1.  Fuzzy Foals (baby donkeys) :)