The ENTOURAGE
One thing I still enjoy thinking about is the entourage we get from our Celebrity Status. It's increased by a factor of 10 when you go back country. It's great. Just as we entered the countryside, a host of young boys and girls came to greet us, all smiling. They hiked up the hill with us to where we would camp. It was fun talking to them and asking them questions in English they didn't understand ("That's a super nice dress! Where'd ya get it?" They laughed. I laughed as well when it was my turn to not understand anything.) and vice versa, on the way up. We all had fun. Then once we got to the top, another group of boys from a nearby village was eagerly awaiting our arrival. They wanted to help us do anything. But they especially enjoyed watching us talk and then set up a tent that we pulled out of our bags. They'd never seen tents before, so we let them help us set up shop. They we absolutely thrilled. I could just imagine one of the boys later that night in his room writing in his diary:
"Dear Diary, Today was the most amazing day ever! Some white people came up that big hill and just stopped and talked! LOL! We all watched, as usual! OMG!--it got better. The tall one pulled out a house from his bag! Not kidding! And we helped build it. BTW, we're going back tomorrow morning to see what they're up to. Maybe they'll put their houses back in their bags."
Sure enough, they came back at 7AM. It was nice to see them. I shared my breakfast with them—bananas, oranges, nuts. They were so appreciative; good times. And as soon as we packed up they ran back down the hill to their village. (That's one of the things that so amazing about living here in the developing world—the gratitude you receive from the most seemingly insignificant things. You can read about it all you want, but meeting these boys and seeing their faces and emotions is beautiful.)
As we were hiking back to the car we passed another village. More of the same. I took a picture of the boys trailing Brian, the guy who organized the trip (and who speaks Amharic).
We made it back no problem. Our kids really enjoyed the trip, as did I. I got to know them all a lot better, which is what I wanted to do. Pretty soon I'll get to the point where—I hope—I can talk to some of them individually about their faith, especially those who show few signs of a strong belief. But it's all on God's watch.
Blessings.
To see the pictures follow this link:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=67939&id=526567637&l=05f0b
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