How In the World Did I Get Here??

Hope House kids teaching Evany a school-yard song.

Addis, Ababa Ethiopia

I never would have imagined that I would end up in Africa, let alone traveling to Ethiopia 2 times in the span of 8 months. Growing up, I always had an itch to travel, but also severely depended on the comforts of home. Fast forward 10 years, when I started attending The Remedy and hanging out with Randi Bignell. Enough said! 

I’ve had the privilege of learning about Moriah Kids bit by bit over the past few years and seeing the cute little faces gracing the front of Moriah postcards and newsletters. However, I never saw myself stepping out in faith to visit a foreign country where I didn’t speak the native language… to actually visit those “little faces” in person. After much prompting from Randi and me responding vaguely for about a year, I felt the Lord leading ME to initiate an Ethiopia trip.

Traditional Dance group performing in the background of the Addis, Ababa airport.

April 2024

In April of 2024, I endured my first 14-hour flight across the Atlantic, final destination: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. One of the first things that I noticed was how colorful and joyful everything was, including getting to see a traditional Ethiopian dance group performing in the airport entrance to Ethiopian music. The second thing I noticed was the TRAFFIC! I’ll sum it up in one word: terrifying.

People & Prayer First

As our trip progressed, it became overwhelmingly obvious that our Ethiopian friends knew how to welcome and love people well. Generosity to mothers and children living on the streets in the city, lots of hugs in greeting, and carving out time to just be together with people are just a few of these instances. What I wrote in my trip notes states it well; “The love in this place is heartwarming. Just the way everyone greets you, usually with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. All I know is that we are 100 percent doing it wrong in the U.S., where we are lucky if the person you are meeting with even makes eye contact with you”. While it is normal for it to take 2 hours to find a snack for the kids at Hope House, it is also normal to spend a whole morning (2-3 hours), faces on the floor, praying for each and every child and to share our testimonies with each other. 2 of our little boys, maybe ages 6-8, sat through a whole 2 hour prayer program with their heads bowed and eyes closed. Our Habesha friends excel in the practice of powerful prayer and genuine relationships. We could learn a lot from them!

Looking Forward

I have learned so much from my Ethiopian friends and family and look forward excitedly to each and every upcoming trip to learn even more! Plus, who doesn’t love lots of hugs and hair tugging from all of those cute kids!