Day 8 & 9: The last 2 Days...Slumber Party, Korah, and Goodbyes

Our day started with another long drive to Hope Ethiopia. A 2 hour drive, one down a paved road, and the other down a dirt road. A beautiful drive!

We pulled up to kids surrounding the vans. We got out and headed towards an open field...The boys played soccer and we did crafts and painted nails. I tried holding a little boy (2yrs) that was crying, but he latched onto his brother instead. He was so pitiful...clothes ripped, flies around his tearful eyes, and a sad face. Some of the children would laugh and smile, but so many of them wouldn't smile at all. Older kids were taking the crafts the little ones made, and it hurt my heart. I thought about Yosi alot that day...

After playing with the children we went into a gated area to pass out clothes, underwear, shoes, blankets, diapers, and toys. The village lined up outside the gate, coming in one by one. To see their faces light up was the highlight of my day! Towards the end it got very sad...we ran out of clothes and shoes. Mothers were throwing there babies over to our team, guards hitting people to get back (I had to learn this is part of their culture, and they are doing it out of anger). The people ended up breaking through the gate and we had to get our bags and get out of there. We come to help and there is never any way of knowing how many people we can help a day, so it is sad when we run out of things to give. 

That night when we got home, I asked Maste to go to Korah and ask Yosi's mom if he could spend the night with me so I could bathe, clothe, and feed him on our last night there. He agreed, and an hour later in walked my little angel. I cannot explain in words the joy he brings to my life. That day in Korah changed me...and I fell in love.

I immediately picked him up and he just hugged me, but wouldn't smile. He seemed nervous and unsure about where he was. I knew he would be hungry, so I sat him on my lap as he ate a piece of pizza. Then we headed upstairs to take a bath. When I told him what we were doing he started to cry, so of course I said we didn't have to. He was scared...never seeing a shower or bathtub before, I would be too. Instead of a bath I wiped him down with baby wipes, scrapping mud from his feet, and then putting baby lotion all over him. I tried changing his clothes, but he wasn't quite ready yet...so I gave it sometime, and before I knew it, he was taking off his shirt ready to change.

When he finally was comfortable, he was running around the house, playing, and having so much fun. He loves playing with cars and the soccer ball.

It was finally time for bed and he crawled into bed, I read him a story, and we laid there. He rubbed my face and fell fast asleep. He slept good all snuggled up next to me. I will never forget that night. It brings tears to my eyes as I write about it. I miss him so much!

The next morning, Yosi played as I got ready.

Then we ate breakfast and played together until heading to Korah.

Luckily we spent our last day in Korah, so I had more time to spend with him before I left. He got a little jealous when other kids would come up to me. He would kick them, and I tried to explain to him that was not ok, but my Amharic is not that good! I may have spoiled him just a little bit!! :)

We walked around in Korah, then went down the street and watched the boys play soccer. When they finished we headed back to serve lunch, ingera and tibs. Yosi didn't eat much.

I was getting anxious because I knew that it was getting close to leaving. I wanted to visit his house, but they said it wasn't safe, so his Mom came to pick him up and I got to meet her. She is young, around 20. I gave her money, clothes, and some food to take home with her.

It was time to say my goodbyes and there was no part of me that wanted to. With tears in my eyes, I hugged and kissed him one more time and watched him walk away with his Mom.