ethiopia 2011

We have officially raised over $9,000. We have a massive bag of brand new shoes waiting to be stuffed in a suitcase and flown to Ethiopia with us to give to the orphanage. We are in the process of making sure we have all the vaccines we need. We know where we are staying, and, generally, what we will be doing.

Yet I feel no where close to prepared for Ethiopia. We leave in 44 days, and it hasn't really hit me yet that we're really going. We're going to Africa, meeting Ayehu, helping wherever we can, and, most likely, we will be seeing things we weren't prepared for, things that will shock us and sadden us.

So, while it seems most of our plans are set, please continue to pray for preparation... Pray that God's plans will triumph over ours. Pray that we will not overwhelmed, but that we will be able to see both the beauty and the ugliness of Africa with hope and not despair. We are so thankful for all of you and for the support we've felt from so many of our friends and family.

I'll leave you with a quote from Shauna Niequist in Cold Tangerines, about her trip to Africa:

"I had to clear away space in my mind and my heart, spaces previously occupied by easy things-- groceries to buy, albums to download, people to call-- and replace them with the weight of Africa, a heavy, dark thing to carry with me, something under which to labor, something under which to tremble. Because once you see it, you will never be able to un-see it, and once you see it, you will be responsible for it, and for the self it reveals back to you."

Abby