Freedom

At the end of Wednesday it seemed like a good idea to pick a word to describe the day—a way for me to remember the significant impression of the day.

I shared this with one couple I met, Michelle and Chad from Indiana. She picked the word Freedom for Thursday’s adventures.

We saw children loved, cared for and children making a future. We stopped at a drop in center where the children swarmed us!!!

Not being one who enjoys an abundance of physical touch it was overwhelming.

I fell in love with a little girl with large brown eyes. (Half of Ethiopia, by the way).

She didn’t join in the play with the parachute, preferring a spot on the concrete step. So I joined her. She did not reach for my hand so I took hers and held it for a long time. When they were called to the meal time (lunch, I think). I reluctantly let go of her hand, touched her cheek and kissed her good-bye.

As a group we hung around for awhile longer so I wandered over to the lunch room for a peek inside since the children were singing and tapping as they waited for their food. She was sitting at the end of the table and when she looked at me a moment of recognition flickered across her face. Then when it really was time to say good-bye, I waived and she waived back with a big smile.

Then we headed over to the vocational training site of Win Souls for God http://www.wsg-street.org/wsg/

Gizachew Ayka is one of the founding members with an inspiring story of youthful passion to serve God and help the poor and needy of his community, making a profound different in the lives of hundreds just by obeying God.

The final stop of the day was a residential facility for former commercial sex workers.

These beautiful women are living in a large, clean building where they work together with each other raising their children. Yohannes spends his “free” time here providing prayer and counsel to these ladies – he’s a godly man who shares an example of a protecting, kind, honest, non-abusive man.

Hope abounds for these ladies as they re-construct their lives. They prepared coffee for us and showed us their babies.

Like all mamas so proud of their babies. We prayed with them and now continue to pray for them.

Freedom isn’t just another word for nothing else to lose. When you know you are safe, you will have at least one meal a day, you have an opportunity for learning and you can be secure in the love of God for you and yours that’s free.

Addis at night.