Today began about 9 a.m. for all of us. Attakielt arrived from Compassion headquarters bringing two of Jean's Compassion children and their mothers to visit for the morning. I tagged along because my Compassion visit with my girl, Beza, would take place in the afternoon. We first retired to the garden behind the guest house where we are staying to get acquainted, take some initial photos and plan the activity ahead...which ended up being a trip to a small amusement park near the airport. The girls and Jean had a wonderful time, and I was able to assist by taking many photos. 
About 1 p.m., we departed for Beza's project in another part of Addis. We were warmly greeted by the project director, and Beza presented me with a bouquet of beautiful multi-colored roses. Her English, to my delight, was excellent. She actually has the least accent of anyone I know here. After enjoying another coffee ceremony and learning much about the project, we drove to Beza's home. Anyone interested in learning more about these visits, or the visits I'll share about briefly tomorrow should contact me upon our return. I'd love to tell you more about our Compassion kids.
Meanwhile, Brad joined Jerry for the trip over to Peace Center. He was invited to give a little homily and chose to do it on forgiveness. Just yesterday, at the end of the morning at Peace Center, there had been a fight between two boys, so this topic was particularly timely. Both boys were again in attendance and before the morning was over there, the instigator had apologized to the other and they had hugged each other.
Brad took a few staff members and the oldest of the Moria'h boys to lunch at one of our favorite Ferengi (white people!) restaurants. They closed the meal with a real treat...ICE CREAM all around.
About 5:30 or so, Wanna, Jerry, Addis and David (our driver today) took us up to the top of Entoto Mountain which overlooks Addis Ababa. On top, there is a well-known orthodox church and also an historic emporer's palace that is now a museum. We got there after normal visiting hours but the caretaker opened it just for us. No one would guess that it was a palace, for it is nothing like the historic palaces we see in Europe or many other locations around the world. The emporer's wife actually gave the capital city its name as she visited the fountain in what is now Addis Ababa and saw beautifully colored flowers all around. The two words, in Amharic, mean "new flower."
We treated everyone to another Ferengi meal at a restaurant we had not yet tried where our selections ranged between Italian and Mexican. It turns out that our Ethiopian friends seem to like American style food well enough, but it's a little more difficult for us to get used to their common foods.
Tomorrow, Jean and I must depart for Nazaret at 7 a.m. to meet our two remaining Ethiopian Compassion kids, and Brad is going to hold down the fort here in Addis for our team. He's been a trooper these two days, but all of us feel right at home with our wonderful hosts and friends, so I don't think it is a hardship. :)
We treated everyone to another Ferengi meal at a restaurant we had not yet tried where our selections ranged between Italian and Mexican. It turns out that our Ethiopian friends seem to like American style food well enough, but it's a little more difficult for us to get used to their common foods.
Tomorrow, Jean and I must depart for Nazaret at 7 a.m. to meet our two remaining Ethiopian Compassion kids, and Brad is going to hold down the fort here in Addis for our team. He's been a trooper these two days, but all of us feel right at home with our wonderful hosts and friends, so I don't think it is a hardship. :)
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