2012 Ethiopia Mission Trip - Day 3

This day was more relaxing and unstructured, even within the confines of a prepared schedule.  Our morning was planned to consist of painting at Moriah's main house and continuing the editorial work on the website.  So, we put Jo and Dannette back to work in the office, and Andy and I watched to make sure that the professional painters were happy to do the job of painting the porch on their own.  In fact, I suspect they were grateful to keep us out of their hair.  So, he and I spent much of the morning playing all kinds of different games and activities with the boys including checkers, chinese checkers, frisbee tosses, jumping rope, playing jacks, playing football, assembling jigsaw puzzles, and practicing our English with Q and A's.

Serious strategies being contemplated.  Chinese checkers was quite a hit.

Jo and Dannette completed most of the editorial work on the website this afternoon, though it has not yet been put into the new and improved version online.  Soon...

The boys from Peace House came over to Moriah House again this afternoon for English practice and playtime.  We learned a new game...well, new for here.  You know it!  It is Simon Says.  Even some of the big boys joined in the fun and we switched Simon out a few times as winners were eventually determined.  This gave us a great and fun way to practice some verbs and also to review English words for body parts.  Later in the afternoon, we worked on spelling practice.  Today, it was numbers, days of the week, colors, and simple nouns.  These young boys are eager learners and love the fun of succeeding at their Enlgish efforts.

Simon says, "Hands on hips."

Following a short break in the late afternoon, Dannette took top billing and presented a seminar on project management to the MDEC staff and invited guests.  She used Nehemiah chapter 3 as an important part of her examples, but also easily worked MDEC's current efforts in various facets of the ministry into her talk.  The audience was quite receptive and many took notes.  Like their young charges, the staff is also eager to learn new ideas and ways they can implement them to improve the scope and impact of their ministry.

Dannette provides a seminar on project management.

Andy followed Dannette's presentation with the bare beginning of a continuing leadership presentation that will be completed on Friday evening.  Today, he talked mostly of brainstorming for ideas, prioritizing, and ways that this can even help with conflict resolution within an organization.

Carmen and Trent Post attended the seminar as well.  They are an amazing young couple from Charlotte, NC, who, with their family, moved to Addis Ababa at the end of August 2011 to serve as missionaries for the coming five years.  They are doing amazing things with their ministry to the street population, primarily girls.  I would love to introduce anyone who is interested in following the Post's efforts to their blog.  You, too, will be inspired at their story and their lives dedicated in service to our Lord.  I tell you this so you will know to whom I refer when I write that we enjoyed dining with Trent, Carmen, their family and five of our MDEC colleagues after the evening's seminar.

So, the day may sound reasonably routine, but all days are good when we are serving our Lord and bringing praise to His holy name.

Tomorrow is a major play day with the MDEC kids.  We'll take them to Bora Park, a small amusement park near the airport, and treat them to burgers and pizza for lunch.  Too many kids in the developing world don't have the luxury of pure, unadulterated playtime.  These kids likely did not know this part of life in years past either.  So, I am very happy that one of the things we do here in Ethiopia is provide the time and opportunity for kids to do what God intended for children.  It'll be a time of giggles, shouts, fun and joy.