...70's day at school...

Bennett's 17th birthday!!

We had a great family dinner at the Montage to celebrate Bennett's big 1-7!! His girlfriend Brogan and best bud Jonathan came with us as well as CHirstine's friend Mylo. It was a fun dinner and we had some great coffe rubbed steak!! Happy Birhtday Bennett!! OXO

please madam...glasses

One of the workers at Acacia Village came up to me and said "please madam, glasses" He spoke no english. I took his hand and walked him over to one of the other boys who spoke a bit more english and asked him to help us translate. What I learned is that he is blind in one eye and is near and far sighted in the other. He basically can't see at all. He had this old pair of glasses that did not help him see close or far and asked if I could please help him to see better. WELL- it became my mission to help this kid get glasses. My first call was to our friend in Soddo, Harry, who is an eye dr. He said it would be hard to find bi-focals in Addis but to try the German eye clinic. So I told him to take a bus to our hotel in the morning and Haddeush and I would go with him to the German eye clinic...no luck. They did not make bifocals. Next we went to another eye place -not sure where we were- but they did not make them either and told us basically you can't get bifocals in Ethiopia- CRAZY! I mean they are just glasses- available all over the world and these poor people can't even get glasses! SO we decided to just by 2 pairs of glasses for him- one near sighted and one far sighted. The glasses were $140. I used some of the donated money I had collected! It was so great to see that donated money go to such a great cause! This sweet boy can now see! He never could have saved enough money to buy the glasses himself. I think the ones he had were just glasses given to him that were not even for his prescription!! I praised him for asking for help and told him I know that is not an easy thing to do. Seeing his smile when we ordered the glasses was one of my favorite moments on the trip!! Knowing we all came together to make a differnce in someone's life is such an amazing humble moment I will not soon forget.

lazy days playing with dogs...

Tess holding Cowboy...
Tess's sparkling shoes...
Our shaggy dog JAKE...the world's best dog!!
Cameron found a stick bug...
Kids and dogs...


This is what lazy Saturdays are for...laying around on the grass playing with dogs and friends while the parents wrok hard in the yard!! A glorious day indeed.

...such sweet friendly greetings!!!

Everywhere we went we were greeted with such sweet smiles and waves. We would have loved to stop each time and meet our friends but we had such a long way to travel. It was so amazing how friendly and happy they were to see us. Just makes my heart smile looking at these great pictures!

Happy Mothers Day!!

Had a beautiful walk along the bluff in Dana point and then went to brunch with Jane and the kids. We are missing Paul who is in the Philipines and Christine who is in Paris...otherwise such a great mother's day morning. Sending out love to all you mom's!! OX

back to real life...lacrosse champs

Bennett's varsity lacrosse team won league!! We had a fun team dinner at our house. The boys had a great season. Tess also has her last soccer game this weekend...bring on the summer!!

...the most amazing letter

Ahere's letter...
Jeff giving Ahere the bible he asked Dorothy for.
Dorothy, Bennett and Ahere at the Acacia Village children;s home we were painting...
bringing bibles to all the worker kids at Acacia Village...
Jeff and the Ethiopian Amharic language bibles...
The most amazing thing happened at Acacia Village. One of the young men that we gave clothes to wrote Dorothy a letter the day after he received the clothes and shoes. It should be published. It is such a sincere outpouring of gratitude and the depth that it reached in this young man was incredible. We were all moved to tears. He was the first to ask for and recieve a bible, which lead the other young people there to ask for the same. Here is what his letter said...

"Dear madam, sorry for not calling you with your name and let me say you "so kind and virtuous person",

Yesterday you brought me suits so sweet that they trippered in me tragedious childhood times. You see my parents didn't buy me clothes and I didn't feel those delicious scenes as my kid friends enjoyed it, because I was an orphan child.

What I remember of my childhood is that I was unloved, barefoot with tourtured clothes. After I have seen myself in the suits you bought me, I feel that I have regained my parents, who I did not know in my kid times. I felt as if they were released from their prison (graves) and giving me a surprise with this clothes.

Please let me not miss you too as I missed my parents.

Thank You a million,

Ahere

this letter contained my words translated by my friend- Anaan. I'm also grateful for him too for he helped me talk with you. I interrupted my education from grade 8 because of lack of support and I'm thinking to continue with night classes by working daytime next year.

SUCH POWERFUL, SOULFULL WORDS! "Trageious childhood", I didn't feel those delicious scenes of childhood, unloved, barefoot with TORTURED clothes!! my parents were released from their prison (graves)...it is almost too much to comprehend...what this poor boy has survived...

This sweet young man spilled his heart to dorothy and us in his amazing words. An orphaned child with dead parents that grew up unloved and alone. Our simple act of kindness made him feel like these clothes were a gift from his dead parents releasing them from their grave-prison. Unbelievable how powerful that is...