I don't think I have shared much of our little mans story and I feel the need to as it shows the amazing grace of our Lord, and the incredible resiliancy of a child. Below is the picture of Eyasu coming into care- he was about 23 months old. He weighed 16 lbs. 16. 16 pounds is the average weight of a 6 month old. Abe was TINY at 5 1/2 months old and weighed 13 lbs. Eyasu was clearly severly malnourished and very sick. I do not write this to sensationalize or criticize the uncle. He is my hero. He realized that he simply couldn't care for this beautiful child any longer. His brother passed away when the brothers wife was pregnant with Eyasu. Then his sister in law died when Eyasu was only 4 months old. He stepped in and took Eyasu and his older siblings, even though he already had 4 children of his own that he was raising alone. He is a farmer, and he was doing the very best that he could with his current situation. He loves him so much that he sought out help. This is the sad, sad reality of Ethiopia. This country loves their children- SO MUCH. They often have no other option, but adoption. How I pray this isn't the case in years to come, but today, with 6 million orphans in Ethiopia alone, it absolutely is necessary. Here is the sweet man that raised Eyasu from infancy until almost 2. He is from Sidamo so the translation went from English, Amharic, Sidamo and back again so getting questions answered took time, we were more than happy to wait for the answers. He simply wanted us to know that Eyasu was loved very much, and he desired that Eyasu be raised in a Christian home and receive a good education. We assured him of both and promised to send pictures. He smiled through his crocodille tears and Moody just held his hand. What a gift. Eyasu didn't appear to recognize him at all which made me sad, but he was happy to give him a kiss when asked. :) We raced from there to the Luke Society Clinic where Moody was going to help out several patients with dental needs. We didn't have time to get Eyasu back to the guest house, so he sat in the car with Yoftahe for a minute while we got Moody settled. This clinic is in a very poor area and services those most in need. Moody met Dr. Wondossen this summer and I was very impressed with the clinic immediately. You could just feel such warmth and love as you walked around the grounds. Getting ready to hand out toothbrushes, tooth paste, bubbles, stickers, toys and candy to the kiddos! Always such a blessing to give in this way. The kids were so grateful. We had some bracelets and candy left over and the women were so excited to be given treats as well. This is how I left my fabulous spouse, he leaned in and said, "pray for me, pray that the Lord would guide my hands as I am about to do my first extraction since dental school. " What a guy. I love his love for people and seeing him get to use his gifts in Ethiopia fills me up!

Next Moody and I got to meet with the Glimmer of Hope staff. Glimmer of Hope is an incredible organization that was started by a couple from Austin. My brother in law helped us get this meeting and as typical Ethiopian hospitality- they met us as they were literally in the process of moving offices. charity:water is a large partner with their work as are many others. We were impressed with their model and ability to get the work done in an efficient manner. Overall it was an encouraging time together. This is the awesome painting we bought at Markush, a cool art gallery/restaurant on Bole Road. Great local artists sell their work there and the food is yummy! About to leave the Bejoe for the last time (this trip anyways). We can't say enough wonderful things about this guest house. With all of our bags packed, we headed to a cultural dinner with several dear friends. It was so much fun and Eyasu loved every minute of it. Next stop,the airport. Our flight didn't take off until 2:35 am so we had some time to kill. He was a big fan of the luggage carts and not so much a fan when we had to say good bye to it. :) As only the Lord could orchestrate, a dear friend was on our flight from Addis to Frankfurt. He had been in Yemen and ended up being a huge help on our layover in Frankfurt. Thanks Mike! Airplanes are fun! It was long but oh so worth it. Click here to see the homecoming video if you haven't already!

Off to Colorado for a week of snow, skiing and family! :)

Merry Christmas.

(Sidenote- Eyasu was a double orphan with his first mama passing away when he was only months old. More on that with our birth family visit, but just referencing the fact that this beautiful woman, cared for my son as his mama before I could get there! We will forever be grateful to her. Eyasu loves to look at her picture and say her name. I love that.)

In his traditional outfit given to him by his very special mother!

After our time at Gladney we headed to our sweet friend Fifi's new home. It is very close to the Gladney care centers and it was such a privilege to see her in her new place. Her kids are growing up so much. Eyasu played really well with his new buddies. It was so surreal being there, in Ethiopia, and watching our new son play with dear friends of ours. The Lord has a way of making the world so small sometimes. :)

This was Eyasu drinking his first Miranda. My kids loved these drinks when we were there picking up Abe and Eyasu's reaction wouldn't have disappointed them one bit. He had a huge grin on the whole time. We returned to the Bejoe and had several guests come to hang out with us. A neice of a fellow Orthodontist in town is there and we took her some things from her family. Courtney is a precious young lady, living in Addis, doing full time ministry. It was a blessing talking to her and hearing about her life in Ethiopia. I wish I had a picture of her.

We ordered take out with the other Bejoe families and called it night! Great day, great day.

All I wanted to do was go to sleep and wake up feeling better. Praise the Lord, I did!