We had another nice breakfast in the hotel dining room - hard-boiled eggs, samosas, french toast, and these little fried-bread-with-spices things. Then we headed over to Hannah's Hope for some more time with our kiddos!
Mamush did BEAUTIFULLY again today - no tears, smiling, super inquisitive and alert. He took a bottle well and then needed some help getting to sleep - his special mother has the right touch. She kept saying an Amharic word that sounded like "Em-BECK-ah" over and over again. I asked her what that meant, and she said kind of like "enough, enough." :) Almaz told us today that Mamush fights sleep, and that when he does cry, he sounds like 10 babies! (Sounds just like Evelyn and Sylvia :)). We heard just a bit of his crying today. Even when crying, he is absolutely precious. His little lower lip sticks out for a couple of seconds before any sound comes out, so you have a bit of time to prepare yourself for the inevitable! What a DOLL!!!
This afternoon,four of us couples went on a sight-seeing taxi ride. We were packed into a tiny, yellow "cab" with Galen and Kristin - Solomon was our driver. Here is where we went and what we saw:
1) Haille Salassie's palace - it's now the home of the President of Ethiopia; we were not allowed to take photos there.
2) Menelek's palace - Haille Salassie's father; now the home of the Prime Minister who, according to Solomon, is the one who really holds the power in Ethiopia.
3) The African Union - we got out of the cab, and had to get permission from armed guards before taking photos. There were all of the flags from every country in Africa there at the guarded entrance.
4) Holy Trinity Cathedral - it was raining fairly heavily at this point. We saw beautiful architecture and stained-glass windows depicting important stories/people from the Old and New Testaments. We saw the tomb of Haille Salassie who is said to be the last of the kings in the Solomonic empire (results of the union between King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba). The tour was given by a Christian Orthodox priest.
5) National Museum - we had a wonderful tour guide who was a college student and volunteered his time as a guide. We learned so much there. We saw the crowns of the past rulers of Ethiopia, the throne of Haille Salassie, a replicate of Lucy's remains and two other "pre-human" skeletons, paintings by Tekele - the most famous Ethiopian artist. We saw portraits of many of Ethiopia's past leaders, and a fertility goddess made of stone that people worshipped before Christianity came - after Christianity came, the people knocked her head off! Our tour guide also told me a bit about the region of the country where Mamush is from - WONDERFUL information!
6) Shopping - After the museum, we went to a little shop and bought some Ethiopian-made things for Mamush to be given to him each year he has been home with us.
7) Solomon's house - Solomon took us to his house in "the village." There were lots of people around and we definitely stood out. We walked across a muddy courtyard to the small, two-room house that he rented for himself, his wife, and his two young boys. His wife and family were there to greet us. His wife performed a traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony for us; the coffee was amazing. They also served us popcorn. We had a wonderful time listening to Solomon share his heart, about his faith and hope in God. He's a very passionate dreamer of a man who can't seem to get ahead. His rent is $60 (U.S.) per month. He works very, very hard to give his wife and children the best education and opportunities possible. How desperately I want to be able to help him buy a car (right now he rents his "cab" from someone else, and hardly gets to keep any of the profits he makes from driving the taxi)...
The little, yellow taxis we rode in
A store we shopped in
Holy Trinity Cathedral
Solomon's wife preparing coffee for us all
Us with Solomon - we made it back to the hotel in one piece! What a WONDERFUL man of God.
1 comment:
I have tears of joy reading these entries. Thank you for sharing your journey. God will continue to bless you because of your obedience. We continue to pray for you both and the whole family.
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