Hannah

The Northern Trip

Wed, 27 Oct 2010 01:38:31 -0500

Last week I went up to northern Ethiopia for our 8th grade trip. We went to Axum, Lalibela, Gondar, and Bahir Dar. It was tons of fun, and we got to visit a lot of ancient churches. We were even able to see the church where the Arc of the Covenant is “supposedly kept”. My class went to swim in the Blue Nile the last two days we were in Bahir Dar. It was a blast! We also hiked up the Simian mountains to another old church. We rode mules halfway and then hiked. The hike was a 13 kilometer hike each way!. The only bummer was that more than half the class got sick so we were all throwing up over the side of the mountain. It’s hard to imagine that a trip to historic places could be so enjoyable, but it sure was!

House Of Hope Fundraiser

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 01:53:16 -0500

House Of Hope (Manna Abdii) is a baby orphanage where babies are brought when their mothers die or when someone finds them abandoned. The are kept at the House Of Hope until they are 9 months old. After that the babies either go to an orphanage where they can get adopted or they go to relatives who raise them and take care of them. Here in Ethiopia it is very expensive to buy formula for the babies. House of Hope also has to buy blankets, toys, clothes, cribs, etc. Due to all of these costs, House of Hope is in big need of donations. Right now I am trying to raise money to help them get out of their debt. If you would like to donate money to help that would be great!

Here’s an idea... one of our friends had a birthday and instead of getting presents he asked for money for the clinic. He raised $750. Wow! This might be something you kids would like to do for The House Of Hope (or maybe even you grown-ups). Everyone could make a huge difference! If every person who reads this blog donated $10, that would be awesome! Thank You!

Addis, Hair Braids, and Coffee

Sat, 28 Feb 2009 09:39:59 -0600

I’ve been in Addis Ababa for about a month. I enjoy getting out into the community to practice my Amharic. I made friends with some Ethiopian kids next to where we live. They said they wanted to braid my hair so I thought it would be fun. Mia and I went to their house. When we got there they started roasting coffee beans - I knew I was in for an entire coffee ceremony. They gave me one cup, then another, then another, then another of coffee! I felt sick the rest of the day, but it was so much fun. We sometimes play catch the chicken with the kids. We mostly catch the rooster because if you catch the chickens instead of the rooster, the rooster will attack you. Believe me, we’ve tried it. My friends have also been teaching me some Ethiopian jump rope games.

Life at Langano

Fri, 30 Jan 2009 22:04:15 -0600

Well this is my first blog since being in Ethiopia. I love it here . It is fun. There are monkeys everywhere. We kill our own meals and build our own houses. We (actually, Mr. John, who was visiting us) fixed a four wheeler and I can drive it all around camp. It is such a blast! There is a boy my age, a boy one year older than me, a 7 year old girl and an 8 year old boy. We all swim in the lake and play together all the time. I miss every one back home a lot. I like it here more than America. It would be the best place ever if all my friends were here. There is something to do every minute of the day - shoot pigeons, hunt baboons, climb on the water tanks, have tree climbing races, swim in the lake, go out in to the community, play with the kids at the clinic, help with the babies at House of Hope (the baby orphanage), ride the four wheeler, play on the see saw, shoot the stray dogs with the bb gun, build tree houses, play soccer, play football, go visit the pastor’s kids, explore new warthog paths through the woods, go fishing , play with the Rodgers’ dogs, find baboons to shoot with the cross bow, get honey out of bee hives, kill a chicken for dinner, and play tag in the woods. All in all Ethiopia is great.

Village Kids' Camp

Sat, 9 Aug 2008 14:15:19 -0500

This summer I went to a church camp and I forgot to take pictures until the party night (the last night)! On the party night we had to dress up as something that started with P. AnnaKate and I dressed up as Pippi Longstockings. My counselor was Miss Lindsey. She rocks!