Sunday, 22 February 2009

Sani is becoming a real expert in French toast!  Now she’s fixing it with short sections of baguette and it’s really delicious. With the addition of tea and the porridge (instant oatmeal we brought from the U.S.), we have great breakfasts!  Anbessu took off early for church and the girls got a ride early too, to meet with the choir before church. We had a little time to check e-mail before driving Sani, the boys, and Buzeh with us to the Field Office/ District Center sanctuary.

The church service started off with prayer, as the congregation drifted in, slowly filling the seats. About 30 minutes later, the music started on the rented keyboard; the worship leader and choir took their places. Dan set up his video camera to record the praise service - more than 30 minutes of music! The first of the 2 songs was about how grateful we are to God for being our Father, we’re children of God... The second song was an energetic song of praise, and the joy was evident in all the worshipers!  Our friend Firdowek (“you can call me Fred”) from Fayyaa gave the sermon this time - a message from the Book of Esther.  Markos kindly sat with us and translated.  Again, the faithfulness of God shone through as He was able to use Esther as she stayed available to God’s plans for her.

After church, we took the 3 girls home as Anbessu, Sani, and the boys left for an afternoon together. Kuku fixed pasta and a vegetable sauce along with mixed vegetables with help from Hani and Buzeh.  Dan had an idea; we asked the girls if they’d be willing to show us some of Addis.  After a phone call with Anbessu for translation, they understood and we got in the truck and headed for the area of the airport. We ended up at a building called Edna Mall, that housed some shops and some movie theaters and - we found our family in a crowded video arcade with lots of other families with small children!  We enjoyed an ice cream cone and a walk around the 5-story building, then found our way home by ourselves, even with a stop at a familiar grocery store for some lunch items.

Before dinner, when I caught Kuku working on Hani’s hair in their room, making tiny corn rows, so I had to take a picture of the results.  They are beautiful girls!  I got to help with dinner, we watched more football and enjoyed some coffee with lots of hot milk and sugar.  Dan hooked up his video camera to their TV to play the recording from this morning’s service. Everyone watched and enjoyed again the inspiring music and worship, especially Hani and Kuku because they are in the choir.