Home...looking back at the first days of our journey

Late Monday afternoon, I was greeted by the sweetest homecoming party a girl could ever wish for.

Seeing the precious faces of my family and feeling their arms around me did my heart good.

It's good to be home.

But I must say...I can't wait to go back to Ethiopia!

Funny, huh?

This from a girl who once said about missions...I'm just not called to that.

You know what else?

This girl who said yes to adoption and yes to a mission trip but still feared what God may call her to next...well, she's no longer afraid.

Instead she's praying for and eagerly awaiting God's direction.

God has done such a work in me. 

I'm going to tell you all about it, you can be sure of that! 

But I'm still processing it all...trying to find words to do my experience justice.

So for now...I'm going to show you some pictures from the first days of my journey.

Saying goodbye to my little ones on Friday morning. 

Sniff. Sniff.

Saying goodbye to Dallas. Bound for Washington D.C.

From Washington D.C. to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

An empty seat on a crowded airplane...right between Karen and I.
We counted this as a blessing! 

My first Ethiopian meal. No comment.

Up in the air.

My first glimpse of Ethiopia.

Love at first sight.

Sunday morning in Ethiopia.

Loading up the vans outside the airport.

Along the streets of Addis Ababa.

The guest house.

Our bunk.

Poor Karen had to climb on top without a ladder.

The view outside our bedroom window.

Time to start sorting donations...

Making new friends already. 

This is Bira. LOVE HIM!

 

And then we were off to visit our first orphanage. 

They call it Restoration...read this and you'll understand why.

It wasn't long before my lap was full.

And there were no complaints from me...the more the merrier, right?

The children sang and danced for us. It was precious.

This little girl is adorable! Wish you could see her smile!

They loved craft time! We had lots of fun with crayons and stickers.

And they love to have their pictures taken.
What a handsome boy this was!

One wall of the baby/toddler room...

 

The other wall.
Can you imagine caring for all these little ones?
Take a moment right now and pray for the precious women that do.

And just like that...our first day was already behind us. 

Needless to say, we slept well that first night.

Stay tuned. 

I've got more to share tomorrow.