We can’t believe we only have another 48 hours here in this beautiful country. We all feel our time has been well used and that God has done some amazing things in both the people of Ethiopia as well as in our hearts during the 2 weeks we have been here.  So about today…..

This morning we awoke to another fantastic breakfast of over easy eggs, toast with peanut butter and jelly and fresh mango juice. I sure wish we had mangos this good in the States. We then got ourselves ready and headed over to buy some goats for the kids for the final goodbye lunch. They children here rarely get protein so we followed in the tradition of past teams and bought 5 goats for the final lunch for the children

                When we arrived at the open field where all of the goat sales people hang out we stayed in the car while our driver, Tsegaye, and our interpreter, Yosi, went to haggle on the price of the goats. They knew that if we got out of the car the goats would automatically be way out of our budget. So they finally got the price down….we now had our goats.

                As we sat in the van we watched as the salesman tied up the feet of all of our goats. They then carried the goats over by their legs to our car. We then proceeded to hoist each goat…one by one…onto the top of the van where Tsegaye strapped them down to the top. I suppose this is fairly normal but I think it just about made all the girls throw up. It was horrific. The goats were yelling and looking over the side of the railing at us like “please help”.

                Well we all made it to the school, the team and our goats. The goats were then passed off the roof to Colin and the rest of the boys where they were transported to the holding yard for the night. Tomorrow will be the true test of our stomachs. At 7:30 we get to all go and watch all of our American boys kill these 5 goats so they can then be seasoned and cooked for all the little angels in the summer camp.

                So alas the summer camp began. Today we started with a lovely round of Amazing Grace with me singing and Doug doing a fantastic job on the guitar. I then pulled Maddie up for the loudest found of Hallelujah I had ever heard. The kids love these songs. Then we broke into some hang man, Bible story skits, Learning manners and Simon Says. We then fed them lunch which consisted of plain white rice and a half a piece of break. Then the most fun of the day…..pictures. I have to say that today was the best day yet. With the teaching of the manners, most of us were able to demand a “please” before taking every picture. We will see if it sticks through tomorrow.

                The team then sat down to a much deserved lunch of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, tuna sandwiches and bananas. Then we went to the orphanage. I think this was some of the most fun we have had on the trip yet. Their story was amazing and the best part was the children. We got to meet all the older children then they took us to the baby rooms. I think all of our love buckets were filled to the brim. After many hugs and kisses we headed to our favorite restaurant, chocolate, for a nice round of coca-cola and macchiato. We have all become coffee addicts. It is so fantastic here. It also gives the team time to debrief. We then ended our evening with some rest and recuperation at the guest home and a wonderful dinner. I guess this is all for tonight. We will keep you updated on the goat killing and wonderful meal tomorrow. Good night Day 13.

-Jesus Juker “Averee”