When we were in Bozeman and we left there were high hopes we would be Dubai by the end of the day but that got sidetracked due to not having visas. Which then we were stuck in Seattle for 3 days which may have been a blessing in disguise because we got to bond with our team and make a family that we would be with for 2 weeks. When we finally got our visas we were off to Dubai and were ready for the big adventure ahead. After the 14 hour plane flight to Dubai we had a 16 hour layover till our flight to Addis Ababa. 

When we arrived in Addis my first thought was this is gonna be a long week but as we met the people and how kind and happy they are it changed my opinion on that. When our driver Isshy arrived to pick us up it was really cool to see the relationship Brandon Jordon Chuck and Logan had with Isshy, it was very strong and you could tell that they were very happy to see each other. After little talk and catching up we were off to the orphanage/ Bring Love In.

When we got there we were greeted right at the door with roses and songs which was really special because they didn’t know a lot of us but treated us as if we were family. The second day we started to make friends and interact with the kids even from on the start they were all loving and loved to hug. And here are some things about the kids that I made close relationships with:

◦ Adebe, a 11 year old girl that was super sweet and kind to everyone she interacted with. Every morning I walked into vbs which is the English class that we taught me and her would just look at each other and smile which was really special to me even though we both speak different languages. It was super fun to play games and color and was fun to get to know her a little bit. I am so glad I was able to meet her.

◦ Bereket, an 8 year old boy that is very energetic and nice boy that was super fun to interact with and play games with. It was funny he would always argue with the other boys to sit in my lap. And it was really special how he would normally be the first one to meet me at the door and said TAIDEN.

◦ Satota, a 13 year old girl who is very sweet and nice and is the “Boss” over the kids. It was super fun to talk to satota snd get to know her she was also really helpful because she could help translate sometimes. It was also funny  because if someone hit satota then she would hit them back a lot harder.

◦ Eyob, a 7 year old boy who is nice and super funny. While I was at bring love in it was super fun to play games and interact with him. When I got to bring love in Eyob was the first one to want to sit on my lap while in vps and overall was super fun to interact with.

I also was able to talk to and get to know the older boys which was really cool because even though there is a little bit of a language barrier we were still able to play sports and have a good relationship with one on other.

I am so glad I was able to come on this trip and be able to make friends even though we were not here for a very long time. And I hope to be able to come again in the future. Thank you everyone back home for your generosity to make this trip possible.

– Taiden