Day 1

Sunday July 1st 5:11am We made it here to Addis Ababba safe last night around 11:30pm. The travel was long but not too bad. I was surprised how time went by pretty quick.  I almost missed my first flight because security wasn't understanding that my flight was only 10 min from departure when I was still waiting on a pat down due to my pace maker.  Thankfully my father in law stepped in and got them to listen.  Needless to say once they finished I grabbed my stuff and ran shoeless to the gate. After that it was smooth sailing. Once off the plane in Addis after about 27 hours of travel, we got our visas and sailed through customs. Thank you Lord! We were treated by Children's Hope Chest staff who felt like family. It was a very reassuring feeling. It was dark when we came out of the airport so it was hard to get a complete understanding of Addis. After loading onto the bus, we traveled to Ethiopia Guest House127. While driving I was constantly reminded of how grateful I am and beyond blessed to have my life in the US.  It was slums after slums. Wild dogs were everywhere and loud cars. Our driver took us to the top of a hill to show us the view of the city. The lights were breathtaking and you could tell how proud theEthiopians were of it.  The guest house is so nice in comparison to the houses we past of the street. Once again I was left feeling humbled. They treated us like royalty when we walked in, even offered to make us some spaghetti. We brought our stuff to our rooms and quickly learned  there was wifi. Everyone jumped on to let family back home know we were here safe. Robb quickly responded to my email and the tears came like a flood. So excited to be apart of this but at the same time my heart aches for home. I quickly wiped my tears and joined some team members for spaghetti and felt better surrounded by people who care! Then it was off to bed. The night has been rather sleepless.  Grouped by time adjustment, wild dogs barking, people yelling in the streets, and early morning calls to prayer, it will take some getting use to. Today Christine and Bruce are off to pick up our last group member Audrey from the airport.  We will have breakfast and a 5-6 hour bus ride to Awasa. Today I hope to get some pictures!