While in Addis Ababa, we had lunch at an orphanage for teenagers where the residents learn to grow and cook a lot of their food and then present a five course meal in a most delightful and spotlessly clean way. It was delightful. It helps train them so they can go out and find jobs.
We also toured a very large facility for the elderly, mentally ill and disabled residents. The Church had donated 290 washable blankets and are in the process of also supplying sheets and mattresses. The entire experience was sobering but wonderful. We met some beautiful people as you will see from the pictures below. It was interesting and heart wrenching.
This young women greeted us as we entered the orphanage dining room. She was sweet and cute.
Daniel Gebretsadik, PA Director for Ethiopia(left) and President Habtu, the District President for the Church in Ethiopia(right). President Habtu is 29 years old and does an amazing job. He served a 2 year church mission to Uganda. That is the way many of the leaders in Africa have gained their experience.
Clark Hirschi seated next to President Habtu, Sean Donnelly next to him, then President and Sister Preator, counselor in the Mission Presidency, then Susan.
On Monday evening Daniel invited us to his home for Family Home Evening. We met his family and they were indeed impressive. This is his oldest son Leroy who is wild about soccer.
Sister Gebretsadik fixed a wonderful Ethiopian dinner of injera( like a big sour dough pancake or tortilla only thinner and spongy...see the blue bowl above) and all kinds of spicy sauces served on them. She served them all rolled up. You unroll them on your plate and then tear off pieces to dip in sauces and eat.
Leroy gave the FHE lesson just like he often does to his family. He based it on a verse from the Book of Revelations. I was proud of him.
LtoR...Joshua, Daniel, Leroy, Tigi, Timbreta
The sign to the Elderly and Handicapped home
Lots of friendly residents at the home for the elderly.
Lovely old guy and lots of visitors behind him.
Chewy, an employee of the LDS Charities in Ethiopia, knows all the NGO charitable facilities and was our guide along with the Director of the home. This board showed all the pictures of the residents "before and after." Before coming to this place many of them lived on the streets and were homeless. Others lived in homes where their family could no longer care for them.
A patient who could not walk or care for himself.
A sweet girl who lives at the home.
Some young children with Clark and Sean. These children had come to help at the home for the elderly.
This old guy with Sean was so happy to have visitors, and so was his friend.
The humanitarian couple Elder and Sister Moses with Chewy and the Director of the facility.
This is a sample of the donated blankets.
I wanted you to see the beautiful women in Ethiopia. These were all visitors at the home for the elderly.
A strikingly beautiful girl.
This young boy was selling ground nuts ( smaller than peanuts) that are salted and are very good...I eat a lot of them for breakfast on cereal and by the handful.
Axum airport in North Ethiopia
A little house and farm.
Obelisks (giant stelae) built over the royal tombs of ancient rulers. They are cut from a single piece of stone. The larger the obelisk, the richer and more power the ruler had.
This obelisk was taken from Axum by the Italians during WWII and returned in the 90s. It is huge so was brought back in 3 pieces.
Clark under the obelisk in the tomb. He had foot surgery in SLC prior to this trip and could not bear any weight on his foot for 6 weeks.
"Lazarus come forth" and so she did...
Clark, Sean, Sue and Ray
No, this is not Joseph and Mary but you could have fooled us.
We saw this all over Axum. We felt like we had traveled back in time and were living in Jerusalem.
This is as close as I have been to a leopard and this one is stuffed.
Camels passing in the street...a common site in Axum.
This guy stopped for a "smoke."
The local tailor I asked for a suit. He said, "not today." (I think???)
Another caravan walking through town.
The local RC Willey...lots of metal bed frames and foam mattresses with brightly colored fabric coverings.
People waiting for their grain to be milled.
The mill stones
Plowing the fields in Ethiopia
This girl was herding a cow and asked Susan for a pen. Sue gave her one.
I thought she was a beauty.
These are the ruins of the Queen of Sheba's Palace.
Clark at the palace steps. Clark had surgery on his foot prior to his trip. Notice his new walking device. It was designed by a mechanical engineering student at BYU and eliminates having to use crutches and keeps your hands free.
An "Easy Bake Oven" in 1000 BC
The Queen's tomb
Injera, a spongy tortilla-like sour dough like bread used to scoop up, rice, vegetables, spicy sauces made with red peppers, chickpeas, onions etc. Everyone eats out of the same dish.
Local restaurant that serves western as well as local food...marginally clean.
We all sat in the bamboo chairs and the table was no higher than a coffee table.
Another pretty girl selling handmade crafts near one of the ruins.
Standing on a hill we could see in the distance a long camel caravan. Also you can see that the land in Ethiopia is very desert like, little vegetation, and extremely rocky.
Such a biblical image...
Ethiopian Orthodox Church (on the left) with the white roof church (in the center of the picture) where they claim to house the "Arc of the Covenant."
So Indiana Jones really didn't have it after all.
Our guide wanted us to see the procession at the Church. We arrived just as it started. They go around the church three times. The men follow behind the priest (with the umbrella) and then the women follow behind the men. Then they stopped on the steps in the front of the church and the priest prayed. We were told that those in the yellow are monks and nuns.
The inside of the Ethiopian Church looked very different from traditional Catholic Churches.
Tuktuk, a motorized rickshaw from India, is the main mode of transportation in Axum. They serve as taxis and hold a driver and two passengers.
Inside the tuktuk
We waited for the tuktuk in a down pour of rain and 4 of us had to cram into this tuktuk and travel back to our hotel. The funny thing was it ran out of gas and we stopped in the middle of a big mud puddle. The driver rolled up his pants, took off his shoes and grabbed a bottle of gas from under the seat, filled the tank and off we went. No big deal except we were drenched in the back as there was no door on the right side.
The women of Ethiopia really are beautiful. We noticed that everywhere we went.
This woman was behind the desk at the Sabean Hotel where we stayed.
Ethiopian coffee at the airport in Axum. These little "coffee shops" are all over Ethiopia. Coffee is their biggest export. They serve it and it is very dark and quite thick.
Hoptusolassie (Ex-Minister of Travel), Daniel and Tiji, Minister Tekleariam and his wife and President Haptu were all with us for dinner at the Hilton in Addis Ababa the evening before we left to come home.
President Haptu, Sean, the Minister and his little daughter looking at a book on Utah. Following dinner the Minister invited us to his home as Sean had commented on the spice used to make the sauce for the injera, and they wanted to give him some to take home.
His little girl was loving the pictures of the dogs in our family.
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