Wed - June 16 (Fun Filled Day in the Sun)

I apologize in advance for not getting much in the way of blogging the last day. As I mentioned before, we didn't get back til late last night and we needed to allow some of the other folks to use the computer to catch up on some stuff back home with their families. I did get a cool account to skype along the way, so as I said, if you want to send us a message on it, our screen name is "khmcgoo"

Today was an "off" day from the drop in center. It was the end of the year celebration for the school kids we do some work with and we brought along the rest of the bunch we've been having fun with. So all in all, we had around 80 kids or so. We ventured out of the city about an hour away to a park. It was very nice weather for the most part, however it did get hotter as the day went on. Our first bit of business was to go to a pavilion and watch the kids perform some drama acts and sing some songs about Jesus. Fortunately for me, I sat by myself away from the group, because I got pretty choked up watching them sing. Something about watching these kids sing in English and Amharic about their love for the Lord was really moving to me. Oh, and another thing...they don't sing like our kids in Sunday School do, where a few sing and the others wonder around. ALL of these kids sing their hearts out. It is something of an honor for them to sing, not a punishment or embarrassment.

Additionally, one of the skits they put on I got nominated to perform with. They blindfolded us and lined up bottles of water (cones) in a line and told us to step over them. The winner would get a prize. So I started.....and got some really good encouragement from the whole pavilion full of kids. When they stopped me, they un-blindfolded me and showed me that there were no water bottles there and I had basically high stepped (sideways) almost into the crowd with no bottles there. Yep, your resident clown, Mr. McGoo.

After the fun, we went down to a lake and they brought us lunch. We all sat on the ground together and ate the lunch (injara, and two different kinds of meat). One of the cooler aspects of eating with the kids is that they actually feed you their own food. It is a sign of love, respect, and friendship to feed someone your food. The similarities to the washing of the feet is the first thing that comes to my mind. It shakes me up inside when you have kids that are homeless and short on food that want to share with you their meal.

After lunch we went and played some games...Frisbee, Badminton, Kick Ball, Football (Soccer), and let some kids color on rocks with chalk. Then we had a David vs Goliath match that pitted the Drop in Center kids against the staff and a couple of us. As the bible tells us, David won convincingly. Big special thanks to the University of Memphis Men's and Women's team for their donations to this incredible experience. Especially to the head coach Richie Grant. He's been a HUGE supporter of this mission since the first day he found out about it. He and I have much to talk about when we get back.

I cannot tell you guys enough how encouraging your comments and support have been. I absolutely LOVE reading them and it means the world to me that you take the time to follow my insignificant thoughts.

I'd like to ask for a couple of things for you to pray for:

1. Pray for the spouses of the members here. JP, Josh, Ben, and Karyn. I know they've been missing their wives and husbands and we had some difficulties with them trying to get in touch with us here at the guesthouse and finally got some stuff worked out (which was the biggest reason I put skype on this laptop). It is very hard being away from your best friend and just because I'm fortunate to have mine here doesn't make it any easier on me seeing them go through withdrawls by not seeing their own. So again, please pray for those four (and their children)

2. Pray for Joe. He's exhausted (even though he won't let on to it) but he's done a fabulous job and been a great leader. That being said, he's wearing a lot of hats and it simply wears him out.

3. Pray for KC. He's been struggling a little bit with what I think is his blood sugar. While I won't get into details for privacy reasons, you can put two and two together. I was extremely worried about him today in the heat and he probably got annoyed by my asking him every 30 mins or so how he was doing. I forced some gatorade down his throat and kept an eye on him every so often.

4. Pray for Kara. Another one that is physically exhausted. A lot of hers is more due to just not being able to sleep and some other medical reasons that she's been dealing with lately. I know JP is worried about her so JP, if you're reading, we're doing our best to try and get her some rest and keep her safe so she can get back to your loving arms.

5. Pray for the staff at this incredible drop in center and halfway house. We're exhausted and we've only been doing this for 3 days now. These guys doing it for 6 days a week and some of them are volunteers. Nega is one of the finest vessels of Christ I've ever seen. Simply remarkable.

6. Pray for Tom. Tom hasn't slept well and is dealing with some leg pain which is very uncomfortable.

7. Pray for Brad and Katie Dunlap. They are trying to adopt a child or two from Ethiopia. I now see why. God has a massive plan for this adoption and family. Heather and I are in complete support of this journey they are taking with God. There have been some tough days and some great days with this process. I ask that you pray for strength to see this to fruition. We love you guys!

8. Finally, in our morning devotion, Liz asked us to pick a child to pray for. I have bonded quite well with a select few of the drop in center kids. These kids where a soccer uniform all day while their normal/street clothes are washed for them while they are there. They are given their street clothes at the end of the day to keep them warm at night. These kids see themselves as a "team" because of their situation and jerseys. I've had a lot of fun with them and I think they see me as their "coach" since I am a footballer. So I told Liz that I wasn't choosing one kid, but all of these. So selfishly, I'm going to ask you all to pray for my group of kids. (Asrat, Yared, Nati, Addissu, Desse, Sentiyo, Tamrot, Tamrot, Telihun, and Nibrete (who calls him self "Champion). These kids are soooo special to my heart right now and it would mean a lot to me if you lifted them up for me.

I realize these are a lot of prayers, but if you would take a second and say a small pray for these things, I would greatly appreciate it.

Since I cannot upload pictures to Blogger right now, I'm going to put just a small few on our facebook page. So if you get a chance, check them out. There are a few that are especially for Katie Dunlap (one of Heather holding a sleeping child).
Time to hit the sack. God Bless.