It rained all night last night and it was still raining when we awoke this morning. As our students arrived for breakfast (all receive free breakfast and lunch in the school cafeteria) we saw that most of them had no rain gear. All the students commute to school on foot. For some, this walk can be up to 45 minutes long. Today it was in the rain. When we went to see the students after their breakfast they were still wet and their hands were terribly cold. Some of the team members began trying to warm hands, but the need was so great, that even with hands in hands, under arms, under legs, on foreheads, inside fleeces, two team members were only able to warm about 30 students hands. There were another 140 hands nearby and in need of warming. We were all reminded of the extent of the need in this country.

This morning the lower class students enthusiastically embraced the puppet making craft activity led by Todd with assistance from Lil, Emily, Grant, Jessica, Steve, Sara, Joyce, and Alwin. The third and fourth grade pep rally was led by the dynamic duo of Jessica and Todd, along with their puppet side-kick, Haile. The theme was, “Jesus loves us no matter who we are.” The high point was when Haile said, “Jessica you are from California and you have lots of stuff, and I am from Dessie and don’t have much.” An audible sigh came across the audience when Jessica responded to Haile that, whether you were young or old, big or small, lived in Dessie or California, “God loves everyone the same.”

Our team has been blessed with so many different personalities and gifts. Discouragement of one team member always seems met by someone with the gift of encouragement. And then there is the blessing of goffiness. Scott and Jessica provide evening entertainment on a regular basis. This afternoon, Jessica provided entertainment for the entire school when she laid down with a calf on the grass. Joyce dubbed it, Jessie and Bessie in Dessie.

In the early afternoon we took a small walk to visit where some of our student’s live. Once again we were taken back at the poverty. Their homes are wood structures covered in mud with dirt floors and corrugated roofs. Yet we found great joy by the host of neighborhood kids who accompanied us on our walk.

Later we took a trip to downtown Dessie and visited the Ebeneezer Café. The café is a micro-business endeavor undertaken by four graduates of Hope School which is being underwritten by Hope Enterprises. It has been open for two weeks and we can all attest to their awesome avocado, mango, apricot smoothies, as well as their lattes.

The team is healthy and excited to be working with the students at Hope School. We are all making new friends, having meaningful conversations, showing our love for these kids and loving the community of our team.