There are times in life where no matter how hard you try to put into words the experience you went through...you are left saying, "If only you could have been there." That is exactly how I feel as I sit here tonight. This weekend was precious in so many ways. There is so much to share...but I will do my best to sum it up without writing a book :)
Our night without the kids was great (and the kids would tell you the same thing...they were spoiled with trips to the beach and a park with a zip line!)...and just the right amount of time. It was nice to be able to think and talk in complete sentences without interruption :)
The ladies conference with Elyse Fitzpatrick was truly food for the soul. Her passion for the Word of God and her knowledge of the Scriptures was an encouragement and testimony to me. Her godly example was one I desire to follow and the 3 sessions she spoke at have given me much meat to digest for many weeks to come. And I am so excited to tell you that you can listen to them,too, online...just click here. I promise it will bless your socks off! :) I am going to try to take time this week, on my blog, to share some of the things I learned...I don't want to forget any of it!
Our time with Belay and Bea, the Ethiopian family we went to have dinner with on Saturday, was more precious and beautiful than my pea brain words can describe. Their love for Christ exuded in every way possible: from their warm hugs of greeting, to their servant's hearts of hospitality (not only to us but to 3 other families that came while we were there as well as a foster mom and the teen in her care who had just come from Eritrea (which is right above Ethiopia) 2 months ago as a refugee), to the proclamation of God's Word and His saving power as they shared their testimonies with all of us. At one point, they even brought a Bible to Bryan and whispered in his ear,"There are unbelievers in this room right now...would you please preach!" There was no fear of offending, no fear of pushing too hard...only a passion for the name of Christ to be proclaimed and for lives to be saved. They were not concerned with what everyone wanted, but what everyone needed...Christ. I was humbled and encouraged to the point of literal tears. Our time seemed too short although we were there over 3 hours. Even our kids didn't want to leave and we all can't wait to visit again and for them to meet Samuel and Caleb!I can't really explain it, but it felt like home..and I guess it really was...for we were with brothers and sisters in Christ.
We had a view of the Space Needle from our hotel room (which was on the 39th floor) and Bryan also experienced his first earthquake ( a 4.5) on Friday morning...he was grinning from ear to ear!
Bryan celebrated his 33rd birthday on Saturday. Thanks Aunt Michelle (and Grace and Faith) for the cool Red Sox hat cake you made!
There was so much Ethiopian food to try! The tan, flat, pancake-looking food is called "injera". It is a spongy, texured bread that is the staple of all of their meals. Typically, all the food is placed on a piece of injera and then you tear pieces off of another roll of injera and use that to scoop the food off of your plate. No utensils! The really deep colored red food on the kids plates is called "wat." It is a spicy stew and is known for being Ethiopia's national dish. Bea made wat with lamb and another with chicken. I'll be honest, it is going to take our family a bit of time to get used to the taste of spices we are not used to using...but we will get there! :)
This is Bea...and to me, Bea is truly BEAutiful in every way! This was her seat the whole time we were visiting and she kept making one pot of coffee after another! Right here she is roasting the beans...and we were all waiting for the fire alarm to go off as it did every time the beans started smelling burnt and the smoke started rising :) Once the beans were cooked and ground, Bea placed them into that black clay pot (called a jebena), added water and then boiled the coffee over heat. Those espresso looking cups are how the coffee is served...and traditionally, you are supposed to drink 3 cups of it. YUM!
This will take a little explaining...but I want you to know who everyone is! The couple in the back (to the right of Bryan) go to Belay and Bea's church. He just went to Ethiopia 3 months ago to get his wife and bring her to live here. He also grew up in the same region the boys have come from. To the right of David and Michelle and the left of Paul is Philamon. He is the sweet 17 year old refugee from Etirea. His eyes lit up as he talked to the Ethiopians in their native tongue and it blessed my heart to see his lips moving in unison to the words of the song in Samuel and Caleb's DVD. His foster mom, Molly, is in front of Paul. In the front row is Belay and Bea and a dear friend of theirs from church, Tsegey (sp?). Misgana, Belay and Bea's youngest daughter is standing next to me and the other children are Tsegey's kids and a neighbor friend. What a group and what a rich time of genuine fellowship it was. It was a day we won't forget!
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