COMPASSION

On Thursday of our trip to Ethiopia, we visited Compassion.  Tsehaywota Taddessee, the country director, treated us to smooth, creamy Macchiatos and a roasted barley snack.  I'm not a coffee drinker but the Macchiatos were absolutely delicious!  He gave us an power point overview of their work and then showed us around the office.  One things we observed as we passed through the hallways was the camaraderie of the employees as they gathered together at coffee break stations in the hall to talk and laugh together. David actually ran into someone in their IT department that he had met previously at a Compassion global summit. It is a small world!

After visiting the headquarters, we were driven to the Compassion project, Amist Kilo Mekane Yesus Church Development.  It is operated by the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus, a Lutheran church. Compassion always partners with local churches in assisting children in impoverished areas.   We met the Reverend and the project director who treated us to a coffee ceremony.  Reeds are placed on the floor to show hospitality to one's guest.  The small freshly brewed cups of Ethiopian coffee were served with sweet popcorn.  The boys liked this!

Following our ceremony, we went out to the courtyard to meet the children who had just been dismissed from school.  Seventy plus kids swarmed around us, all wanting to shake our hands.  What joyful and welcoming little children!  We thought how cool it would be if the boys could sponsor a child that they met there and stay in correspondence.  The director matched them up and we took pictures only to find out later when we arrived at home that the two boys were recently sponsored and the paperwork just had not reached the project yet.  We still hope to find another match from the same project.

Matthew 18:2-4 - He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them.  And he said:  "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.  Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven and whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me."