May 10, 2010

Ethiopia Adoption~ (Grace Guest House)

Good Morning Mother! (Day 2)

The words like gold to me. 

My new daughter and I shared a bed at Grace Guest House (which we loved!), as we had two rooms that were too far apart for a mother's comfort.  My Knight kindly took the second room and let the girls have a party of their own.  The party began at 3 a.m. when she decided it was time to get up and eat her chocolate Easter bunny we had packed her.  As my eyes adjusted to the new day, I saw her munching her new love (chocolate) and reading her Papa's English Bible. 

I had no idea what time it was, as the Knight had the alarm clock and I am not a *time* wearer.  After realizing that the house was quiet...I tiptoed down the hall to ask the Knight what time, in reality, it was.  When He informed me it was 3ish, I happily marched back to our room and announced to her it was still mahtah-mahtah time.  A few more hours of sleep, well if you can block out the Muslim chanting over the loud speakers and every dog that lives in Addis, that was making itself known through it's bark/howl. Not exactly what I'd call ideal for sleep. 



Sue Hedberg (the director of Celebrate Children) happened to be staying at Grace Guest House with us.  We enjoyed breakfast (a scrambled egg type sandwich on a soft roll) and a pot of tea.  The buna (coffee) ceremony was already beginning downstairs in the sitting room.


The living room/sitting room at Grace Guest House.  Where we came as guests and left as friends. 

The lovely owner (who is a passionate Christian) of Grace Guest House.  Her vision is to get the business to the place of giving 50% of the proceeds to orphan care.  The Guest House is only 6 months old, and already they are giving 10-15% to orphan care.  Love that!!



Can you smell the world's best coffee?  Can you smell the incense they burn along side of it? 
Oh heaven!


3 cups of buna is what is customary, so this is not hurry up and grab a cup of coffee.  It is about friendship, about community, about culture, about true fellowship with one another.  Oh, how much we have to learn in America. 

Did I mention that I love Ethiopia?

And yes, the coffee is strong, but does not make you shakey.  If you haven't tried it, the button on our side bar-Just LOVE coffee- will lead you to some delectable Ethiopian coffee for your very own!

Things are going well here.  Thanks for the prayers.  We are living simply, the days go quickly, but most of all my heart sings how thankful I am for this call of adoption on my life.  I look at the 8 beautiful children He has blessed me with and find myself overwhelmed by His goodness.  Our Princess Sweetness is a gift, and oh, how we are loving getting to know her better. 

Funny, funny girl!

10 comments:

Tammy said...

What a neat place to stay, Kimmie, and how wonderful that they are giving back to the orphan house! I'm guessing the coffee is on the strong side?

Blessings,
Tammy ~@~

Anonymous said...

We have a very active Ethiopian community near us. One thing the children like to eat when they arrive in the USA (with all the weird foods) is this simple meal:
two eggs
two tablespoons diced tomatoes with chili peppers (get this canned together and make sure "water" is not one of the main ingredients or it tastes weird)
scramble them together with a bit of salt and serve with pita bread for scooping.

easypeasy.

Also, since Ethiopians detest the smell of our chicken (they have organic ones there), you can always rub skinless chicken pieces generously with a cut lime to get rid of the chicken smell. Or buy organic, free range if your budget allows.

Oh, and she will automatically dislike chili. Not sure why, but they all seem to dislike chili for some reason!! LOL! Cajun restaurants were kind-of acceptable.

Your daughter is beautiful!
Congratulations!

Shonni said...

I love reading about your time in Ethiopia. I so badly want to go back so time. I was so sick, that I really did not get to enjoy any of the culture. Hopefully again, soon!

Happymom4 aka Hope Anne said...

She's beautiful (you know that already) and it's awesome to hear the stories . . .

God crossed my path with a Christian Doc yesterday when I was at the hospital ER with a friend whose 12 day old daughter was ill. Turns out, God had been speaking to him about working with orphans, using his medical training. Our conversation was "the kick in the butt I needed to really go and do it now!" I was Soooo blessed. ;-) He's got my contact info in case he has any questions about hooking up with a group, as I can put him in touch with several, and I promised to pray for him to really do it. Gotta love God!

Kristine Mullen said...

Kimmie,
I think of you often, and pray for all God has for you and your family. Keep the updates coming :)

BittersweetPunkin said...

Kimmie...she is stunning...such a beautiful girl. I am so happy for you and your family. :)

SF said...

Love the pictures, and your story sweet Kimmie. YOu inspire me so so much. Love the new photos of your little ones!! :) xo

Anna said...

This girl is downright glamorous . . . and always looks like she has a little something up her sleeve! I love it!

The Niedermeyers said...

You commented on one of my posts and I wasn't sure how I knew you so, I clicked on your name/link and I was pleasantly surprised! You adopted that sweet, precious girl that had embassy the same time as Tamirat! I so remember you and your husband! I loved reading this post!!! I wish I would have gotten to know you better.

I keep asking what I did for the Lord to bless our family with Tamirat, with a trip to Ethiopia, with meeting and befriending the workers at New Flower Guest House, with all my new friends I have bet through CCI and the friends not through CCI who have the most beautiful Ethiopian children! I was blessed in meeting the children at the two orphanages Covenant Church took us to visit. I have been blessed beyond measure!

I am so happy to read that you feel the same way!

I pray the Lord keeps blessing you all.

Mindy said...

Oh, I wish the blogger had scratch-n-sniff functionality! I do love, love, love me some coffee and the thought of a coffee ritual so entices me. In truth, I never drink a whole cup. I drink a few sips, set it down, lose it, pour another.....

I also love the mind picture of you snuggling with your new chocolate-loving daughter. I am praising the Lord to see the desires of two people fulfilled in each other for the glory of the Lord.

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