Dear friends and family,

It is 4:30 Friday afternoon in Addis Ababa.  We have had an amazing
first week of work here with the project.  We have visited many
beneficiaries in their homes and have been overwhelmed by the
hospitality and generosity that has been shown to us.

We have had three days of clinics in which we have cared for hundreds
of patients – both beneficiaries and neighbors of the project.

This afternoon one of the project support groups presented the team
with a traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony.

Jamison and I have had the opportunity to lead numerous small group
sessions with beneficiaries where we have shared life stories,
answered …

Our home visits yesterday, took us primarily to the homes of the project’s most recent beneficiaries. The small, rugged living quarters are mostly government allocated shanties—cardboard, mud–plastered and insulated with little more than newspaper and discarded grain sacks. The narrow stone paths between each door were soiled and littered with the filth of the failing attempts of daily survival. The visits ended at the small, crumbling chamber of Zalalem, a young woman allocated a dimly lit supply room in exchange for gate keeping duties.

Often the tiny snapshots tacked on the weathered walls of the beneficiaries’ homes offer small glimpses of …

For those looking for a second Ethiopia update – Paul called Phyllis today saying the internet is down so he can’t send an update. However, he wanted to let everyone know that the team is well (Jamison Galt from NY is on the mend), and they were able to do clinic.

Look for more from the team soon…

Greetings from Ethiopia, the land of thirteen months of sunshine! Yes, the Ethiopian calendar actually has thirteen months (it is also the year 2001 on their calendar) but not all of them are sunny. Fortunately for us it is beautiful here right now – clear-blue skies and about 75 degrees. We arrived in Addis Saturday evening around 9:00pm local time and sailed through immigration and customs without any problems. The airline did lose one bag (it got left in Washington, D.C. somehow) but it has been found and will be here tomorrow.

We had a good first day. …