Read {Day 1} here
Bright & early we woke up about 6 a.m. so that we could head to the airport on Friday, June 14th. Since our flight was at 11 a.m. we needed to be there no later than 8.
19 team members
1 roaming passenger
35,000 feet
14 hour flight
662 MPH
2 animal print neck pillows
-65* F
0 Dr. Peppers
4 'meals'
7,153 miles
0 hours of sleep
... & we landed on African soil!
Our flight was pretty easy, compared to what I had in mind. We departed at 11 a.m. & arrived in Ethiopia at 6:33 a.m. their time (Saturday). We went straight to get our Visa's which were $20 cash. Then to get our luggage where we realized that a few pieces were missing. We shouldn't have been surprised, but it was still a bummer for those team members. The airport was pretty much as I had pictured- we did unload out on the runway which was a little change to what we're used to in the U.S. The big shock factor was when we exited the airport--- there were people everywhere just standing around! They were curious just looking at us & we were doing the same to them. Keep in mind that most Ethiopians do no thave cell phones or modern ways to communicate. So if they have someone to pick up at the airport they go & wait for hours for them to arrive with no update on the flight- if it's delayed, cancelled, etc as they're not allowed into the airport for any reason.
I just took it all in & enjoyed the moment althought it was different than I was used to. Our Children's HopeChest workers were in the parking lot awaiting our arrival. Their names were Fikre, Helina, & Misikir. Our suitcases were loaded on top of the vehicles & strapped down. We went to our Guest House to eat breakfast, have coffee, & set our bags down. We then hit the road for the Trees of Glory CarePoint. On our way we stopped for fruit to take to the children. At this point we had been up for over a day & our day in Africa was just getting started! Trees of Glory was about 2 hours from the city of Addis Ababa where we flew in. We were exhausted but so excited to see the kids. 
Addis Ababa Airport:
Trees of Glory:
There are no words to describe our arrival. There were plenty of tears as we exited our vehicles & saw the children in person for the very 1st time. It was this overwhelming feeling of everything we'd fundraised for, gotten immunizations for, prepared for & we had ARRIVED. The children held welcome signs & sang to us & we gave lots & lots of hugs with tears streaming down our faces & a light mist of rain falling on us. They presented our leader, Lindsey, with flowers & it was very emotional. Simret, the manager & "mom" of the CarePoint, hugged each of us & you could tell she had been anticipating this day as much or more than we had.
I spotted Endalem right away. I knew that he didn't recognize me at all but I definitely recognized him! We got a tour of the CarePoint, ate lunch, saw the 'hole' aka bathroom & each of us were introduced to our sponsor child if we had one.
I was thrilled, of course, to meet him but I had no idea if he had even an ounce of enthusiasm about meeting me. UNTIL... a team member shared this photo with me & I was overwhelmed with joy that he was smiling. I didn't know until spotting this photo that he smiled upon meeting me. Seeing his smiling face made absolutely everything we went through to get to Ethiopia worth it.
Immediately following this embrace we loaded in our vans for our home visits. Some of the children had never ridden in a vehicle before! This was when I had the pleasure of seeing Endalem's home & meeting his mother, "Bizu." She said to me many things but the ones that stand out are, "Do you love my son?" & "He's not just my son, he's your son, too."
I was overwhelmed with blessings at this point & couldn't choke back the tears. I have this all on video & I'm so thrilled that I do & have been able to share it with others! In order to have a conversation we had to have 2 translaters. Bizu spoke to a translator (pictured in blue) that translated from her tribal language to Ethiopian. Then Sammy (not pictured) translated from the Ethipian language to English.
I had very high expectations for meeting Bizu & Endalem. I never thought for a second that my expectations would be met or exceeded. Oh boy, was I wrong! The Lord crafted these moments so perfectly & I can't imagine a better experience than this one. It will always remain as a "high point" in my life. I would encourage everyone to sponsor a child & meet them. It is an incredible experience that words cannot describe.
Tatum met her sponsor child, "Bes" & his mom as well. We thought Bes was absolutely adorable in his little suit! Here are their pictures:
We ended these two days with dinner at our Guest House & settling in. We didn't have electricity so we took cold showers. It didn't matter! It was an amazing 2 days. We were so exhausted from being up since 6 a.m. the day before in Washington D.C. but wouldn't have changed any of it for the world. My heart is full.
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