May 5th: Day Four of the Ethiopia Trip

The electricity was on this morning, so we were able to enjoy breakfast with more light than just candles like last night.


Gurage countryside

The trip up to the hotel in the Gurage area in Ethiopia was really quite scenic, and except for the consistent bumping up and down, and the regular animals stopping right in front of the car, I enjoyed the ride very much :). I even saw a donkey just laying down, right in middle of the road making all the cars and buses have to go around it! (lol) Mr. Hageman and Natalie, (his daughter), even saw a monkey, but they were in the other car behind us, so I didn't get to see it. :(
At the hotel, we were met by Tadesse, one of the church leaders, and he helped us unpack the vehicle into our room. We got a couple of surprises when we went to look at the rooms. Mr. Hageman and Natalie got a cockroach in their room, and Daniel Hageman, (yes he's related to the other Hagemans), had a bat hanging in one corner of the room! Yikes! I'm glad it wasn't in my room! In our room, we only had to squash a couple ant-like critters, and chase a fly around our room that skillfully avoided our attempts to take his life. He was more annoying than creepy, so I guess that was okay.
We then headed up the mountain to the church Dad was going to be speaking at, and we got to meet Asfaw, another one of the church leaders of the area. He welcomed us, and climbed in the back with Daniel H. It had started to rain, so the going up was slick, and we slipped a couple of times, but never enough to ditch us. (Thank you Lord!) We arrived there safely, and the service had all ready started, so we crept in and were made to sit up in front of every body. The service was definitely different, but I kind of liked it. Even with their singing, even though I couldn't understand a word of what they were saying, I could tell that they really loved God, and were praising Him from the bottom of their hearts.
It was so fun to see even the little kids just singing with all their might to Jesus.


Asfaw's wife, Yeshi, and their daughter

After the service, Asfaw took us to his house for a bit to eat and coffee, the traditional way. We got to meet his wife, Yeshi, and their 3 year old daughter. Their little girl is so cute, and even though she was shy, she smiled at me so sweetly. She posed for me out side of the house, and she was so well behaved!
The time at their house went by much to quickly, and we had to say goodbye much sooner than I wanted to. As we went back to the car, we got a crowd of little kids following us. Their ages were probably any where from 12 to 2. They thought it was the most funny thing in the world when Daniel H. gave one of the littler boys the traditional shoulder bump greeting and said "Salaam no." (I'm not sure how you spell it, but that is how it was said) which is their greeting.
We went back to the hotel again, rested for a couple of hours (if you call squashing bugs every five minutes resting:), and went to the Brant's house for dinner. Mrs. Brant is a fabulous cook, and this meal was no exception. After dinner, we chatted and cleaned up. Eventually, we went back to the hotel, and I slept in a chair, because it looked less likely to have bed bugs in it then the bed.
I can't wait for tomorrow and what it may bring, so good night for now, and I promise to write in you soon.