Well it is 5:30 our time out here and what a day we have had!!! Due
to jet lag and excitement in hopes of our meeting today I have been
up since 3:30am (book clubbers--thanks for the "The Help" great read
that early in the am!). We got on the bus at 6 am with another family
for the 3 1/2 hour drive to Hosanna--that was an experience in itself!
Sharing the road with children going to school and cows, donkey, etc
was quite interesting. Once in Hosanna we went right into the
orphanage to play with all the children-there were about 15 toddlers
there and we had an amazing experience. Minalachew is so unbelievable
in person--the smile we have only seen in pictures truly melted our
hearts. As we entered all the children screamed "mama/papa" over and
over again. Rob was a hit-the children loved to put stickers all over
his head and the highlight was the Rob ride in which Rob would lift
each child up in the air so they could touch the ceiling! We were
there for about 2 hours and soaked up every minute. It was hard to say
goodbye-I did cry a bit while thanking the nannies for their love,
care and protection of these children.

Later on we participated in the traditional coffee ceremony with some
people from the agency---nothing at all like Starbucks--it was
amazing! Part of the celebration all included popcorn-which was very
interesting indeed. After the celebration we went to the CHSFS
school--again all the girls in their uniforms scrambled to hold Rob's
hand as I learned so much about the school, scholarships, and
wonderful things that are occurring in Hosanna. An unexpected surprise
included a quick stop back at the orphanage to see our little guy
napping--a snapshot in my head I won't soon forget.

Well I have to go--dinner is waiting in the other house, and since I
haven't eaten much since the "ice chip" issue yesterday we will give
it a shot!

Tomorrow is a free day so I hope to be able to write more about today!

Blessings!

jess