We made it safely to Ethiopia on Tuesday and have been very busy since then. We had a little bit of down time and then started visiting projects.

Tuesday afternoon we visited the Gadamba project. My Dad and I visted Gadamba on our first trip to Ethiopia. We were overcome by the need for clean water in that community.

There are about 4000 people that live in this community and they have no access to clean water. The challenge in this area is that the water table is so deep that to access it, required a deep bore hole well. It was such a big project that many people had visited it but had left feeling like there was nothing they could do to help. We did not want to be another organization that came to see the need, but then decided that it was to big. So Water to Thrive committed to this project with Glimmer of Hope, and God has blessed it! They started the drilling process and hit water a lot sooner than they anticipated. After they hit water, they also discovered that there was considerably more water than was anticipated and they will be able to add additional water access points to this project. Initially there going to be five different water points off that one well, but they are looking into adding two additional water points to the project because of the amount of water they found.

Here is a picture of the well site. The project is still under construction, so right now it is capped so the rest of the project can be built to pump and distribute the water.

To be able to see water being brought to a community that we visited a year ago is amazing. To know that the things that broke our hearts a year ago are issues that will no longer be faced by this community is such a gift from God. And I am reminded that we can make a difference.

Tomorrow we leave for Dembi Dolo in west Ethiopia and will spend a week there visiting communities and projects. I will probably not have internet access, but will post as soon as I get back to Addis Ababa.

Tomorrow we leave for Ethiopia. The past few days have been very hectic, but I think I am finally packed... I think.

I look forward to seeing what God has planned for us on this trip, and I can't wait to share it with all of you. The places we go and the people we meet have changed my life and I hope I can share a glimpse of that here.

Please keep us in your prayers, for safe travel and that we are able to find peace in the center of God's will.

"Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" 

And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"Isaiah 6:8

On this Mother's Day

Today is a special day for all those mothers out there, and as we honor the mothers in our lives, I ask you to take a moment to think about mothers that are a world away. Mothers that you may never meet, but yet you share something so deeply with. What we share is a love for our children that is unshakable, unselfish, and unending. A love that will cause a mother to rise early in the morning, before the first rays of sunlight pierce the dark sky, and walk for hours to the only source of water that is available for her family. The water is unclean, not even safe to give to animals, yet it is the only water that is available. So she gives it to her thirsty children, and she says a silent prayer. A prayer that begs for the health of her children, that this water that she gives them today does not make them sick, does not take their lives.

Today, as I think about all the mothers that I know, I also think about all the mothers that I don't know, that weep for their children. That weep for a life they wish they could provide for them. And I pray for those mothers and their children.

Countdown

14 days until we leave for Ethiopia!

I feel so blessed to have this opportunity to return to Ethiopia, and I know God will go before us to prepare a way. I look forward to what He has planned for us, and I look forward to sharing those experiences with all of you.