June 18, Sunday:

Wow! I feel like a worm today. About half of the women who live in the Trampled Rose are Muslims. Here, all meat is slaughtered either in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, or to Allah. This means that Moslems cannot eat “Christian” meat and Christians cannot eat “Moslem” meat. Not only can they not eat it, but they cannot eat anything that has come into contact with the knife or pot that was used to cook the animal.

I knew about this, but did not make the practical connection that the precious Moslem women living with us can only watch the Christians eat meat while they wait. Some of our ladies have been with us since October and still I have never provided meat for them.

Yesterday afternoon Kassa pointed this out to me. I felt so ashamed that I wouldn’t have thought of this myself. The different meat houses are all over the city. So…. early this morning Kassa picked me up and we rushed to the Trampled Rose to pick up a Moslem lady so that she could approve the meat with her own eyes. I tried not to make a face as I watched the butcher slice the end off a raw sheep that many flies were enjoying.

What a nice way to start a Sunday! BUT!!!! our little bunny is missing.

I had a very special Friday. My friend Helena, a journalist from Ireland came to visit the women on Friday. While we were there, Cristina and her husband Stephane came with a reporter from France. It was so fun to get to see their faxces as they saw all the finished work that their embassy has worked so hard for.

Our showers are complete, our outdoor shelter was finished just in time for the rainy season and our electrical system has been rewired so that we can use our second injera cooker, our bread baker, and even our oven! We have a washing machine and someone is donating a dryer to us so we are almost set.

This week I am working to open three new houses. These will be for the women whose fistula cannot be cured. We all have one handicap or another so it is time for them to start a new life. I will be integrating them back into the community and teaching each of them skills to fully self support. Of course, they will always be a part of our family and it will take all of us to make this into a very successful way of life. The cost per house will be about $100 per month. If you would like to support one either by yourself or with a group you love, please let me know.

I also had the chance to meet an amazing woman. She was a victim of Female Genitile Mutilation and has returned to her country to eradicate this dangerous and humiliating practice. When she met me we both started crying as she thanked me for helping her women. I know she also sends her gratitude to you.