June 18th

What a nice surprise! I was tired after a long week, the weather was cold and rainy, so I snuggled up in my bed with some corn chips and a very good book ready to settle down for a few hours when my phone rang. It was the Energizer Bunny party.

It’s true there have been more than a few times I have been compared with the energizer bunny but I never thought it would be official. Thank you for all the hard work some of you have put into getting us nominated!

You can vote every day for me, and The Trampled Rose will get money and lots of recognition! Just click on the sign above to vote!

Saturday was spent working. We’ve got five more new houses almost opened. This will hold twenty more women who cannot return to their homes in our year long program. One house is named “Genet’s Peace” after a character Anne Vinnola wrote about in a screen play on fistula. Then one is painted blue and is named after a young woman who lost her life way too early, next there is one decorated like Ireland, sponsored by a Celtic group from Colorado Springs and we even have a horse room.

Debra took lots of pictures to share. All the ladies who live here already pitched in to help clean and organize. It’s amazing how fast work goes with that many pair of hands.

On my way home my heart was again broken as I watched two little orphans living in the street. One was the big brother and he was helping his younger brother get on his little rubber shoes. It was pouring rain, they had no coats, no place to live, but they did have each other.

Sunday was my day off. Yes, I admit I skipped church to sleep in. My kids always call it fellowship with Pastor Sheets and Sister Pillow. Debra and I went for a long walk and discovered a national park within a five minute walk from my house. It’s the biggest in Addis, I had just never explored down the narrow valley.

Our friend Patricia invited us over for a yummy dinner. It was again pouring rain and she ran out with a plastic bag over her head and two for us to wear. The things we’ve stooped to.

This morning we had a staff meeting. I chucked as I thought that just a few years ago I would have looked at a picture of this group and thought it was from National Geographic. Now it feels so normal. We conduct the meeting in both Amharic and English, many are wearing traditional clothing and it all seems to work.