Wednesday, January 07, 2009

Plans....it's becoming more real!


We are making all kinds of plans based on a tentative Embassy appointment on February 5th. We hope to make that date firm by Friday, but in the meantime, we're beginning to make reservations and put plane tickets on hold - - it makes it seem so much more real now!

Today we made reservations at the Ethiopia Guest Home. It's a new guest home opened by a family who adopted from Ethiopia, and then decided to make a difference in the lives of even more orphans. Here's a bit from their website:
Ethiopia Guest Home is not going to save the world, but we are going to make a difference one child at a time. We will fund programs that seek to lower the need for adoption. Ministries that seek to de-stigmatize HIV and encourage people to seek treatment will be funded. Single mothers will be assisted with tools, skills, and resources that may be needed to sustain their families. We have partnered with World Orphans, who have contracted to build 15 church-based children’s homes…to support Ethiopians caring for children who may not be adopted internationally. Programs that seek to assist women who are HIV positive to be treated and lower the risk of passing on the virus to their newborn children will be funded.

At Ethiopia Guest Home…it is far more than just a place to stay.


...That, and the part of the website the talked about the free massage, internet access, and fresh fruit smoothies sold us!!

6 comments:

Amanda said...

:)
Buying the tickets makes everything seem so real! I'm so happy you guys passed court the first time through! So much to celebrate :)

Melkam Gena!

M and H said...

This place looks incredible!! And Disney World has the audacity to call itself the "Magic Kingdom" - no nannies, no massages, and definitely no free fresh fruit smoothies!

I can't wait to hear all about it! I'm praying you'll have time to cherish every moment and taste every drop of His goodness in it all!

p.s. What's a traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony?

M and H said...

weird - i don't know how Matthew connects all this stuff on his computer

so pretend like it says: "Heather Wallace said..." for the comment up there :O)

Gretchen Magruder said...

Hi Heather!! Ethiopian coffee is apparently a really big deal. The coffee ceremony involves roasting the beans over a burner, then grinding them by hand and brewing/drinking the very strong coffee.

Since neither of us are too excited about coffee, I thought I'd start out with some super-flavored coffees at Starbucks....then realized it would take me a LONG time to learn to like it, and I can't afford that many trips to Starbucks!!

Annie said...

How wonderful to be getting SO CLOSE to bringing Peanut home!

Missy said...

Are you all going? We are planning on taking all 3 of our boys and I would love to stay at the Ethiopia Guest House!! You'll have to give a real thorough review on your blog!!

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