Day 5

We ventured out into the city to do some shopping. It was our first time leaving the guest house, and our first time seeing Ethiopia during the day. Wow, this is one crowded city. There are cars and people everywhere. I’ve heard how insane the driving is, and it is true. Our driver, Beky did an awesome job of getting us safely to our destinations. We went to a little strip of shops first and got some neat souvenirs. After that Beky took us to a coffee shop, which he said is the BEST in town. He and Michael had coffee, but I opted out, since I am not a coffee drinker. Michael absolutely loved it. When we left there was a family who followed us to our car and the little girl was begging for money. It was so hard to look at this girl, who was probably 5 years old and think that it could have been Mekdes. She could have been begging on the streets. I don’t mean this to come across as a “Thank goodness, we saved this little girl” attitude. We DO NOT feel this way. She is the biggest blessing to us and it hurts to think about her living in such poverty. When we got home I just held her and cried.

Beky and Michael at the coffee shop.

After the coffee shop we went to the Leprosy Hospital. It is a beautiful compound where people with leprosy make tablecloths, scarves, crosses, dresses, etc. and they sell them in a shop. It was an amazing place and we loved supporting them, so we might have gone a little overboard on our purchasing.

Workers at the Leprosy Hospital

Shop at Leprosy Hospital

Here are some pictures of Mekdes from Day 5:

Mekdes in her new purple outfit Grandma bought her.

She LOVES bath time!

The princess in pink.