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Sunday, July 18, 2010

Korah Day (I have given up on numbering them)


*THIS POST IS LONG AND GRAPHIC-consider yourself warned!!!*

Korah. It means 'cursed child'. And that sums up where we went today so very well. Korah is the community IN and surrounding the city dump of Addis Ababa. It is approximately 130,000 people, who are the least of the least in Addis—it used to be a leper colony and there are still folks living there with leprosy. They are a community shunned by the people in Addis and considered forgotten. We began our day by getting things ready to head out, packing up donated items to meet some of the needs of the children in Project 61.

Project 61 is a ministry of a woman named Summer, who came to Ethiopia for the first time in January and went to Korah, was moved in her heart and called by the Lord to do something about it, and returned in March to nail down the ministry plan with some locals in the Korah community. She then moved with her entire family (hub and 3 young children) here in June, after selling everything they had. Yes, for real. And I have met her and she is normal and friendly and sweet-and amazingly humble. The folks in Korah love her and say she is an angel sent by God.

We stopped on the way to Korah to buy some sheep/goats to feed the kids at the project lunch today-turns out the $ we had bought 4 goats--which were purchased from a herd on the side of a street, lashed by the feet and tossed, alive, on top of one of our vans. Grocery shopping, Ethiopian style :) We got to Korah and got out to the sound of children singing off in a building through a gate. The walls and gate to the church shelter are painted bright, bright blue and this place stands out in stark contrast to the squalor around it. We got a quick tour of the dorms in the shelter which houses 26 children. They were relatively clean and well kept, yet very sparse and not anywhere even close to a "dorm" in the US. The doors were low and some of the guys had to duck to get inside and the walls were made of mud strengthened with straw. After a few minutes of meeting some of the children who swarmed us in the street, we got split into 2 groups, one going into some of the "homes" around Korah to visit and meet the families, and one going into the actual dump to meet a family who lives there. I was in the second group so I can only report that side of the story. And finding the words to do so is not going to be easy. But, it needs to be told....

We began walking down a rocky path off a side street, which itself was muddy and trash-covered. There were people everywhere, especially coming out to look at us ferengis (white foreigners) walking through there. They were mostly friendly and welcoming when I would smile and wave. We could tell when we were getting closer to the dump by the smell. A team-mate offered me some vicks vapo rub to put up my nose but I told her no. It was horrible, but I thought I could stand it. It wasn't until we started into the edge of the actual dump, beside the rapidly cascading streams of raw sewage and walking through the squelching, trash-laden mud, that I finally began to gag and could not stop—I managed to squeak out yes to the vicks, please, and promptly coated the inside of my nostrils. I never thought I would love that stuff so much. The stench was indescribable, really. Trash of every sort all over the ground, in the weeds, with a narrow trodden path through the middles of it that we were being led down. I was informed we were not actually yet IN the dump at that point, just on the outskirts-um, WHAT? How could it get worse?? We traipsed down down down a grassy trashy hill and finally arrived at our destination-the home of a boy who is in the sponsorship program at the church shelter where we had first arrived. We all ducked through the low tin door of this home, which consisted of mud and straw walls, corrugated tin/cardboard roof, and a dirt floor. There was a narrow bench running along the back wall on which all 12 of us tried to sit, but some spilled over onto the floor. There were large posters of Jesus and Mary on the earthen walls and a scraggly plaid curtain hanging from a string in the corner, and I'm still not really sure why. There was this main room and a small sleeping room off of it, which had a filthy blanket on the hard floor, I presume where they slept. This whole place was about the size of our dining area at our house,
which is not big by American standards. The family of Haptamu had set out the items to do a coffee ceremony for us-which pained me for them to make popcorn and coffee for us when I knew they had nothing. Not "not much", nothing. The father rose and spoke to us via translator. He thanked us for coming and helping his family, explaining that he is too old and weak to work and his wife used to pick through the trash for metal that she would sell, but she was too tired to do it anymore. He could not provide for his family, but the church/school (part of Project 61) was making it possible for his children to have a good life. He told us how he had lost one house there in Korah and the one they were in now could be gone at any time as it was on government land, technically, and if they decided they wanted to bulldoze it or dump trash where it was located, they certainly could and he would have no home. One of his sons is actually going to the University in the fall, which is truly a MIRACLE, along with Haptamu's schooling that will begin in September. He was so thankful, I felt so unworthy of his thanks as we had done nothing really but come visit at that point. Summer asked Kelly if someone from our group would feel comfortable sharing about the Lord and why we were there so Kelly stood up and, with the help of a translator, told him that we were sent there by Jesus to help them b/c they were loved by Him. And that we are grateful for what we have so that we can share it with their family. She also shared with them that in heaven, where we will see Jesus, there is no sickness, and no poverty-we will all be free, and we will all be brothers and sisters, no difference, no outcasts. It was a holy moment in that mud shack.

After this, the family made line outside their home where they shook our hands and hugged us and thanked us again. My heart just hurt for them to think that they live in that dark mud house, in the midst of filthy trash, and here they were graciously serving us coffee and hugging us just for being willing to come where they spend every.single.day. We trekked up the hill and turned left to head into the heart of the dump. I re-loaded my vicks after another round of gagging and sheer willing myself not to vomit. We walked along a very narrow path that was muddy and every now and then covered in crazy swarms of ants (which very quickly crawl up your shoes and bite, and hurt, btw) There were streams of brown, repulsive water flowing from several points, all the drainage from the mountains of trash. Although my jeans were rolled up, they still ended up smeared with the oozing mud, particularly after a wrong step sent a blob squirting up the back of my uncovered calf-yes, it was as disgusting as it sounds. We made a precarious leap over one of the streams of trash water and at that point were "officially" in the dump and were no longer allowed to take photos. I will try to give you a word picture then.


It was unreal. Swarms of human ants, all over the piles of rotting trash-bones, old shoes, tires, torn fabric, old food, and on and on. Big black vultures circled over-head. One of the girls showed us one of the plants on the ground that people there eat, growing right in the middle of all the trash. The women were all clad in belted gowns of trash bags. They carried MASSIVE sacks on their back as they would leave, filled with scraps of plastic or metal that they had found by digging through the garbage. They were covered head to toe in the same mud we had walked through, and yet when Summer would see them, she would walk up, embrace them and kiss their face without hesitation. They are the mothers of the children in the project. Some came to check us out-a few were sponsored children that will go to school in September. One gave me a big hug and in the process her mud-covered sack slid across my bare arm, leaving it covered with....I don't even want to know. I tried to be as inconspicuous as possible as I wiped it on my shirt so as not to appear ungrateful for her embrace. We walked on a bit more and for some reason, the 2 large pigs surprised me-I had never seen pigs here in Ethiopia before! They were doing what pigs do best, being gross in the mud, right nearby to a woman digging through some trash. I walked a bit with one of the guides and he told me the small bunches of animals we saw-some goats, a few oxen, pigs-were part of farms. Farms? In the DUMP?? He told me yes, and they plant vegetables there to eat and try to sell. No, do not think of a nice tidy community gardens area or a pretty rolling green Virginia farm, think of a foul-smelling, disease-laden pit of filthy rotting garbage-and the animals standing atop small piles of trash and some sort of scraggly plants growing here and there-a farm in Korah. I shudder to think what is in that soil, and therefore their food. This is why there is disease, this is why they die, this is why children here have no mothers and fathers.


We finally came to the end of our "tour" through the dump and walked and talked on the way back with Summer and one of the guides about their project. The one boy who came as a guide used to "work" in the dump (read: pick through garbage to make a few cents a day) but now comes to the project's summer camp in hopes of getting sponsored and then sent to the boarding school. The sponsorship, which is $700 per year, covers everything for a child: for the rest of the summer, they go to the summer camp where they get one decent meal a day, and then in September they will go to a boarding school which is 3 hours away. They will have covered: room, board (3 meals a day), books, tuition, hygiene needs, uniform, and transportation to and from school when needed during breaks. They have room for 200 at this school and have 130 sponsored already. The boy who was working as guide told me "sponsors-this give us hope, a great lot of hope!" as he patted his chest. Summer explained that the children literally view their sponsors as saviors b/c it means they get to get out of Korah. She said many of them refer to the sponsors as mama or abat (dad) and she and the staff (all Ethiopian except her, most from the Korah community as well) try to cultivate that relationship between sponsor and child, rather than it just be $$ coming in. We passed another group of mothers of the children from the summer camp and she was greeted warmly by all the ladies-the boys in our group from the project said "Summer, she is our strong sees-ter!" to which she simply giggles a dismissive response.


We arrived back at the church alley and as I walked up to the group of other team mates and swarms of little brown-faced kiddos, a dark mahogany-skinned girl I had not remembered seeing before came up to me. She stopped in front of me and pointed to herself and said in a tiny sweet voice "my mother?" and made the gesture for sleep with her hands by her head. I had a feeling she was not telling me her mama was napping and she confirmed my fears when she repeated "mother? mort (dead)". I told her I was just so sorry and I hugged her, and then I felt something I had not yet had happen to me-this broken little child was clinging around my middle and crying in my arms, for her dead mother. And then this broken-hearted white mother was crying too, and holding that girl for dear life, telling her I loved her and I was just so sorry. I knew it must have been recent since she was still openly crying about it. She and I became inseparable from that point on and I made some inquires as to her story and status in the program. It turned out she had just been there 2 days around the project and her mother had died and she had held her mother's dead body for 2 days before she was told that her mama was dead. Her grandmother, who she now lived with, is crippled (and possibly had leprosy? Not totally sure) and had dragged herself (I was shown a gesture of pulling herself with her arms) to the church to see if they could help in any way. Well, to make a long story short, guess who now has a sponsor and is headed to boarding school in the fall?? My girl Nesenet!!! (Oh and Pat? guess what honey!? Another girl for us!) We went right into the office that minute and got it squared away and I was just not prepared for the men who worked there to get up and kiss my cheeks and tell me, "thank you thank you, God bless you, sister". And the news spread like wild fire-those kids know the word sponsor and they all kept coming up asking "sponsor?" while patting my arm and pointing to Nesenet. They were so excited for their friend, it was so humbling to see them rejoicing for her. I felt so humbled and so ungrateful of their attention-b/c really, in the grand scheme of things, $700, for a year of completely covered everything, that would change her life forever???? Even with a tight budget, I knew that would not be a terribly big deal to come up with since it was God put that little girl in my life (hmmm, Etsy shop has a new focus I'm thinkin').


After some time hanging out (which included several thumb wars-did not know that Ethiopian kids knew that but turns out it is international!!) with my new daughter who will live in Ethiopia, I got to watch the slaughtering of the goats we had purchased earlier. Oh my word, I cannot say enough how grateful I am once again for the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross for me so that I still do not have to offer animal sacrifices like they did in the Old Testament. I did not think it would bother me as much as it did, but wow, after a few seconds of when they began to pour the blood out of it's neck into a bucket, I needed to be done watching. (I also got to watch some of the skinning and let me tell you, you praise the Lord every time you walk in to Kroger and buy a nicely wrapped package of meat) Those 2 goats ended up being cooked into an enormous amount of stew for all the children and we got bread as well. We were not sure if it would feed them all since they had also brought in any of the street children that had been hanging around the group so I got out my Bible, read the story of the feeding of the 5, 000 to myself and prayed for the same-and those children all got full tummies today. Just for the curious, we did not eat the goat stew, we ate rice and bread that had been packed for us by the guest house-not sure if the stew would have been good or too traumatizing, haha


After lunch, Nesenet came and found me and sat on my lap while we had another coffee ceremony. Oh how I love the bunna here. We all then left the compound of the church and headed to a "field" to play soccer. We walked down through muddy streets running with some sort of murky whitish water that again had me fighting back gagging. There were people everywhere living in places that defy description, some round huts made of hay (like in our cartoons), some in piles of tin arranged to make some sort of lean to, some just in the dirt with their things in piles. Small children just stop and go to the bathroom in the street (which is made of rocks and mud) and so many of the children have no shoes or shoes that bear no resemblance to actual foot protection. I walked the whole way with Nesenet glued to my side, holding my hand, arm around my waist, while 3 other children also held onto various fingers of mine all at the same time. We went down a very steep rocky hillside that I found challenging in my top of the line hiking shoes, and down which these children ran like it was a flat grass path. We arrived at the bottom to the most beautiful area-an open space of dirt surrounded by Eucalyptus tree skyscrapers all around. Nesenet got very excited and tugged me over to this hillside saying "water water" and I looked over the very step edge to see a rushing brown muddy river-it was amazing! She told me "koshasha" which apparently means "dirty", which fit. Some kids were playing in it and a girl tried to get me to go down and go in it with her-no way, jose!!


We spent the rest of the afternoon there just playing soccer, sitting and loving on the kids, etc. Nesenet wanted to see what was in my backpack so I showed her and when I showed her the band aids, another little girl grabbed her friend's feet and thrust them toward me. Both of her little ankles had small open sores on them where her ill-fitting shoes had rubbed. I cleaned them off with an alcohol wipe and put band aids on them, only to turn around and be brought another older girl with a large sore on her leg. I took a deep breath, asked God to help me out on this, and wiped her off with another alcohol wipe, took out some first aid tape I had and a stack of tissues and taped them over her wound securely. (FYI, I told the director Sami and he will be getting them both taken care of at the church, just for you Mom and Tracy, since I know you are reading this and yes I was careful and yes I cleaned my hands afterwards.) I had several more kiddos come over for me to check spots on their faces to see if they too needed band aids-seems like it is universal for kids to want band aids!! They were all ok and too soon it was time to walk back up the steep steep hill and head toward the bus to leave.


Leaving Nesenet was very very hard-she has had enough loss, I didn't want to add more. I gave her a special stuffed bunny to remember our day together and told her we would write letters and she would too, from SCHOOL!!!! And I cried, a lot. She stood outside the bus waiting the whole time for us to leave, moving at all times to make sure I was in her eyesight and giving me a big grin and a wave any time our eyes met. My heart was so full, and so aching. Any of those children there could have been my daughter Zoe had God not brought her to our family. Between that and leaving Nesenet, my heart had had a workout. Then Sami (who himself grew up in the trash dump) got on the bus to tell us thank you and God bless us and that no one comes there to Korah, not even people from Addis-it is a forgotten, shunned commuity-but we gave them hope that they are not forgotten. Oh my heart! We came back, ate a very small supper and met and talked about what was next for Korah. Kelly and Shane had met with the directors for a bit asking how we could continue to partner with them. It was explained to Kelly and Shane that no one comes there, not even ambulances if people are sick and when Kelly asked how they get the help they need, they were told "God sends us angels like Summer, and your group." Apparently we were the first group to stay and play with the children and feed them-others had come and toured, taken photos, and left. We had no idea and so we are all committed to letting people know about these beautiful people so that they WILL NOT be forgotten. We are their voice and want them to see that God's people take seriously the command to love people. If you want any information about getting involved, please let me know. We have some goals in mind to work toward for them, one of which is filling all the possible sponsored child slots at the boarding school.


The rest of the evening was an uneventful wrestling match with tortoise speed internet and a chilly walk back to the guest house where I sit, trying to sum up a day that defies description in hopes that I can be a small part in helping these people to have hope that others care and think they are worth every minute and a million more...

47 comments:

Meredith said...

Thank you for sharing this with us. I would love to find out how to sponsor a child to send to school. If you can get that information would you please share it?

Jim and April said...

oh my gosh! I just came over from Kristi's blog and well...no words to say except thanks for sharing this! I want to help, I want to get involved and I would love to go over there and help/love on those people in Korah! I would love any info you have!

Debi Jenkins said...

Wow. Thank you for sharing your experience. We are currently in the adoption process for a 4 or 5 year old boy from Ethiopia and your post really touched my heart. I posted about it on my blog.

Debi Jenkins
Jenkins Journey to Ethiopia
http://jenkinsethiopiaadoption.blogspot.com/

"Are These Kids All Yours?" said...

WOW- words do not describe what you have written. They have touched me very deeply- thank you.

Cassandra Britt said...

Thank you so much for sharing this post. We adopted a little girl from Ethiopia in December and would love to sponsor one of the children in Korah. If you could post some info., that would be great!! Safe travels!!

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much for sharing this. May God move us to do something.

Anonymous said...

p.s. is the info on the billboard in your picture the information for the ministry in Korah? If not, what is their contact info? How can we help?

Jessica said...

I'm just bawling. Our two daughters ages 4 an 6 came home from Ethiopia in January and I've just been struggling with what we saw there and the realization that they lived in such unimaginable circumstances. I have just recently learned that people are living in the dump, but I had no idea 130,000. It is just not right. It's time for us as "Christians" to stand up and be "Christ follower" instead just talking about it, it is time to act. Thank you for your vivid description of what life is like for some of God's most precious children. I pray that Christians around our nation will stand together and live out the word instead of just talking about it. Thanks so much for bringing this to light.

Jessica
www.steadfastminds-ethiopia.blogspot.com

Becca Harley said...

just came over from Kristi's blog - and now I am sitting here with tears running down my face. Please - tell us how to help (website, etc.). we are in the process of adopting through AGCI in Ethiopia as well. Thank you for putting words to your experience, so that hearts of those here can be moved.
ourjourneyto6.blogspot.com

TracyandTrevor said...

Read your post out loud to Trevor (he is a slow reader!)- sign us up!!
You are really missed here- I think Pat is lost without you!!
Keep writing so we can keep reading!
Love you

Mom said...

What an experience! More girls, of course, Jody--what else??? And I'm glad you washed your hands!!
And that your heart and your words touch so many. Take care so that you can continue to bring this reality to those of us who can--and will--help all God's children.
Love, Mom

JonesEthiopia said...

Reading this... it makes me glad that my daughters are home safe in their beds with me instead of in Ethiopia. This could have been their lives. Thank you for sharing this with everyone, and I would like to hear more about sponsoring when you get a chance! (Like when you're home!)

Jill said...

I was there in February - I know every emotion you felt and are feeling. I felt so overwhelmed when I came and TOTALLY relieved that Sumer was already involved in helping to get things going. She is definitely an angel to the people of Korah. Two of our 7 adopted children are from Ethiopia. It will always hold a special place in my heart!

There have been American groups visiting Korah now for almost 2 yrs on a fairly regular basis and several have done things to get help there. Like you said the needs are HUGE and it will take many hands and feet to meet the growing demands in Korah. Especially since their own country treats them as if they don't exist.

You can check out Sumer and my blog www.help4korah.blogspot.com when you come home.

Let's get in touch when you get back.

praying for you and praising God for your eyes opened, heart softened and your ears willing to do whatever He is asking you!

blessings and love in Christ,
Jill

Tisha Alexander said...

Oh Jody, I really don't think there are any words I could say right now. I also would like to know more about sponsoring. I will never forget this post.

Mellie said...

I have been anticipating this post, thinking about you last night knowing you were going to the dump and am overwhelmed by the thoughts of the children ( and adults) there. Feel so bloated with things and wants- i want to remember this and let it change me, our family. Thank you for taking the time to write. We will keep praying...

Pat said...

Mimi recognized that bunny right away. You are my hero.

Kristi J said...

well, i'm still just broken over here in the U.S. over this...i've been broken all day over your post..can't wait to sponsor a child...Tell Kelly to hurry up and post too :) kristi

The Hull's at #4 said...

Jody, the Hulls want to sponsor, please send us all info as soon as you can. Thank you so much for being our "eyes" in Ethiopia, because our hearts are there. We love you and are praying for you everyday!

Kim

Sarah said...

Oh Jody. How does one respond to such a thing? I have no words.

Katy {and Kahler} said...

I just found your blog tonight and have been reading your posts through tears. My husband and I have a passion for African missions and are moving to Zambia next week. I can relate to so many of your emotions. Thank you for allowing the Lord to use you. Thank you for sharing your experiences so honestly.

Becky said...

Thanks for writing and sharing all you saw. We want to sponser a child. Let us know how to go about it. beckyrutland@gmail.com

We are adopting 2 kids from over there right now. They are at El Olam...Yordanos and Sifan. I saw Yordanos in one of your pictures. He was wearing the shirt we sent him...blue with a dump truck on it. Anyway...thanks again and I look forward to hearing from you soon!

Cindy said...

Thanks for sharing this.

Kelly said...

I love that you are there...getting to be Jesus' hands and feet! I know that your heart is full.....keep sharing your story. People are being changed!

Charisa said...

woah. What words do I even have after that? I know that you are being changed from the inside out as you experience all that. Much love.

Erica said...

You described the Korah we have grown to love so well. So unfortunately heart breaking well. Sumer is one incredible woman of God. Loved reading about your experience, we were there with a team in January and felt much of the same things you did.

bill_cuttingedge said...

Hi. A friend shared your blog with me. I am so glad she did! Thank you for sharing about your experience. We are a missionary family here in the states. We adopted our little girl from Ethiopia in Jan. We are very interested in sponsoring a child and helping in any other way. Please send us info. Our ministry is helping widows and orphans. Waiting to hear from you. Be a blessing and be blessed, Kim

WhitneyandScott said...

We are in the process of adopting two from Rwanda, and a friend just shared your blog with me. Please send us more info on this project and how we can be involved. Thanks.

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much for sharing. We have adopted form Ethiopia and we want to travel back every 2 years and find a project to help sponsor, and this was so great to see. The people of Korah deserve so much. I am going to try to see how we can get involved. God bless!

Theresa

Unknown said...

Three things:

We picked up about 40 more stainless steel washers over the weekend.

Sign us up as being a Sponsor.

God Bless You and your group!!!

Janet said...

You described everything about Korah and the garbage dump so well. I was there with Erica and Dave Shubin in January and experienced so many similar things. It breaks my heart to remember those children living there and wanting to help them. Thank you for sharing and I'm looking forward to sponsorship. Do you know Sherry from Oregon? She and her son are in Korah this summer and they had a building built to house the garbage dump people.

Deborah said...

Thank you for sharing your experience with us. My niece recently adopted 2 little girls from Ethiopia and I am only now finding out about how dire the situation is there thanks to you and others like you who actually "walk the walk" of what they believe. Please post any info that you have on ways to help.

Rachel said...

Thank you for sharing. I was there with Erica and Janet in January. Linked to this post from my blog, hope that is ok. Blessings, and say hi to Sammy (and Alicia!) for me!

Leslie Goodbar said...

I "adopted" my two youngest siblings due to financial hardship and this post really put into perspective what it means to be "poor" and forgotten in other areas besides the U.S. My own brothers and sisters came from a dirty and difficult environment, completely shut down. The spirit of the children in this far worse environment is truly inspiring. I hope that the hope and gratitude inspired in them continues to help them to grow and be a blessing in other's lives. Truly remarkable story. Thank you for sharing.

Tracy said...

wow. just stubled upon your post. dying to be back in Africa!!! So what organization are you with?

Amber said...

sign me up. I was so close to going on this trip but it had only been one year since we went and adopted out daughters from HH, I couldn't leave them yet. comment me or email me please on how to help.

Jenny R said...

I want to help! How can we be sponsors? You can e-mail me, jennyh_97236@yahoo.com

Dawn said...

Oh Jody... Kim said it perfectly when she said thank you for being our eyes because our hearts are certainly there. Thank you so much for being obedient to God & going on this trip. You are definitely stirring some hearts my friend. So proud of you! Can't wait to hear more. Love you.

Anonymous said...

Hi, I was directed to your blog by Kristy Johnson who is a blog friend of mine. My husband and I have been inspired to pursue adoption in Ethiopia after seeing her daughters Gotcha Day Video. I have not been able to get this post off my mind today, have shared it with my family and my coworkers today. I would love to know in what way I could help these precious people???? Thanks so much for sharing this! Bobi Bobbitt

missy said...

i am truly undone by reading about korah. i have heard of people living in dumps all over the world, but honestly not felt much more than "that's so sad". but ethiopian's are our people now and i am broken. i want to know more. i want to give more.

Cliff said...

Words fail me. Looking forward to info on signing up to sponsor one of these kids.

Danielle said...

I wish I could express what I'm feeling right now after reading your post. You beautifully communicated what you experienced & what the children live in every day. It's hard to imagine that a place like that exists on earth. I am praying for your team & for the children. God is using you to bring redemption & hope where there was none. Please keep us updated!

Erin Moore said...

Jody,
I'm headed to Ethiopia in October with a group of women and we'd like to visit Korah to help out - would love any ideas you might have for how we can make our visit impactful.

please e-mail me at the5moores at gmail, or visit our site at www.lobstersintherough.org

Thanks so much for this post, it has now become "required reading" for our team! :-)

Laurie McLean said...

How do you sponsor one of these children? Could you email me with the info? lauriermclean@yahoo.com

Our journey following Christ said...

I loved your description of what you experienced in Korah...so vivid and true.

We visited Korah in Feb. of this year while picking up our newly adopted 14 year old daughter. Let me tell you...even she was hesitant to get out of the car when we got to Korah.

My oldest 2 kids and 2 of their friends (ages 17-21) went back in June this year to work. They were a part of building and painting of the new shelters for the kids who are going to the boarding school. They stayed over 2 weeks and LOVED every minute-minus the mosquitoes:)

It seems that the Lord has recently woken up His people in recognizing the need of His people in Korah and now, praise the Lord, people are coming! People are spreading the word. People are reaching out.

You can check out my blog if you want to see pics and read about our trip in Feb. and my kids' trip in June.

ifyoutrulybelieve.blogspot.com

Blessings,
Laura

Big Nanny said...

Loved reading about your time in Korah. Sumer is a good friend of mine, and I enjoy reading the details of when people visit. I'll be going back in January.

Laci said...

Please email me info on how to sponsor a child. My email address is sergiospainting@hotmail.com

Melodie Mandanis said...

Hi Jodi: It is such a small world. I am close forever friends with Kelly Putty as we met in Ethiopia while adopting our sons who were at the same orphanage. I am a part of a Yahoo group called Warrior Girls and one of your friends posted your post on Korah. After following Kelly's trip and reading about Korah I felt so moved and nudged by the Lord to get involved. Hoping to partner with Children's Hope Chest and work on getting children sponsored. Thanks for sharing your heart and experience. I am leading a missions trip next summer to visit the carepoint we sponsor (88 kids) with Children's Hope Chest and I am hoping we can visit Korah too. Blessings.. Melodie Mandanis (www.loveinaction4kids.blogspot.com)