Addis is great, but the country side is astonishing!

Today we took a 2.5 hour drive West of Addis Ababa to Hot Springs in Ambo. We invited all of the staff of Yezalalem Minch Addis Ababa office to come with us for a time of relaxing, swimming and to show our appreciation and gratitude. It was a wonderful time to spend with our new friends!

The drive was stunning!!

We stopped on the side of the road to rest at one point. A couple of runners approached and Phil couldn't miss the opportunity to spend a 1/4 mile running with them. In his words, "these guys were the real deal!"

At the Hot Springs place in Ambo we toured the facilities, saw some monkeys, swam, enjoyed a wonderful meal, and even played some new pool games (apparently unique to Ethiopia!) You practically have to be a mathematician to keep score. Burtikan gave Phil an honorary bite of injera and she even tried her hand with the pool cue (not too successfully however). It was so great to see the staff really enjoying themselves in the pool!

omorrow we wind down with some shopping in the morning. But in the afternoon, we will have the amazing opportunity to meet one of the 20+ Child-lead family leaders! This girl will likely be between the ages of 11 and 16 and she is completely in charge of her brothers and sisters because both parents are gone!!

And then, we get on a plane (around midnight local time) for our LONG flight home. Please pray for safe travel and successful adjustment back to America. We have been praying and discussing this a lot. We have so much to share! We have seen God in bigger ways! In the words of Burtikan, "It's AMAZING!"

Praying for God to use this team in big ways to impact the ministry of Yezelalem Minch, which in turn will impact the orphaned and vulnerable children of Ethiopia!

Dan