Awassa

I don't even know where to begin. Awassa was so amazing. I can't
really even put all my thoughts together right now, so this post will
be short.

Our meeting with Lemlem's grandmother went very well. We were able to
get answers to so many of the questions we had about Lemlem's
background. I feel so much better knowing that we have built a more
solid picture of her history to share with her when she's ready, and
to help us understand what she's been through. This trip was
absolutely invaluable.

Just some quick highlights...

We saw herds of camels, donkeys, goats, and mules. There were animals
everywhere on the road to Awassa. One herd of goats almost caused an
accident in front of us, and a bus went off the side of the road and
almost tipped over. There was one goat casualty, but no humans were
harmed.

We were very honored to be invited to the wedding reception of one of
our agency staff members. He got married a few weeks ago, and was
finally having his wedding reception in Awassa while we were there.
It was really cool to see an Ethiopian wedding reception. There were
candles, singing, fireworks, prayer, and lots of food...there was
another goat casualty that night...;)

This morning we went to a resort on Lake Awassa and took a boat ride
to see hippos. Very cool to see hippos in the wild! We saw three
adults and two babies. We also saw monkeys at the resort, and I had
the BEST MACCHIATO EVER! Awassa is beautiful. It was a warm sunny
day, and we spent all afternoon sitting by the lake and soaking up the
vitamin D! :)

Tomorrow we'll go to the orphanage for Lemlem's goodbye ceremony.
She'll leave the orphanage with us, and will be with us from now on.
No more orphanage! :)

Pray for us! We are really excited to take Lemlem with us tomorrow,
but also nervous and a bit terrified because of the language barrier.
It's going to be a wild ride after tomorrow. We're almost ready to
come home now, and start our life as a family of five!