My HEART Is In Ethiopia

Hello there strangers!

I know, it's been forever.  My apologies.  Our numbers are s.l.o.w.l.y. shrinking, my blog-stalking is increasing, my "nesting" is off the charts!  Yet my head and my heart are in Ethiopia, making it hard to carry on in some used-to-be "normal" activities for me.  Like blogging.  What can I say?  This mama is loooonging for her baby and I just don't think I'm going to quite feel like myself until after this pregnancy is over.  Maybe not even then.  Mabye I'll be getting to know a NEW me then.  I don't know if it's possible to come out of this unchanged in one way or another.

Well, it is just after 9am in Ethiopia (and yes, I have changed a clock in my kitchen to constantly remind me) where my friend Tarah is meeting her two precious children FOR THE FIRST TIME!  Oh...the JOY in my heart knowing what she must be feeling right now is unreal.

Last Friday, I met with Tarah to give her the donations I had been collecting.  I had just a couple things to give her....some toddler clothes...rice cereal...some formula...but after I had received word of Hannah's Hope desperate diaper situation (washing and line drying DISPOSABLE diapers for re-use...OH my mama heart!), I asked my friends and family for help.  I was AMAZED and immensly blessed by the response I received.  I had friends handing over disposables that their children had grown out of.  Coworkers donating cloth diapers they no longer needed.  Friends who I haven't spoken to in YEARS shipping me BRAND NEW cloth diapers.  I even had a friend of a friend send me 25 HOME MADE cloth diapers (PLUS the pattern and some materials to make more)!  WOW!!!

Amazingly enough, Tarah fit them ALL!  I wish I could be there to see Almaz' face when she catches a glimpse of all those cloth diapers to cover those little bums.  One of them could be my DAUGHTER!!!

But I have to share the SWEETEST part of this story!  When Tarah was over to pick up all these goodies, Monkey was running around us like a...well, like a MONKEY as we were comparing our two-year-old's weight and clothing sizes (turns out our boys are just a MONTH apart, hello playdates!).  We started talking about her itenerary while in Africa and I paused to remind Monkey that Tarah was taking all the diapers to babies in Africa, where baby sister is. 

"Babies in Africa?" he asks

"Yep!" I answer

That seemed to be the end of that as he ran off to his room.  Tarah and I got back to chatting when we noticed Monkey trying to get into one of the bags we had loaded the diapers in.  I ask him what he is doing and he finally hands over a small stuffed animal to Tarah and says, "for the babies...in Africa"!

AWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!  --> That was both Tarah and I in unison!

I could NOT believe my eyes or ears.  What a BIG HEART that little boy has (he's TWO!) to give up one of his toys for the babies in Africa!!!

I talked him through this decision, and he actually ended up choosing a different animal...but he INSISTED on giving it.  In all honesty, I thought there was going to be a meltdown when Tarah left and he realized it was GONE.  But there was none.  In fact, when I talked to him about it later and told him how proud I was...he asked me AGAIN, "go to babies in Africa?"  I assured him it would.

NEVER assume that someone is too YOUNG for God to use them!  I'm starting to think that "I'm Gonna Change The World" shirt I bought him is even MORE true than I origionally thought =)

***If you are interested in helping orphanages in Ethiopia with the great need for diapers, please visit Kristi's blog and find out more about her new project called "Covered In Hope".***