Ethiopia teaser

Ethiopia

I leave for Ethiopia on June 10. Life has been amazingly busy and actually quite stressful as I prepare to leave, so I haven't quite digested that I am going to Africa for ten days! Maybe I will have remarkable profound things to tell you about my experience when I return. I hope so. As my love for orphan care has grown, I have also been intrigued by the factors that lead to an orphan crisis such as disease and poverty. Pray that God gives me big eyes while I see cause and effect close up. I want to be envisioned to find solutions rather than overwhelmed by the problem.

Please also pray for our group of twelve traveling and serving together. Pray that we will be full of love to have hearts to love what God loves. Pray that we will be healthy and strong (in body and soul) to work hard. Pray that we will weep for these children, that we will laugh with these children and that we come home ready to fight for them.

Our tenative schedule is below along with links to the homes we will be working in. Check http://www.togetherforadoption.org/ from June 10 - 19 to discover what we are up to along the way. Ethiopia is the the nation of origin for my much beloved coffee bean, so I certainly hope that I get to enjoy some while I am there!

June 10: Depart Knoxville 4 p.m. EST

June 11: Arrive Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 9 p.m. local time (2 p.m. EST)

June 12: Explore the city, visit work site TBD

June 13: Hope affiliated orphanges

June 14: Church

June 15: Ethiopia Guest House (working here not staying)

June 16: The Forsaken Children

June 17: The Forsaken Children

June 18: Work site TBD, Depart 10 p.m. local time (3 p.m. EST)

June 19: Arrive Knoxville 3 p.m. EST

Leslie Loves

It has been a really long time since we've had an edition of "Leslie Loves", so here goes!

1) Hummus. I'd happily eat it for every meal.




















2) All of my psuedo nieces and nephews. Especially this guy because he cried when he couldn't go back to my house last weekend. I just love him!

















3) Peet's Coffee. I love all coffee, but Peet's is my new obsession after reading "Starbucked" by Taylor Clark
















4) Tuesdays. Quickly becoming my favorite day of the week, but may change to Wednesday and Thursday sporadically throughout the Summer. I'll keep you posted.

Dreams coming true

Have I mentioned that I am going here with these nice people from June 10 - 19?

Well, I am and it is a dream come true! Africa was on my Before 40 list, so I think I should get to transfer something from the Before 30 list, right? Seriously though, I am thrilled to have the chance to visit the "orphan in his distress" as James tells us to do. May God use this trip in remarkable ways.

Fifteen Years Later

Fifteen years ago:

• I was a freshman in high school.
• Kurt Cobain had just committed suicide.
• Gas cost well under $1/gallon.
• I couldn't believe that my sister was about to graduate, I thought that she was so grown up.
• And, unbeknowst to me at the time, the massacre of one million people began in Rwanda.

Walt Mueller has a poignant post about why we should care about Rwanda. And why we should care that nobody in the world community did care 15 years ago. Please give it a read, then watch the movie Hotel Rwanda and then pick up "Left to Tell" that he references. It is a remarkable story and is one of the books that enlivened my heart for Africa when I read it a few years ago. I challenge you to refuse to be ignorant of what is happening in this world. We must know to care and we must care to act.

First Friday Five at Knoxify

Knoxify.com is a local Web site that wants to spread the word about what makes Knoxville great. I am excited to be a contributor to the site and even more excited to announce our new project First Friday Five. The first installment is April 3!

Knoxville Marathon Relay

These cute girls ran the Knoxville Marathon four person relay this weekend. April, Les, Laura, Esther

We had so much fun despite the very cold wind during the second half of the race. Thanks girls! Look for us to break some records in 2010.