Update #2

Hey everyone!

I hope you are all doing well. I am doing great in Ethiopia! I love it so much that I don't want to come home [seriously!].
I don't have a lot of time to write details today in this blog so I'll just give you a synopsis of what has happened so far.

I climbed an entire mountain (Mt. Entoto). It was crazy and really hard! I thought I was going to die because I couldn't breathe. Guess I'm pretty out of shape.

I also got to finally go to my worksite! I am working at KVI or Kingdom Vision International, which is an orphanage for babies up through the age of 13. It was amazing to see the children and I LOVE going there everyday. I am teaching them English and about the bible. I teach toddlers and the older children. I also play games with them (especially futbol or soccer which they love!)
One of the children has a webbed knee, so he cannot walk on his foot but rather slides around on his hands on other knee. He was also pretty badly burned in a fire so his leg has infection. I prayed for him that day and that night with our American team and the next day found out that he is going to America to get surgery- so he will be healed!!! He got a sponsor that day that decided to host him. Isn't that CRAZY????

Also please pray for one of the other children that has warts all over his face, and another child that is completely deaf in both ears.

Ethiopia has been such an incredible experience so far and I am learning a lot! When I first came I was in culture shock and felt completely helpless because the poverty is so abundant and never-ending. Now I am starting to become hopeful, and I believe that we can help people here. I am learning a lot of Amharic and I really want to take a class in order to be fluent. The language barrier is pretty hard to deal with sometimes- especially at our worksites. Most of the kids at KVI speak Amharic, or very few English, so I have to speak through a translator, which is another Ethiopian named Pariseam.

I also went shopping in Mercado, which is the biggest market in AFRICA!!! Isn't that crazy? It was really crowded and you got pushed everywhere you went. I did manage to buy a pair of zebra earrings though so that is exciting! :)

All in all I am getting used to Ethiopian culture and our roommates. I love them so much and I wish I could tell you stories about all of them! Unfortunately, internet costs money per minute that you use it, so I have to try and be brief in my writing.

I love and miss you all! See you in 3 weeks!

-Atalie