The Trip Home

Here is a brief update from Meg 

We woke up bright and early to one of the most beautiful days. The sun was warm and a gentle breeze already present at 8 AM. We packed and some did one last visit to the hospital while others joined in an early morning hike.

The breakfast news brought by Bete, Marta and Demi’s son, was that the roads to Addis were blocked. We are stuck, but Bete has arranged an alternate route out. We leave at 5 am to drive to Arba Minch. The whole group of Americans and Ethiopians will then fly to Addis on a chartered flight . We have to make it to Addis airport by 2.

We ran into a Swedish group of doctors in the local hotel also stranded.  The hotels are full. We are taking them back to the Yetebon grounds to sleep tonight. They will likely join us.

My sister had asked me to get her two Ethiopian football jerseys in Addis for her sons, who are adopted from Ethiopia.  I realized this delay would not allow me time to find this for them.  When two of the Ethiopian Health Officers found out about this, they drove their motorcycles into the local town and found me two jerseys to bring home.   This kindness is so typical of our time here. 

It’s a sweet day of waiting for clearance, waiting for the next step, waiting for God to provide. We slept, we played volley ball, we talked, and we played games.  God is good.

(Note we have heard that the team did make it to Addis in time to catch their flight to Dubai.  Once home, another blog post will go up to share the story of the long road home.)

Playing games to pass time.

Waiting in prayer and with song.

A map showing the long road home.  Instead of driving north to Addis Ababa, they had to drive south to Sodo and then to Arba Minch.  Then they would catch a flight to Addis Ababa