Beautiful Day in Ethiopia

Today was a purely wonderful, purely Ethiopian day.  First stop?  Addis Kidan Baptist Church in Kechene.  From about 10-12 we had the privilege of being in their service and seeing their hearts pour out to God.  While we didn't understand most of what was said, we were still thankful for the experience--everything from singing and dancing to watching the youth do a dance to the message about being the aroma of Christ…and much more!  After the service, we went into Bright Future to change clothes and then walked across the street to Mona's shop for some fresh sambusas and the best cups of chai EVER (this is my third visit)  I wish we could upload pictures to show you.  I'm guessing the space was around 10 x 5 feet.  We were cozy and content as the rain (once again) came down.

From there, we went to Bright Future Academy for more work on the mural and more play with the children.  This day was particularly unique because we asked Binyam and he agreed we could invite all the children outside the gate into the compound.  Once again, we painted nails, played futbol, pushed kids on swings, put together puzzles, decorated classrooms, and monitored the merry-go-round (I TOTALLY get why there are very few of these left in parks/schools across America!) It was definitely not without its complications, but it was a very special time.  The kids were So excited!  As it was time for them to go, I'll never forget the little girl who came up to me and said, "Thank you."  The aroma of Christ.

Then, it was back to Bright Future for a coffee ceremony, popcorn, and Swiss chocolate--mmmmmm and thank you!  The dancing, singing, and laughing that followed between the team and kids was another precious memory.  After a quick run to the grocery store, we arrived back at the guest house for a fun-filled time of meal preparation with lots of Michael Buble and Broadway. And the finished product was worth the wait.  Who knew how handy having a chef on our trip would be?!?

All the prayers and preparation surrounding this trip are so evident as I look around the room right now at the team hanging out together, some of us laughing until our stomachs hurt, others engaged in serious conversations.  The aroma of Christ.  Tomorrow promises to be just as fabulous with a visit to AHOPE, the HIV orphanage, in the morning, BFA, and a special thank you celebration in the evening where we will be purchasing a goat--yes, a live goat (sorry, vegetarian readers :(  ) for our dinner party.  Thank you to so many of you who have made this incredible dream a reality.  My heart couldn't be any more full. 

~ Danielle 

Hello again from the Kidan Guest House

Hello again from the Kidan Guest House! Today we are much more rested and all set up with awesome new hair-dos thanks to the Bright Future girls (minus Todd and Brandon, of course). Our day started at 9:30 when we set out to pick up supplies to finish the painting around the school. I don't think we got to the school until around 12:30. Lets just say the service at "Home Depot" in Addis Ababa (there really is one) is quite a bit slower than it is in the States. After around 45 minutes Binyam, Danielle and Sabrina walked out of Home Depot with no paint. Onto the next Home Depot it was, where this time while waiting Kate almost got to fulfill her dream of playing with a chicken. I'm not quite sure how this started but I think it was sparked by constantly seeing people walking around Addis carrying chickens. Anyways, this time we had more success and got every color of paint. We also stopped at Kaldi's, which is essentially the Starbucks of Ethiopia. Jolene and I got great drinks but after trying to order a black coffee, and subsequently almost being served ice cream instead, followed by a cold coffee with ice (where Jolene intervened since we cannot have the ice here), Brandon said he's not sure exactly what he ended up with for a drink, but whatever it was he would not be getting it ever again. (If he can help it)

We got to Bright Future and filled our van up with a bunch of the kids who were so excited to come to the school and help. Tonight during debriefing we all shared stories and favorite moments of ours from today and one thing that stands out to all of us is how helpful all of these children are. They are always there, holding a ladder or cutting tape or cleaning your paint brushes or getting you whatever it is you need at that moment. Yesterday as I sat outside pulling weeds from around the garden, a young girl came and sat right beside me and began helping me pull weeds. I smiled at her and said, "thank you," and she giggled a little bit and responded, "no problem!" They are always there at every moment helping. 

While the more business-like job of the day was working on the school, painting and setting up, our real mission is being a presence in these children's lives. I would say that was definitely accomplished today. Whether it was Sabrina teaching her (amazing) dance moves to a large group of children, or hearing everyone sing the 'chicken dance' song louder than I've ever heard, there was so much joy today. After all of the kickballs got inflated there was a big soccer game outside. There were also a lot of moments of reading stories, putting puzzles together, and learning different handshakes. As someone said tonight during debriefing, "everyone was giggling all day." 

Of course, mixed in with the laughter were a lot of the first big cries of the trip. There were definitely some emotional moments. Before we were leaving we went outside the gate to paint the nails of all the children outside of the gate. Slowly the group begin to grow and even some of the mothers in the community came over. One of the women, holding onto her young daughter's hand, explained to Jolene how her husband had just passed away. At first she was a bit shy and declined the offer to have her nails painted, but after a few minutes she softened up and got her nails painted too. I'll never forget the look on her face while she was getting them painted and how incredibly happy she looked afterwards. And isn't that the main purpose of Project Presence? To be a light during the dark times, to let these women and children know how loved they are at all times? And if they can feel our love, maybe they will grasp how immensely big the love of our Savior is for them every day of the year. 

Today's devotional spoke of how we should consider it a joy when we are enveloped in various trials; that they are gifts from Him, reminding us to rely on Him alone. There was a lot of reliance on Him today, in those difficult moments. Like the moment where we left and one of the children cried as she had to be peeled out of Paige's arms. He is there, in the midst of it, reminding us to rely on Him. Reminding us that even when we cannot be a presence here, He is here, every day, loving each one of the individuals in Kechene more than we could 

ever imagine.

~Jen 

There is Nothing There to See?

Hello from Addis Ababa! Two days after embarking on our journey, we are finally here, safe and sound!  It’s surreal to be sitting here in the Kidan Guest House surrounded by the rest of the Awake and Alive team. I also apologize if my writing gets fuzzy, we’re all running on little sleep. So here’s a brief rundown of our traveling adventures.  A group of 6 of us drove together from Mishawaka to Chicago, where we met up with Brandon and Kate in the airport. Let me just say that 2 a.m. is a humbling and very amusing time to meet new team members. There was lots of laughter for sure! Our 6 a.m. flight to D.C. went smoothly and we met up with Jen and Anna in that airport. I thoroughly enjoyed watching each team member prepare for the long 13 hour flight ahead. Some smiled with anticipation as they eagerly eyed their sleeping pills while others lay down on the floor and stretched their muscles out. 

One amusing adventure of our long flight happened within the first few hours. The flight attendants were getting ready to pass out food when suddenly there seemed to be some commotion coming from the back of the plane. Several flight attendants walked quickly past us. Jolene, Amber and I were all sitting next to each other and, like any curious human being, craned our necks to see what was going on. As a flight attendant passed us again, Jolene inquired about the ruckus and we learned that there was a guarded deportee on our flight. Jolene asked the flight attendant, ‘Are we safe?’  She shrugged and smiled hesitantly, ‘I tink so.’  Everything turned out completely fine and we sure got a laugh out of her answer. 

I think one of the things that has stood out most from this first day is a conversation we had with the flight attendant. She was asking us where we were going in Ethiopia and Jolene said ‘Kechene.’ This seemed to confuse the attendant and she asked again where else we were going. The same answer was given. The attendant responded ‘Why? There is nothing there to see.’ Jolene  told her about Bright Future Academy and the opening of the school next week. The attendant still seemed confused and asked, ‘You know there are other places to see in Addis Ababa?’ We smiled and nodded and the attendant left. There is nothing there to see. I thought of all the precious children and families. People. Precious people. Jesus' ministry on earth was people. My heart broke to realize that most Ethiopians view Kechene as cursed, but beyond that, that they think that it is not worth your time. As we walked through the muddy streets of Kechene today, children ran up and held our hands. I looked down into a sea of beautiful smiling faces and was reminded of Hagar’s story in the Old Testament. Remember what she named  God? The God who sees me. Kechene is not forgotten to Him. He sees each precious child and adult in this place and His heart longs for them to know that He passionately loves each of them. I can’t even comprehend this but I’m thankful that I serve a God that is bigger than poverty and unknown places. As I go to bed tonight I am blown away by the reminder that our God is a personal God. He sees Kechene. My prayer is that He can use our team this week to make a love statement to these beautiful people. 

Sabrina

Meet Awake & Alive's New CEO!

Awake & Alive is pleased to announce that Darin Shrock will serve as the organization’s first chief executive officer.  See a video introduction of Darin here and connect with Darin on facebook.

Darin has served as Awake & Alive’s general counsel through its formation and first year of operation. “I am unbelievably excited. I have a passion for what Awake & Alive is doing—helping widows and orphans help themselves. The co-founders have laid a great foundation for Awake & Alive and we will celebrate the opening of the school in Kechene in a few days. This is a great springboard for the organization and I look forward to working with the co-founders for future expansion.”

Darin has spent his legal career as an attorney serving corporate clientele, including numerous nonprofit organizations. Darin is a graduate of Bethel College (2006) and The Thomas M. Cooley Law School (Lansing, 2009). Darin is also a member of the Crystal Valley Exchange Club and serves on the Board of Directors of his church, Immerge. Darin lives in Goshen, Indiana with his wife, Jolene, and three children (all adopted from Ethiopia). In his free time, Darin enjoys spending time with family, reading, watching a good movie, and running.

Pre Trip Prep

Epic Church has been an amazing support of Awake and Alive from the very beginning. We are so thankful for the church family there. They truly "Live In + Live Out Gods Love."

Last Sunday they held a commissioning for the team during the church service. It was a beautiful time to reflect on each person that God has called to this trip and to be reminded to pray for the hearts of some many people that will be touched by our presence in Kechene, Ethiopia.

 After the church service a lot of the team members got together. We brought all of the donations that you all have so generously given to the children in Kechene. We were blessed to be able to go through and organize all of the donations and pack our bags FULL of all of the goodies you have given for the Bright Future Academy as well as for the children in the orphanage that we will be visiting.

Thank you for all of your continued love and support. We are ready to get on the ground in Ethiopia and start loving on the community of Kechene! Thank you all for giving us the opportunity to go with our hands FULL of supplies for the school!

Keep checking our blog for updates!

If you would still like to give please click here.

The Team!

It is with great pleasure and joy that we are able to introduce you to the Project Presence Team. We are a group of individuals who have all felt called to this special place in Ethiopia, called Kechene, and because of that call we are a TEAM, 13 strong.

God has called each one of these precious people to this trip for a reason. And some of the team members are still not sure why. But they said YES anyway! We thank God for their obedience and their willingness to travel around the world to show love to orphans and widows in Kechene, Ethiopia.  We are excited to see what God has planned for each one of our team members. This trip will be life changing for many of them. And we ask for your prayers now, before we leave, during our time in Ethiopia, and for our team after we come home from Ethiopia.

Thank you.  

While you are here checking out our team, we ask you to follow the blog and LIKE us on FB. 

While we are in ET we will be posting pictures and blogging daily as long as the electricity/Internet is working.

With out further adieu we are thrilled to introduce you to: 

THE TEAM:

AMBER from Indiana

AMANDA from Indiana

 GRACE, from Indiana

 

 KATE from Indiana

TODD from Indiana

 

ANNA from Indiana 

JEN from Massachusetts

SABRINA from Indiana

BRANDON from Indiana

 CARA from California

 PAIGE from Chicago

 Team Leaders:

JOLENE from Indiana

   

DANIELLE from Indiana

JOLENE AND DANIELLE
Best Buddies
& your team leaders!

Prayer Requests:

•   Kechene: that the people there would know God’s presence and feel His love through us.

• Unity:  with local churches in Kechene, the Vineyard Church in Switzerland, Bright Future, and each other.

•   Relationships: that Christ would shine through the way we treat each other on the team and the way we treat the people in Kechene.

• The children: that they might transition well into their 1st day of kindergarten at the Bright Future Academy and the rest of the school year. 

Thank you for your continued prayers. 

Do you love books?

Free shipping on book orders of $25 or more and help send Ethiopian children to school in Kechene
Do you love books?  Could you ever have enough of them?  Or do you have some books you want to buy as gifts?  How about getting what you need or want and having it go towards a great cause at the same time?  Isn’t that just the best of both worlds?!?  Well, the folks at Christian Books Bibles have agreed–willingly and excitedly, I might add–to help us out.  Or, I should say, to help the children out in Kechene, Ethiopia.  Go to their website (http://www.christianbooksbibles.com/) and place an order, you will also be giving to Awake and Alive, helping us reach our goal to start a school for vulnerable children ages 4-6 in the capital city.  Here’s how it’ll look:
1.  Go to ChristianBooksBibles.com
2.  Order your items.
3.  At checkout, enter the promo code (AWAKE&ALIVE)
4. If your order is $25 or more (that’s a decrease from $50), you get free shipping on what is already one of the cheapest sites for new books around, and we get a portion of the profits!
You see how it’s a win-win?  So, what are you waiting for:  GO ORDER SOME BOOKS!