Did you know that studies show smiles are really contagious?  On a day like today, where many are divided here in the United States, we thought it may be helpful to share these smiles with you!

Our students are loving being in school.  They enjoy learning in the classroom, playing on the playground, meal time, and just time spent together with their friends and teachers.  We love that they have a safe place to gather each week day and that their parents/caregivers can focus on their daily work knowing these children are not only safe, but are receiving an excellent education.  On a daily basis our students are singing in Amharic and English and are practicing their writing and reading skills.  We are so fortunate to have such an incredible staff.

We are also happy to share that our student body has grown!  We now have 79 students at Love for the Children Academy.  What is even more amazing, is that all 79 students have been sponsored.  When we started this journey back in May, we never imagined we would grow so quickly and that we would have such an amazing following and support group.  Not only do we have your support and encouragement, but we have the backing of the local and regional government and have been given the green light to build our school from the ground up!  Project HEAL board members are in the process of working through the project details with the board of our partner non-profit on the ground in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, "Love for the Children."  We look forward to sharing more about our long term plan with you in the near future.  In the meantime, keep your eye out for the launch of our formal campaign to build the school over the coming weeks.

Please also stay tuned for more information about our involvement in the #GivingTuesday movement.  #GivingTuesday is a global day of giving fueled by the power of social media and collaboration and it is celebrated on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving.  #GivingTuesday kicks off the charitable season, when many focus on their holiday and end-of-year giving.  We are excited to participate and look forward to seeing how it will impact our students and their families.

Lastly, we will leave you with some more pictures that are sure to bring a smile to your face!

Have you ever wished you could be in two places at the same time?  Or had the desire for two different parts of "your world" to collide?

Today, these thoughts have constantly been flowing through my head.  The day after we returned from Ethiopia, one of my children got sick.  He had a high fever that persisted even with medicine.  It was a no brainer to take him to the doctor and it was easy for the doctor to order various tests to come up with the cause for his fever and other ailments.  While it took a few days to find the answers, I never worried too much, as I knew whatever we needed to do, we could make happen.  Tonight, before bed I hugged my sick kiddo, told him I loved him and that he would feel better tomorrow.  And now I feel guilty.  Just as I have the past few days because there is a very special boy in another part of "my world" that has some very significant health issues going on and I've seen how painful it is for his mother because she does not have the ability to tell him he will be better tomorrow.  She does not have the ability to go to any doctor she needs to in order to find answers or medicine or surgery.  I know our son's issues are not even close in comparison, but I do know that at the end of the day, all any mother wants is for her child to be safe, happy and healthy.

Leaving Ethiopia last Friday was very difficult, but I'm so thankful to be home with my family and friends.  I'm especially grateful to be here loving on my sick kiddo and taking care of him.  And this is when I wish my two worlds would collide...because I would love to be able to help my friend Debebe and my son at the same time.  Let me explain...

Debebe is one of our students at Love for the Children Academy.  The first day we arrived at the school, he greeted us with a big smile as did his mother.  It didn't take long for us to see that Debebe has some medical issues and his mother quickly shared with us some of the details.  She also explained that his sister, Fasika, had some similar issues.  It wasn't until after our long conversation that we realized she had their 4 month old brother, Haylemichael, attached to her back!  Debebe's mother has taken him and Fasika to the clinic where she has been told they have vitamin deficiencies.  I'm not a doctor, but I could tell that it was going to take more than vitamins to heal this little boy and his sister.  During our time in Ethiopia, we were able to get Debebe and his two siblings appointments at a hospital in Addis for this Friday morning at 7:45am.  There is a chance that their issue is genetic, so the doctor suggested he examine their baby brother as well.  In order to make it to the appointment on Friday, Debebe, his siblings and mother are traveling from Chacha to Addis on Thursday and staying overnight.  My guess is they have never left Chacha and now they will be traveling approximately 2 hours by car to stay in Addis - a place foreign to them.  Addis is very different than Chacha.  VERY different.  Alemnesh, one of Love for the Children Academy's teachers will be traveling with them and they will meet Dereje once they arrive in Addis.  The travel will be taking place as we are all waking up tomorrow morning and I'm hopeful you will join me in praying for Debebe and his family.  I pray for a safe and easy journey into Addis.  I pray for them to be comfortable in their new surroundings and mostly that the children are not scared.  I pray for the doctors who are working with Debebe, Fasika, and Haylemichael, that they may come up with a plan to heal these children.  I pray for Dereje and Alemnesh, as they have a big job in translating during the appointment.  There is so much more to this story, and I plan to share it at a later time, but for now, please join me in praying.  I wish I could be there with Debebe and his family.  I would hold their hands, hug them, and tell them not to worry.  I would tell them that we would do whatever it takes to find answers and to heal them.  That's what I would do if my worlds collided overnight.  But for now, I'll have to do it from afar.

As many of you know, Jana Fowler recently traveled to Ethiopia for Project HEAL's first visit to Love for the Children Academy.  She has shared her feelings leading up to the trip and also summarizes her experiences during and after the visit.  I know you will enjoy her story as much as I have. ~ Colleen

"The nights leading up to our trip to Ethiopia, I couldn’t sleep. I would wake up and my mind would start racing. I would be thinking about packing or things that needed to be taken care of at home before I left. But the worst part about it was the lies that kept filling my head. I couldn’t rest and couldn’t make them stop. I would think things like “why are you leaving your four kids and your husband?” or “you will be missing ______ if you go, how could you do that?” These types of thoughts raced in my head and kept me from sleeping several nights.

One night I googled “Ethiopian news” to see what was happening in Ethiopia. Turns out that a lot was going on. There are protest happening in Ethiopia right now and over a hundred people have been killed because of it. Then the thoughts got worse. “Why would you put yourself in that situation?” and “It isn’t worth the risk?” filled my head. I recognized that these weren’t truths, that these thoughts weren’t from the Lord and that Satan was trying to confuse me into staying behind. It didn’t work. A friend stopped by the day before we left and sat down with me for a few minutes. She had been to Africa before and left 2 children at home to go serve. She encouraged me that God had made it possible for me to go on this trip and that He would take care of everything. That my children are really his children and He will protect me. I left the next day feeling confident and resting in the fact that God was in control and not me. Thank goodness!

The entire week, as you probably saw and read, was incredible. I have been on mission trips before. I have seen poor and needy and I have experienced other cultures and languages. There was something different about Ethiopia. Something so special. Maybe it was because I have always dreamt of visiting Africa and have always felt a special place in my heart for the people there. I could go on about each day and why it was special, but I don’t think that I have enough time. I feel like we used our time so well and we were able to spend time serving and loving on the children, but we were also able to experience the culture of Ethiopia.

What Project Heal is doing in Ethiopia is incredible! The impact that they are making on the families in ChaCha is huge and it is just the beginning. When we walked into the school on the first day and those kids saw us, they had no idea who we were. Most had never seen a white person before. By the time we left, we couldn’t keep them from hugging and kissing us. One of my favorite times with the kids was when we called each of the kids back individually to get their picture. If they had a sponsor family, we would show them the picture and tell them about their family. It was such a special time spent with each child. We got to see their personalities shine and even though there was a language barrier, it didn’t matter. There was something more that united us. Love has no barriers. We loved those kids and they loved us.

As mentioned in the past blog, we were able to visit the home of each child at the school. It took us three days to do this and a lot of walking. Going into the homes of the kids brought up so much emotion. You see someone who has so little, basically nothing, yet has so much joy. The kids faces would light up when we would come into their home. They were so proud for us to be able to see where they lived. They didn’t care that their walls were made of mud and they had one room and one bed. They were thrilled for us to be there and to experience their life.

The kids would all gather and walk with us from house to house. We would go in and they would all stand at the doorway as we talked with the family. As we walked to each house, they would hold our hands and walk alongside of us. Some spent several hours walking with us going to each home.

The last day we were with the kids was really tough. We wanted them to know that this wasn’t the last time they would see us. That we weren’t just going to sweep in and out. That this was just the beginning of something. I kept thinking, I wish that we could stay longer, do more, teach more. And then I realized that staying wasn’t going to help do what we had come to do. We did what was needed and now that we had accomplished that, it was time to go. By staying we weren’t empowering them. Leaving them with tools necessary to succeed was empowering them.

As we unpacked the school supplies at the school one day, I came across a sign for the wall that said “No one can do everything, but everyone can do something”. Then it hit me. Had I listened to those lies as I laid in bed restless at night, had I believed that I couldn’t raise enough money to be able to go on this trip, had I been afraid that my presence in Ethiopia didn’t matter, had Dan and Colleen believed that this was too hard or too much work, then there wouldn’t be 65 children in ChaCha, Ethiopia who will have lunch tomorrow. There wouldn’t be 65 children who have a safe place to play and learn when they wake up in the morning. That a little six year old boy won’t be tending sheep in the field, but instead will be going to school tomorrow to learn and be a child and laugh. This is 65 somethings that are everything. 65 lives who are being empowered. 65 lives who are changed because two people said they could do something. I am amazed by Colleen and Dan. I am encouraged and inspired. I can’t stop thinking about what else we can do, what other ways we can help them, and how we can continue to help these kids. God has blessed us with so much. We know the love of Jesus and we can be his hands and feet and show that love.

I am incredibly grateful for those who made it possible for me to go. Whether you gave money for my trip, took my family a meal while I was gone, helped care for my children so Chris could have a break, or prayed for me. I know that this is the beginning of something beautiful and that lives are changed because of you, so thank you! There is still so much work that needs to be done. Colleen and I talked about so many other ways we can help the children at Love for the Children Academy and their families moving forward. If you feel like you want to do something more, please visit www.projecthealethiopia.org. There are still plenty of kids who need sponsors too!"