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| Widows and our Team |
As I write this blog we have just had an official ceremony opening the new Widows and Orphans home in Adama Ethiopia. The new building is stunning! Two of the five stories have been completed and are now occupied. I was here in June, and the change is amazing.
Widows lined the entry way and greeted us as we entered. Many of them gave us the typical greeting, a hand shake and a right shoulder ‘bump’. They moved in one week ago and are so grateful for this home.
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| Amina |
Amina was the first to share. She has accepted the Lord. She was blind for 17 years. She lived with her daughter and son in law. When her daughter died, the son in law took her outside and left her in the alleyway to die. Tizera found her in the alleyway. She brought her to the home where they provided cataract surgery. Amina can now see after 17 years of blindness. Amina is blessed!
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| Mamita |
Mamita was the next to share Her husband died. She was living alone and was also blind. When Tizera found her, she was sleeping on river stones in filth and despair. After she came to the Widows and Orphans Home, her sight was restored through a simple cataract surgery. Mamita is now happy, at peace, and loved.
The Widows come from horrible circumstances. Some come from living on the streets and others from living in small shacks. When the widows came for their first tour of the new home, they were shocked to see that EVERY bedroom has a private bath. The facility is new, and is very well built. The new home spoke to them about their value. One widow looked into her room and turned to the other widows and said “listen to me, listen. I have something to say”. If I get to live in this place, now I know that we get to go to Heaven.
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| Bathrooms in The Widow’s Home |
One of the widows had never seen a Western style bathroom. When she entered the bathroom at the new home, she was disappointed to see no water in the sink. She had never used a sink with a faucet. She raised the toilet seat. “Ahhh”, she said. “This is where the water is”, and before they could stop her, she scooped her hand into the toilet and took a drink. She now knows how to use a sink and faucet, and now she knows what a toilet is for.
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| Widow’s Community Feeding Program |
Every month. The Home provides flour and other food for destitute widows in the community. The widows shared how this ministry has transformed their lives. We saw the gratitude and joy on each if their faces as they received a large sack of flour.
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| Widow’s Community Feeding Program |
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| Loving On The Babies |
The Babies are my favorite!! There are 19 children in the home and we got to hold babies and just love on them. That was one if the most fun things we did this day. The orphanage director laughed and said that she was going to check our backpacks when we leave, just to be sure we didn’t take any babies home.
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| Yes, They Have Adoptable Babies! |
We heard the stories of different babies. Some were abandoned in a hospital or on the side of a road. They are ALL beautiful children, just waiting for a loving home. All of the babies in this home are adoptable.
It’s hard to believe that we head home in only two days. We have a very heavy schedule in those days, and then return to our loved ones in the States. We WILL take part of Africa back with us when we return. Thanks for all who have prayed for this time.
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Post written by
Wick Nease
In Africa with the Streams Of Mercy team
