Jan 12, 2009 Update

Hi David!

It’s Maija-Sitota’s Birthday today. We’ll be visiting her today from 3 to 4 p.m. How are things going at home? How are the boys?

We are doing great stretching our funds. Erik is becoming quite a bargainer? He has been looking for a longsleeve button-up shirt but doesn’t want to pay what they are asking for them. Maybe he’ll find one today. I want us to buy an Ethiopian cultural harp here but thus far I have only found the ones just for decorations. Maybe when you come here we’ll try to get one. I would like Jenny to take a look at it and maybe help us to learn to play it. Belachew is going to be driving us today. He has a van. I think he will make a good driver for us when you guys get here since we all can fit into his van. We can negotiate a price with him if indeed we’ll be going around with him most of the days. It will be harder to take line taxes with Maija. Doesn’t look like people are using carseats or even seatbelts.

On our way to the fosterhome we’ll stop at some market as well to see if we could find more art work to take home. I thought I might as well use his services since I am already out and about with him and paying for it. We’ll try taking more line taxes with Erik.

Yesterday we went to the International Church….just Erik and I….on a line taxi. That was first time on our own on it. It went well. (It’s quite exhausting to be so ‘aware’ of your surroundings). We got to the church way too early (so against my nature)….kind of wandered around. I told Erik to pray guidance for us while we were there. We sat down on a bench outside, beside couple of white ladies. We found out one of the ladies was working in Ethiopia with an overseas mission and other one was teaching at the school for deaf . Every Thursay the other lady, Marsha, goes to couple of homes of HIV positive women to visit them, bring them some groceries and some pretty little thing to cheer them up. (These are the people that Mekanisa Baptist Church is working with as well)…. These homes are in the Mekanisa area, which is supposed to be a real slum…also around there in that area is the library compound. Marsha asked if Erik and I would like to join her. So, we are meeting with her on Thursday to go and visit these women. I made a couple of necklaces with an other woman in our compound to take over to them with me as a gift. Also the other lady we met at the church, Rebeccah, wants us to come and see the deaf school and perhaps help her with the kids she is teaching. They are grades 5-8 I think. We’ll plan to go there as well.

Tomorrow, we are planning to go out with the other adoptive parents to the Entoto mountains. That will be an all day affair. On Wednesday I am hoping to have the Addis Kidan Church truck to take us out an around the Addis for the day. While out and about today with our driver, Belachew, we had this really nice coffee called, Markiato (it’s become our favorite now) and tea-coffee mix called spris (we’ll still have to try that).

Today when we had a visit with Maija she slept again for a while in my arms. She seems to settle down if I sing to her. She is still making strangers with us and I find it’s kind of stiff to visit with her since all her caregivers where gathered all around us. She would rather be with them since she knows them.

There is a lady staying here who is going up north to teach at the deaf school. She is teaching Erik some signing right now so that Erik will have some knowledge of it for when we go and visit the deaf school here in Addis. That’s really cool.

God is good! He has given Sitota to us and He will give us wisdom and grace to look after her and raise her up.

I love you very much! Kisses and hugs for you and the boys.

Satusi