A few reflections from Mariah & Beth

By Mariah Cowell

As I've returned home and settled back into everyday life, I have found that this trip has impacted so much of what I do. I'm studying Social Work and am incredibly passionate about social justice. As I return to my studies this fall, I feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to experience and build relationships with people who are encountering the very things I am attempting to address. This trip has given me perspective on my career and my everyday life. I have learned how big God is. I tend to try to handle things on my own, I learned so quickly in Ethiopia that if we attempt to do this we will fail. We are called to lean on Christ. He is our defender and he is faithful and consistent. I also learned the importance of life experiences. I could have lived my whole life not knowing what happens in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. But that is not what we are called to do as Christians. We cannot get so caught up in the menial details of our lives and forget our purpose as Christians. The man who teaches English at Hope for Korah was explaining to Beth and I all that he has done in the Korah area in Addis and we were amazed. His simple response was, "Well, we are called to serve." He was not going above and beyond, he was doing what God has called us all to do, serve. Service and relationships are vital to Christianity. These experiences in Addis gave me something invaluable, a "Why." I now know who I am doing what I do for. Being able to communicate and interact with the people I care for gives me an amazing opportunity to be their advocate here in America. I am so grateful for this trip and how these people have impacted my life.

By Beth Adams

It is inevitable that once one travels abroad to places like Ethiopia someone will ask why you did not focus on the needs here at home. As I reflect on why it is necessary to go and see even from afar, these are my thoughts: In the US there are deep, pervasive needs in vulnerable children but we do have a foster care system, even with its limitations, that suggests that children do best when placed in families if at all possible. In many countries worldwide there are so many children, so many needs and such a lack of resources that in effect, children are placed in large orphanages and spend years if not decades there. As those on our team would probably agree, it is worthwhile to go, to see, to learn, to give. As a needy child reaches out to you from a crib, as a small child grabs your hand to show you her bracelet given by a member of a previous team, as a special needs child makes eye contact with you and claps wildly, as an older child laughs as you play soccer with him and later ask about his dreams for the future, as you listen to the longing of an older man who has seen much suffering, you just may encounter the face of Christ in one of His many disguises. Go and see. Go and learn. Go and serve.