DAY 11: Final Day at Tesfa Mender

VBS

VBS concluded with a kid favorite - playing with the parachute and beach balls! Camp overall went so well this past week: lots of fun, creativity, learning and growing, not only in faith but also in how to navigate life's unexpected challenges with perseverance, new coping skills, and our perfect hope in Jesus! 

- Parker

WORKING GENIUS

The executive staff of HFTF as well as Parker, Reese and Moya met for a meeting to discuss our "Working Geniuses," meaning how we are wired to work in our strength and passions, and how as well-crafted group of people working in their strengths can bring life to an organization. It was fascinating and helpful to walk through a "problem" the Ethiopia team wants to solve, from the perspective of each of the different Geniuses! 

- Moya

EVENING BONFIRE

At the end of our last full day in Ethiopia, the HFTF and Tesfa Mender staff organized a bonfire to celebrate our time together and reflect on the successes of the mission so far. We all sat together around a fire pit that the staff had just built earlier in the week to enjoy song, prayer, a meal, and gratitude for each other. It was a special and sentimental night right outside the dorms on the Tesfa Mender site. We sang worships songs that some of the HFTF kids led us in. The staff purchased a whole lamb for the celebratory bonfire, cooked this tibs (some of the kids' favorite food) right there over the fire pit for us, and served it to us to enjoy together. One of the boys had me excited for this bbq most of the day leading up to it.

Then, some of our group and a few of the kids each stood up one at a time to give their own heart felt message for everyone. The kids voiced their appreciation to us for the impact we've been able to have here, and letting us know they could see the effort, planning, and thought we'd put into the trip. There has been so much to be thankful for on this trip, including all the new friendships made these couple weeks, learning more about each others' lives, and seeing how the kids have been growing since the ministry first started. 

This time of reflection at the bonfire will help us all remember these things, and encourage us in the long term goal we're all working towards. There is still much work to be done to get every kid into a family, but this night together was important to notice how far things have come. Tesfa Mender is already such an amazing place for these kids to grow and spend time together. The bonfire with everyone involved this week added to the importance of this area. It is nice thinking of the future bonfires and times of fellowship there may be between the kids who live here, the staff, and other mission groups who might come visit.

One thing that has made this mission trip so amazing and worthwhile is not just the small way we've been able to support the ministry for a couple weeks, but how the ministry and the kids have inspired us and given us encouragement to keep going in our own lives. It was a bittersweet last night in Ethiopia, but the fire-lit dance party to end the night put smiles back on our faces before we all have to say goodbye.

- Cody