DAY 8: Arrival at Tesfa Mender

Today was our transition from part 1 of our trip to part 2: Addis Ababa to Sendafa, the home of Tesfa Mender, Hope for the Fatherless's residential program to rescue and rehabilitate children living on the streets. 

We left our hotel early in the morning to depart for the HFTF office. We picked up all our supplies and departed with most of the kids for Tesfa Mender in Sendafa. This rural property includes Tesfa Mender, as well as guest houses, a dining hall, and a fellowship hall, all which are being used for our VBS and for barista training. The HFTF kids from Addis were brought with us so that they can continue to go through our VBS curriculum. The younger kids are doing this, while the older ones and the Tesfa Mender boys are doing the barista training.

Day 3 of VBS (Day 1 here in Sendafa) was a shortened day due to the travel in the morning. We only had the afternoon to fit curriculum in, but we were still able to do most of our stations. We started with a Bible lesson about Joseph, and then moved to both science (color-changing substances) and emotions (ways to calm yourself down, like drawing with both hands at the same time). The next rotation was crafts (watercoloring hearts) and future lab (using legos to make something beautiful). 

The kids ended the day with getting to try new foods like tortilla chips and pretzels with peanut butter, mandarin oranges, and peaches. In the evening, we were all able to just enjoy our time with the kids, running around with them and playing soccer with them. Due to a power outage, we ate dinner and did our debrief in the dark, which allowed us to focus more clearly on connection with each other and where we are at, instead of worldly things like using phones.

- Samantha

BARISTA TRAINING

Legacy Refuge is an organization that trains students to work with orphans aging out of care around the world. They put on VBS camps as well as barista training. The barista training is called "Filtered Hope" and the older teens from Hope House, Faith House, and Tesfa Mender are able to participate in that over the next week. Some of them have gone through the training before, but veteran or not, this training helps prepare the students for a job when they come of age. Several graduates of HFTF have worked in coffee shops in the greater Addis Ababa area. 

The Filtered Hope training consists of instruction about coffee, training on the machines, life skills and Bible teaching, and many ice breakers and games! Today we learned about the coffee belt on the map and what coffee likes to grow in (mild climate, altitude, humidity, no pests, mix of sun and shade, rain, etc.), the history of coffee, and the process of coffee from plant to cup. Related to that, the Bible lesson was all about creation and God's mandate to rule and steward the earth well. 

We did not get as far as training on the machine today as the power was out for the entire afternoon and some of the evening, but it was fun anyway! Two of the girls from Hope House took turns translating for the Filtered Hope team, and it was quite impressive! 

- Moya

Please continue to pray for our programs, good health and safety for the team, children, and staff, and working electricity so the espresso machine will work! We hope these beautiful kids will feel the goodness, love, and protection of the Lord through all that we do.