DAY 9: The Joy of Play (and coffee!)

 

VBS

Before a long day of VBS, the day started much earlier for many of the Hope kids as they woke up at 5am to go play soccer. They were taking advantage of the outdoor space here at Tesfa Mender! 

This is where we gathered on our first morning at Tesfa Mender to continue our devotions in James, and it's a good thing Chris can project his voice, because he's been able to pull off highly distracting situations for our time together!

Today at VBS the kids continued to learned about the choices we make and how important they are! It's been such an encouragement to my heart to see the kids interact with all the volunteers but also with each other! These kids have truly been a beautiful example for me and many of what unconditional love looks like and how what happens in the past doesn't have to define our lives today but we can still find joy. In crafts we made Kintsugi which is making something beautiful from broken pieces and similarly in emotions we talked about how even the hard things in our past God can use to make something beautiful and colorful. It reminds me of the verse that talks about God making beauty from ashes (Isaiah 61:3). 

These kids just enjoy a pure and simple life and just love to be kids! A joy today I experienced was the Joy House kids going down the slide with the biggest smiles and how I repeatedly got to say "gobez" (good job) and "ciao ciao" (bye bye). I look forward to the many joys tomorrow brings with these kids! 

- Savannah

BARISTA TRAINING

The kids learned today about what the parts of an espresso machine are and what factors affect the espresso pulled from the machine. Then they were able to practice, as we had power for most of the working day! They had to measure out the weight of the beans, grind them, even them out within the Portafilter (the thing you put the espresso in) and then allow the machine to put in water and extract it to weigh the correct amount for a double espresso shot. It was so fun seeing them try it out for the first time! They did some incredible crafts while waiting their turn on the two different types of machines. 

The Filtered Hope staff needed some milk for upcoming drinks the kids will be making, so they asked the Tesfa Mender staff, who said they didn't have milk, but they have cows! Fresh milk! But in order that its safe for all people to consume, they had to pasteurize it at 145 degrees for 30+ minutes. The heat was a bit of an issue on the stove, so Adri spent hours working with the milk to get it to temperature, and after much perseverance, was able to fully pasteurize it for us to drink tomorrow! Now she will be prepared if she ever owns a farm one day in the future!

- Moya