Well... Its been awhile.

I must say it has been almost 2 months since I last posted.... but thats not really where this blog post title came from.

Its been awhile.

Its been awhile since I heard their laugh.

Its been awhile since I held their hand.

Its been awhile since I played soccer in the streets.

Its been awhile since I saw God in a little boy.

Its been to long.

I miss them. I really do. I have not forgetten. The world keeps going on and sometimes i just really want it to stop because everyday I'm here means I'm not with them. I've been gone from Ethiopia, from the ones I love, too long. Please LORD, make time fly till January 13. And please, I pray, let them know I love them. I hope they have not fogotten.

Love isn't Love till you give it away,

She asked him for forever

And a promise that would last

He said, babe, you know I love you

But I can’t commit to that

She said love isn’t love

’til you give it away

A father lived in silence

Saw his son become a man

There was a distance felt between them

’cause he could not understand

That love isn’t love

’til you give it away

You gotta give it away

CHORUS:

As we live

Moving side by side

May we learn to give

Learn to sacrifice

We can entertain compassion

For a world in need of care

But the road of good intentions

Doesn’t lead to anywhere

’cause love isn’t love

’til you give it away

You gotta give it away

CHORUS

BRIDGE:

Love is like a river

Flowing down from the giver of life

We drink from the water

And our thirst is no longer denied

You gotta give it away

Chorus

There was a man who walked on water

He came to set the people free

He was the ultimate example

Of what love can truly be

’cause his love was his life

And he gave it away

You gotta give it away

They Are People.

Statistics are the face of Africa to the world . Poverty, Injustice, Slavery, Starvation, AIDS, Orphans, Hopelessness are the face of Africa to the world.

BUT I HAVE SEEN THE FACE OF AFRICA.

The faces of Africa are people. People just like you. People just like me. Parents who want to work to provide for their children, who want the pride of raising them well. Children who want to run, play, jump. Children who have never known the beauties of childhood, but smile with full contentment. Followers of Christ that praise the LORD for all He has blessed them with, when all they have could fit in a car trunk.

THESE ARE THE FACES OF AFRICA. THE FACES OF AFRICA ARE REAL PEOPLE.

Now I have to share some situations "A Friend of Mine ;)" was in.

1.) One of my best friends, Em, brought in cookies for our Social Studies Class (more about that AMAZING class later). We were all enjoying them, and one girl found a hair in her cookie. Em apoligizes and uses a well-known statement in America, " I'm sure starving children in Africa would appreciate it." Now this, TICKED ME OFF. I immediatley said, "That was rude . They are people still and probably don't want to be handed are left overs." We talked it out and I'm pretty sure she will never say anything like that in my presence again. Hopefully.

2.) This is the worst thing I have ever seen an American do. ((Probably)) I was at the Christian bookstore and they have World Vision children's profiles there. The two thrity/ twenty year old women were asked if they would like to sponser them. This is there conversation:

W1: Oh this little girl is so cute.

W2: Oh, Barb, there are some really cute ones over here.

W1: Which ones?

W2: (Thumbing through the profiles, skipping over the ones who weren't CUTE enough) Here, theres a few.

W1: Oh, look at this ones cute little dirty shirt!!

W2: Don't you already have 3?

W1: Yeah, one is Sri Lanki, India, and Bolivia.

Now this made me sick. People, I'm sure very God-Loving people, would really pass over children to sponser because they are not cute enough. These kids are not vacation homes or puppies, they are childrens They are children with a heart, emotions, dreams, and most importantly, souls. They are children who need the love of a parent, of a friend, of God just as much as children anywhere else in the world.

I HAVE HELD AFRICA'S HAND.

I HAVE SEEN AFRICA'S FACE.

I HAVE HEARD AFRICA'S SONG.

THEY ALL RING LOUDLY IN MY EAR.

HopeFest, Houseguests, and Other Happenings

Tomorrow, Hope For His Children is having its second annual Hope Fest. I will give all you invisiable readers I pretend are reading more detail about it Sunday.

Peter is coming!! Eliza is coming!! Tonight!! They are coming!! Peter is our family friend who runs a drop in center in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. He is coming for Hope Fest, and I am so excited!

Now for the other, more dreary "funny" matters. My summer has started. "What? Summer? Shouldn't you be happy?" Yes, yes I am. But maybe I should show you my schedule. Weights, Basketball, Volleyball, Shootout, Game, Repeat.

IM.

NOT.

KIDDING.

I think I'm gonna passout. I closely escaped that this morning as I finish my squads, turn around, and see a senior (a very athletic senior, at that) hurling bright green into a trash can. He then prances of to the next station, sweaty and red face. It was nasty.

P.S: My friend, Madi, posted about me on her blog, www.themessybun.blogspot.com. I sound rather rude, but hey, I said it! :)

Another, Less Relevant Dream.

5 minute ago I posted about dream I had had concerning my Ethiopian friends. This is a dream I had two nights ago, and though less relavent, I find it excedingly comical. You might not find it fun at all though because, well, you have no idea what I am talking about.

It was Thanksgiving morning, and for some reason our family was hosting a giant breakfast (we don't even have a nice breakfast on Thanksgiving but anywho). My family invited The GGirl family, and AJ's whole family to join us at a long banquet table we had set up at a house I was unfamiliar with. We all sat down when all of a sudden, Levi, a guy in my grade pops in. Levi plays in the band, loves music, is extremely smart, and dresses in ties on random occasions. In short, Levi is awesome. Levi, in my dream, walks in my door wearing gangster basketball shorts, a white tanktop, and a HUGE bright red pearl necklace. I was so completely shocked, I was taking pictures on my phone to prove to our friends he was actually wearing it.
Next, my friend Madi, www.themessybun.blogspot.com, is completely obsessed with anything involving British royality (ok, so I am too, but only slightly). Levi decided to entertain us by talking about how tight he was with Prince William and Kate. We, of course, don't believe him so he whips out his phone and shows us Will's number. Madi then goes embarrssingly gracefully flying over the table to snatch the phone out of Levi's hand. Then dream ends as Madi chocking out Levi by his necklace, asking " Is Harry's number in there too?"

The Dream(s).

So far since I have gotten back from Ethiopia, I have had two weird interesting dreams about the boys I met there. Remember, THESE ARE DREAMS! THEY NEVER REALLY HAPPENED

Dream 1: Aj , one of my guy friends (RB), and I were at the Ethiopia Guest Home. Abel found out that we were in Addis again and kindly invited us to dinner. Now for some reason we found it unneccessary to console our parents on wether or not we should go to a random Ethopian home without knowing anything the people who live there, so we quickly packed our bags and left. When we were right outside the Guest Home, RB became infuriated that we had decided to go to dinner without asking him. He then decides to storm away down the street, comically sadly never to be seen again in the dream (He is apparently still wandering the streets of Addis in my dream)
When we arrive at Abel's, we notice that his home is not the typical Ethiopian home. Though it looks like the regular rusty tin homes that are standard in Addis, his just happens to be in a tree. Thats right. A glorified tree house in the middle of Addis. We are greeted by Abel's mother, and escorted to the nice patio that sat quiantly under the tree house. All eight of "the boys" were there, only they were acting as waiters in tuxdos. They also would not say a single word to us because they thought it would be rude to converse with us while we were eating. For lack of better words, then my dream ended.

Dream 2: We were on the 2012 mission trip that I am taking in January, once again to Addis Ababa. We were walking down the street, and all of a sudden I begin to scream/cry/run like a possesed person looking for the boys. i couldnt find them anywhere. I attemped to talk to boys on the street, but all they did was shake their head.
Although that was the only serious part of that dream many more events did happen. A tornado blew ten feet from the small shack my family was sleeping in, but only blew the roof off. Also, AJ's mom took a walk with a Chinesse gang member who got shot by a opposing gang leader DURIING THEIR WALK.

They say dream are what your brain really is thinking about during the day. Man, do I have a messed up mind.

Today, over 22,000 children died around the world

That is equivalent to:
> 1 child dying every 4 seconds
> 15 children dying every minute
>A 2010 Haiti earkquake happening every 10 days
> A 2004 Asian Tsuniami happening every 10 days
>Just inder 8.1 million children dying every year
>Some 88 million children dying form 2000 to 2009

Sub-Saharan= four million children just under the age of 5.

315,000 children under the age of five died in Ethiopia in 2009. How many more will die today? (If it continutes at the same pace, over 860.)