05 July 2009

Ethiopian Mehaber... We Left Our Hearts in MN!

You know, there's really nothing like being with 1,000ish other people comprised of families that look like your own... We've been looking forward to going to Mehaber for years, but we didn't anticipate being so emotional. It's not something I can adequately describe. Walking in and seeing so many Ethiopian kids and their families was beyond moving. Just hearing moms and dads calling out for Abeba, Dawit, Tenagne, Fasika, or Mekdes pierced my heart.

We had a fantastic time meeting a bunch of new friends and finally meeting a few old ones like Allison, Rebekah and Audrey. The kids got tattoos and ate their weight in popcorn and candy. We came home with bags heavily laden with Ethiopian coffee, shirts & bags from AHOPE, tons of children's books, photo books of Ethiopia, etc., a new traditional Ethiopian dress for Ray Ray's next birthday photo, and pretty much anything we could get our hands on.

But, the best part was just being there. What a day!




The Andenet Dance Group was great!








Ethiopian dance class






Ray Ray loved making new friends.






Ray Ray with Biftu Merdassa, the sweet Ethiopian lady who braided Ray Ray's first cornrows.


What a spectacular time! We are SO looking forward to next year! THANK YOU, EKC, for organizing such a wonderful event for families like ours!

3 comments:

Sarah said...

Yeah!!! it was a fabulous event & so great finally "meeting" you.

Unknown said...

What a cool thing to be a part of!

Erica said...

Oh how COOL! I think we shall consider going to this next year. What an AWESOME event!!!