Ethiopia Schedule

I am posting to the blog via email as a test for Ethiopia.  While we are out of the country, we are unable to view blogger, but we can upload to it via email. A few weeks ago, during one of our conference calls with Hopechest, we were given the following tentative schedule (subject to change of course).  Five of the locations are in the capital city of Addis Ababa, and three of the sites are outside the city.   There are 8 different orphanages and care points that have been identified and researched by the Hopechest staff in Ethiopia.  Some of these locations are not a traditional orphanage where children live 24/7.  Some of the sites are called "care-points or drop-in centers" which refers to a location (maybe a church, maybe a building owned by a someone sympathetic to an orphan's situation, maybe a school) where orphaned children, some of whom are living on the streets, show up for the chance of being fed and being safe. Sunday - I fly out of Mpls to Washington DC (staying with Pete & Andrea Kidd.  Pete is also going on the Hopechest trip and they adopted a little girl from Ethiopia last year.)   Monday - 9:30 am - Ethiopia Air flight direct to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia - about a 15 hour flight I think.   Tuesday - 8:30 am Ethiopia time (8 hour time difference) arrive and travel to the Ethiopia Guest Home.  (This is the same place we stayed last time.)  Visit "Promising" Drop-In center which serves 81 children.   Wednseday - travel 6-7 hours to the town of Kombolcha (North of Addis) to visit Grace Drop-In center which serves about 180 children, but there are over 400 children identified in need.   Thursday - spend morning again at Grace Drop-In center and then travel back to Addis in the afternoon.   Friday - Visit CFI school which serves about 25 kids.  Visit "Hope for the Hopeless" drop-in center which serves 15 orphaned children.   Saturday - Travel to Woliso ( about 1 hour South of Addis) to visit Emanuel Orphanage which serves 122 orphans.  Then travel to Debre Zeit (about 1 hour East of Addis) to visit Elolam Orphanage which serves 120 children locally, and another 110 children from Addis. Sunday - Visit Kind Heart drop-in center which serves 56 children in Addis.  We will be attending a church service as well.   Monday - Visit Gospel for All Nations drop-in center which serves 40 children in Addis. Tuesday - Several of us will be visiting the America World Adoption Transition Home where we adopted our children, and reuniting with friends, Duni, Furtuna and Robel.  We will also have time to do a little shopping and touring before catching a 10:15 pm flight to the USA.   Wednesday - 4:00 pm - I land in Minneapolis!