Micro Loans!

HAPPY SUNDAY!

It's been such a relaxing weekend :) I've been wanting to blog all weekend but I haven't really had any new and exciting Ethiopia updates. (Emily did go to Crossfit with me yesterday and she kicked butt! She's going to need all the endurance and strength she can get when we go to Ethiopia and have to hike up hills in Acheber! Mwahaha!)

Anyways...back on track...I check my Facebook and there it is! MICRO LOANS! When Jaime and I came back from Ethiopia the first time, making sure nuggets were clothed and taken care of was heavy on our hearts. Clothing them didn't seem to be enough though and we truly believed God was doing AMAZING things in Ethiopia. The villages we went to and the people we met truly touched our hearts. We wanted them to be able to create and sustain an economy that would provide for generations to come. Jaime being the Godly genius woman that she is dreamed up a Micro Loan process. With the support of EAVO and Abreham (he lives in Ethiopia and works for EAVO) we identified families that were in need and wrote up the contracts. Of course this process took some time but GOD MADE IT HAPPEN! 

Ayele has been really heavy on my heart lately. I pray for him and his family daily. I know that God will provide for him but I just miss him so much. I hate that he's growing up and I'm missing it. His family is one of the families that will be receiving a micro loan. He lives with his mom and older brother and sister. The one thing I loved about his mom is how much she provided not just for her own children but the children of Acheber in general. Here she is, a single parent and she was not only trying to feed me and my team but every other child that followed us. She loves her children so much that she's willing to give them up so that they could have a better life. Do you know how hard it was to not pack Ayele in my suitcase?! He's the cutest kid in the world! 

I'm excited about Micro Loans, I'm excited about the work that God is doing in Ethiopia, I am excited for the burden he has placed on my heart for Ethiopia, I am excited that I have the opportunity to stay connected to a community that I love so much. I am excited to be a part of a church family that supports the love I have for Ethiopia, I am excited for ENGAGE to see how God is using their gifts each week. Here are some pictures of a family signing the loan contract and getting their goats! Precious! Thank you Abrehamye (Fun Fact: ye=my, adding a "ye" to the end of someones name is saying "My Abreham." He calls me Krissye and I call him Abrehamye :) ) 

One of the families receiving their Goats aka a Micro Loan. LOVE YOU NUGGETS!

YES YES YES!

Holy cuteness! 

This is Abrehamye. Lover of nuggets and Jesus :)

Ayele's home. Andre & I with his family.

My boy! 

Trail Running

Today I went on a 5 mile trail run with a good friend. I've never done a trail run and to be honest I didn't really know the difference between a trail run and a regular run? I run the Folsom trails all the time! I'm a newb at the running thing and sometimes I kind of really dislike it. 

So we went on this trail right by Sophia parkway. There were a few different trails to choose from, a wide one that a lot of people were running on, a big open one along the lake, and a narrow one that took you straight into Gods beautiful creation. We took the narrow trail. Running is a really good time for me to reflect. It clears my mind and quite honestly I come up with some of my brilliant ideas while running (hence this blog mwahaha). I was in complete awe of the scenery. It was absolutely breathtaking. God is the most beautiful artist. His creation is extraordinary. I had to stop several times to take pictures because I wanted to take it all in. I hadn't been in this much awe since being in Acheber, Ethiopia. 

Trail running is a lot like the Christian walk. When you start, you're a little nervous and maybe even intimidated. When you jump in you are overwhelmed by the beauty and it's exciting. Then you hit your first hill. CRAP. Running up that hill burns but when you get to the top, you feel so accomplished and if you ran up the whole thing, it feels completely worth it. There's tons of rocks, mud, holes, bugs, etc. If you don't pay attention, you're going to end up face planting. However, if you don't take your time, you miss the beauty of the sun hitting the lake, the birds flying, the different flowers, and trees. Today while I was running, I couldn't help but be so thankful for this beautiful life that I have. There have been so many ups and downs (hills). Running up that hill sucks (broken relationships, fights, money, my brokenness) and when I get to the top I'm so happy because while it sucked, God walked with me the whole way. Running downhill is my favorite. Its my chance to catch my breathe. Yesterday I served at the Student ministry booth at Lakeside, I got live scanned, and committed to being a leader at Blitz Camp for the middle schoolers. This was like running down that hill and catching my breathe. When you're trail running, you're jumping around the rocks, and running in what feels like zig zags. I even screamed when I saw a big black bug. The Christian walk for me has never been a steady paced, flat, straight, rock free running trail. I mess up all the time because those rocks get in my way. I've even fallen flat on my face. When I take my eyes off the trail (God), I fall, every time. 

Sometimes, I want to run to the water and put my feet in, and then I realize its freezing and I run back to shore where its safe. Saying YES to God is similar to this situation. The shore feels safe and comfortable and God doesn't calls us to be comfortable. God put Ethiopia on my heart. People always ask me if I could be a long term missionary in Ethiopia. In my head it sounds like a great idea but realistically, could I really say yes?! Would I rather stay on the shore? What I've learned is, if I'm totally comfortable then I'm probably not growing in my faith. I mean I'm sure it was TOTALLY comfortable for Jesus on that Cross. You know...dying for our sins and all. I don't know all the answers but I do know that the Christian walk is the most fulfilling thing life has to offer. Its beautiful and scary. The amount of grace God gives is overwhelming. Everyday he is teaching me something new about what it means to be a follower and what it means to be the Daughter of a King. THE KING. 

I encourage you to hit up a trail and take in God's beautiful creation. Take the narrow path less traveled. Say yes to God when he asks you to run up that hill. Be careful for the rocks and the big bugs. Even if you fall, he'll be there to pick you up :)  

Motivational Ethiopia Verse:
"God not only loves you very much but also has put His hand on you for something special." 1 Thessalonians 1:4 The Message

On the trail today :) Finished! 

Teaching the nuggets how to play Duck Duck Goose in Acheber, Ethiopia

BLOG SHMLOG

I always feel like blogging is a good idea...until I attempt to start blogging. What am I going to talk about? Whose going to actually read this? I'm kind of a rambler! I have a tendency to become really passionate about something and then talk about it until I cant stop annoying people. Right now there are 2 things that I cant stop talking about. 1. Crossfit and 2. Ethiopia. I don't know nearly enough about Crossfit to blog about it so ding ding you guessed it. This is my blog shmlog dedicated to everything Ethiopia related. ENJOY 

In case you need a refresher course, let me catch you up on why I love Ethiopia so much!

The opportunity came for me to go to Ethiopia in December of 2011. At the time I was really digging into my faith and building a solid relationship with the one and only JESUS CHRIST! I've always been a believer but in my more recent years, I became more of a drifter. I was blessed to plan an amazing trip with 4 other amazing people. This trip changed my life. I've always been a lover of people but I never knew the extent. I'm 1 of 8 children in my family, OF COURSE I like kids. Ethiopia brought out this insane overwhelming LOVE for precious little nuggets (nuggets=children). While in Ethiopia, Jaime said it best. She said Ethiopia's outsides looked like our insides. Dirty and Neglected were the first words that came to my mind. Sin had consumed my life. I had neglected my relationship with God. I had failed to love my neighbor as myself. It's amazing to me that someone who is so poor can still be so appreciative and  grateful. There are families that can barely feed themselves and only have 1 outfit and here I am having the toughest time deciding which T Shirt I'm going wear to the village. These beautiful people live with less and LOVE so hard. 

The first day I was in Ethiopia, one of the first things we did was visit a Sunday school. I was so awkward. The teachers asked me to share with these beautiful little nuggets about Jesus. I said "Do you know what Bapitsm means?!" They looked at me like an alien. I replied with..."Ok great...Jaime's  going to tell you!" FAIL. By the end of the visit, I was getting the hang of it. I didn't need to memorize the bible or know every little detail about the Christian faith. I just needed to be a light for God. So what'd I do? I loved on as many little nuggets as I could. We blew bubbles, we jump roped, we hugged, we laughed....well mostly they laughed at me. When it was time to go, they were hugging me so tight and thanking me. I cried. I could have stayed there with those nuggets for the next 15 days. 

On the 2nd day of our trip, we went to the Guennet Church. It's a large church with more than 500 attendees. As guests and speakers, we got to sit in the front row. I love the front row! On the right side of me there was a small room with a big open window. This is where the kids sat. They stared at us the whole time. They smiled and waved and giggled. This is what they do when they see weird Jesus loving freaks like my group of 5. At the end of church, several nuggets came up to me and hugged me and kissed my cheek. Could you imagine a random child coming up to you and hugging you and kissing your cheek? Normally, I'd be a little concerned. In this case, I just cried more! These children have a beautiful ability to touch my soul. Here I am trying to be a light for them and the whole time they were being a light for me. 

I'm a really big fan of Craig Groeschel. I just finished reading his book Weird and it pretty much rocked my world. The last few chapters really stuck out to me because Craig talks about blessings. Craig says, "...a moment when God blesses you with a divine burden: something that bothers you so deeply, you're moved from complacency to action. I'm going to ask God to bless you with something that unsettles you, disturbs you, upsets you." This sounds crazy right?! Who would want to be unsettled and disturbed? He goes on to say that "if you listen, God will show you something that makes your heart ache on behalf of his. He will bless you with a burden." God is funny like that. Ethiopia is my burden. God is the same God in Ethiopia that he is here. He is doing beautiful things in Ethiopia and I want to be a part of it.....therefore...dun dun duunnnnnn.....I'm going back. For TWO whole months! HOLLER! Jaime and I started a non-profit when we got back from Ethiopia in June. Its called Two4change. Our goal is to be game changers for Jesus. We want to clothe nuggets, love nuggets, provide for them, and show them God's love. 

This blog is my journey. I hope you follow along and decide to go on this crazy but fulfilling and exciting journey with me. I have a lot of exciting things planned and I want YOU to be a part of it. Stay tuned :)

In the 1st picture, this is part of our team. We're awkward. 

The first sunday school we went to. When I got done being awkward, we had some fun. I miss these faces! 

The Guennet Church. SO many people! 

My team! 

That little room that the kids sit in during church. NUGGETS. 

Beautiful girls :)