Beautiful Babies

It is 7:30 and I am sitting here in the dark, typing this journal entry! The power went out about five minutes ago. I have no idea how long it will be down. I understand that power outages are very common in Ethiopia. The guesthouse is well prepared with candles lit in the hallways and kitchen.

The boys are outside playing soccer, cracking whips, cracking jokes and having a general good time with Abebe and his younger sister. She is a very sweet girl – lots of fun. It was really neat when we were in the mini bus today. She was playing hand games with her brother and the boys, and as I watched the interaction between this beautiful young girl and our boys, I had a few thoughts cross my mind.

I have found the Ethiopian people, generally beautiful!! The girls don’t need, and most don’t wear, makeup. They are just naturally beautiful with their large bright eyes and long eyelashes.

Something else – I have always had a fascination and love of the people in Mexico and such places. I think it is the warmth of them. So kind and open and just plain real. A piece of me wants to stay here and just be with these people. I know it is a real possibility in the future, especially since our girls are from here and we would love to reimmerse them in their own culture, so that they don’t lose it.

As I sat there watching the interaction between our boys and this adorable little girl, I was able to remind myself that I *will* be taking a little piece of Ethiopia home with us – our girls are just like that little girl, just younger. Watching that beautiful little brown face with bright eyes and shiny white teeth, smiling so big, head thrown back in laughter, slapping my boys hands in play – what a wonderful sight. And we are blessed to be able to have our own little piece of Ethiopia through our brand new daughters. What an incredible thing! Wow. Words can’t describe my feeling, knowing that Africa is a part of us now.

This afternoon, after lunch, we decided to go to the little orphanage. Abebe rented us a minibus at 50 birr an hour. We left and headed out. I thought we were going to the orphanage with the children, but instead we ended up at a different one. I wasn’t to know this until we entered it.

We entered this little yard with grass growing high. I asked Ray how fast he could build a swingset; there was nothing in the yard, at all. As it turned out, there was no need for a swingset – the children were too little. We entered a narrow hallway and were asked to leave our shoes at the door. We did this, and then entered a tiny room – about 9’x9’. It was rather humid and warm. We were then asked to wash our hands if we intended on picking up the babies. So at that point I realized it was to be a baby orphanage.

When we walked through the next door we were hit by a wall of heat. There were little space heaters set up in these tiny little rooms. Besides the entry room, there were two more small rooms. Each of these other rooms was about 9’x10’ (or thereabouts).

As we entered the first baby room my heart just swelled into my throat. Lying there on the floor, on a mattress, were two tiny babies.



In cribs around the room, there were more babies – 2 – 3 to a crib. Tiny, tiny babies! All about 1-2 months old.


There was one precious baby of about 6 months lying in a crib by herself. She was pudgy. She was gorgeous!! Her eyes filled her face, and her smile lit up the room.



Tears filled my eyes, as I gazed around at these precious little ones. All of them were diaperless, lying on sheets and towels in their cribs. There were four caregivers in the two rooms. All of them held a baby, either cuddling or feeding them. These babies were so obviously loved!

Though, the babies were diaperless and obviously making messes in their beds, there was no odor. As the babies wet, the women took the sheets from under the babies, and wiped the babies. There was laundry on the washing line and these young girls and women took good care of their little charges!



There was one tiny baby wrapped up like a cocoon. He only weighed 1.2 kg when he was born. Just a tiny little mite, but doing fine.



I think the boys were a little overwhelmed at the amazing site of all these sweet babies.



We knew right away that we wanted to help these people! God had clearly whispered in my ear when I had a strong feeling that we needed to find little orphanages with tiny babies, that weren’t getting help. I had no idea that I would really find three babies to a crib.. I knew I had heard this was happening in Ethiopia, but I did not know that I would encounter exactly what I spoke about. Praise God for directing our paths!! That was my prayer before we left!

We asked the ladies what they needed. We wanted a list. As it turned out there was only a couple things to buy for them. They suggested formula, and I suggested soap to wash the laundry. Abebe suggested baby soap to wash the babies.

Leaving the orphanage with a promise that we would be back with the goods, we headed out. The minibus driver took us down through the streets to a market. While we were there we got a call from the lady that runs that little orphanage. She wanted to meet us, as she wasn’t there when we were. So we met her at a market and went in. Formula was very expensive – about $9 a tin, for a smaller tin than we get in Canada. We bought 20 cans of formula, and 16 large bars of laundry soap, and 10 bars of baby soap.

I would love to have bought them more, but we really need to see if there are other places that need our help before we spend too much in one place. All of that cost us about $200.

Trusty Abebe Loading the Formula

This little orphanage runs on kindness. About 6 weeks ago, Abebe brought another family to this place and they bought formula. That is the last he knows of. From this market, we headed back to our guesthouse, as I had eight little sleepers that I wanted to give to the girls for the babies. When we were visiting the babies were wearing little undershirts with the bottoms pulled up so they didn’t soil them.

While picking up the formula, I suddenly thought that I should take some baby Tynenol and some Lidosporin ear drops. These ear drops are an antibiotic and a pain reliever for ear infections.

As I was leaving to go back to the orphanage, Abebe said to me that I had made a good choice because one of the caregivers had just told him that one little boy was having problems with his ear. Praise God!!

When we arrived back at the orphanage we went in and delivered the supplies. The women were so thankful. The babies were so quiet. I commented on how quiet the babies were. I do not believe it is from lack of care. Those babies were held and loved! The lady who ran the orphanage told me that it was from a contented tummy and being loved. I believe that is so! There were 18 babies and you would not know it!

I should also mention that since we had been there a couple hours previously, the babies had been diapered and put in sleepers (pajamas) for the night. They were all cozy looking and ready for bed.

I told the women that we were adopting two little girls. They didn’t understand me, so I pulled out our family picture and showed them, and then I showed our picture of our two girls. It was so neat to see their reaction. Their faces lit up, and then one by one, as the picture was passed from one to another, the three women pulled the picture close to their face, and then kissed the girls’ faces. It was almost like they were blessing them.

I asked the owner of the orphanage how she came to start it. This is her story. She worked for fifteen years in the pediatric area of the hospital. She had this house and she saw this baby in the hospital. She saw the mother leave and not come back. The police asked her if she would take the baby. She agreed to. And that is how her little orphanage began: from the love of a caring woman.

How did they take care of the babies at night? She told me that if she paid the girl for a shift job, it would cost her a lot. So she treats them like family, and all five women live with the babies and take care of them, night and day. They are a family. I was incredibly impressed at the devotion and sacrifice of this woman and her staff. That was an amazing day!

Babies All Warmly Dressed For Night