Written by Lonny (November 2, 2009)
I woke up a lot last night, so finally at 5:55am I just got up. At least I slept well most of the night. I Skyped my family and had a fun visit with Steven. I really love my family! We had breakfast, and prepared to check-out of the hotel in Addis. We had some problems with our planned transportation, so we had to scramble to get it worked out. By the time everything was in order, it was after 2:00 pm -- so much for spending a full day working.
It was still light when we arrived at the school farm where the heifer and the steer calf were being kept. We were delighted to find that the heifer at the Village of Hope was pregnant with one of our female embryos. We dehorned her and the steer calf that are now at the school farm. Haven was holding the heifer, and she got blood all over him. When we showed up at the hotel, everyone was wondering what had happened to him! We checked the cow at VOH. She is now cycling and is ready for an embryo, so we started the synchronization process with her. Faisa said that she is giving 16 liters of milk per day, which is about twice what the good cows in Ethiopia are averaging. This was great news.
After setting up the cow, we drove over to see the children at Village of Hope. Lloyd had given me some candy, so I gave them all three pieces each. They are such good children. It breaks my heart to see them without a family of their own. It's so wonderful that they have each other, and have a good place to call home, because in a way, they are their own family.
We were so focused on getting transportation arranged to leave Addis this morning that we forgot to call ahead for the hotel at Awasa. Oops. When we arrived at the Lilly of the Valley Hotel, they only had two rooms left. So Brent and I will stay here tonight while Shemelis and Haven drive on to Awasa, because there was no room in the Inn.
The memories came flooding back as I saw the hotel room and the dining room. Sometimes I feel like I am in a dream, that all of this is not real. But it is, and it is an incredible experience. I am very grateful for this opportunity to help the Ethiopian people.