The highlight of my trip so far was meeting India’s sponsored child Ayantu. I wasn’t sure what to expect.  I found myself with butterflies in my stomach as we pulled up to her house, and I can only imagine how she might have felt to have a stranger from another country coming to visit. Ayantu was very shy when we first met, but her personality came out when we started to chat.  I told her about India, and some of the things that India likes doing.  I asked her what she enjoyed, . . .

One of Food for the Hungry’s mission statements is "”we go to the hard places.”  I guess they wanted us to see this first-hand today.  We had a meeting with some community leaders in a nearby village, and we had to take a river to get there. A river cruise in a Toyota. There was about 9 miles of road that looked like this . . . one big river.  It was so deep that there were a number of times I was sure the car would just start floating.  I took my seatbelt off at . . .

The second home we visited here in Ethiopia was that of a boy named Gadissa.  He is 10 years old, and lost both of his parents at the age of 5.  He now lives with his aunt, who is living with HIV.  Click here to read his story over at Babble Voices. . . .

(edited: I’m now in Ethiopia but this was my first chance to post). I am currently sitting on a plane bound for Atlanta, where I will meet up with the rest of my blogging team.   From there, we catch a 10-hour flight to Amsterdam, followed by a 10-hour flight to Addis Ababa.  I’m feeling pretty excited right now.  I suspect I might be feeling pretty tired and crabby come 3am.  I love travelling, but man . . . the “getting there” part is not my favorite.  (Is it . . .