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April 27, 2010
Dear Benefactors,
My wife and I recently traveled to Addis Ababa to adopt our little girl and we had a spiritual journey unlike any other that has seemingly changed our lives forever. I wanted to write this article for two purposes. First, to let others know of the deep poverty we witnessed along with richness in spirit, and of some projects we visited that are making a difference to the world. The second, is to promote adoption as an avenue for some to actively respond to God's calling and change the world for the better. Ethiopia has one of the most fascinating and longest histories of any country in the world. Ethiopia is is known as the cradle of civilization, home of "Lucy" and other historical remains going back almost 5 million years. It is also the oldest independent country in Sub Saharan Africa, with recorded civilizations going back to 1,000 BC. One of the first converts to Christianity was Ethiopian, as St. Phillip the Deacon, one of the seven chosen to assist the Apostles by ministering to the needy members of the Church (Acts 6: 2-7) encountered an Ethiopian Eunuch on the road not to long after Jesus was crucified, evangelized him, baptized him in the water, and went on his way (Acts 8:26-39). It was never to be conquered and colonized by a foreign country. Ethiopia is currently about 60% Orthodox Christian, and about 30% Muslim. It was cutoff from most of the Christian world for over 600 years, yet the Christianity survived and flourished. Today, the Christians and Muslims live side by side, apparently without the violence between the two groups, which has unfortunately been spreading in other countries. The Ethiopians are a strong, proud, and from our personal experience, a joyful spirited people, despite being one of the poorest countries in the world. The people we met have very little, yet were willing to share whatever they had with us. There are any from 8 to 12 million orphans, and we were told that most of the orphans will die before they reach their teenage years. On our journey, for example, we saw children picking through the dirt, looking for morsels to eat. Some mothers, like our little girl's biological mother, make the tough choice to relinquish their child for a chance at another life. As always is the case, God had a plan for us on this trip, and we did not know it. Toward the end of our adoption formalities, we were inspired to contact the Archdiocese of Addis Ababa and find out if there were some projects that we could visit. They put me in contact with a man, Samuel, who is a project manager for Angel's Children's Home, a wonderful project that I will explain in more detail later in this article. YOU CAN ALSO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE PROJECT IN THE VIDEO ON THE HOME PAGE.Samuel picked us up from our hotel, and while driving to his project, asked us if we would like to see the work of the Missionaries of Charity. Before we knew it we were at Mother Teresa Missionaries of Charity Sisters' Home. We drove up to a gate that we couldn't see through. The gate opened and inside was a small city of the poorest of the poor, yet perhaps richest in spirit. We saw thousands of people: lepers, handicapped, severely malnourished, and people with all sorts of afflictions of all ages. We toured the orphanage where there were around 65 babies. In addition, there were toddlers, children with AIDS, TB, mental and physical problems. Emotions swelled in us both as we saw first hand people caring for those most in need with the same tenderness as Mother Theresa. The Religious Sister who escorted us part of the way never seemed to stop smiling. Just like our driver, Samuel, she expressed to us happiness in the apparently most desperate of situations. We could see the Spirit of God in their eyes. Next stop was Angels Project Home. You see, the Missionaries of Charity, nurse children back to health, and sometimes they are then released back to their families, and end up on the street again. A woman recognized the need to continue to form these young men and give them survival skills. I don't have her permission to use her name, but let me tell you that she sold her house and other things, to buy some land and a building to start this project. She is retired from her job and uses her pension to support the project. We arrived at the house, which has 24 boys. There are at capacity. The boys go to a Catholic school, and the house provides room and board. At the house, they have a garden, where the boys grow there own food. They raise chickens for the eggs. They have a wood working area and are taught how to make crafts for selling and are in the process of learning to weld. The boys greeted us with song, God is love in both English and Amharic, the primary language in Addis Ababa. Some of the boys entered as muslim and converted to Catholics. The children attend Catholic school and mass. Now I'll move onto to write a few words about the adoption and care for the orphans in need. James 1:27 "Religion that is pure and undefiledbefore God and the Father is this: to look care for orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world." Psalm 82:3 "Defend the lowly and fatherless; render justice to the needy." Matt. 25:40 "The King will say to them in reply, 'Amen I say to you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me." Not everyone has the means to adopt. If you do, I encourage it. Please visit youtube or google and query adopt as you will find many agencies willing to help in the process. However, maybe that is not your calling. I hope the following will help inspire you to support the Sister Kathleen Mission in its efforts to continue to support Angel's Children's Home, a home for orphan. To support us, please click the link entitled 'Support Us' at the top of the home page.
God bless you all, Mac Bryant, mac-bryant@comcast.net
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