Jungle Book et allll

This is Markus when we first met him. I am not sure if the picture can tell you something, but when we saw him hiding behind his sleeves we felt we could be of some help.

And this is Markus now. A proud street boy, a survivor, leaving alone since he was 6 years old. No mother to hug him. No father to guide him. He is an A student, and we feel we can help much more...

Shopping for the little artists who had their canvas sold.

Elyas sister Sophia with my assistant Yatam (right)

Elyas at the doctor hehe

and showing off his cat :)

Ajaiba and her new backpack!!!

The Jungle Book Et Alllllll

So many things happened last week, I don’t even know where to start from!! Yatam and I went shopping for the 3 kids who had their paintings sold, it was lots of fun. That’s our strategy: we pretend we don’t know each other, and then I point what I want to Yatam, she goes and buys it. Other ways it is 3 times more expensive, because I am white, you know.

We got Abeba, Ajaiba and Marcus:

• 01 backpack
• 01 cotton sweater
• 2 underwear
• 3kg carrots
• 3kg potatoes
• 3kg flour
• 6 packs of cookies

and for the girls cute earrings and hair bands and clips! They were very happy, but I was in such a hurry that forgot again to take pictures of them all, so attached just Ajaiba’s picture receiving her goodies.

Finally, I took Elyas to the doctor, and he does have fungus on his head, during the lab exams break we had coke and cookies and he was very happy with the adventure. We visited his house, and met his sister who runs the house in the absence of the mother who allegedly lives in Dubai (mystery…).

Two days after that, I discovered that Ajaiba also has fungus in her head, that’s why her mom told she cannot grow her hair. So, yesterday I went to the drugstore and got her the same medicine. Unfortunately, my friends didn’t have the medicine and send me to another drugstore, the way was so complicated I had to pay a guy to come with me, and I parked in the middle of the blue donkeys (taxi vans), under a bridge and prayed that the police would not see me. Everything worked out well hehe

I got our 22 kids tickets to watch The Jungle Book at ICS, Marc’s School. As I also got involved with the make up of the actors before the show, Marc took the kids at 6pm with our neighbor Genet, and I met them there after my make up work was finished.

They loved the show, although it was extremely cold. We got them popcorn, and they enjoyed seeing an western toilet for the first time. Elyas was inside the bathroom for more than 10 minutes probably figuring our what to do without water hahaha Toilet Paper is a new concept for them hahaha

The day before I had all the remaining 18 pictures hanged in the main entrance of the amphitheater and it was a success. Everyone complimented their work, and they were very proud to see it there. The Jungle Book was so cute, and I did the make up of the dancers. One girl said she will call me when she graduates in 3 years so I can do her make up hahaha

We received several donations this month, the biggest one from the Brazilian Angels. God bless your generous heart.

Cindy and Arwa have received their painting in India and Dubai, and they are happy with them.

Cindy has asked me many questions about their dreams, aspirations, etc, so I am planning to give them a questionnaire, in Amharic, asking several of these questions to learn more about their personality. It might take a while because of the translation but I think it would be interesting.

I have also attached a picture of Marcus when we first met him, notice the fear in his eyes, and now how he is much more relaxed and happy. Everybody says at school that he is very clever; maybe God will help us to send him to University? Can you imagine what a wonderful thing it would be? Let’s keep dreaming.

In the home front no shipment yet, but our garden is finally ready, it will take a couple of months for the grass to grow but we are happy with its look and good energy. Notice the bird bath in the middle of it hehe Marc’s idea. Genet is drying her red peppers, she bought 34kg of it, and it is supposed to last 3 years. It would last me a life time hahaha

I started bottling food for our trip in December and made some delicious things already like roasted green peppers and pumpkin jam hummmm We are heading South Ethiopia in December ebaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

EM PORTUGUES

Tanta coisa aconteceu na ultima semana que eu nem sei por onde comecar!!! Eu e a Yatam fomos fazer compras pras criancas que tiveram as pinturas vendidas e foi super divertido. Essa e a nossa estrategia: nos disfarcamos que nao nos conhecemos, ai eu aponto pro que eu quero comprar disfarcadamente, e ela vai la, negocia e compra. Se eu for comprar eles cobram 3 vezes mais por que eu sou branca ne ??

Nos compramos pra Abeba, Ajaiba e Marcus:

• 01 mochila
• 01 moleton de algodao
• 2 calcinhas/cueca
• 3kg cenouras
• 3kg batatas
• 3kg trigo
• 6 pacotes de biscoito

e pras meninas brincos e enfeites de cabelo! Eles ficaram super felizes, mas eu estava com tanta pressa que esqueci de lever minha maquina fotografica, entao so tem anexado uma foto da Ajaiba recebendo a mochila dela.

Finalmente eu levei o Elyas no medico, e ele tem mesmo fungo na cabeca, durante os exams de laboratorio nos tomamos coca cola e ele comeu biscoito. Ele pareceia contente com a aventura. Nos visitamos a casa dele, e conhecemos a irma Sophia que toma conta da casa na ausencia da mae que aparentemente mora em Dubai (misterio…)

Dois dias depois disso, eu descobri que a Ajaiba tambem tem fungo na cabeca, e por isso que a mae dela falou que nao pode deixar o cabelo dela crescer. Entao ontem eu fui na farmacia e comprei os mesmos remedios pra ela. Infelizmente, meus amigos farmaceuticos nao tinham o remedio e me mandaram pra outra farmacia, mas o caminho era tao complicado que eu tive que pagar uma pessoa pra me lever la. Ai eu estacionei no meio das mulas azuis (taxi vans), embaixo de uma ponte e rezei pra que os guardas nao me vissem. Tudo deu certo hehe

Eu consegui ingresso pras nossas 22 criancas pra assistir a peca de teatro O Livro da Selva na ICS, escola do Marc. Como eu tambem me envolvi em maquiar os artistas da peca, o Marc levou as criancas as 6 da tarde com a nossa vizinha Genet, e eu os encontrei la depois que o meu trabalho de maquiadora acabou.

Nos compramos pipoca pra eles, e eles adoraram entrar num banheiro de verdade pela primeira vez. O Elyas ficou no banheiro uns 10 minutos tentando descobrir como fazer sem agua pra limpar o bumbum hahahaha Papel higienico e um conceito novo pra eles.

Um dia antes eu pendurei as 18 pinturas ainda nao vendidas na entrada do amfiteatro na escola e foi um sucesso. Todo mundo elogiou o trabalho deles, e eles ficaram super orgulhosos de ver as pinturas numa escola tao chique. O Livro da Selva foi super bonitinho, e eu fiz a maquiagem nos dancarinos, Uma menina disse que vai me ligar quando ela se formar daqui ha 3 anos pra eu fazer a maquiagem dela hahahaha

Nos recebemos varias doacoes esse mes, a maior veio dos ANJOS DO BRAZIL. Deus abencoe o coracao generoso de voces.

A Cindy e a Arwa receberam as pinturas na India e em Dubai, e gostaram bastante.

A Cindy me perguntou varias coisas sobre as criancas, tipo personalidade, sonhos, aspiracoes etc, entao eu vou escrever um questionario em Arameico, perguntando varias coisas sobre a vida deles. Deve demorar um pouco por causa das traducoes, mas eu acho que vai ser interessante.

Eu anexei uma foto do Marcus no primeiro dia que nos o conhecemos, repare no olhar de medo, e agora como ele esta mais feliz e relaxado. Todos na escola falam que ele e muito sabido, ja pensou se Deus nos ajuda a mandar esse menino pra Universidade? Voce pode imaginar que maravilha que seria? Vamos sonhar !!!

Na nossa casinha: a nossa mudanca ainda nao chegou mas o nosso jardim esta pronto, vai demorar um pouquinho pra grama crescer mas nos estamos felizes com a boa energia das nossas plantas. Repare na banheira dos passarinhos no meio do jardim, foi ideia do Marc. A Genet esta secando pimento vermelha no meu quintal, ela comprou 34kg de pimenta, e disse que isso dura uns 3 anos. Pra mim durava a vida toda hahahaha

Eu comecei a fazer conservas pra nossa viagem em Dezembro e fiz umas coisas gostosas tipo pimentao verde grelhado e doce de abobora hummmm Nos vamos viajar pro Sul da Ethiopia ebaaaaaaaaaaa

It was lots of fun collecting their signatures for this live canvas !

ICS was kind enough to let us show their works of art.

They dressed up for the occasion.

and loved the popcorn !!!

Imagine the happiness of these kids seeing such a wonderful show for the first time in their lives... We take things for granted, because we are sooooo blessed.