Ethiopian Cowboy: One Man's Hope for Africa

Designing a Goat Milking Program

2011-11-01T17:23:00.000-06:00

I didn’t sleep well last night. Ijust couldn’t drift off to sleep then I awoke easily when I did sleep. Any little sound seemed amplified. I am not sure if it had anything to do with the mefloquin or if it was a jet lag issue.When I woke up at 7:00 I felt ok but not well rested. Everyone else was up andgoing so I hurried to shower and get going.

I spent most of the day designingthe goat plans with Patrick and Edison. We are designing one smaller elevatedpen between the KCC and the dispensary. We will have about five goats in itthat will produce milk for the mothers that have aids and can’t nurse theirbabies or the babies that have lost their mothers. We are using all localmaterials to build the pen so that the villagers will see that they can do thesame thing.

The other pen will be larger andhold about 100 goats. These goats we will use to start projects at schools. Theplan is to have them build facilities at the school in preparation for thegoats. We will then lend them the goats until they can pay us back with theoffspring of the goats that we lend to them. We can purchase these goats forabout $100. It would be cost prohibitive for the schools to buy 5 to 10 goatsto start out with but with our program they could get started and within a fewyears have enough milk that each child could get the equivalent of a glass ofmilk each week. The extra milk, even though a small amount, would really helptheir nutritional level.

Today Mark killed a guinea hen forEmily to put in our meal tonight. In order for the Muslims to eat it he wastrying to do it as Johnson instructed him. Unfortunately the knife was dull sohe could not finish it in the one quick cut as was required. The bird died quicklybut the exact procedure was not followed so it wasn’t a valid killing.

This evening I drove with Anthony(Yama) and Chikaya over past Bofu to look at some land that the farmer wantedto sell. He is an older farmer and wants to buy a young wife. Most wives arenegotiated for by their uncle and are exchanged for cows. The land was in anice pocket in a rolling valley. We walked around the 3.5 arces which wasovergrown with grass. It had many coconut, banana, papaya, and cashew trees.The only problem with the land was that it was hard to get there.

Tonight at dinner we talked withYama about attending your child’s birth, there were five babies born at theclinic today. Here in Kenya a man is never allowed or would not even considerattending their child’s birth. We told him of how wonderful it was to be thereand hold the baby when it was first born and to feel appreciation for yourwife’s sacrifice. He said that here the women fear that if the man sees thebaby born he will not want to participate in having more children. It is a veryinteresting idea.

The crew digging on the dam has beenat it two days now. Everyone says that if we would have had women digging it wewould be done by now. When I arrived about four of twelve were working. Onearea they had given up on because the clay was very firm. I jumped in and started picking with thepoint of the pick. They had been using the flat side which didn’t penetrate theclay very far. The tip sunk in about eight inches and the clay broke out in bigchunks. One of the workers started throwing out the chunks by hand. I movedover to the river bed and took a shovel from a guy that was just leaning on itand started digging using my boot to force the shovel down deep into the dampsoil. Each time I threw a full shovel full of dirt. I only lasted about half anhour before heat, humidity, and being out of shape did me in. When I left Shadwas working with them and most of them were working again. We made a lot ofprogress in that half an hour.

Goats, Erosion, Peaches & Pits

2011-10-31T12:52:00.001-06:00

I woke up several times last night because of the heat and humidity. We have a fan blowing in our room that helps cool us down but it is still too warm for me to sleep comfortably. I also had several mosquito bites on my legs that were itching badly. I think they got me after my shower while I was writing in my journal. Even so, I arose well rested and ready to go.

I took my weekly Mefloquin pill for malaria prevention this morning. I really didn’t notice any ill effects today from it. Last week I felt some brain fog after I took it. Some people have bad dreams and even hallucinations when they take it, but I seem to do well with it. Everyone else is taking the daily doxicycline pills, which only have sun sensitivity as a side effect. I prefer the once-a-week pill without the sun sensitivity. Here on the equator the sun really beats down on you hard.

I worked with Patrick and Edison today who are on the Institute for Self Reliance and Agriculture (SRA) staff. They are working with the Koins for Kenya group to set up model garden and animal projects to show the people how they can grow all of the food that they need to eat in a small area of their land. The design has four garden plots that are planted one after another every two weeks. In this way, at least one of the gardens should be producing the entire year. The animal pens are built such that the animals are up off the ground and the waste falls underneath and is then gathered as fertilizer for the garden.

We drove about an hour away to look at dairy goats that could be brought here and used in the program. They are Gala goats which appear to fit what we need nicely. We will be able to get about one liter of milk per day from each goat. We want to provide five or six goats to the schools so that they can pour the milk into the porridge that they feed to the children in the middle of the day. They will need to build the facility, then pay SRA back for the goats with the first offspring that the goats have. The children are so nutrient-deficient that even the tablespoon or two of milk that they will get each day will make a big difference in their diet and will enhance their ability to learn.

We hope that as the children and adults see the goats at the school and learn how to care for them that they will want to have their own goats. We will have a small herd at Koins that we will use to train them how to properly care for a milking goat before we sell them a goat. All of our plans are focused on doing something that a villager can replicate. We use local materials to build our facilities and local resources for supplies and medicines. Our design is different than what I would do in the United States because the villagers could not afford to manage the goats like it is done in developed countries. Patrick, Edison and I make a good team because we bring all of our ideas together, then talk about what will work in the village. The design that we ended up with today is much different than what I had imagined before we started.

This afternoon we discussed building small fish ponds with a chicken coop over one end so that the chicken feces would drop into the water, producing algae and food for the fish. The water could also be used to water their gardens, becoming a source of fertilizer as well.

Bret took us to the other side of the river to see the terrible erosion that is taking place. The rains come so hard and the land is so barren that the water has carved out deep gorges. One that I was in was about 20 feet deep. We were trying to determine a way that we could stop the erosion or at least slow it down. Part of the problem is that any plants that grow are quickly consumed by the goats, leaving only a few thorny plants scattered around. The over grazing leaves the land without roots holding it together so the heavy rains wash it away.

This evening we gathered around for our “peaches and pits” discussion. Each person has an opportunity to talk about the peach: one good thing they saw that day, or the pit: a bad or discouraging thing they saw that day. You would think that in this environment we would only be seeing the pits, but all of the group talked about peaches that they had seen today which included: a baby being born to a young mother who walked home several miles with her baby, a woman teaching the villagers how to make smokeless stoves so the people don’t have so many lung problems, a poor farmer who was able, with training, to raise enough money to send two of his children to school. He was also able to purchase a solar panel to put above his store so that he can recharge cell phones for people. Lastly, a group of laborers that dug the channel walls out so that a dam could be constructed.

Bret pointed out that the little labors we are doing are answering the prayers of the mothers by saving their children’s lives. Something to think about. We thanked the Lord for our being born in the United States where our challenges were not so life threatening.

A Sabbath Day in Kenya

2011-10-30T19:27:00.000-06:00

This morning we had Kenyan flat bread for breakfast. It is similar to a tortilla only three times as thick. We also had some fresh mango that was very good. We drove into Mombasa for church and arrived over an hour early because Johnson had to go to the airport to get Grace, Kevin and Shad. Mark had arrived sooner than them and had caught the flight last night so Bret had picked him up at 2:00AM.

While we were waiting for church to start we walked over to a wood carving factory. It is a series of small tin open sheds that are filled with men carving. They carve anything that you could imagine. Most of their work focuses around Africa. They do African animals, warriors, masks, bowls, etc. They have everything from ¾ size elephants about six feet tall to miniature carvings that you can hold in the palm of your hand. The carvers were very friendly and liked having their pictures taken. A couple of them asked me if I were a pastor because of my white shirt and tie.

The LDS Church building looked similar to the one in Awasa, Ethiopia. The branch had about 20 members attending. When we arrived we saw a TV in front of the pulpit. The members had just received the general conference DVDs and used that for their sacrament meeting talks. We watched the sustaining of the church leaders and Elder Bednar’s talk on family history and temple work.

After church, we stopped at an internet café so that we could send emails to our families and grabbed a quick hamburger while we were there. The internet cafe charged 120 Kenyan shillings per hour, which is about USD$1.20. Back at the farm, Kevin, Shad, Bret and I walked around the farm, surrounded by children as usual, and discussed the projects going on in the village. There is so much work to do to help the people here. I pray that they are ready to go to work.

Rachael and Emily made us pizza and french fries tonight for dinner. They had to improvise but did a good job. The power went out as we were finishing up. It was a new experience to shower under the stars in the dark. My battery is almost dead so I will have to go now, but I'll write more later.

A Few Observations on Kenya

2011-10-30T12:34:00.001-06:00

(Excerpted from a letter written to my son, Joseph, who went with me to Ethiopia in 2010.)

Kenya is very similar to Ethiopia. The people are so wonderful and friendly. The countryside is full of rolling hills that have recently greened up with the fall rains. You see animals grazing all over the place that are quite thin due to the fact that they are just coming out of the dry season with limited feed. The roads are congested and poor.

The compound where I am staying in Mnyenzeni is much better than the Kenyan’s living conditions. We have concrete floors and a tin roof over our heads. We sleep on narrow bunk beds with a three-inch foam pad for a mattress. There is mosquito netting draped around the bed to protect us from getting bitten.

The showers consist of an outside cubical where you carry your bucket of water and the dipper. You pour the water over yourself, soap up, then pour the rinse water. There is a flush toilet buiding outside next to the shower stalls. We have two cooks that prepare somewhat American style meals for us. They do a good job of taking care of us.

The Ethiopian Cowboy in Kenya!

2011-10-29T10:15:00.000-06:00

Today is my first day in Kenya. Travel was very good except for a two hour delay as we sat on the tarmac of the Addis airport. Patricia and others of the Spanish contingent were about to mutiny and leave the plane. The pilot said five minutes then half an hour later said ten minutes then an hour later said 15 minutes which ended up being almost another hour. I just sat back and enjoyed my time. I knew that stressing about it wouldn’t help. If I would have only had that attitude while I was packing.

We were the only people in the airport when we arrived so we were able to go through easily. I filled out the two forms and paid my $50 for the visa and I was in. At customs there were two people arguing with the customs lady about having to open their suitcases and how much they had to pay. We told her that we didn’t have anything to declare so she just sent us through without even looking at our luggage.

Johnson picked me up at the airport. He is a driver that is used by Koins and other similar groups to drive people around. He told me a lot about Kenya as we drove the one hour to the compound. Kenya has 42 different languages but the principle language is Swahili. Most of the younger generation also learns English. On the flight over I watched the movie The First Grader which told the story of an 84 year old man that went back to a rural primary school to learn to read. It was a good movie that helped me understand a little of the Kenyan history.

At the Koins Community Center I met with Anthony who is in charge. He introduced me to most of the staff: Emily and Ester who run the kitchen and laundry, Mwanzara who runs the wood shop, Samuel who runs the welding shop, Patrick and Edison who work on the animals and plants respectively, Buffalo who is the projects manager and several others. Anthony showed me the outside showers and toilets, the bedrooms, the research plot area, and the work shop. They have quite a project going here.

Bret came by and took me out to the river area to show me where he is planning on putting in dams. The land is much more rolling than I had imagined and the river gorge deeper. I think that the dams will work very well. Now that I have a better idea about how the land is I can start thinking about how we should approach the challenges and opportunities that we have.

Kenya reminds me very much of Ethiopia as far as the climate, the people, and the cultural advancement. The roads are poor at best. The main road to Nairobi isn’t too bad once you get out of Mombasa but the road that turns off and heads to Mienzeni is very rough. The children are wonderful. They are so happy and welcoming. We watched several of them dance in the public church house close to the KCC (Koins Conference Center). They were very good and were having an excellent time.

I am just about to the 36 hour mark from when I boarded the plane in Salt Lake City. I was able to sleep on several of the flights but I am totally wiped out now. I hope that I can sleep well tonight and get my biological clock reset and going right away.

~ Lonny, AKA "The Kenyan Katalyst"

A Series of Miracles Save This Deserving Ethiopian Teen

2011-07-19T10:08:00.002-06:00

This is an amazing story about one of our boys from "Where Love Is" boys home. Grab a tissue, and click on the link below to read the article about Taye, Mike & Julie Rhodes in the Standard Examiner.

Julie and Mike with Taye - Dec 2010

Click here to read the story: Liberty woman's belief in miracles saves Ethiopian teen - Standard-Examiner

Lonny & Taye - Dec 2010

The Right Question for Ethiopia

2011-04-22T16:01:00.004-06:00

This post is an Ethiopian response to "The Importance of the Right Question" by Clayton Christensen. View the pdf document HERE.

The Right Question about our work in Ethiopia is: "Are the Ethiopian people prepared morally, intellectually and structurally to benefit from what we are giving them?"

Morally:
Christensen points out that if the society doesn't have a moral base then capitalism and democracy will not survive. We have experienced and probably will continue to experience difficulties with those people that are not honest. However the majority of the people that we are working with do have a moral base and are responding well to what we are teaching them. Whether Christian or Muslim they are good people.

Intellectually:
We have had to be patient in training and teaching but most of our staff seem to be catching the vision of the company and understanding their role. The education is not on par with the US but there is a base that can be built upon and a willingness to learn and improve.

Structurally:
We are really stretching things here and it has cost us as a company but it also gives us a competitive advantage over others that decide not to enter Ethiopia at this time. Our being willing to help develop the infrastructure as we go along puts us in a position to somewhat mold it to our needs.

So I ask again - "Are the Ethiopian people prepared morally, intellectually and structurally to benefit from what we are giving them?"

My answer is a qualified but enthusiastic yes! We have to realize the limitations that we are dealing with and work within that context but we have already had some success and it will just get better.

I'm so grateful to be part of it.

~Lonny

Endowed Prosperity

2011-02-18T13:10:00.004-07:00

Our experiences with the people of Ethiopia have given us a new perspective on the world and opened our eyes to all of the possibilities out there. As we have found our passion for helping those in third-world countries, we have had a desire to do more to help those working on these kinds of projects throughout the world. While brainstorming for ideas we came up with a new term for a concept that we are passionate about:

Endowed Prosperity

To Endow is to provide with a permanent source of income, faculty or quality

Prosperity is a successful, flourishing or thriving condition.

This is exactly what we feel is needed for those in underdeveloped countries to reach their full potential.

Endowed Prosperity is to provide impoverished individuals with the motivation and skills they need to establish a permanent source of income which will lift them out of poverty and into a successful, flourishing condition - financially, emotionally and spiritually.

www.endowedprosperity.com

The Endowed Prosperity Initiative will help those in under-developed countries by working with international charities who are solely dependent on donations. We will help them to identify and develop profitable business ventures within their existing projects which will provide a recurring income source for their charitable activities.

The Endowed Prosperity Initiative will provide support and training for successful companies who have achieved prosperity in business and are looking for ways to 'give back' in a more meaningful way than simply writing out a check.

The Endowed Prosperity Initiative will establish a network of businesses, charities and individuals who are interested in working together to provide a higher level of aid to those in need by providing them with the ability to provide for themselves.

www.endowedprosperity.com

When you decide to become a part of the Endowed Prosperity Network, you can work with us to help accomplish true prosperity around the globe.

The effect of Endowed Prosperity is that thousands more people can be reached.

JOIN US TODAY TO MAKE A REAL DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD!

~Lonny & Erika Ward

Founders, www.endowedprosperity.org

A non-profit initiative of LonnyWardConsulting

Religion & Politics

2010-04-03T00:28:00.001-06:00

Today is Good Friday, the day Christians remember the Atonement of our Savior Jesus Christ. The Orthodox Christians here have been fasting from all meat and animal products for a month.

I made the mistake of offering jerky to the office staff, not realizing that some of them were fasting. {oops.} I told them that they could do the taste test next week.

Joe Morrell and I met with Girum, an engineer, to discuss the types of buildings that we will build in Kokosa. I wish we had American companies to do this for us, but we will have to get by with what we have. I spent the rest of the day planning, organizing and communicating and got a lot done. For a break, I did my laundry. It is nice to have a good washing machine here and a nice warm breeze to dry the clothes.

Even though we are in the dry season, it has rained most of the days that I have been here so far. Climate change is now the buzz word and it is still being blamed on the industrialized countries. Ethiopia is unfortunately among the third world countries that are demanding that the industrialized nations pay reparations for what they have supposedly done. What a crazy world we live in.

{Erika here: It’s sad to me that some people always have to find a scapegoat instead of just accepting that life is going to have challenges, and that some of those challenges will be unfair. That’s the way it is for all of us. We should do the best that we can with what we are given instead of blaming someone else for our struggles and then waiting for them to fix it. If and when someone has accidentally wronged us, we should graciously use good communication to try and resolve the issue with them. Then we should practice forgiveness, which will be far more likely to give us a positive outcome than making unreasonable demands. When forgiven, those who have committed an offense against us will be far more willing to change and often will give love and service in return. If they don't, that's okay, because at least we will have the peace of knowing that we did everything we could in a Christlike manner. And true inner peace is the ultimate positive outcome.}

Summary Report to MAI Staff & Associates

2010-04-01T23:46:00.000-06:00

Dr. Haven Hendricks and I made some jerky with different spices to test with the Ethiopian people. I did a trial with our office staff, and found that they liked most of the different types. I found out that they do have jerky here called “quanta” so it will not be hard to find a good market for our jerky products.

I spent a some time with Dr. Debay and Georgia who are in the process of building their own dairy farm north of Addis. They have done extensive market analyses. There is a growing demand for quality dairy products here and it is anticipated to increase as the economic situation in Ethiopia continues to improve.

We continue to have success with our embryo transfer part of the project. We have two more confirmed pregnancies from frozen embryos at Debre Zeyit Animal Research Center (DZARC). We had three, but one aborted at about 40 days, which is not uncommon. There are also two pregnancies from the fresh embryos that we collected from the DZARC cows on my last trip. We recovered nine embryos from two donor cows yesterday, transferred the viable ones, and implanted two more frozen embryos. I am excited by the fact that all of the preparation and most of the work yesterday was done by the Ethiopian researchers. This is the sixth successful embryo recovery exercise accomplished at three different locations.

Nitrogen tank issues and Flooding Back Home

2010-04-01T00:18:00.000-06:00

I will be glad when I can actually get up in the morning feeling rested. I missed my family this morning, which is not surprising, since I have to call them by 6am to catch them before Erika puts them to bed at 9pm on school nights. But tonight they went to bed early and I arose a little late. I felt like I had low blood sugar and just couldn’t wake up. At home, Erika brings me some orange juice or yogurt to get me going. I miss that when I am here.

Danny and I went to the federal semen collection site to refill our tanks with nitrogen, but they said that they didn’t have enough to give us any because the power has been off and on lately. We worked with them until we finally convinced them to give us a few liters just to put keep the tanks viable. We tried going to the University next, but they only have a small compressor. Danny will have to go tomorrow 150 km to another research center to get it. It is easy to get frustrated with the bureaucracy and inefficiency here in Ethiopia. There are times when I spend a lot of time and make so little progress.

I went with Georgianna and Dr. Debay up to their farm about 40 km north of Addis. They have several buildings constructed, and are almost ready to start with the cows. She has done a lot of research about the milk market here in Addis.

This evening I checked my computer and found a call for help from Erika. A water line broke in our upstairs laundry room and flooded several rooms throughout both floors of our house. She seems to be handling it alright considering I can’t really do anything to help her. She is fantastic!

Busted water pipe under the bathroom sink.

{Erika here} -- The steel-enforced tubing under the sink in our upstairs laundry/bathroom busted open. Must have been a flaw in the part. Water gushed out for 30 minutes before I noticed it! The worst part is that I *heard* the water, but I was in another room and thought it was the washing machine! Grrr!

The plumber, water restoration team, and the insurance adjuster had never seen anything like this before.

By the time I realized what was happening, it had flooded the bathroom, into the hallway and onto the dining room wood floor, through the floor into the downstairs ceiling.

Water damage in upstairs hallway outside the bathroom.

When I discovered it, I ran downstairs to shut off the main water supply, and was met at the bottom of the stairs by a HUGE amount of water pouring through the doorframe at the bottom of the stairs. It seriously looked like a waterfall!

Door frame where the "waterfall" had been pouring through.

I dashed through the sheet of water, noting the completely saturated carpet as I ran, and tried to shut off the water. It is in a very awkward corner of Jessica’s bedroom closet, and you can barely get your hand through the opening. I tried to turn the knob, with no success. It was stuck fast. I said a quick prayer, “Please Heavenly Father, give me the strength to turn this off!” I tried again, with all my might, and it turned off. Silence.

Saturated carpet. And a nice neighbor checking my fusebox.

I walked back into the hallway to see what damage had been done.

The carpeting through the hallway and part of the family room was soaked, and water was still dripping from the light fixtures. It looked & sounded like I was in a cave. I looked up at the ceiling, and the drywall was so water-logged, that there were huge bubbles in it, drooping down, stretching the paint nearly to a breaking point. I quickly realized that this was much more than a shop-vac situation.

Water-logged ceiling in basement doorway.

I called the insurance company and was given permission to immediately get some water damage specialists to the house. A friend from my Church came over to help me clean up a bit and another friend who is a plumber offered to come over in the evening to fix the source of the leak. This was wonderful, since the insurance covers the damage caused by the flood, but not the cause of the flood. Thank goodness for great friends!

Water Solutions had to cut up the ceiling. . .

. . . and place tons of fans to dry everything.

As difficult as it was, I was really grateful for good home insurance and a great water cleanup team (Water Solutions of Payson, Utah).

Thanks to great support from my family & friends, I was able to make it through without having a complete nervous breakdown!

And. . . I am now (several months later) enjoying beautiful new wood floors in my dining room, and many newly repainted walls. . . And all for one moderate co-pay and a heck of a lot of inconvenience! I'm sure glad it's overwith! ~Erika

MARCH/APRIL Trip Begins!

2010-03-28T23:48:00.000-06:00

My flight to Ethiopia went well this time. We hit some big turbulence over Canada that felt like a rollercoaster ride for about 15 minutes, but I was thrilled to be upgraded to business class at Frankfurt - It makes the flight so much better. I was one of the first people off the plane in Addis, so I was able to get through immigration very quickly. I had to wait for my luggage before going through customs, but I was still able to go through without waiting too long in a line like usual. They were suspicious of one of my suitcases and ended up holding one of the laptops that I had brought. I have to go back later and pay importation taxes on it. But everything else was okay, which is a lot considering such a long flight and several transfers.

I was excited to see Teddy meet at the airport to give me a ride to the office. Heidi, Wesson, Radit and Damas were there at the office when I arrived. It was good to see them all again. It was about 8:00pm and I had stayed awake the whole flight from Frankfurt, so I was very tired. I Skyped with Erika for a little while, then headed to bed.

I awoke with a bad headache in the middle of the night so I took some acetaminophen and was able to sleep until 9:00am the next morning, when Shemelis came by to give me my phone and my money. I felt well rested and clear headed all day, which was a very welcome feeling. Heidi cooked hamburger and rice for us for lunch. It was very good, in spite of the fact that the hamburger over here has a very strong flavor. For dinner,I drove Celina to Avanti’s to get “take away” Italian food. There was a big conference going on at the main conference center on Bole road, so traffic was very thick. I had to transform myself into an “Ethiopian driver” very quickly. Driving here appears to be very chaotic, but it is actually fairly functional for this city.

An informal medical clinic is already opening in Beltu. Julie, a nurse, went out there to visit, and had only been there for 15 minutes when an Ethiopian mother brought her critically burned 18 month old in for emergency help. Julie taught the other workers how to care for the baby so she could continue the treatments (another tender mercy of the Lord).

This morning I took Heidi to the airport with a truckload of supplies for Beltu. She will be staying out there for about a month until it is time for us all to leave for the States. I came back and slept for a little while, then drove to church. The jet lag is worse today than yesterday - my thinking is cloudy and I am very tired. Even so, I enjoyed the church meetings, but I had to focus hard and pray for strength to keep listening and learning. I took a long nap this afternoon, but I am tired again. Hopefully I can get a good night’s sleep and have a good day tomorrow. I had a great chat with Erika on Skype. She has had a couple of busy days and is worn out also. One again we are having similar experiences, even from opposite sides of the globe. I love her so much.

Kokosa meetings with Kabeli leaders and Staff

2010-02-02T23:23:00.000-07:00

This morning I awoke early to the beautiful sounds of birds singing around the Kokosa guest house. It is so peaceful and quiet there with the only noises coming from nature a wonderful contrast to the sounds of loud music, car horns, and truck motors. I dressed, had a banana for breakfast then headed outside to weed the garden. The guards joined me and we quickly had the whole thing done. Negesu grabbed the water bucket and watered what was left of the beets.

I filled my suitcase with supplies to process the cows. We checked a couple of the Arsi heifers for pregnancy, one was and two were not, and we put heat patches and insecticide on the rest of the heifers. The cows are all looking good, so I hope that we will be able to put embryos in them when I come back in March. The two Arsi calves that were born are both heifers. I laughed when Abera told me that they keep the calves in the guard house at night because it gets so cold. He realized why I was laughing when I explained that we didn’t even take our calves inside at night and the temperatures are much, much colder.

Our 8:00am meeting with the Kabeli leaders finally started at about 10:00am, with one third of them there. Another third of the leaders drifted in over the next hour. I had Abera give a report on the different projects we were working on or had completed. I explained that, like building a house, you first needed a solid foundation. It takes a lot of work before you start seeing the house rising up. If you don’t build a good foundation first, the house will fall. I told them that now we are working on building a strong foundation so it is going a little slow, but in time it will grow into a great business.

I also spent some time telling them about myself, and instilling in them a vision of a better life. I explained to them that today was my Dad’s birthday, and I told them that he is a farmer similar to them. I explained how he helped me learn the value of good work, and how he had given me my first pocket knife while I was still a young boy so that I could use it in a lot of the work that I did. I then presented each of them with a pocket knife and told them that it was to remind them the value of working hard, and encouraged them to use their position as leaders to teach their communities this same principle.

I asked them for their suggestions, comments and questions. They are very excited to improve the lives of the people in their communities. We have a lot to do so I am excited to have their support for our project.

After the meeting with the Kabeli leaders, I asked Abera to gather our crew around so that I could talk with them. I told them that as employees, they represented MAI, and when people saw them, they would think about our company. I encouraged them to keep that in mind and be good representatives of the company. I told them that I was very happy to have the Kabeli leaders come and sit on the benches under the tree for our meeting, but I was not happy when some of them walked over and looked at our garden. I challenged them to all work hard together to make sure that the next time they come we have many different vegetables growing. I reminded them of what I had said to the Kabeli leaders about work and I gave them all a pocketknife of their own as well. One of them spoke for the group and apologized that they hadn’t done better and committed to do better in the future. I thanked them all and said goodbye.

We gave Negesu more money to work on the road. It is much better than it was, but we still have work to do. I asked Naritu to be the scribe and keep a record of all of the meetings that we have with the Kabeli leaders.

We made it back to the Negelle office just before our meeting with the local dairy farmers was to begin. The staff informed us that the farmers had shown up 6 hours earlier at 4:00 Ethiopian time. Abera called Mulgeta to see what had happened and he assured us that we had told him to set the meeting up for the morning. Both Abera and I reminded him that I had said afternoon and Abera had clarified the time as 10:00 Ethiopian or 4:00 European. Failure to communicate.

I drove Abera and Makonen to the school farm to see the harvested alfalfa. I estimated about ¾ of a ton. Had I not stopped in last week we wouldn’t have gotten any feed for ATARC. We talked about weeding the fields and keeping the local animals out, both of which are in really bad shape. I also noticed that the fences were not looking very good. As we drove away from Abera’s house, I had a good talk with Makonen, which I talked to Evan about this evening. Evan brought me his modem so I was able to send out a few emails before it stopped working. I really depend a lot on the internet. Being without it helps me to recognize that.

Walk-Around at Kokosa

2010-02-01T21:35:00.000-07:00

I arose early, dressed and worked on the contracts for the research institutions. I was able to put the finishing touches on both of them. I will email them to Paul and Wally for review when I get internet usage again.

I met Evan for breakfast, then went with Abera to Arsi Negelle for some interviews. We met with Mulgeta and asked him to set up a meeting with a few of the best local dairymen tomorrow afternoon. I want to talk to them about embryo transfer and see what kind of interest there is among them. We also met with Belyner and Girma from Wendo Genet University. They would like us to come and help them with their dairy. Since I had been there a couple of times, I had some ideas that would help them. I told them that I didn’t have time this trip, but that when I come back in March I will plan to spend a day with them.

We spent the rest of the morning interviewing potential veterinarians for the position at Kokosa. We had one older experienced man, one young man with a little experience and a young lady with no experience. Abera preferred the young lady because she would be very teachable and not prideful, have the lowest salary and she wouldn’t have to leave a job. I invited Makonen, Binyam, and Evan in to discuss the three candidates with us. We decided that the older man was too set in his ways and would not be teachable in addition to the fact that he thought that the job should pay twice as much as the others. Makonen had worked with him before and confirmed that he was not a good choice. We settled on the young man because he had a lot more work experience than the young lady.

Abera took me to a local restaurant for lunch. We had lamb tibs with ingera and bread. The bill for both of us including two cokes was 35 birr ($2.77). I don’t know that I will ever really like the food here but it does fill my belly.

We picked up Gamachu, our new purchasing agent, and drove to Kokosa. When we arrived I did a walk-around. The animals are looking very good. While I was counting them, the herdsman came up and told me that there were 27 but I only counted 24 including the 2 calves. Either he didn’t know his English numbers or the alcohol that I smelled on his breath was clouding his mind too. I took them to see the seep spring which I had to dig up because the pipe had been tromped into the mud. We chose a couple of other areas that will be better suited because they have a larger flow of water.

The elephant grass is doing fairly well, considering the conditions that it was planted in. We met Genemo, the local cattle buyer, and asked him about ways that we could position ourselves in the market. He appeared willing to work with us.

I was very disappointed in the garden. The weeds were taking over and the cattle had been let in to craze and had pulled up or eaten the tops off from about half of the beets. I started weeding and eventually they started helping me. In about 10 minutes we had the whole thing weeded and the beets replanted and watered.

Abera announced that we were going to have a cookout tonight. I didn’t really think much of it until he came in and asked me to come and kill the lamb. I had my pocket knife but it isn’t the sharpest around so I asked if they had a better knife. One of the guards had a sharper one so I used it to cut the lamb’s throat. I started to help them skin it out but they stopped me because I wasn’t doing it their way which decreased its value at the market. They cut off strips of meat and roasted them over the fire. I wasn’t really hungry but I ate anyway.

Later they brought over some false banana which tastes a little rancid. I found out later that they let it ferment for a month then cook it in their butter, which explains the rancid flavor and the sharp fermented flavor. I probably like it about as much as ingera. Here in the highlands they eat it as often as the people in the lowlands eat ingera.

MAI Website Launched

2010-02-01T14:54:00.000-07:00

Morrell Agro Industries has just launched their new website. There is a lot of information there, and a lot more than will be added in the future. There are a lot of details that give a great overview of what we are doing with the dairy initiative, as well as descriptions and pictures of the other projects. Take a few minutes to check it out!

http://morrellagro.com/

Also, here's the specific page about Lonny's project and experience over there, though May 2010.
http://morrellagro.com/?page_id=290

ENJOY!
~Erika ~ AKA, "Mrs. Ethiopian Cowboy" =D

Ambassadors of the United States

2010-01-31T20:03:00.000-07:00

I had a good morning here at the Lilly Valley Hotel. I talked with my family including Loren and Lyle for quite a while. I was pleased to find that they are all doing well. My family is the core of my life and it is hard to be away from them. However the knowledge that the Lord will care for and bless them in my absence gives me the comfort that allows me to leave them and come here to work.

Evan and I left just after 9:00 so we could make it to church early. Instead of being early we were late. After the meeting I asked the Branch President what time church started. Last time we had arrived at the same time and it didn’t start for 15 minutes at 10:00. He said that they start gathering at 9:30 and start when everyone is ready. I guess sometimes that means that church starts at 9:35 and sometimes it starts at 10:00. Next time we will be there at 9:25 just in case.

We missed the first half of the sacrament, but Daniel had experience with late comers. He passed us by with the water, then when he was finished brought us the bread and then the water. The O’Crowlys were welcomed to church today by the Branch President asking them to speak. They did a very good job taking about “inquiring of the Lord and the sacred grove”. They asked me to teach a youth Sunday school class which consisted of Gutama, Damitu, Tofege, Mesafinet, and Mubarek that all spoke Oromic and Daniel and his friend Yehune that spoke Amharic. I decided to do a role play of the first vision and the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. I asked each of them to volunteer for a part. Then I had them come to the front of the class and act out the story as I told it. Mesafinet and Daniel understood English the best so they translated as we went along. I think that it went fairly well considering the circumstances. I’m sure the Spirit was helping with the understanding.

After church, we drove the children and Mambrat back to the VOH. The five children were all fighting to sit in the middle seat. I climbed in the back and invited Mubarek, the oldest, to join me. Domitu, the only girl, was relieved because she was being pushed out to the back. Mambrat came out and asked me to sit in front in my place but I told her that the front was her place. I explained to the boys that it was important to show respect for women. I told them about how Christ on the cross thought of his mother in spite of the pain and asked his disciple to care for her.

When we pulled into the VOH compound I was surprised to see the children cleaning the porch and the windows. They had made the building shine, which is really a feat in Ethiopia. They invited us to stay and eat lunch, but we did not want to impose so we went back to the hotel.

I have thought a lot lately about how the United States has influenced the rest of the world. Friday I was in a restaurant that had M-TV playing. I was so offended by the music and videos that I got up and turned it off. I explained to Abera and Emebet that it was upsetting to me that people equated that type of filth with America. Abera confirmed that due to the movies, Americans are thought of as pistol packing machines of destruction. I asked him what he thought about Americans after spending two weeks in America. He said they are totally different than what he had thought.

Right now my mind is being abused by the rap music that is blaring from loud speakers half a block away. It does not contribute to the spirit of the Sabbath day. By far the two most common billboards that I see are Coke and Pepsi. Not that the product is necessarily bad, (Drinking either of them is better than river water and in some cases really helps with the digestive problems caused by the food here), but the advertisement shows an unrealistic picture. Since when does drinking cola make you beautiful, happy, or any of the other things that they try and portray with their ads? Like it or not, these are ambassadors of America.

I see many flour and wheat sacks that have the US flag on them. These are food aid which in the short run stave off starvation, but in the long run undercut the farmers and breed dependence and laziness. I feel very good that we are trying to bring education and sound business principles here that will help them see the value of their country, and more importantly of themselves, so they can shake off these chains of poverty and starvation that really shouldn’t have ever been part of Ethiopia. I pray that we can continue to have the type of government that will be an example to the nations of the world. We have an amazing blessing living in such a wonderful society, but I fear that too many people are willing to trade the challenges of prosperity for the assurance of dependence.

Working with Friends

2010-01-30T23:37:00.000-07:00

I’m in Shashamene now, staying at the Lilly Valley hotel, which has clean and comfortable rooms, a luxury here in Ethiopia. My back misses my own bed at home though! I had breakfast with Evan: omelets, pineapple juice and hot milk for 45 birr ($3.56).

Makonen called and asked me to come look at his milk cows, so Evan and I drove over to see them. The cow that just calved had some edema (swelling) under her belly. The veterinarian told him to drain it out by lancing it or sucking it out with a needle. I told him to just leave it alone. 30 years ago in the US, vets used to drain excessive edema, but they have learned that the cow will take care of it herself, and that trying to fix it often causes additional problems. His other cows and calves are looking very good. He wants me to artificially inseminate them when I come back in March.

At 2pm, we met Abera at the Shalom Juice Bar. We each had a juice and a piece of cake for 42 birr ($3.33) for all three of us. The juice is so good. I wish we had a good juice bar in Genola. This afternoon I borrowed Sherlock Holmes from Evan and watched it. It is nice to get a little break from reality to give my mind a rest. All day and much of the night I am analyzing our project here and trying to think of the best way to move forward.

I asked Abera about his family. His father is a retired farmer and he has 15 siblings, most of which are farmers. He has one brother that is a successful government leader and one brother that is a teacher. He said that from the time he was very small, his father prayed that he would be successful. Abera has worked hard his whole life in many different occupations including farmer, laborer, painter, and cattle manager. He is currently taking classes on the weekend so that he can be better prepared for life. He is a great man, and a jewel among Ethiopians. I love working with him.

A Beautiful Drive to the Marketplace in Duke

2010-01-29T19:44:00.000-07:00

I listened to John Bytheway to go to sleep last night and slept very well. I woke up once due to a cough from this cold that I have had but was able to get back to sleep after I got a drink a glass of water. When I awoke at 6am, I was very sore from driving all day yesterday and being cramped in that little truck. We drove 600 km (370 miles) about nine hours. The two lane road was paved all the way but we shared it with everything from big slow moving trucks to squirrels.

Drowsy driving isn’t as big of an issue here because you have to stay alert all the time. Even then you usually get an adrenalin rush a couple of times an hour as something or someone runs out in front of you. Today we only drove 400km (250 miles) in about six hours. I am very grateful that 40 plus years ago the Italians built that road. It is amazing that it has held up so well for so long. I guess the mild climate and lower traffic allow it to last a long time.

The road winds through the Ethiopian highlands in the south of the country. It is some of the most beautiful land that I have ever seen. The first couple hundred kilometers is lush green mountains that grow all sorts of fruits, pineapple, mango, banana, false banana, etc. The second half of the drive reminded me of Utah’s Dixie. Deep red soils contrasted beautifully with the green trees and shrubs. Like most of Ethiopia everything that was even remotely edible had been grazed on. Irrigation could really make that area blossom and decrease the seasonal flooding that they have.

We headed to the market in Duke to see what the cattle look like. We asked villagers directions to the market and meandered through the city paths until we finally found the market about a mile west of town. In contrast to the run down mud huts, the large market place was impressive. The whole market had a four foot stone wall with a railing on top of it. There was a separate yard complete with shade for each of the species, sheep, cattle and camels. The sheep and goats were sold by the kilogram so they had some scales that they used to hang them to get their weight. There was a cattle scale also but it looked like it had never been used. The cattle are sold as a total dollar amount.

When we first arrived, we saw all of the sheep and goats being sold but couldn’t see anything else. When we asked around, they said that the cattle gathered to the east, and some of the buying went on there before the cattle arrived at the market. We drove over and looked at the cattle and camels for sale. Most of the cattle were on the thin side, but not near as bad as the ones that we had purchased last summer. We found a couple that looked pretty good so I explained to Abera what I was looking for and why those particular ones met my criteria. We met a couple of brokers and exchanged numbers with them. It looks like we can save about 1000 birr/animal and get better quality animals. I am glad that we drove down, even though it was a long drive.

On our way back, we stopped to meet with Girma, the manager of the Boran Breeding Center. They have a few animals for sale, but they don’t have any of the 1st calf heifers which we want. We had lunch at the restaurant. It cost 39 birr ($3.25) for the three of us to eat. Abera and Emebet both had ingera with different sauces and he ordered spaghetti for me. The sauce tasted like really spicy key wot, not impressive.

We dropped off Emebet at her apartment in Awasa, then headed to Shashamene. We were almost to the hotel when a guy ran right out in front of our vehicle. Fortunately, Abera was driving slowly and was able to screech to a stop. Abera was really shocked and asked if it was his fault. I assured him that it was not and that he had done great.

Grazing Mayhem & Traveling South

2010-01-28T19:09:00.000-07:00

My alarm went off after about four hours of sleep. I dragged myself out of bed, did some final packing, and then headed upstairs to meet Abera. We loaded up the truck and headed south to Shashamene. I let Abera drive so that I could try and get some more sleep. The roads were fairly clear that early in the morning so we made it to Abera’s home in about three hours. I slept off and on as we drove down and felt pretty good.

I dropped Abera off, then went over to see the alfalfa. I was terribly disappointed with what I saw. They had allowed the goats and donkeys to come in and graze most of the alfalfa and some of the safflower. To make matters worse there was a lot of thistle growing in the grain fields and the safflower. I went and got Abera so he could see. He was even more disappointed than I was. Last year he was in charge of it and had everything looking very nice.

We ran into Gamachu and Ingeda on the road so we talked to them about it. Later we met with them and Makonen again. I was not surprised by the blaming and finger pointing that went on as we discussed the situation. They went as far as to blame Abera because he had not come and told them to harvest. After a few minutes, I stopped them and told them that they were wasting time blaming each other. I told them that we all should look at what we can do different so that it doesn’t happen again. Wally came over about that time and asked how things were going so I filled him in on the details. Evan was at the hotel so we stopped in and talked to him about it also. Hopefully we will see some action.

The cow was in heat when we arrived so I took advantage of the situation and breed her. I was just dropping the semen in the water when I realized that we didn’t have an AI gun. I found a dry alfalfa stem that would work as a plunger. I pushed the semen straw as far into the cervix as I could and still hold the end then I pushed the semen out using the stem and a needle. It is a long shot that she will conceive given the circumstances but there is a chance. It was better than just throwing the straw away after we had thawed it out.

We picked up Emebet in Awasa when we fueled up then headed south. I watched the beautiful scenery go by - It is amazing how lush and green the area south of Awasa is. Further south it starts to dry out and is over grazed like the rest of the country. We stopped at the Boran Breeding center which is about 20 km or 12 miles from our final destination of Yebelo. We met with the assistant manager Derge since Girma, the manager, was away at meetings. Derge explained to us what they were doing then showed us around the facility. The animals look really good for being in Ethiopia. Some of the six month old calves would outweigh some of the recipient heifers that we have at ATARC.

The place looks like many of the others that we have seen. It looks like 30 years ago someone spent a lot of time and money in putting together a facility but not much has happened since. They have a D8 Caterpillar dozer that is acting as a large beehive. I counted 18 people just standing around the corrals. If they were instructed what to do or encouraged to think for themselves the place could really look nice in a short period of time. Abera is one of the few Ethiopians that I have met that understands the concept of maintenance and beautification. I am so grateful that he is working with me and I can see Paul’s wisdom in having him help get the 1000 hectare program going.

We checked into our rooms at Yebelo then drove to meet Emebet’s mother. She made dura wot and ingera for us. They offered clabbered milk which Abera accepted but I passed on. When it came time for coffee I explained to them that I didn’t drink it because of religious convictions. They brought me hot milk instead. I have noticed that some of the hot milk has a charcoal taste to it. I think that it comes from cooking it over the coals but it could also be a filtering type deal. I am appreciative of people who have so little but are so generous in giving.

Back at my hotel room I killed a couple of roaches in the bathroom and some mosquitoes. I tried the hot water in the shower but it wasn’t working so I just rinsed my head with cool water which actually felt very good. When I slid the slippers away from the side of the bed several more roaches scurried away but I was too tired to chase after then. The Farenge (foreigner) price for this room is 200 birr ( under $20). The Abesha(local) room rate is 81 birr ( about $7). I guess it is a good thing that I am tired or I might have a hard time sleeping tonight.

Lost, Pulled Over, Locked Out & Left Alone

2010-01-27T14:05:00.000-07:00

The Chinese food that I had last night didn’t set very well with me. I had Pepto bismal pills for breakfast before heading out with Abera for Debre Zeit. At the AKF feed processing plant we talked our way past the guards then met with Santosh the Asst. General Manager of the plant. {Erika here: Lonny, let us know what AKF is?} It sounds like they can get us a good concentrate mix with the vitamin/mineral formulation from Holland. This should be a good formulation for our animals. The part I like best is that the price is comparable to the local concentrate that we could get around here.

I called Arnold with Alfa Feeds and asked if we could meet with him and see his operation. He gave me directions, but we missed the first turn and ended up getting very lost. After calling him a couple more times, we finally met him on the road and followed him to their farm. Arnold and his colleague, Peter, have set up a nice farm on one of the small lakes around Debre Zeit, and they are growing corn for silage. They seem to be doing quite well. They received a grant from the Dutch government for half of the investment, and they are paying for the other half themselves. It is good to have another contact in the country that understands modern farm practices.

Arnold told us about a dairy cooperative, possibly funded by a Dutch Christian group, that is buying milk from the local farmers. Abera and I drove over to see them, but the manager was not around, so we will go back and visit with them another time. Arnold said that the cooperative had mentioned some difficulties with the quality of milk that the local farmers bring in. I would like to know what those challenges were and how they overcame them.

Back in Addis, Abera took me to the airport workers cafeteria, which is close to our office. He ordered a green salad with tuna for me and had ingera himself. The salad was very good and I had no ill effects from eating it. The whole meal including drinks cost 56 birr($4.45) not bad for two people.

We drove over to the hotel to have Wally sign our checks, then headed to the bank to cash them. I thought that I knew the way, and so did Abera, but we missed the last turn anyway and got lost again! After asking directions several times, we finally found our way back.

I dropped Abera off at the office, then went to “Where Love Is” to pick up Lloyd, Evan, and Joseph. They had done a good job of putting a garden together in the south corner of the compound, and had also built a fence around it and made rock walkways through it. The boys were so excited that when the were waiting for their turn on the main garden, they went to the north side of the compound and made another garden! There wasn’t a lot of good soil on that side, so they went outside the wall and dug some from the side of the road. It is exciting to see them getting motivated about working and doing things.

We said our goodbyes, then piled into the truck to head back to the house. Just as we were pulling off the Ring Road a police officer waved us over. He said that we have four people riding in the cab of the pickup, but fortunately he just let me go with a warning.

That evening we walked to the Italian restaurant and had a pretty good meal. I had ravioli which was made with the local cheese. The sour flavor was just too strong for my liking. I should have gone with the lasagna, which Joseph said was very good.

On our way back to the house, I received a call from Fasil who is an acquaintance of Bob Albreicht, a friend of my former co-worker, Karl Ritchie. Fasil has a feed processing facility in Addis, and a dairy also. I asked if I could meet with him, and he agreed, so I will go see his place next week.

At 11:30pm I went out to get the truck to take Joseph, Lloyd and Evan to the airport to catch their late flight. The gate was padlocked shut, so I went and knocked on the guard house but didn’t get any response. I was getting worried, so I went in and told Lloyd they would have to stay another week. :) Luckily, a little while later, when I knocked again on the guardhouse door, I was finally able to wake the guard and get the truck.

I felt melancholy as I dropped them off at the airport and drove back to the house. I have a lot to do here before this trip is over, but I am envious that Joseph will get to see the family by the end of the day. I am so glad that Joseph came with me. He is a great young man and a real friend. I will miss having him around.

Skype, Email and Bedbugs

2010-01-26T23:56:00.000-07:00

This morning I had a good visit with my family on Skype. They had been at Jessica’s High School performance of "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare: Abridged." I wish that I could have seen it. I was in a good mood this morning with optimism for what we are trying to accomplish here, despite our many challenges. I am so grateful that Erika is so supportive. Without her support I don’t know if I could keep going.

I spent the day in the office sending and receiving emails. Email is such a fantastic communication tool. I am able to accomplish so much in a short time from one place. I am so glad that it works here in Ethiopia. It is not as good as in the States because of the power outages, networks being down and the people not being as familiar with it, but it is still very beneficial. Abera and I met with Wally to discuss personnel changes. We will hire an onsite manager for Kokosa so that Abera can spend some of his time helping with the 1000 hectares of wheat that we want to plant for seed.

We had exterminators come to spray the house today. I guess there were bed bugs in one of the upstairs beds. We had to be out of the house for a couple of hours so we went out to eat. We tried to go to the Italian restaurant but it was closed, so we walked to the Chinese restaurant down the street. I wasn’t really in the mood for Chinese food and the quality of it didn’t help any.

I met with Elder and Sister Ocrowly, the humanitarian missionaries who are serving here now. I explained to them the history and purpose of MAI here in Ethiopia. We had a good discussion about the future of Ethiopia. They are excited to be here and will be a great help to the Ethiopian people. I am amazed by the way the Lord leads and guides our interactions when we let Him. With His help we will be able to accomplish great things here in Ethiopia.

Concentrate Feed Supplements

2010-01-25T23:38:00.000-07:00

I spent much of today reviewing our results so far and analyzing what factors can most influence our success. It appears that using a concentrate feed helps reproductive performance. As I analyzed it and reviewed it with others, I am convinced that a mineral supplement will really improve the dismal results that we have been experiencing.

This evening Wally and I met with Tsehay and discussed our project. She confirmed that mineral would greatly benefit our cattle. She also told us about a Land 'O Lakes project that had brought 750 Boran cows up for farmers to buy to use in cross breeding. They had seen similar challenges with the fertility of the animals. She told us of plans to build a feed supplement company and recommended that we do it. Just trying to cover all of the bases here we could end up with dozens of businesses.

After our meeting, Tsehay took us to a very nice Mediterranean-type restaurant. I had a green salad with tuna and tortellini. It was very good.

A Day of Rest and Recuperation

2010-01-24T23:02:00.000-07:00

Teddy gave Joseph & I a ride to the Meganagna branch to go to Church. I really enjoyed the meetings. The first talk was about not judging people by their outward appearance, and the second talk was on sharing the gospel with other people. They were both really good talks and made us think.

I met the new humanitarian missionary couple, the Ocrowlies from Vernal, Utah. They are a neat couple and will take over where the Himlies left off. I also met Elder Kohler from Midway, Utah, who had some connections with me. He was taught in school by the mother of my former co-worker, Jared McNaughton, and I also know his uncle, Grant Kohler, from the Utah Dairy Board.

For lunch today, we combined forces with Alyssa, who made hamburger rolls, and Mark and Heidi, who made a coconut cream pie. We fried up some potatoes, and provided vegetables and fruit. Joseph and I had purchased a watermelon for 18 birr ($1.48) on our way back from Shashamene on Friday. It was a very good meal, lots of good food, way more than we are used to when we are over here. I ate way too much, which made it easier for me to take a long and much needed nap.

I have been reading "Enough" - an in depth analysis of the famines in Ethiopia which was published by a couple of Wallstreet Journal reporters. It has been a fascinating book, confirming a lot of what I have seen and experienced here. It has helped me to understand why some of the simple things that seem obvious to others haven't been done here, and why some things that have been done did more damage than good in the long run. Well-meaning foreign government subsidies have helped in the short run, but have hampered independence over the long term.

I was able to Skype with my family this afternoon. I love them very much and really enjoy talking with them. Being away from them is the hardest challenge that I have had. Even so, I put them on the alter before the Lord and say, "I will go where you want me to go."

Soccer at 'Where Love Is' Boys Home

2010-01-23T23:30:00.000-07:00

This morning Joe drove Joseph and I over to the Where Love Is boys home to finish up Joseph’s eagle project. He went with Birhanu to go buy soccer balls while I talked with Jason about the project. He explained to me how the boys arrive and how the discipline works. Several of the last boys to arrive were brought in with serious health issues, infected jaw, broken arm, etc. Once they are in, they can stay, as long as they follow the rules. I am amazed at how well Jason is able to work with these street boys calmly and patiently. If the boys don’t comply with the rules they have two chances at a lower level of punishment, then on the third level they are expelled from the home. He is kind but firm as he works with the boys.

Joseph and Birhanu took the minibus taxis to sports shops and bought a couple of different styles of soccer balls. They were gone a couple of hours trying to find the best balls for the playing conditions. It was a great experience for Joseph to walk the streets of Addis and ride in the minibuses with Birhanu. While they were gone, the rest of us had lunch at the boys home. The boys take turns cooking on Saturdays, and today they cooked sura wot to eat with injera. It was actually pretty good. Jason expects a lot from the boys and they respond well. When Joseph returned, he gave the boys the soccer balls. They were so excited that they took them right out and started playing with them. One was used for a game and the others were used to practice juggling. Joseph gave the rest of the money to Jason to use for whatever needs he had. He said that he would probably use most of it for food.

We took a taxi back to the office and spent the rest of the evening recuperating. I have had a bad head cold which has made it difficult to sleep well. Thankfully I have some cold medicine that I brought with me on my last trip. We watched “The Blind Side” and played "Axis and Allies" which is a game similar to Risk but more complex. The game went kind of slow because we kept getting distracted with the movie, but it was a lot of fun to play with Joseph. Weson cooked us a very nice meal including injera, a couple of wots, and a tomato salad.