In June 2024, I (Pastor Kyle) visited the Hope Center for the first time. The Hope Center is a day facility that offers various forms of care and meals for impoverished children and orphans in the Merkato district of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. When I met the children, I was obviously as deeply affected as one might expect. In my head I understood the situation and what I was going to see, but actually seeing it with my eyes was something different. To my surprise, the children were excited to see me even though they know nothing about me. They wanted to hug and kiss me, play thumb wrestling, and take pictures. The emotion that overwhelmed me was not what I expected. These children seemed happy, not miserable. Many of the children wore the same clothes every day that I saw them that week, telling me that they probably didn’t have more than a few changes of clothes. When we fed them in the evenings, several of them wanted to share their food with me. A few of them actually stuffed it in my mouth, which everyone found amusing. It occurred to me that this may be the only meal some of them were eating that day and they wanted to share it. If you served them too much food, they wouldn’t take it, but wag their finger at you and say, “too much”. One girl asked me what my favorite food was, and I told her that I really liked tibs which is basically Ethiopian fajitas. When I asked her the same question she replied, “banana”, and let out a sigh as she imagined its taste. We celebrated my birthday at the Center with the children one day while I was there. I’ve never seen more excited children. In my family, my tradition is to buy my children gifts on my birthday, so I was happy to see that tradition fulfilled at the Hope Center, as they got donuts and birthday cake. The image of their smiles is forever etched in my memory and on my heart.
I carry a small notebook with me to record things that I don’t trust my memory to hold. Several of the children saw me writing in it and wanted to see, so I had them write their names for me. In some way, I feel an ongoing connection with these children when I read their names written in my book. As I flip through the pages to review my notes, I pray for them by name. The names they wrote for me remind me of their smiles, their deep brown eyes, and their joy.
Shore Community Church 
4 thoughts on “Mission Trip to Addis Ababa (part 1 of 5)”