Amisaganalu

Duke Mu of Chin said to Po Lo: "You are now advanced in years. Is there any member of your family whom I could employ to look for horses in your stead?" Po Lo replied: "A good horse can be picked out by its general build and appearance. But the superlative horse- one that raises no dust and leaves no tracks- is something evanescent and fleeting, elusive as thin air. The talents of my sons lie on a lower plane altogether; they can tell a good horse when they see one, but they cannot tell a superlative horse. I have a friend, however, one Chiu-fang Kao, a hawker of fuel and vegetables, who in things appertaining to horses is nowise my inferior. Pray see him."

Duke Mu did so, and subsequently dispatched him on the quest for a steed. Three months later, he returned with news that he had found one. "It is now in Shach'iu," he added. "What kind of a horse is it?" asked the Duke. "Oh, it is a dun-colored mare," was the reply. However, someone being sent to fetch it, the animal turned out to be a coal-black stallion! Much displeased, the Duke sent for Po Lo. "That friend of yours," he said, "whom I commissioned to look for a horse, had made a fine mess of it. Why, he cannot even distinguish a beast's color or sex! What on earth can he know about horses?" Po Lo heaved a sigh of satisfaction. "Has he really got as far as that?" he cried. "Ah, then he is worth ten thousand of me put together. There is no comparison between us. What Kao keeps in view is the spiritual mechanism. In making sure of the essential, he forgets the homely details; intent on the inward qualities, he loses sight of the external. He sees what he wants to see, and not what he does not want to see. He looks at the things he ought to look at, and neglects those that need not be looked at. So clever a judge of horses is Kao, that he has it in him to judge something better than horses."

When the horse arrived, it turned out indeed to be a superlative animal.

Raise Hight The Roof Beam, Carpenters, J.D. Salinger

Since our arrival to Addis Abbaba, Ethiopia, over five weeks ago, I struggled over how I would choose to describe this city once I returned. You see, I have awakened to the sound of men busy with spraying down cobbled streets with water and viewed the awesome majesty of a bygone church upon opening my hotel window while in Paris. I have peered down sixteen stories at the city of Seoul, alive, vibrant, booming with activity and neon lights. I have lounged in cafes late at night with new friends in Skopje, Macedonia, drinking in the smells of freshly cooked beef kebobs and stale cigarette smoke while surrounded by ruined fortresses and stalwart bridges dating back to Roman rule. To the outward appearance (and here I must qualify that my experience of Ethiopia's capital was indeed severely limited), there is much of Addis that may not appeal to the senses. But even though the mud drenched streets after an afternoon rain; the scattered cattle and the beggars; the commotion of traffic spewing diesel exhaust and following what no Americans would consider the "rules of the road," was certainly not as charming as a stroll down the Champ de Elysee: Addis, I discovered, possessed its own superlative beauty. For underneath the muck and havoc, the poverty and despair, beneath the externals of the city, there is a people so lovely, so kind, so generous. And in my heart, those "homely details" have begun to fade and it is this beauty I continue to treasure in my heart.

I am not sure why, but we could not get enough pictures of cattle on the sidewalks. I think Thomas was a bit envious. 

After taking custody of Lucia on Monday, we were told by our agency that if Jared and I were going to be out and about Addis that we take her next door to the Holt Care Center where she had been living. These precious women were two of her nannies. These pictures are so dear. So totally overwhelming, swimming in gratitude for the love and care our daughter received while in Holt's care. 

And look Molly, it is your dress! The nannies were always very concerned with the warmth of the children, hence the shirt underneath the sundress. 

Several months ago, Cami Blumenthal raffled off a fuzzy, pink blanket in order to raise money to purchase medicine for AHOPE. She was able to raise $200 and I won the blanket. As providence would have it, Cami and her husband Ryan were part of our travel group and Jared, Ryan, Thomas, and I were able to visit AHOPE, a care center for children with HIV/AIDS and drop off the medicine.

Throughout the summer months AHOPE receives many volunteers (do you hear the wheels turning in my head?). Some chalk drawings from some of AHOPE's children. 

We toured AHOPE's early childhood facility during nap time. This is Thomas in the toddler room. With the help of medicine now available to countries like Ethiopia, the life expectancy of children with HIV/AIDS has increased to twenty-two years of age. 

A classroom for children not enrolled in the Addis school system.

After a night of severe illness for both Jared and myself, we awakened and though a bit weak went on a tour of Holy Trinity Orthodox Cathedral. Though not the Byzantine style which we are pretty accustomed to, the cathedral was beautiful and is the resting place of former Ethiopian Emperor Halle Selassie and his wife. 

One of the four Evangelists (we think it's St. John) outside the Cathedral.

Praying outside the Cathedral doors.

Though not typical to our Orthodox experience, the stain glass windows depicting biblical scenes were beautiful.  

Though we have always requested a bassinet for our flight home with our children, this was the first time we actually had one. Wonderful and so was she for our nearly twenty hour flight home. Thanks Jared for doing all the baby duty!

So Jared and Thomas loved these moths that were abundant in Addis.

Anything. Anything. Anything is better than our trip home from Seoul with the twins. Three seats for five people. This time we had five seats for the four of us. And after our sickness Wednesday night/Thursday morning, even the airplane food was a feast.

Thomas with his new Ethiopian shirt (it has a gold cross on it). Fabulous traveler. Not surprised in the least at this.

Arriving in Chicago.

And so ends the pictures of our journey. You can visit our dear friend's blog for  photos of our arrival home here. And if you want to view more great photos of our trip including one shot of our travel group at the Care Center's Good-bye Ceremony, you can visit my friend Julie's blog.

Amisaganalu.
(Thank You in Amharic)