Swing Set Update

We are excited that $335 has come in for the Ethiopia Swing Set project.  As we have contemplated this project, I have envisioned the kids at the orphan care center watching with curiosity as we build the swing set.  Since many of them have never seen a swing set, there will be looks of bewilderment, watching the Ferengis assembling this odd contraption.

Knowing that they will giggle with glee as they experience the combination of weightlessness and gravity-rush for the first time, we press on with this project.  To us the swing set can merely be a task-oriented maze of budgeting luggage space, coordinating tool requirements, and arranging financial support.  However, to the kids who will soon be learning how rear back in a swing and reach their feet toward the sky, it represents a sense of freedom, exhilaration, and joy.

I spoke last night with Anna who has traveled many times to Ethiopia and has seen first-hand what a swing set can do for children.  Children who have nothing to call their own, who live a life of extreme poverty, and may or may not have parents or a home to call their own.  She shared with me how these kids line up for hours just to get a single turn on a swing set.  She shared how the swing sets are used constantly and become a symbol of pride for them, since it may be the only thing that they can call their own.  It may be the only thing that gives them a brief freedom from the difficult life they live.

We are thankful that God has every detail of our upcoming trip taken care of.  There are no needs that He is not aware of.  As we travel to Ethiopia, we are looking forward to loving the children, serving the workers, and experiencing what God has in store for each of us!