Happy Birthday Ezra!

Updated Pictures

We've recently discovered a restaurant close by that has free high speed internet access, so I was able to load all of our pics from the last couple of months into our photo website. If you're interested in checking them out, here is the website: www.elsamorrell.shutterfly.com . I have to warn that they are mostly of our kids--what can I say, they just keep doing such darn cute things all the time.

The Longest Prayer

I didn't know what I was asking. I really didn't. And in hindsight, if I had known that by asking a guest to pray in our home that it would be a 25 minute event--speaking in tongues included, as well as a mini-sermon--I believe I still would have asked him to do so. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
Last night we asked our nanny, Tizita, her family and also one of her sisters (who is a language teacher in our language school) to come to our house for dinner. Hospitality in Ethiopia is foundational to their culture--they bring forth amazing meals from seemingly nothing, and they are some of the warmest and most gracious hosts you will ever encounter. Tizita has already had us over for a meal at her house, and so I wanted to have her and her family over to eat at our house as well. We had a great evening together, eating and watching the kids play together, and before they left, I asked Berhanu (Tizita's husband) to pray, which is a common custom in Ethiopian culture.
Caleb asked me later if I had any idea what we would experience when I asked Berhanu to pray, and I replied truthfully that I had no earthly idea that we would get what we got. Being a good Free Methodist-raised Christian, I expected a heartfelt "Thank you, Lord, for the time we've spent together, the food we've shared, and please bless this family".
Oh no.
Berhanu stood up, began chanting in Amharic, and for the next 25 minutes, prayed, sermonized, blessed us, praised God, gave thanks, beseeched the Lord on our behalf, and spoke in tongues. Oh, note here--seeing as it was all speaking in tongues to me (my Amharic, although coming along, was only able to make out a few words that I knew), I had no idea until later when Caleb told me that what I had just experienced (for the first time in my life!) was hearing someone speak in tongues.
Now all of this still could have been taken as quite a normal event. But seeing as we have two children under two who are not used to 25 minute prayers, Berhanu's prayer was competing with Elsa and Ezra's shenanigans. Elsa went back and forth between telling everyone to "Wake Up!" and mimicking Berhanu's stance and intonations. Yes, I'm sure all of this made such a great impression on our Ethiopian brothers and sisters--their children, of course, were sitting beautifully still and quiet.
Although it was hard to keep from laughing at our oh so reverent child, I learned something. Although so different from the way that I approach my Father, it was beautiful and passionate and so heartfelt. And I know this home was blessed by the words and pleas uttered on our behalf.
So, yes, even though I didn't know what I was asking, I would ask again. Pray on, Berhanu, pray on.

A Day Off

Last week we had a break from school so we took advantage by doing nothing at all. We had originally planned to go down to Omo for our break, but our car ended up not coming in time so we weren't able to go. Instead, Caleb spent most of the week clearing our car from customs (successfully!--pictures to follow) and we took a day to go to an insanely fancy hotel here in Addis to swim for the day. It was a perfect day. We went into it thinking our kids wouldn't last more than an hour or two, but it was after a full day that we finally bribed them out of the pool with a promise of ice cream. (Bribes work--especially of the sweet variety. Don't judge, you know you've done it, too.) Here's a picture of the four of us enjoying the Addis sunshine and the warm water:

A Baby Named Joanna

recently found out from Donna, Caleb's mom, that one of the babies I helped deliver while I was down at Omo in January was named Joanna. Well, to say I helped 'deliver' this baby is a tad inflated. It's more like I crouched in the dimly lit hut and watched while Donna and a local midwife wrestled this first-time mom into a position suitable for a safe delivery (this lady was being uncharacteristically resistant to the process over-taking her body), and I simply happened to catch the squirmy, slippery little girl who made her debut into the Daasanech world. I'm sure her eyes were blinded by glaringly white face peering into her little face the moments after she was born, but since the mom was 'angry' at this little being who caused her so much pain and refused to hold her, I was the one to clean her up, cut her cord, and whisper to her those sweet nothings that you can only say to a brand new babe.
Naming babies after the Swart family has been a long tradition among the Daasanech, there are more than a few "Donnies", "Rays" (for Caleb's grandfather Giles), "Shelahs" and "Leahs" (Caleb's sisters), and "Calebs" running around up and down the Omo River. I'm sure it won't be long before we hear of little "Elsas" and "Ezras" running around, too.
I suppose if we accomplish nothing else by living among the Daasanech, at least we can say we've added pages to their "What Shall We Name the Baby?" book.

Happy 2nd birthday, Elsa!

Birthday party for Elsa

Daddy's Handiwork-- a barbie birthday cake for Elsa!

Ez enjoying the barbie cake

More please!

Happy Birthday Elsa -- a new tricycle from Grandma and Papa!

Menegasha Forest

We had the chance this last weekend to get out of the city and take a picnic to Menegasha Forest. We ate lunch by a little stream, hiked to a waterfall, and had a really good day just breathing free from the city. We could feel ourselves relaxing the further we drove away from Addis Ababa. The kids had a great time, Caleb caught a tadpole for them and they entertained themselves for a good 20 minutes grabbing it back and forth from each other. Ezra has definitely developed a mind of his own the past month and doesn't like to settle for not getting what he wants, which was the tadpole in this case. He lost his privileges for getting to play with it, though, when he tried to eat it.
All in all, a great way to spend a Sunday.