The last day for the group to be in Ethiopia came too quickly. Although exhausted and without a “real” shower, the group was more than eager to take the whiteboard and Bibles to Denkaka. Our van driver picked us up at the compound and took us to where the whiteboard was made. It took some creative thinking to get it on the top of the van. The assistant driver and Melaku held onto it while the driver weaved his way through the town. Dirt roads, pot holes couldn’t stop us from getting to our next destination. There were moments where we could hear the whiteboard sliding around and we wondered where it was going to land. Our drive did not have a permit to have the item on his vehicle so he had to go through the town to avoid the traffic police. He could only take us to the edge of town where he found us another taxi that could take us to Denkaka. This time they were able to tie it to the top of the vehicle to get it to our destination. Once we arrived in Denkaka the next obstacle was to get it onto a horse cart to the church.
We were met at the gate of the church compound by over 40 children. They stared at the whiteboard with curiosity. They had no idea the function of the item until Wondu started writing on it. Their eyes lit up and they crowded around it as Wondu spoke. Then the Children’s Bibles were presented. They were so excited. As we wandered over to the location of the new children’s room we were amazed at how the young adults and the older children were pouring over the Bibles.
It was difficult for the group to say good-bye to the children.
