Half a Hut

I have so many pictures from Ethiopia, I thought I'd start adding some to the blog, just for fun.  I love this one. I always wondered how they made thier grass homes, and here is one in the making.  I believe this picture was taken somewhere south of Addis in the countryside.  I've been inside several of these simple homes and they are humbling. Most of the time there are no rooms inside, and the whole family will sleep together on the floor with their animals.  The thought of sleeping in the same room as both my children seems stressful enough sometimes, I can't imagine throwing cows, donkeys, and chickens into the mix too.  This is normal to them though, they know no different.  Makes me thankful for the home (and bedrooms) that I've been given!

The Whole Book of James

That's right the entire book of James (in Amharic!) is on this piece. I was inspired by verse 1:27, "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being poluted by the world."   I was just going to do the verse itself in Amharic, but then I  thought using the Amharic Word as a backdrop would be pretty striking.  No real Amharic Bibles were damaged during this project-I only used copies. ; )

Giveaway at The Domesticated Diva!

Time for another giveaway!  This one is hosted at The Domesticated Diva's blog.  You can find all the rules and ways to enter, and read about their precious adoption journey on her site.  And, be sure to check out all the creative things she makes to help raise funds for their adoption here.

 Pictured above is the piece I made for her-it says Ephesians 1:5 in Amharic and was done to match her nursery colors. I'm offering a $35 credit towards cusom (or existing) work from my store to one of her readers. Giveaway ends January 20th- so head on over to her site, show her some love, and enter to win. :) 

Who says Valentine's have to be Pink...or in English?

I've had a lot of fun lately making some Amharic Valentine's cards. They're not traditional in anyway-no bubbly pink and red hearts, no teddy bears, no ooey-gooey messages. Not that I have nothing against all the traditional cards, but I am a little biased towards these. ; )
I found this great stamp that has 'love' in several different languges. Add an Amharic "I Love You" and some super cute paper and embelishments and -whala! An original, personal Valentine's Day card that will please anyone on your list. Since Amharic is gender specific, some of these are for the gals, and some for the guys. Parents, kids, grandparents, aunts, uncles, sisters, brothers, friends...you get the idea. They're available in my store.

Everlasting

For some reason when I was sitting down to make my next piece, I felt like I should do something with the word "EVERLASTING." So, after a little study, I settled on Psalm 90:2, " Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting, you are God."    Such a great reminder of the vastness of our Lord, beginning and end, He is.  I can hardly imagine what that actually means. I hope that whomever buys this piece is encouraged by this verse and that when they see it, they are reminded that we serve the Everlasting God.

This piece is actually not available on my Etsy store, but it is on sale at Fancy's Exchange in Idyllwild, California.  (can't tell you how excited I am about that!!!)  So if any of you are out in that area, go check out Fancy's and take a look at all the art and jewelry and say Hi to Deborah for me!

Kindness from Colorado

Right before Christmas I received the nicest surprise in the mail. A fellow Etsian and Ethiopia Advocate sent me this bracelet. I'd never met her before, and never emailed or had any previous correspondence. I'm not sure how she found me or why she was so thoughtful to send me this, but it made my day.

Her name is Aneata and her store is called Somewhere in Colorado. She makes beautiful jewelry and her profits help her fund trips to work with orphans in Ethiopia. She You can read more about her ministry here and here.

I'm pretty sure that she is in Ethiopia right now, building an orphanage for 59 sweet children in Shanto. Pray for her while she is there- that those children and the people of Shanto would see the Love of the Savior through the kindness of people like Aneata.

So thank you Aneata for your sweet gift and for what you're doing in Ethiopia!