Feye's family

I first started working at Food for the Hungry in September of 2004. After only being on staff for a month, I had the privilege of hosting one of our international staff members in my small one bedroom apartment in East Phoenix. Feye Tola, of FH/Ethiopia, was in town for a child development conference and was in need of housing (as we were trying to save costs for the event).

And wow, what a blessing. It was a joy to introduce Feye to some unique elements of American culture. Our adventures included a Arizona Diamondbacks baseball game, a swimming pool adventure, a trip to Wal-Mart and food excursions at Pizza Hut, Starbucks In-and-Out. He loved some of it and was confused by most of it. It was great to hear stories about his family and friends in Ethiopia. I enjoyed sharing about my friends and family . . . . although none of my family lives in Phoenix. Feye found this to be strange as people in Ethiopia don't generally live apart

We had a great time together.

So, in March . . . . I finally had the chance to return the favor and visit Feye and his family in Ethiopia. It was a great time! He and his wife have three wonderful children and are pursuing the Lord in all they do!

Enjoy the pictures!

Josh
Peoria, AZ

days and nights in Ethiopia

Last Thursday I returned from an interesting journey to Ethiopia. I'm quite sure that if I had eight years to describe the unique attributes of this country, I would still fall short.

Ethiopia is truly one of a kind.

I spent my 8 days in Addis Ababa, Zeway, Ambo and Belo. If you have heard of more than one of those cities, you get a prize.

Never colonized, Ethiopia has a distinct flare. It is not African, yet very African. It is not an Arab state, but the close proximity to the Middle East has made it's mark on the East African country.
Home of the African Union, Addis Ababa has more foreign embassies than any other capital in the world, except Washington DC. The Chinese, Korean and Japanese are all building roads with hopes to extract natural resources from the unexplored country.

My favorite aspect of being in Ethiopia was getting to know the people and spending time with my distant co-workers. Going into the homes were the most priceless moments of my trip. The people of Ethiopia are so hospitable.

It was also so interesting to see wild animals everywhere. On our drive to Belo we saw monkeys and baboons everywhere. The variety of birds living in Ethiopia is amazing. Each bird and their unique color and shape reminded me of the creative of our God.

Please enjoy the pictures above.

More on my trip to Ethiopia soon!

Josh
Peoria, AZ