I slept through the night last night for the first time since returning from Ethiopia. Yet, this sweet little one and images of those like him keep racing through my mind and heart. His nose is running....which is so common, especially after a big rain. There were big rains while I was in Ethiopia. He is naked. Why you might ask? He is naked because his family cannot afford clothes for him but even where he lives in the jungle of Ethiopia near the town of Dilla it gets colder at night. This little one doesn't have a bed. He sleeps on a mat on a dirt floor in his mud hut that has no electricity, no running water and no latrines and much of the time no food. Perhaps you can't tell in this picture but his little tummy is hungry. So how am I coping since returning? I'm transitioning but my heart aches for the plight of children just as these in Ethiopia. In Dilla we saw many street orphans and made sure that an 11 year old, very sick boy was taken to a clinic and that someone we know would follow-up regarding his well being. In Sodo a few of us helped a woman with a blind husband and small child get to the hospital for treatment. She had typhoid and malaria....but she will live now because we cared and were the hands and feet of Jesus. In our country we worry about what we are going to wear or how elaborate our Thanksgiving dinner this year. I know because I used to worry about all of those things too....but not now. Now I think about how to forgo lattes; save money and give more to organizations like New Covenant Foundation because I've held some of the more than 6,000,000 orphans in Ethiopia alone. I've wiped the noses of little guys like this guy. I've experienced the lack of education; the lack of medical care and most importantly the lack of hope. As we approach Thanksgiving, we all have so much for which to give thanks. When you sit down to say your thanks and eat your turkey, try for just a moment to remember the face of this little guy and ask God, "What can I do Lord?" For those much is given, much is expected.

Ethiopia My Second Home

Children's smiles are universal. Every little face has beautifully distinct qualities and the smiles often reflect the heart. These are the Ethiopian children I have grown to love. People are asking me, "How are you doing? Do you need a few days of down time to adjust?" I have no response and there will never be enough time for me to adjust to being back in my comfortable home away from Ethiopia, the country that has quickly become my second home.

I don't want my culture to reach back up and grab me and pull me to its core. I want to remain different, touched to the center of my being by all that I experienced in Ethiopia. I realize upon my return that I am quick to cry. I am broken for the plight of the over 6 million orphans who still need homes. I am brought to my knees by the stories of the church planters who are risking everything to spread the Gospel in Sudan and Somalia and remote parts of Ethiopia. They sacrifice so much for God and I sacrifice so little.

The big question after one returns from these trips is, "What now Kristi Burns?" God is whispering one word to me still. That word is SCHOOL! I don't know what that means. Am I to return to Ethiopia and start a school? Am I to go back to school? Am I to go back to Ethiopia and school my friends in the national Ethiopian CHE program (Community Health Evangelism) as they asked? Am I to go back as soon as February?

I returned VERY tired and with the bug that made its way through most of our team. I am slowly getting rested and I am committed to using the time God gives me well. My family doesn't want to hear talk of my return in February. They don't like giving me up. These trips are hard and it would be so easy to just settle in to my comfortable life but God won't let me.....not this time. I'm holding on tight to my Bible. I'm going to it more often than in the past. I'm on my knees praying that God will guide my every step and use my talent and experience to His glory.

I'm 60 years old now and I've perhaps entered the "golden years" of my ministry. What do you have for me Lord? In Ethiopia you showed me how to give water and bread to a dying woman. You broke my heart for the sick and hungry. You showed me how little it takes in USD to help the poor. You gave me a song in my heart for the babies who are no longer at the orphanage because they have been adopted. You whispered the word SCHOOL to me and I know I can trust you for what that means in the future. You ignited in my friend a commitment to helping women in Ethiopia....women who are beaten by their drunk husbands and have no where to turn. You are an amazing God!

This I know, I will pray. I will search the Scriptures. I will listen to the whispers of the Holy Spirit and I will be obedient to my God in service to him. The next steps will unfold. I am privileged to serve the one true God, my Father!