Last day in Ethiopia

Today we went souvenir shopping for some things to bring home. We wanted to be sure to get some traditional Ethiopian clothing for our children and ourselves and some things for our parents and friends. I wanted to be sure to bring home some coffee as well. Our driver, Eyasu took as to a market area that had many, many shops selling all these things. Eyasu told us that we could go to a marketplace that would haggle with the prices or a market place that was haggle-free. We opted for the haggle market, we like the challenge and fun of it. The first shop that we went into had alot of traditional clothing and the shopkeeper spoke very good English. She didn't seem to want to haggle on the prices though. We were happy with the prices that she was asking and got clothing for all of the children and ourselves, we planned to wear it to church on our first Sunday home. We also picked up some other things for family members and friends.
Hannah, 12

Elijah, 9




Israel, 4

After we went souvenier shopping we headed back to Ayat house to finish packing, get some lunch and rest a bit. Wegayehu had also said that we would have a coffee ceremony in the afternnoon, we were really looking forward to this. We had grown so very fond of Wegayehu, Zemmet and her Mother. The are such gracious, humble and hospitable people. I will tell you more about Ayat house in a seperate post, it is such a great place to stay.
Zemmet gave Melissa a short lesson on making injera today. We have made it at home before but just couldn't seem to get it right. Zemmet told Melissa the tricks to get it the right consistency and taste. She even let Melissa try her hand at the injera cooker!

The Coffee Ceremony-

At about 2:00 in the afternoon Wegayehu invited us to the coffee ceremony. The area that he had prepared for the ceremony was beautiful. He had cut some flowers from his garden and made a really special area for the ceremony. Coffee was first cultivated in Ethiopia and it is the primary export of the Country, so it holds great significance for the people of Ethiopia.
We sat around in a circle with Wegayehu and Zemmet as she prepared the coffee. Wegayehu offered Melissa and I both cold beverages and we just sat and talked and ate popcorn as we watched Zemmet. Popcorn is usually served at coffee ceremonies as well. It was sweet fellowship as Wegayehu broke bread with us and we chatted. Zemmet began by roasting the green coffee beans on a little charcoal hot plate. She then used a pestle and mortar to grind them and then added them to the boiling water. It is traditional to have three rounds of coffee served during the coffee ceremony. We were so touched by the time that we spent with them during the coffee ceremony. We had an opportunity to discuss spiritual things with Wegayehu as well and appreciated so much how God has allowed us this wonderful opportunity to get to know Wegayehu. There are so many more things that I would love to tell you about the amazing people there at Ayat house, and the amazing day that we had. I will just leave it to the pictures to tell the rest of the story.