Day 14!!

THINGS GOT CRAZY TODAY (in a good way)….

We started the day with a divine breakfast at the hotel—our team very much enjoys the freshly made omelets. Then we went to the LTC and got all our supplies together for a packed day of STEM….

This morning at Hope House we were greeted with the biggest smiles and lots of hugs. Throughout this week each kid has opened up to us in their own way. It’s been so special to learn from them, hear about their dreams, and continue to build relationships. It’s an honor these amazing kids have trusted us so much, they allowed us to come into their home, and they have shared their stories with us. 

For STEM today we started with “the strength of eggs”, testing how much weight four eggs could hold. The eggs held 50kg in total—25 kg of textbooks plus two different kiddos! The third HFTF child who volunteered finally broke the eggs! 

Next we had fun blowing up Coca-Cola and mentos on the patio. We tried different caps that changed the way the coke sprayed out. A few kiddos got soaked!!

Then we learned about tornadoes, and made our own with two coke bottles, a plastic connector, and water. The kids loved seeing how the funnel/whirlpools formed in the bottles. 

After lunch we made paper rockets and launched them with straws, which the kids absolutely loved! 

Then our team packed up and went to the “post office”—aka the mall. Every shop had similar things: headscarves, dresses, wooden animals, baskets, jewelry, and little trinket things. It took us a while to find soccer jerseys with the correct spelling of “Ethiopia”, eventually we found ones that worked. We learned that Parker is a pro at bargaining, and Alysa…not so much. 

At the end of the day we all had souvenirs and successfully avoided all shirts with “Ethipoia”. It was a success shopping day indeed!

We finished with dinner in the hotel lobby, highs and lows, and a late night of bracelet-making for the girls. A few bracelets and Oreos later, we went to bed for our last night in “Ethipoia”. 

—Alysa