October 17, 2010 - Day 1 of Ministry

Our team arrived into Ethiopia at different times over a couple of days, but as soon as we were all together, we all got down to business. We started our trip by an evening of sharing the vision of our trips and setting realistic expectations for the team. It was an intense evening, but it would set the stage for an experience that will have lasting impact.




After a great night of rest at the Ethiopia Guest Home (www.ethiopiaguesthome.com), we headed out to visit Korah, a leper colony of almost 160,000 people. I had visited Korah before and was amazed at the situation that this community lives in. You can read more about this community in my blog post from June. Our team got to be a part of the Sunday morning worship service in the one church in the whole area. On our arrival, we were greeted to the sounds of people already praying and worshipping God. We got a tour of their children’s shelter, played with some of the street kids and then stepped into the small church building. A few of our team members shared, then my brother, Joshua, shared a message of faith and hope to the congregation. Our team was dispersed among the church and everywhere they sat, several kids would be sitting on or very close to every one of our team. I’m always amazed at the body of Christ – no matter what country, language or culture – we all felt like family.






We were introduced to brand new twins that had just been born 10-15 days prior and were astonished to find out that these kids only hope for survival was warmth, to be kept dry and clean water for their formula. 3 simple things. This was a spring board for our team to jump into action. We invited Sammy and Alisha (a couple that works closely with the Korah community), to join us for lunch to further discuss some solutions for the community. Sammy grew up in the city dump on the outskirts of the city and Korah. This was where they found their food and their source of income…of course, they also found food poisoning, disease and were uneducated. As Sammy shared with our team, the thing that stuck out to us the most was when he informed us that literally growing up, kids have no hope. Their hope each morning is to find a morsel of food in the dump, that’s what they lived for.

We are so grateful to be able to partner and lock arms with other quality ministries and we saw the results of some amazing people during this visit. Since June, I was thrilled to find out that the government finally took notice of the horrible conditions that these people have been living and working in for the last 75 years. The dump is now in the process of being closed down and research done to see if fuel energy can be created from the acres of trash. In addition, 254 of the kids that lived in Korah and worked in the dump have been sponsored and are now receiving an education at a boarding school a few hours away. They are also provided with food and medical support. This takes part of the burden away from the guardians of the kids, but it also uncovered the fact that the dump was this community’s source of income.

We sat around in a round table discussion as a group with these leaders and asked some hard questions. After almost 3 hours of discussion, we discovered the greatest need – their highest priority – is access to clean water. Many in the community have to walk a good hour and a half to get water and when they do, it’s not a clean source. This perpetuates disease, unemployment, poverty and lack of education. The disease of leprosy is mostly gone, but there are still people who have leprosy and are rejected by the general public. In fact, they are so rejected that most people in the capital city, don’t even know this huge community even exists. There are needles in the ground, there is trash everywhere, hardly anyone owns a pair of decent shoes…so when they have to walk for water and their feet are cut, the dormant leprosy in the ground can easily infect or re-infect individuals.

God truly ordained the right people to be on this trip with us because everyone contributed to figuring out a plan of action. Here are the results:

This community needs 50 water wells.
The average cost per well is estimated at $5,000 US dollars.
The overall budget is a minimum of $250,000 dollars.
Basically, for just $1.80 per person living in this community…we can provide access to clean water that will last them 40 years. 40 years!!!!

This is step one of our plan. We need people to help this plan spring into action, not just financially but by participating and helping us build the wells. We have to realize that providing the access to clean water is just the beginning if we want to have a long-term, holistic, humble approach to helping. There needs to be teams that will train in hygiene, teach the importance of throwing trash into bins, medical teams, construction teams, create jobs, etc. We need to do this along side the community/church and do this WITH them, not FOR them. This is how we will have long-term impact in this leper colony. We must be humble in knowing that we are not better than them, in fact, their resilience and creativity inspires me. We are going to work along side of them to impact their community in simple ways, showing the love of Jesus through our actions and attitudes. I believe this trash dump and leper colony will soon be a city on a hill. We can do this – together.



This was just day one of our trip…

Leaves For Love Flyer - Print Them, Use Them!

One Child Fall Line Up of Products Now Available!!

You can see the fall line up of One Child products as modeled by the winner of the One Child Model Search! Scarves are available in pink and gray - and these are currently in production and perfect for fall and winter wear! The design says Compassion (the "A" in Compassion is Africa with the One Child logo).

You can donate here for shirts ($20), pillow cases ($15), One Child Compassion scarves ($15) and messenger bags ($30), these prices include shipping. For orders of 5 or more, email us for pricing at info@onechildcampaign.com

Sunday October 17 - Kombolcha

**written by team member-Toni Humphrey**

Today was our first day in Ethiopia as a team. To begin our week of ministry we headed to an area of Addis Ababa called Korah. This area of the city is basically a leper colony established by the government almost seventy-five years ago. These people are prisoners in their own city. Although there is little to no leprosy left in Korah, the people of this area aren’t welcome into “regular” society nor do they have the financial means to leave. To get to Korah, you journey through the city, past the trash dump, off the paved roads and onto rock roads. Not gravel, we’re talking ROCKS. It’s hard to believe that building a road like this is a sign of development, progress. When you’re riding in a crowded bus down these streets you feel like they took a step in the wrong direction, but that’s another story. The streets are cramped and filled with vendors. Because of the poverty and social stigmas surrounding the people of Korah, many of its citizens are resigned to walk to the dump, rummage around for salvageable items and sell them on the streets.

Upon our bumpy arrival, we were greeted by the smiling faces of many children from toddlers to teenagers. Instantly, a little boy named Hezekiel began to converse with our group and encourage his friends to do the same. These boys were so proud of their English. It’s very clear that the opportunity to go to school and get an education is a precious opportunity to these children. Hezekiel and his friends helped teach us a few Amharic phrases; it was very fun to get to know them and to learn more about Ethiopian culture through their words and actions. A few minutes later, a shy little boy snuck up and started to hold my hand. Once he did, I looked around and noticed that practically everyone in our team had at least one and sometimes two kids holding their hands. It’s such a simple gesture, really—holding someone’s hand. But it must have been very significant to the kids because they all wanted the opportunity to be touched—loved by a visitor.

A little time passed day and we were taken into a shelter, which is the brand new home for several kids in this community. It was a simple building. Three small rooms, several bunk beds crammed into one room, the other two mostly open. The director said that some of the kids and caregivers slept on mats on the floor. The walls of the main bedroom were carefully decorated with beautiful art. The children are going to a school where they learn about the Bible, and they have taken notebook paper and decorated with colorful pictures and bible verses. I don’t think I had the chance to talk to each individual child who lives in this shelter, but it was easy to find most of them. Their faces beamed as they told you “This is my home.” They were excited to let everyone see what a wonderful job they had done decorating. It was by no means what Americans would consider luxury, but I don’t think I’ve ever met people who were so proud of their home. It is such a beautiful gift to see children who have been given the opportunity to get out of the dumps (literally) and move into a loving community where they can live and get an education. Once the tour was over, the children excitedly ushered us outside where we saw their classroom and had the opportunity to play and just enjoy one another’s company once more.

After a few minutes a missionary named Sherry walked up to a few of us and asked if we would like to go see the new twins. We walked past the church, where a small group of worshippers had already gathered together to spend time worshipping God. We kept walking though, and ended up in a small home. More of a room really. There was a rough dirt and rock floor to match the road outside. The room was dark in the middle of the day, no electricity. But the warm smiles of the three women inside were enough to erase any concerns we might have had. Coffee was brewing, friends were gathered together, and the women were talking and loving taking care of the two small infants. It was a home, in its purest form. Sherry checked on the two tiny babies, who were between 10 and 15 days old. Sherry took the baby girl first, checking to make sure she was doing well asking the mother a few questions, and then she handed her to me. I have never held an infant that small. She was so beautiful, soft skin, shiny jet black hair, sleeping peacefully. The babies had been sick, but were being carefully nursed to health. We spent nearly half an hour in the home of the woman, meeting her family, holding the baby, and enjoying the sights and smells of home. One that is entirely different from my own, but somehow exactly the same in many ways. Now it was time for church, mama carefully wrapped the babies and started heading that way. I was fortunate enough to get to walk with the twin’s big sister to church, her little hand gently holding my own.

I hope the church didn’t think we were a disturbance. For every member of our team, there were 3-5 kids sitting around us—wanting to talk, play, cuddle, sing, clap and just be generally silly and fun. Even with some distractions, it was awesome to get together with a group of our brothers and sisters and worship with them. All in all, I would say our time in Korah was very special.

Next we headed back to the guest home and had lunch with a young man, Sammy and his fiancé. Sammy was born in Korah and spent most of his childhood living in the dump, but now he leads a ministry that has gotten over 250 children out of the dump and paired them with sponsors who are able to send them to a boarding school where they not only receive the education to help them make a new kind of life for themselves, but they also received Biblical instruction. I am astounded to see all what God is already doing to care for his beautiful children in Ethiopia. I’m honored to be here playing my part in that, however small it may be, and I cannot wait to see what He’s going to do next.

October 16, 2010 - Update from Ethiopia

The last of the team arrived along with all their baggage tonight! God has definitely put the right people on this team. We had a great first team meeting to go over logistics, plans, schedules and the vision of this trip. There is much more to tell but we are all so tired and on very little sleep. Tomorrow, we are doing a church service at Korah, a leper colony of 129,000 people with just one church. We will also visit the dump that many of them call home, work and life. There is a feeling and mindset of intensity in every team member. Pictures will probably be uploaded once we return from the trip as it’s hard to post from here….another update will be posted very soon!

1:22 am: October 15, 2010

**Caleb was finally able to email me the blogs he has been writing to post...here is the first from his travel day***

Elevator music, harsh florescent lights, the hum and brushing sound of a motorized floor buffer and an orange blinking light are my surroundings as I sit on a black, “pleather” chair at Washington Dulles International Airport. I’ve finally taken my shoes off and resolved myself to the fact that though a connected row of arm-rested chairs is not the ideal overnight situation, it’s a necessary step in my journey back to Ethiopia.

It feels as though I’ve already been traveling for over 24 hours, but it’s only been 7 hours. I still have a good 24 hours yet to go before I step foot back on the African soil that I love so much. Today - well, I guess it was actually yesterday now - was bizarre to say the least. We spent so much time and effort planning for this trip, working on administrative things, tying up loose ends, fundraising, collecting shoes, moving, not moving, adoption, an almost referral yesterday (more to come on that), packing, finishing up the school week at FCCA…the list actually does go on and on…I will spare you. Just like the lady driving this beast of a floor buffer/cleaner spared me by barely missing me as she swept right by.

In all the mental preparation and busyness, I had forgotten to emotionally prepare. Prepare for saying good bye to my family for 10 days, prepare for a long journey, prepare for what I will see, hear, touch, taste and smell. Even if I had time, I don’t know if I could really tell you the cocktail of emotions that I felt (and am still processing, I guess that’s why I’m typing, instead of sleeping). Joy that we are on our first official One Child trip, the weight and pressure of the responsibility, the insecurity of wondering why God called me to do this, feeling honored that He has called me to this work, sadness of leaving my family, wondering if I may happen to see my next 2 kids while I’m there, am I ready to be a father to 2 more kids, did I budget correctly, did I forget anything, working on our next trip, excited about new countries (Honduras, Guatemala and Cambodia) starting to open up to One Child Campaign trips in 2011, the work load of new nations opening up, trusting God, shortness of breath, elation, is my chest supposed to hurt like that??

But one thing remains. My God is Faithful. My God is Love. My God is Compassion worn by us to reach a hurting and dying world. As He is in this world, so are we to be. My insecurities, doubts and fears disappear because I know that our God is with us.

You must know though, that it’s taken me several hours (or maybe days, weeks, months…) to get myself to a place where I can be honest and transparent with myself and try to balance my feelings with the truth of the Word of God. Realistically, even coming to a place where I can breathe without hyperventilating is taking some time. The journey of faith is not for the faint of heart and I felt that if I can honestly share the realities, it may help someone in their walk as well. So, instead of a post that’s full of exclamations about how much fun we are going to have in Africa loving on kids, I thought my first post should be from the depths of my soul. And the spirit of God within me speaking saying: “Come on my soul, it’s time to praise the Lord. Come on my soul, He is faithful. Come on my soul, come on my soul, come on my soul!” I have to be in a place where all that’s left of me is Love. As painful as it can be, the shedding of the skin of unbelief and insecurity is liberating. I can’t do things in my own strength, His ways are higher. Letting go of control, gives Him control. We choose to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and everything else will fall into place.

One of those things that are at the forefront of our minds right now is our adoption. As of last week, we were notified that we are now officially on deck with our agency. This means that we could get a call any day, but typically within 1-3 months with our referral of 2 kids. We had requested and been approved for a 4-6 year old girl and an infant boy (under 12 months old). Yesterday, in the midst of a very, very busy day at the office, I get a phone call from the ever-anticipated 703 area code. This could be our referral…I leave in less than 6 hours for Ethiopia and this could be THE call!! It’s our family coordinator at our agency asking us to consider a sibling group outside of our requested parameters. I told her we would be willing to consider, got some very basic information and called Becca right away. For the sake of their privacy and out of respect to our agency, I will not divulge any details about these two kids…but we did not fully feel settled that they were meant for our family after a very short time of thinking and praying. For those who have had to do this before, you KNOW what it feels like. We are totally confident, that our kids are still out there waiting for us and that these other two have another family that was created just for them. But it’s still hard. All three of us agreed that we would go back on the waiting list (unofficially at #7 in line) and trust God and His timing. In the midst of my emotional breakdown, right before I left home today, Sakari asked me if I would visit those two kids who wanted to be in our family because they were sad…my heart broke! My 3 year old is so full of compassion. I love that about her! I told her that if I see them, I will love on them and tell them their forever family is waiting and praying for them.

Though we are going to be going to some familiar places in Ethiopia, we are also finding new areas of need and position ourselves strategically to make a long-term impact. This trip is about getting past the surface of the orphan crisis and I believe that our team is ready for the challenge. We are going to dig deeper. And in order for us to go deeper, we have to let God dig deeper into our souls. Maybe that’s the unexplainable feeling and ache that seems to be continually residing in my chest lately…He’s digging deeper, so we can hear with the ears of our spirit and tell the stories of children who do not deserve to be called “orphan” any longer. We would be honored if you stayed tuned to our updates from Ethiopia and even more overjoyed, if you allow God to dig deeper into your soul with the things that break His heart.

Compassion and Justice.

Update from Ethiopia!

Caleb and the team are doing well in Ethiopia. The internet there has not been cooperating so he asked us to post from here. All of the team arrived safely and they spent time bonding as a team and a little time shopping at the market before they had their first day of ministry at Korah on Sunday. On Monday, the team split into 2 groups, one group headed to Kombolcha where they will be delivering shoes to the children at the orphanage there, the other group headed to Awassa with a contact that is in the beginning stages of starting an orphanage there.

Thank you for praying for them, and Caleb said he will try to post from there soon!

Introducing One Child's Director of Kid Initiatives

After our nephew, Eythan, participated in Orphan for a Night his passion and heart for the orphans in the world intensified. All he could talk about is what he could do to impact this crisis. His interview on CBS Channel 6 is heart touching, some of their facts weren't right but you have to watch this - http://www.newson6.com/global/story.asp?s=13216393

So, now we'd like to introduce you to our newest One Child team member, Eythan Bush - our Director of Kid Initiatives. He will be focused on raising awareness for orphans for kids up to 13 years old. He's got some serious vision and we felt that we should give him the platform for his passion.



Hi my name is Eythan I was born on June 25Th 1999 in Tulsa,OK. A few things I like to do are; work in the children's ministry at my church as a Jr.worker I enjoy youth group the teaching rocks! I love dance, hip hop break dance, Ive been dancing for a little over 2 yrs.and completed in different competitions. Dance has taken me to some neat places. My favorite color is blue .My mom makes this dish called Mexican pizza ,it's awesome! Iv grown up in ministry ,my dad was a youth pastor and worship leader for a long time.My took me on my 1st mission trip when i was 6 to Equador.My Aunt Becca & Uncle Caleb have a ministry called one child campaign. My grandma & papa ride motor cycle all over ,telling people about Jesus. I have a friend,Mikinzie, has this coolministry called Punky monkey Missions.thay haveall inspird Me to do minisery. i would like to do ministry by helping kidsin Ethiopia.My family has wanted to adopt for a long time and Iam willing to help them.I would like to talk to people about ophan awanes and that there are 163 million ophans in the world. For the next 2 months I will do a shoe drive and selling duck tape braslets.

eythan bush

Sleep On It - Long Live Compassion!

In the midst of tons of great adoption and orphan awareness tees - we decided to take a powerful paragraph written about compassion written by my brother and put it on pillowcases. Now, when you sleep and when you wake up, this message of compassion can be a constant reminder to you. These are available for donations of $15, includes shipping.

Each one of us as an individual, unique member of the body of Christ has an irrevocable calling from God. A calling with responsibility. The event that is our lives finds its purpose and worth in this above all else. In essence, our calling is the realization of the revelation that God is compassion, and that as He is, so are we in this world. This unrestrained Love that is God-action cannot be tamed and invades the world around us so that the Gospel is truly preached. Compassion is action when all else is complacent and simply sympathetic. It lives and moves when intentions and emotions wither away. Compassion is God manifest in us. It is God’s language to a hurting world when they can’t understand religion. It is not measured by how we feel but by what we do. It is God, worn by us, God manifest. Our existence begins with compassion and with it there is no end. Long Live Compassion.

Hope for Christmas - Media/Documentary/Social Justice Team

This holiday season, we are going to give the hopeless and voiceless exactly what they need. Hope. A Voice. Awareness.

Media/Documentary Team: Comprised of photographers, writers, videographers, bloggers and individuals to record and tell the untold stories of street kids and orphans.

Social Justice/Work Team: Comprised of individuals, university students, social workers and groups that want to delve deeper into the lives of orphans and street kids. This will be a diverse team that will explore the social ramifications of the vulnerable and traumatized. This will be accomplished through working with orphanages, orphan directors, street kids, doing work projects, etc.

If you are ready to trade the traditions of man for the heart of God - email us at info@onechildcampaign.com or call us at 918-851-7815.

www.onechildcampaign.com