Evotional.com - Mark Batterson

We visited a kindergarten sponsored by mission of mercy today. It was another "highlight" of the trip. We played games with the kids including duck, duck, goose, goose. Fun stuff. The kids in this school come from incredibly difficult circumstances. Sixteen of the sixty students lost their father to HIV last year. I was so impressed with how happy and how disciplined the kids were. I found out the teachers make about 500 birr or roughly 60 dollars a month. Their annual income is well shy of a thousand dollars. We brought gifts for all the kids. We stuffed bags with markers and crayons and candy. The look on their faces was priceless. I had one of my "crying moments" because I remembered our family's shopping trip at Target a few weeks ago. We bought some of those supplies. What an investment! I'll never forget how much those gifts meant to them. They may be the greatest gifts they've ever received.

After seeing that school and finding out how much it costs to finance one it made me want me start a school in Addis. Someday I think the Lord will help us do that!