Celebrating Christmas, Ethiopian style

An incredible night that we will remember forever. We were looking forward to this event, seeing our friends and meeting other adoptive families, but we had no idea how deeply touched we would be by the experience.

The evening started off with a greeting from the owners of E'Njoni cafe (which we love by the way) thanking everyone for attending. Then a priest of a local Ethiopian Orthodox church gave a blessing before the meal. The priest and host of the party expressed their appreciation to adoptive families for "opening up your hearts and homes" to the children of Ethiopia, and continuing to keep the Ethiopian culture alive in the household. Many adoptive families had tears in their eyes, including us, it was a very touching moment! He continued to say that we were welcome to attend their Ethiopian Orthodox church and that they would provide Amharic classes if we were interested. He ended with a prayer in Amharic, which was so beautiful.

After the blessing and enjoying some delicious food it was time to dance! They had two couples dance traditional Ethiopian dances, about five of them. What beautiful dances! At the end they welcomed all the children on stage to dance and it brought smiles to our faces see all these children dancing in their traditional outfits having a blast. In talking with other adoptive families we all expressed how thankful we were to have a connection to the Ethiopian community, only contributing and expanding the already large adoption network in Portland.

It was truly a memorable and touching event! We can't wait to return next year with our daughter, making it a true family event.

"Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive." ~Howard Thurman

**Thank you Sabrina for these great pictures**