Solomon's Thanksgiving Prayer

Hello mom,

How are you today? I am doing well here. Mom I would like to say happy Thanksgiving Day for you and for all my family. How much miraculous things God give for us in this past year. He gave for us more than other people got. Firstly He gave a chance for you to come here and celebrated my birthday with me. Secondly, I am valedictorian. Thirdly, he got for me a laptop and CDMA (air card) to communicate with you and money other things. So mom this Thanksgiving Day is very special for us. I spent my day by praising his name and singing songs to day. I got many excited things by the past year. The great thing I got is the love and a beautiful memorial time I have with you and Georgy. I am a sinful person but always God is good for me and he led me in good direction. I am not enough even to walk but God’s forgiveness and love covered my sin. He is near to me when I pray and giving for me everything that I asked him. You are the one and the special gift that gave for me. I didn’t know what is right and wrong and also don’t know what to talk but he is my voice and leading me at the right direction. I am poor but God is my richness. I am weak but God is my strength. Everything I have is him. I don’t have a right to do anything without him. My always prayer look like this please God bless and safe all Mom and all my family. I don’t ask you anything about me. I only cry out to you about my family. Give for dad a good job near to his home. Give strength to mom to take care of all the babies every day. God if you bless her I am also blessed, if you make strong her I also strong. Because I am a dead person without you and her. I want to help and to do for my family many things but I don’t have anything to do. The only thing I have to do is that to cry out and pray to you. Please God listen my prayer. I know my savior I am not enough to say anything but I beg you for the life that you sacrify for us. God thank you for giving for us this day. Thank you for keeping mom safe up to this day. Thank you for giving for me a blessed and beloved family. Please bless all of them forever. Thank you God. Thank you mom and my family. I love all of you from my bottom of my heart. It is very hard and painful for me to live here without you but I am patiently waiting what good store for me for future.

Mom and dad I love all of you very much. I wish for you this a blessing thanksgiving day. I pray to God today a lot and thank him for giving you all for me. Words are not express about you. I have no word what to say about you. You all are awesome and a gift from God to me. God bless you forever and ever. AMEN!!!!!

Love Your Son Solomon Mestas!!!!!

I am a blessed woman for the LORD to have given me this precious son!

James 1:17 says, "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." Everything we possess in any capacity has been given to us by a good God who loves to give good gifts to His children. And He is an extravagant giver. All we have to do is receive.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

SOLOMON MOVES OUT OF KOLFE TODAY

Solomon saying goodbye to his "house"; this is what the boys all call their bunk beds.



Solomon and me with Johannes, the director of Kolfe.


























As we drove out of the Kolfe gate, I held Solomon’s hand and silently prayed for him. This was a miraculous day in his life. Only a year and half ago, he had no hope for his future, no vision, no idea what God had in store for him. I felt like I just needed to be quiet, hold his hand and pray. This day had only begun to be orchestrated by the LORD just a few months ago. It was all so new, and kind of scary because none of us really knew how it was going to work out. It was another step of faith, free falling into the arms of Jesus and trusting him for the future….

A few minutes later, Misganaw says “ Eileen, there is something I need to tell you. I did not tell you before because I thought you would not want Solomon to come live with my family.” All of a sudden , I got a lump in my throat and we all looked at Misganaw. “Oh, what is it?”, I replied.

“First I want you to know that my family is really excited to have Solomon live with us, and we have been working very hard to get our room ready. You see, we have already taken in 4 other children. Solomon will be my only brother and our 8^th child.. I have always wanted a brother and now God has finally given me one. Besides my two biological sisters, my parents have taken in four other girls.”

“WHAT?? WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THIS BEFORE?” I replied with a sigh of shock. “How are they going to take Solomon in? Do you have room for him? How did they get these other girls?”

“One of the girls is a relative from the country. My mom’s sister had a daughter who has a mental handicap and they could not take care of her. So my parents took her to live with us. She goes to a special school now for people like her.”

“Then one day my dad was coming home from work and saw a young girl sitting by the street and she was crying really hard. He went to console her and asked her why she was so upset. She told him she was from the country and her family had brought her to work in a business here making injera. The people were mean to her and did not pay her. They just kicked her out and she doesn’t have any place to go. She has no contact with her family any more. She is about 13 years old. So my dad asked her if she wanted to come home with him and live with us. She is a nice girl and she helps mom a lot with the younger children now. The younger girls came from a friend of my older sister who could not take care of them anymore. They are sisters age 4 & 5 yrs. Then another friend of my sister has a 5 yr. old that she can not take care of and we just got her recently. So we have a full house now.

”

There was complete silence for a few seconds and we all just stared out the windows. Then Georgie suddenly said “THIS IS CRAAAAAAZY!”. Now I must interject here and give you a little information about my cousin Georgie. He speaks with a Brando-esque, gravelly, raspy sounding Godfather-like voice with a very heavy inner city New York accent. It is the kind of voice that would be typical in a Mafia movie. When he speaks people listen and usually stare!

I sat there trying to digest all of this and figure out what to say next. Then Solomon spoke for the first time. Now he has a crackling, squeaky puberty sounding voice with a heavy Amharic accent. “WOW, ALL MY LIFE I PRAYED FOR A FAMILY, AND NOW GOD GAVE ME A TRIBE!!” We all bust out laughing!!!!



You got that right, I responded, Solomon has 8 siblings in America and now there will be 8 of them in Misganaw’s house!! Between us we have 16 children!!!!!!!

I was overcome with joy and realized that God did indeed bring our two families together. It is evident that we both have a passion for GOD and HIS precious orphans. WE are like-minded for sure. So, for the rest of the journey, I was in shock.

We drove about 20 minutes until we arrived at his house. Then the thought suddenly came to me and I said; “Misganaw, you only live 20 minutes away from Kolfe and you never knew it existed. Why didn’t God just have you and Solomon meet here somehow. Why did GOD take you all the way to America, for your neighbor to invite you to visit Open Door Baptist church that Sunday, to meet me in the parking lot, so that you could meet Solomon who lives right down the road from you? He could have done all of this without me. Why do you think HE did all of this?? Why is this crazy white Mama lady sitting between you two right now?” We all looked at each other and Georgie replied, “THIS IS AMAZING!” We were all in awe of what God was doing in our lives. We SAW GOD all over this day!

The road to Misganaw’s house was literally undriveable. The road is very rocky with a big ditch that made the car scrape the entire bottom. The government started to construct a road and then stopped dead at a pile of rocks and ditch. It is bizarre how common this is Addis Ababa. The road suddenly disappears and you are on a pile of rocks. Anyway, we arrived and were greeted by a bunch of neighbor kids running toward us. Misganaw laughed as they all came running and said, “They have never seen white people here.” A special young man, about 18 yrs. old, came to greet us and was so excited as he politely asked to carry our bags into the house. Misganaw explained that he is a neighbor that everyone loves and he has a special mental problem. He reminded me of a high functioning Autistic child. He also told us that this boy’s mother had just died and she was his only relative. A neighbor just took him in to live with them. The neighbor is actually two teenage girls that are also orphaned and taking care of their younger siblings as well. He told us this street of houses are all good people who are taking care of each other.

Now, Misganaw unlocked the gate with his key and we entered into Solomon’s new home! I have to tell you I was very surprised again! I just assumed that his family was from the upper middle class status. But, it was immediately evident that they were not. The very humble house is made of dirt and straw built on a mound of rocks.

There is main house with a living and eating area and two small bedrooms. There are three little buildings behind it with one serving as a kitchen, an outhouse and the third one, built by Misganaw and his Dad, has three rooms serving as the boys bedroom, one for his older sister and a little sitting room with a TV.

This precious homestead rests on a rock pile where I could hardly walk without being held. They have a chicken coup and a killer watch dog that was ready to eat us for lunch that was kept in a locked pen. Flowers are planted sporadically where there are patches of dirt. They have a cute little front porch with a table, two chairs and maps pinned on the outer wall of the house. Tesfaye, Misganaw’s dad told me this is where they like to sit to read and study.


He also pointed out that because they are next door to the Embassy to Nigeria, it is quiet and there is security all around. It makes for a very nice and safe environment. He has been a teacher for 30 years and he loves to read and teach all of his children. His salary is $1000 per year and he now has 8 children to support! This little homestead is very humble, rustic, functional and quaint. It has the fragrant aroma of sweet smelling flowers, and it emanates joy, peace and love which made it absolutely beautiful!!! It is a home where JESUS LIVES!!!

We were now entering the rear building, painted all blue and Misganaw said they had been working on it all week. We walked into this adorable room with two beds separated by a wooden table with 5 chairs around it.





This is where they would study together he said. The dirt floors were covered with straw mats and Misganaw worked for many hours, all by himself, to cover the ceiling with a beautifully multicolored stripped fabric. Then he pointed to the posters he had just bought. Two were their favorite soccer teams, of course they would be the rivals, Misganaw loves Manchester United and Solomon loves Arsenal.







Like real brothers they have a special love for soccer and have a point of contention to wrestle each other about. Then came the real tear jerker! He intentionally purchased this poster to place right over Solomon’s bed, “I put this right over your pillow so that you will always go to sleep and wake up knowing you have a “MOTHER’S LOVE Solomon. I saw this and it reminded me of you and your mom Eileen.” I just stood there and began to cry, AGAIN!!!

Between laughing and crying, every day was a monster rollercoaster ride of emotions. It was exhausting. It was like experiencing an advanced aerobics class of the heart!

"A family created by God"

My Return to Kolfe Slideshow #1

As a gift for my birthday, my daughter Melissa prepared this slide show for me.

These photos depict my visits to Kolfe along with Solomon's new home with the Tesfaye family. More slide shows to follow, so stay tuned.

While you are at it, check out Cousin Georgie's blog and slide show of our trip to Ethiopia.

MIRACULOUSLY BACK TO KOLFE

We got up early, went to our usual breakfast cafe and then it was time to go back to Kolfe. I could not believe I was actually driving back to KOLFE, the place I have been praying for and longing to return to for the past year and a half. It was unbelievable. I was actually crying all the way there because I was overcome with awe knowing the LORD HIMSELF had brought me to this place for HIS purpose and HE obviously has another plan for me to be back. I never dreamed I would be back so soon. My heart was racing and wondering if the boys would remember me. I was wondering what the place would be like, did they get any work done since our last visit?

This was also moving day for our son Solomon. This has been his home since he was 10 years old. He spent the last nine years of his life here and this is his family, these boys are all he had until November 2007. They have lots of memories; lots of tears and laughs were shared together and Solomon says they all know his heart and dreams.

This was a huge day in both of our lives. We literally held hands all the way there. I could only imagine how difficult this day was for him. I know both of us were wishing he was packing to come back to America with me but the LORD has other plans. We don't know them all yet, but HE has given us this day, and today we were moving him into the home of Misganaw Tesfaye and his wonderful family.

Suddenly, there it was, we turned the corner and the Kolfe Boys orphanage was before my eyes. The big gate opened and we drove in. The boys started to run toward us and greet us just like before. Only this time, Solomon got out of the car with me and they greeted him as well. He had been staying with me at the Cherokee house for several days. It took a few minutes, but then the boys started to ask me if I remembered them.

"Hey Mom, do you remember me? I was talking to you last time."

"Hey Mom,"EYE LEAN on the LORD" you told us!"

I was overjoyed and said,

"Do you remember when I was here that God told me to hug and kiss all of you?"

"YES", they responded, and many of them began to laugh.

"Well, Mama is back for more hugs and kisses, come over here and give me some".

Many of them started to surround me and get and give lots of hugs and kisses again. It was such a joy to hold them in my arms again. Several of the boys showed me photos of them I had sent back from my last trip. One of the special young men I remembered, Genanew, had entered the gate and came over to see why the crowd was gathering. When I saw him I said,

"Genanew, how are you? I have been praying for you".

He looked at me and said he wasn't sure he remembered who I was. I said,

"That's OK, I know a lot of people have been coming to visit in the last year. I remember you very well and I have prayed for you."

He smiled and just looked at me for a while. Then he ran off and suddenly came back with a photo in his hand saying,

"Is this when you came?"

He handed me the photo I had sent him of when he was holding Josiah Abel.

"YES I said, he is my son and we took that photo of you last time we were here."

His face lit up and he smiled his beautiful smile saying,

"Now I remember you!"

He stayed by my side for most of the day as we went on another tour of Kolfe.

What a joy and delight to SEE AMAZING CHANGES!!PRAISE THE LORD FOR GLADNEY. THEY HAVE BEEN FAITHFUL STEWARDS AND A BLESSING TO THE KOLFE ORPHANAGE. The boys started to show and tell me all about the new kitchen, the finished library, the new blankets, mattresses, and not one broken window anymore. Most everything had been freshly painted. There were gardens and flowers planted between the building where there had been rock piles before. The grounds were more level and safer to walk now. The boys started to say,

"Thank you Mom for all you do to help us here. We know you do much and pray for us. We know you help Ryan Brown and Gladney. Please say thank you to all the people who helped you Mom."

Tesfaye, another special young man from last time, came to greet me and I asked if he remembered me? He said yes. I looked him right in the eyes and told him,

"Tesfaye, God has used you in a mighty way to help all of these things happen at Kolfe. Do you remember our conversation last time?"

He said,

"Yes I do."

He was the young man who told me,

"Many people come to visit us lately but no one helps us. Our government has no money. They have not maintained our compound for more than 30 years. They have forgotten about us, can you please help us?"

I showed him the exact spot we were standing when he told me these things. I pointed right at it and told the boys,

"THIS IS WHERE MY LIFE CHANGED FOREVER! I HAVE NEVER FORGOTTEN YOU BOYS AND I WILL NEVER BE THE SAME AGAIN. I HAVE PRAYED FOR GOD TO HELP YOU LIKE YOU ASKED."

Of course, I started to cry and just stood there looking at them. They all started to say;

"Don't cry Mom, it's OK! Don't worry, God is here taking care of us! Don't worry Mom, don't be sad."

Here I was in the middle of these amazing young men in tears and they were comforting me and encouraging me not to worry! Many of them kept saying thank you for everything you do Mom. I kept responding that

"IT WAS GOD WHO DID EVERYTHING THROUGH RYAN BROWN AT GLADNEY AND THEN HE USED OUR BLOG AND SPEAKING MINISTRY TO HELP RAISE MONEY AND AWARENESS THAT HAS BEEN BRINGING MANY PEOPLE TO VISIT."

I asked them if they remembered what I had told them two years ago. I was so surprised to hear them shouting out,

"You told us to Love God, and you said you tell God's people about us and they come to visit, You said you give us Mama Hug and Kiss from GOD. You have husband and Ellie with you, how are they?"

It was very clear that they did indeed remember. I asked how many people had come to visit since I left. They responded;

"Too many to count!"

I then went to the office to finally meet the director Johannes. I had never met him because he was in a meeting on my last visit. I politely knocked on the door and he told me to come in. He looked very busy behind his desk full of paperwork. I said:

"Hello, I am Solomon's Mom, Eileen. I don't know if you know me but I have been praying for Kolfe and love this place and the boys so much."

He surprised me when he stood up, walked from behind his desk and reached out to hug me. He is a big man and his countenance suddenly changed as he walked toward me. He began to hug me and say,

"It is so nice to finally meet you. Thank you for all you have done for Solomon and the boys here at Kolfe. You are a woman of GOD, Bless you."

As I hugged him back and he pulled away, I saw tears rolling down his cheeks. I told him it was all God's doing, He brought me here to give these boys a Mama's Love and to be about HIS business. He has a very gentle an soft voice and he wiped his tears and started to share with me.

"You are very special. You know the people of this community hate Kolfe. They throw rocks at the compound. They yell out bad names to the boys, and throw rocks at them, even at me when I come to work. They don't want us here. They think all the boys are bad. Other people who came to work here left very quickly. I believe God has me here for a reason. He brought me here 6 years ago and I only make 2000 birr. I could get another job tomorrow making 5000 birr but I can't leave. Every time I try, God tells me HE wants me here. If I leave, who will take care of these boys? I try to teach them to be good and to Love God. They are good boys and they need an education. I write many letters to people asking for help, but no one helps us. I ask the private schools for scholarships but only one answered. This is the school where I sent Solomon. But they called one day and said they had no money and he needed to pay to stay there or else he has to leave. I know you started to pay for his school and I thank you. I thank God he started sending people like you and Ryan Brown to help us. Our government has no money and we need help. The boys, they need people to love them and help them. I believe this is my ministry to serve God here".

Mr. Johannes and I spent about an hour talking and crying together in his office. It was a very special bonding time for us. This is a very special man, a man of GOD!

What a glorious day this was, it was sunny, warm and beautiful smiling faces were surrounding me. I intentionally touched everyone of the boys, hugging and kissing all day long. We intended to stay about an hour but stayed 5 hours. I told the boys we needed to go because it was getting dark and they asked when we were coming back. We made plans to come back Monday. Habtamu was not home and I had to return especially to see him. He was at the library studying as usual.

There were also 19 new boys that had just arrived this week from Kebebetsahay orphanage. I even recognized some of them from when we visited there with Ryan last time. They range in age from 7-10 years. Many of them were sad and nervous looking because Kolfe was a new place for them. They didn't know me, but it wasn't long before most of them were being hugged and kissed. I saw many of their faces change into bright smiles. One little boy asked if I could please bring them Colgate and a toothbrush when I come back. Another little boy asked for a back pack to carry to his new school. My heart was broken again, as I met the next generation of Kolfe boys. This was the age when my Solomon came to Kolfe and I couldn't help but think he was scared and sad just like these boys. He was all alone in this new place and had no idea what was in store for him. I felt like this was God showing me the work HE has for me to do now. These new boys need a family before they turn 19 years old. Help me LORD!! Help me find them a family!!! HELP ME to NEVER FORGET THEM AND TO BE ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS FOR THEM! MY HEART JUST ACHED FOR THESE BEAUTIFUL LITTLE BOYS!

It was time for Solomon to pack up his belongings. He had a small trunk at the side of his bed with everything he owned locked up in it. He filled his back pack with the things he wanted and then told the boys they could take what was left. Within 2 minutes, they all had something in their arms running to put into their trunks. They even took his blanket and mattress. The top bunk was completely empty, like no one lived there any more. They all address their bunks as their houses. Solomon's house was vacant! He looked around the room, the boys surrounding him as we walked out of the building and we stepped out into the journey of Solomon's new life. The boys followed us out to the gate and stood waving and smiling as we drove away. Many of them yelling,

"Come back please, come back tomorrow"!

(photos will soon follow) Stay tuned more to come......

Day Two In Ethiopia

We called Gladney to arrange for our scheduled driver, Taffi was ready and waiting for us at 9:00 a.m. It was so wonderful to see him again. He was our driver in Nov 07 and we actually cried as we said goodbye at the airport. We were both in awe that the Lord had brought us back together so soon and so unexpectedly. It was a very warm and happy reunion as you will see when I get the video uploaded!

So off to our favorite breakfast spot "La Parisienne" for waffles and cappuccino. This is also known as Taffi's office. Solomon, Georgie, Misganaw, Me and Taffi, all had a delicious breakfast and then we all shared our testimony with Taffi of how we all came to be at this table. He was in tears and awe of all the miracles God had performed that orchestrated this day. He also shared his testimony and events of the last two years that had grown his faith and relationship with Jesus Christ. In fact, he also got a miracle, his green card was approved that very week and he will now be able to come to the USA on a regular basis. He has family here but he will keep his business and life going in Ethiopia. He has worked for Gladney for four years now and he has seen many miracles. He is passionate about orphan care and wants to continue to work with this ministry.
We spent four hours bonding, sharing testimony, crying, and laughing. It was the foundation established that made the rest of our journey so amazing. We were a foursome now. He then took us shopping for some things, we made reservations for a graduation celebration at Kuriftu Resort for later in the week and then to dinner. This was the night Solomon ate ice cream for the first time in his life. He loved the strawberry flavor the best.

Taffi is the man to know. He knows many people and pretty much can get us what ever we need. He is a very valuable resource. He is a new brother in the lives of Solomon and Misganaw and has promised to look out for them for me. Nothing like building the family network!!!

Also, Belay is trying to contact our birth mother for another visit with her. I have lots of photos and hugs and kisses to share with her. Their contact info for her was no longer valid so it may not be possible to see her again. I prayed so hard that we would see each other again. The LORD is going to have to give us another miracle!! PLEASE LORD!!!

This was a day of adjusting to the time and just laying some groundwork and planning the rest of our journey. Oh, and Georgie is back on track...ready to get to work and be about HIS business. It made a big difference to have Taffi and his car!! More to come...

Ellie is out of town this weekend, Myrtle Beach sunning and resting from her duty while I was in Ethiopia, so my photos will be posted when she gets home. Also working on getting the video copied to disk so we can post. We have some great stuff.

P.S. Thank you for the emails...keep them coming...I'm building my address book again! Blessings to you all!

MY NEW EMAIL ADDRESS

I have been having major problems with my computer and email since I got home. Even my keyboard died!! I think I have lost all of my contact's in my address book too?? This is not good, there are so many of you I need to communicate with. It's like a spiritual attack...Satan does not want me to post about the miracles and ministry the Lord has and is doing. I now have a new email address so please do not send emails to my old one. PLEASE SEND ME A QUICK EMAIL SO I HAVE YOUR ADDRESS AGAIN!! Thank you for all of your support and requests for sponsoring a Kolfe boy. I am working on the logistics of everything so please do stay tuned...I will be posting more testimony and photos too. Just not enough hours in the day to do it all!!

eileenmestas@gmail.com

ON THE BRINK OF TEARS TODAY!

I am feeling very overwhelmed since arriving home and I am really asking God to show me WHAT HE IS WANTING FROM ME?? I feel like another curtain has been pulled back and I can SEE things that are breaking God's heart and mine. There is so much ministry that needs to be done in Ethiopia. My heart is very heavy because I personally know of special needs for the Kolfe boys and Solomon, Misganaw and his family. I know I CANNOT DO THESE THINGS by myself. I am praying for wisdom and discernment. I cannot just get back to life as I knew it before this last trip. I know God is preparing me for something and I am at the threshold of the next chapter of this book HE IS WRITING.

I have to start school with the kids and today is our first day to co-op. I woke up feeling like I need to sit at the throne of God and ask for HIS portion to fill me today. I am on the verge of tears so I sat this morning and asked him to SPEAK TO ME! This is what HE showed me within minutes of sitting at HIS FEET! My GOD IS SOOOO GOOD TO ME!!!


"You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, And called from its farthest regions, And said to you, YOU are my SERVANT, I have chosen you and have not cast you away: "Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you , Yes I will help you, I will uphold you with MY righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:9-10


"Now it shall come to pass," if you diligently obey the VOICE of the LORD YOUR GOD to observe carefully all HIS commandments which I command you today, that the LORD your GOD will set you high above all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the VOICE of the LORD YOUR GOD" Deuteronomy 28:1-2

Are you SEEKING TO HEAR THE VOICE OF THE LORD SPEAK TO YOU??? I want to encourage you to SEEK HIM AND SEARCH FOR HIM WITH ALL OF YOUR HEART. HE is faithful and desires his saints to be about HIS business.

I AM IN AWE AND WAITING TO HEAR WHAT I AM TO DO NOW??

I am now ready to start my day and WAIT for HIS instructions.