The January Varsity FBC Project: Ethiopia

Varsity FBC is in year two of advanced friendship bracelet making. Our team includes 46 girls from around HSE and across the Midwest. One of my goals for this year is to provide opportunities for these girls to partner together to do small things with great love. Each month I'm going to give them a project where they can make bracelets for a cause. Together we can make a bigger impact than if we were trying to do it on our own.

After bringing home her son Jesse from Ethiopia, Kathy Craig knew that part of her heart would always be in that country and that she would return again soon. She's led multiple mission trips back to Lebu, outside of Addis Ababa, to continue friendships with people there, raise the funds to build a library and open people's eyes to this beautiful part of the world. 

This Spring Break, the first week of April, I have the privilege of joining KCraig on another trip to Ethiopia. This time we're going through Young Life Expeditions and I couldn't be more excited. I had the opportunity to go to Tanzania in college on a Biology trip and to the Dominican Republic with Young Life-- so this trip will be a blending of those experiences.

Our team of 9 includes Kaden (from Summer Staff), KCraig and her daughter Alex, Julia and her mom Janelle, Kaitlyn and Rachel (two more YL girls), one of my best friends Smooney and me. We'll go to a Young Life camp, help lead Club at High Schools, do contact work, visit the Village of Korah (an urban slum in a garbage dump), see the library in Lebu and reconnect with KCraig and Alex's friends.

We'll meet so many different people along the way and want to give some of them friendship bracelets.The Varsity girls spent time making these bracelets that will end up on the wrists of friends they've never met on the other side of the world. That's pretty phenomenal. 

Bracelets for the January Project were made by Claire Shumaker, Mollie Krone, 

Sophie Sams, Elise Ruby, Grace Freund and Sarah Wright.

Update: Ethiopia was all that I hoped for and more. At the beginning of the week we visited Megabi Skate Park and gave friendship bracelets to some of the kids we met there. 

Our hosts and friends for the week were Ethiopians on Young Life staff. I also gave friendship bracelets to some of these dear friends like G, Hanna, Fre, Moges and Becky.