Travelgroup HOPE on visit in Lalibela

Gena, Timkat and lots of small and big acts and good deeds

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Our travelgroup did arrive easy at the 2nd of january. This time it was about my father and Christa, Ziggy and Kevin out of the team Hope for Ethiopia and myself (Ferdi). As usually Geza and Eyaway did welcome us with love already at the airport. Having a long list about concerns we wanted to manage in Lalibela – at least Gena, the Ethiopian Christmas at the 7th of january was first and the holy town Lalibela did fill up day by day with pilgrims out of all Ethiopia and Eritrea. Thousands of people did rest and sleep around the churches and there was crowding created day and nighttime at holy worship services and blessings at the churches. Allover the streets people did come together, singing, dancing and celebrating for 3 days the birth of the Son of God - Jesus. Unforgetabel and almost undiscribabale moments.Our travelgroup did arrive easy at the 2nd of january. This time it was about my father and Christa, Ziggy and Kevin out of the team Hope for Ethiopia and myself (Ferdi). As usually Geza and Eyaway did welcome us with love already at the airport. Having a long list about concerns we wanted to manage in Lalibela – at least Gena, the Ethiopian Christmas at the 7th of january was first and the holy town Lalibela did fill up day by day with pilgrims out of all Ethiopia and Eritrea. Thousands of people did rest and sleep around the churches and there was crowding created day and nighttime at holy worship services and blessings at the churches. Allover the streets people did come together, singing, dancing and celebrating for 3 days the birth of the Son of God - Jesus. Unforgetabel and almost undiscribabale moments.

Since October 2018 we did raise diligently money for being able to welcome arriving pilgrims with a meal in cooperation with Saint Lalibela Youth Unity Association. In total 2.000 Euro were donated and we were capable to welcome on 5 days more than 7000 pilgrims with a meal at Gena in Lalibela at 8 different places. This became an exemplary function and some tourist did join that act and donated further more meals for pilgrims. This year the amount of pilgrims was up high because of falling of frontiers inbetween Eritrea and Ethiopia and because of change of political circumstances in Ethiopia. Because of our help only there was a chance to cope with the massive interest. Pilgrims came by bus and some did walk more than 500 km to celebrate Gena in Lalibela. The Welcome meal was thankfully taken by the exhausted and hungry pilgrims, for some of them the first food after long, long journey for several days. Special Thanks to Georg Högelsperger, Ivo Mannheim and Jens Kemp and all other further supporters – I hardly can name all of them one by one! Igziabehir istilling!

Already some days after Gena Lalibela became much more quiete again and we were able to take care about our concerns. We visited our sponsorships, did buy sheeps at the market, did celebrate Timkat, again we delivered desks for a school, furthermore it was even time for visits at the churches in and around Lalibela and for a night at Asheten mountains. New profiles of needies were taken, a project for support of a children`s circus was born and many more small and bigger good deeds were done. More about  you can read the next coming up 6 pages