going back!

I am so happy to say that i have started working on flights and papers to go back to Ethiopia!!! I miss Ethiopia so much and cannot wait to get back into the country. I am going in June and will be there for two weeks. We will be going to Dube Bute for four days during our time in Ethiopia. I can't explain how excited i am to see them start transforming the village that once didn't have a clean water source that will now have new schools, many water wells, health clinic, vet clinic and much more!

I just put in all the checks that i have been receiving the past few months so in a few days, makes sure to check out my campaign to see your donation. I want to thank all of you again for your support and love during my journey in Ethiopia. You have helped change so many lives even through prayers and i can't tell you how thankful i am for that.

Our family had a great CHRISTmas!! We celebrated the birth of Jesus Christ and we couldn't ask for a better gift than him dying on the cross for our sins. He is our wonderful councilor and might God, prince of peace and everlasting father!

I got a new camera for Christmas so i am practicing my photography so i can take some good pictures of my next trip to Ethiopia in June. Thanks Dad and Mom!

I still have the shirts and jackets i am selling to raise money for Ethiopia  so if any of you would like them, please feel free to just email me or chat me through facebook.  T-shirts are $20 and jackets are $45.

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and have a Happy New Year!

Hawaii

For the past three weeks, we have been in Hawaii. It has been such a blessing being here and watching the little kids play together and see how the two Ethiopians lives have changed. They went from once living on the streets, to living in an orphanage, to living in California and traveling to Hawaii and Australia! God has blessed our family in sooo many ways and i am very great full for everything we have.

This is our first time ice skating and yes, it was in Hawaii...

looking for shells

playing outside!

Caden playing in the water

two little Ethiopians

beautiful Hawaii

The Family!

looking for a great Christmas present?

These are t-shirts and jackets i custom design. 100% of all the money goes straight into helping feed the children on the streets of Ethiopia.

The front of the t-shirts 

Back of t-shirts

Front of jacket

Back of jacket

The t-shirts are $20 and the jackets are $45. If you want one please just comment, message me on facebook, or email me at: savannah@thornemail.com
(the t-shirts run a little small and the jackets run a little big)
Thank you and Happy Holidays
God Bless

50 things i am thankful for

So in an earlier post, i mentioned that on Thanksgiving i would put down 50 things i am thankful for. It just so happened that the other day at church we were talking about thankfulness and it really made me think more about what i am thankful for. I now am not only thankful for the good things, but also the bad things because i know that God has a plan for everything and no matter what happens in life, God has it under control:) So here we go....

1. Family 2. Mom and Dad  3. House  4. shoes  5. clothes  6. tooth brush  7. tooth paste  8. hair brush  9. toilet (imagine going to the bathroom in the bushes everyday) 10.  my amazing friends ( Maddy, Avery, Keaton, and everyone who has supported me through my journey to Ethiopia) 11.  bed  12. blankets 13. clean water 14. 3 good meals a day 15. snacks in the pantry 16. a sink  17. shower 18. pillow 19. guitar 20. boat  21. shampoo/conditioner  22. soap  23. cups to drink from  24. plates to eat on  25. silverware  26. table  27. cars  28. airplanes  29. ugg boots (i hate having cold feet) 30. hospitals  31. medicine  32. doctors  33. soldiers  34. free country  35. candy  36. computer  37. cell phone  38. camera  39. T.V.  40. electricity  41. refrigerator  42. internet  43. microwave  44. dislocation in elbow  45.  gymnastics  46. ETHIOPIA  47. books   48. school  49. having to take a year off of gymnastics because of injury's   50.  GOD... There is sooooo much more I am thankful for and as I am sitting here with my brother from Ethiopia in my arms, I couldn't ask for anything more and I am so thankful for EVERYTHING in my life:)

So some of these are easy to understand but others might be a little confusing to you such as the dislocation in elbow. Why am i thankful for this?????? When i think back on this injury, i think about what if it never had happened to me? My life would be so different. I most likely would not be the Savannah Thorne you all know right now. I wouldn't be writing this and i wouldn't be trying to raise 15,000 dollars for Ethiopia. I would be in the gymnastics gym 5 days a week 8 hours a day working my butt off thinking about me, and my gymnastics, and my life. I wouldn't be thinking about others the way i do now and my life just would not be the same. I would have never gotten the opportunity to go to Ethiopia and have my life changed the way it did.
When the injury first happened i was so angry. I thought why did this have to happen to me? Why do i always have to get hurt? Why did Got let this happen? I just didn't understand. But then God showed me that He has a perfect plan for everything. Everything turned out better than i could ever imagine it. I got to go to Ethiopia to pick up my brother and fell in love with the country and him. I held back on gymnastics and didn't go nearly as much as i had been going before and it was honestly the most amazing decision and "God-thing" that has ever happened to me. God taught me many things. He taught me that even when things happen and you think nothing can fix it, He can! He has a PERFECT plan for everything and we need to trust him with our life. He will show me what paths to take as long as i trust and believe in him. That's why i am thankful for dislocating my elbow. It was the beginning of God changing my life!
Just remember that when you have a bad day or somethings doesn't turn out the way you want it to turn out, God has a great plan for everything and you just need to trust in him and have faith:)
Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
Philippians 4:13

videos

For those of you who haven't seen this yet, here is the video of my trip:)


CLICK HERE to watch the cow purchase video... Hope you enjoy!

i wanna go back!

So today i was finishing up some picture framing from the trip. I was hanging it on my wall in my room and then was just looking at it. I then realized how much i miss Ethiopia. I miss everything about it. I had such a great time and it was life changing. I want to go back to where my heart is! I also want to go back and see my forever and always little buddy, Zalylom.

Our first orphange we went to and our first day, was the day i fell in love with this AMAZING little boy. He is so cute and loving. He hardly ever smiled but by mid day, i got him to smile at me, and only me! He fell asleep in my arms at one point. I helped him go down the slide that he was scared to go down by himself. I let him eat my food and drink my water. He was a spoiled little boy that day! He wanted one of the bracelets i was wearing so i gave it to him. I wanted with all my heart to take him home with me. I wanted to give him a nice bath, new clean clothes, and a toy to play with. But i couldn't:( As we drove away he waved to me bye. I just wanted to jump out of the car and grab him then jump back in the car with him in my arms, but i couldn't. It was so hard giving him one last hug, one last kiss on the cheek, and one more wave goodbye.
After a week went by and we had already gone to Dube Bute we went back to the same orphanage Zalylom was in, KVI. When i got out of the car i couldn't find him. Then i walk to the back side and there he was, sitting up against the wall all by him self. Then i said, "Zalylom!" He put his head  up, smiled, then ran into my arms. I wanted to just cry. I loved him and missed him so much but knew i shouldn't get too attached to him. This time i had brought a new outfit for him and some lotion to put on his dry skin. So, I took him into the van, put lotion on him then gave him a brand new, clean outfit!

He was a handsome little boy!

His favorite part was the hat...

One day, when and if he gets a family, i will track them down and find him (in my dreams:))
Zalylom means Forever and Always and we will Forever and Always be buddies at heart <3 I love you!

holidays??????

Psalms 107:1-  Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!

WOW! I can't believe that it is already November. The big Holiday season is coming and i have no idea how it got here so quickly. I am going to focus on Thanksgiving for now because that is coming up first. I am soooooo very thankful for many things and i have to admit that i am more thankful on my 14th Thanksgiving than on any other thanksgiving before. I remember when i was around  8 or 9 and we were going around the table saying what we were thankful for. I was speechless. I couldn't think of one thing to say.  That is pretty sad. But now... I can't even list everything i am thankful for. I have changed so much i am thankful for EVERYTHING!

      My goal is to list at least 50 things i am thankful for but... that will be on Thanksgiving! What are you thankful for? Are you just thankful for your family and friends? Or are you thankful for a pair of shoes, water, clothes, food, a toothbrush, or a hairbrush?  I have to say i am VERY thankful for my family. They are the best people ever and support me in everything i do and i am very thankful for that. But, do you ever think about being thankful that you can walk over to your sink and get water out of it instead of having to walk for hours only to get muddy, infected water? Are you thankful that you have a clean pair of clothes to put on everyday? What about a hairbrush to brush your hair?

I'm just going to leave it at this for now and i really want you to think about this. Most of the world does not have a sink to get water out of or a hairbrush to brush their hair with. Just think for a second about, what you are thankful for?

Halloween

Happy Halloween! This Halloween was Yanet's first one. She had a great time and said that she wants to go trick or treating every night. They all had so much fun:)

 At the pumpkin patch!

Our Costumes

Mr. Incredible

Mini Mouse

A wanna be gangster

50's Girl

 <3 Savvi

dube bute

Dube Bute really changed my life in such a great way!

Donkey Delivery

God is amazing!  In Ethiopia i had given money to MC to buy a donkey and a "bed" (a flat bed that is tied onto the donkey that carries items on it) for a family but they found out that the bed was too big to fit on the roads so instead, they bought 2 cows. They are going to use the cows for milk.  I feel so blessed to be able to get to do something like this. I get tears every time i watch this and am so thankful i was able to do this. Can't wait to continue doing things like this in my life! click here to watch the video

If a 5 year-old can, then you can

When i showed my family this picture of the water that these people are drinking from, it got them all thinking.

But, the person who has asked me most about it, is Kingston (lulu). He has asked me why they drink this water, why they don't have clean water, and amazingly he continues to ask me what we can do to help these people so they can have clean water. I want to remind you that Kingston just turned 5. Isn't that just amazing? A five year old is asking what we can do to help get people clean water. He told me that he is going to recycle all the bottles that he drinks and give the money to help build a well and he also said he is going to pray for these people. If a five year old is able to do this, you are too.
If you can't feed 100, then just feed 1! 

EthiopiaSmile 2010

This trip was amazing! I saw so many things that are hard to blieve are actually real, until you see them with your own eyes. It was hart breaking. We did dental work for four whole days. We stated around 9:00 A.M. and went until about 5:30 P.M. everyday. Everyone was exhausted by the end of each day, but it was so worth it. We saw a total of around 4,00 people. Isn't that just amaing?
     After the dental days were done and just about everyone went back to the States, Team Alexander and I went to Awasa. It was a not so fun 5 hour drive from Addis Ababa but worth it when we got there. We stayed in Awasa for that night and then went to Dube Bute. This was another 1 1/2 hour drive on a bumpy, dirt road. When our cars couldn't drive any further on the road, we got out of our cars and then had a one0hour walk ahead of us. There were hundreds of people clapping, singing, and praising the Lord as we got out of our cars. Fortunately, we had harses to ride instead of walking which we were thankful for. For the whole one-hour ride, there were thousands of people following us, singing, dancing, jumping up and down, and most of them were barefoot walking on rocky roads.

  Do you know what amazes me about this? The fact that most of these people have never seen white people before. however, when they saw us, they had HOPE. Hope that we would help them and save lives for them. They all had "hope" because they new white people had finally discovered them. Little kids who are hungry, thirsty, unloved, sick, and unclothed were laughing and smiling. They were happy. Would you be happy  if you were hungry, thirsty, sick, and had no clothes? I don't think so. These kids are happy they are alive and are thankful for the life they have. They are happy they have water to drink. Yes, it is mud water but they don't care because as long as they have water they are thankful. Just by visiting these people we made them happy and gave them hope.
     So, that day my life had changed. iI realized that they are way less fortunate people me and probably almost everyone in America as well. Yet, they are still happier than all of us. They are literally suffereing but still have smiles on all their faces. Watching thousdands of people follow us everywhere we went because they had hope in us is just amazing. Because God is so good, we are building wells for them so they have clean water, schools so they may becomeeducated, health care so the can be healed, and a vet so they can eat healthy meat.

     I have tried to explain as much as I can about this day but there is still so much more. There are no more words to describe it though. I have told this story many times but none of it is as real as it was when it was actually happening. God had changed my life on this day. He gave me the want to help out the needy more than ever before.

        This is their daily water. They drink from this, cook with this, and wash with this. What if this were your water for today and your whole life?

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