update on life

I am a little late on posting this but... to start off summer, i was in Texas for 2 weeks with the Alexanders! I went to camp with Hill and Wick for 6 days then to San Antonio with their whole family.

YMCA camp

In San Antonio we went to the best most amazing amusement park to celebrate Hills 15th birthday but more importantly for Abe. Morgan's Wonderland is the name of the park and it is built for special needs people!!

such an inspiration

Super Abe!!

Now i am home and am enjoying my summer with friends! I went to a U2 concert and have been playing a lot of tennis.

U2 concert

Tennis

My goal this month and next is to finish up my 15,000 dollar goal for Dube Bute. I have 1,000 dollars to go! I am going to try to do a lot of babysitting and sell some more t-shirts:)
Hope you all are having a great summer!!

Ethiopia Video

Untitled from savannah thorne on Vimeo.
This video still brings me to tears. I think about these people everyday, every meal, every time i take a shower with clean water, every time i walk 10 feet to get water.... I think about what these people are doing everyday and what i am doing every day. Being 15, it can be a challenge to not go to the mall with all your friends and spend money on stuff you don't really need but my passion is to help others, not myself.

another life changing trip to ethiopia

Wow! What an amazing experience i had in Ethiopia again. There aren't words good enough to describe the moments i had with the people of Dube Bute. As we arrived, there were hundreds of people waiting for us singing, dancing, and praising the Lord. And what did i do? I got out of the car and started dancing with them and it lasted for almost two hours! These are the people who i will NEVER forget about. They are my friends, my family, and have taught me so much. I have my friends who make tally marks on rocks until the next time i come.... People asking me to move to the village and teach at the schools.... I am known as the girl with golden teeth(braces) and "tall" blond hair!

We went to Dube Bute two days in a row. By the beginning of the second day, almost the whole village of thousands of people all knew my real name. Not just "gold teeth American girl." I walked through the beautiful valleys for hours with my little(huge) fan club, we talked, giggled, and shared memorable moments with each other. They tried teaching me the Awassa language and i tried teaching them English... We both failed but shared so much laughter!
I will never forget all the beautiful faces of the people of Dube Bute. All the little babies and kids with no pants. The many with no shoes. But most importantly the love, hope, and joy they have.

When i am hanging out with my friends here, i will always be thinking about my friends in Dube Bute and how much harder they work for life yet how much more joy and happiness they all have.

The progress with the wells, schools, and all the fund raising is going very well! They are trying to finish the roads before the rainy season so they can continue to get materials through the season.

helping build the bridge

the health post or vet clinic.... i forget which one