Filming Stories in Ethiopia

I know I haven't updated this blog in well...a LONG time. But I'm going to breeze past that fact and just going to dive right in to what I actually want to write about: Ethiopia. XD 

Or more specifically, filming in Ethiopia. To describe the experience in a few words: It's my dream!  The dream isn't exactly to live in Ethiopia, the dream is to travel all around the world to film and share stories of people that will bring awareness and inspire change. It could be working with organizations that rescue women and children from human trafficking, or that help bring clean water to villages around Africa, or help kids all over the world get adopted. I can't describe how much these things lay heavily on my heart; so when I was asked if I'd like to travel to Ethiopia to film stories of kids that needed help, I was so extremely excited!!! 

It was a fairly short trip with lots and lots of traveling. We ended up being in three different cities- Addis, Ziway and Waliso. 

The first day in Addis we visited two One Child Matters projects, and spent the time doing photoshoots. We gave the girls flower headbands and had them dance and play as I snapped photos- of course they were adorable! Just like any other little girls, they LOVED being in front of the camera and giggled and posed and ate it up! :)  

 Yemisrach & Abaynesh

This is sweet Yemisrach.

The rest of the time in Ethiopia we spent filming stories. It's no surprise that there are some terribly sad stories of people living in third-world countries. As horrible as it is to say- it's expected, and if we're not careful, we can get numb to the stories because there are so many of them. 

We ended up meeting two young girls who had very compelling stories: Yemisrash & Abaynesh. I won't share their stories here, because I don't want to spoil the film, but I can say they are heart-wrenching. But I'm so incredibly grateful to have met these God fearing girls, their strength and love for God inspires me!                    

There's so much more I could say about this trip, but I think I've expressed how impactful it was for me. At one point I was on the bus as we traveled for many hours to another village, and I remember just having this incredible moment where I suddenly felt "at home", I felt so comfortable in a very uncomfortable place- where I had no wifi, no AC, I was dirty, sick to my stomach, and yet I knew I was exactly where God wanted me to be. He's put these passions on my heart (missions and film), and it was an amazing experience to know that he was leading and directing me as I did what He's called me to do.  Daily I pray that He would lead me to more opportunities like this one. 

I'm thrilled to share with you the final film.