From Addis Ababa to Lancaster…via ping pong?

Right now, somewhere in Ethiopia, I have a niece or a nephew.

She hasn’t been born yet, probably still about three months from exiting the womb. Her mother might not even know that she’s going to give her up for adoption.  But in about 90 days her mom will give birth, then leave the child at the hospital, or the front steps of an orphanage.

There’s a 50% chance this child is the result of rape. In Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, that’s a horrendous part of how beautiful little lives enter the world.

But in less than a year, this little child will be living in Gap, Pennsylvania, with four doting brothers and sisters. Between relatives in Lancaster and England, this baby will have five fascinated cousins, six aunts and uncles, and parents who couldn’t be happier.  This baby will be welcomed into a new community, halfway around the world, and that little one will grow up here, in Amish country.

It’s amazing, how the thread of a life can twist and turn its way into a completely new story.

* * * * *

This Sunday at 3:00pm at the Gap Family Center my sister and brother-in-law are hosting a ping pong tournament to help cover the costs for the adoption of this precious child, whom none of us know…yet. The cost to enter the tournament is $25 – there will be two age brackets (under 14, and 15+).  There will be lots of great food and all kinds of fun.  Plus there’s the challenge of seeing if anyone can defeat my brother-in-law, Ben – he’s a tennis instructor and the ping-pong world’s equivalent of Roger Federer.

We would love for you to join us.

I am excited that the community is coming together to help out financially with this – wouldn’t you feel pretty special if, once you grew up, you found out that your adoption had been partially sponsored by the community in which you live?  That everyone had banded together to ensure that you could find a better place in this world?

Somewhere in Ethiopia I have a niece or a nephew.  This Sunday, ping pong will help bring them here.