Why I love our staff so much.

I want to just take a couple of minutes of your time today to brag on our staff.   If you’ve never been to visit the project, you may have a picture that somehow Jerry and Christy are doing most of the work or that they’re the only ones who carry the vision for the project.  Nothing could be farther from the truth.

Some of our staff from Day Care #2

A project such as ours means that the 40 staff within the project have to work as a team and care on a deeper level than seeing a pay check.

Here are just a few stories to brag on today.

1.  There are some new laws in Ethiopia that track administrative expenses.  The problem is that to a Westerner there are many items listed as administrative that seem like project expenses to me.  However if an organization cannot keep these administrative expenses  under 30%, they will cease to work in Ethiopia.   Now, drum roll, please.  Our accountant just finished the numbers for 2012 and we came in at 23% admin expenses – a full 7% below the cutoff.  It shows me that our staff are being amazing stewards of what God has entrusted them with.

2.  One of our staff came to me the other day and told me that she has been having a dream about me that she really felt was from God.  I love the fact that she cared enough and felt comfortable enough to share a God dream with me.   Many of our staff are prayer warriors – I love watching how this isn’t a job for many of them, it is a calling.

3. A couple of weeks ago one of the children got sick and needed specialized care.  However, the mom was not being treated well and could not get the care she deserved because she was poor and uneducated.  One of our nurses went along for a visit and was able to mediate and see that the child could get the care he needed.  This same nurse has been stepping up for moms and kids in a number of situations to see them cared for.

Some of our staff from Day Care #1 and Administration.

4.  Our other nurse told me the other day that she has never seen a project like EHE.  She said that she worked for an adoption agency for years, but she sees a different level of caring in EHE and the real potential for true transformation.   She hoped that we could replicate EHE over and over to care for more and more families.  She was deeply touched – and so was I.

I could go on and on and share about one of our guards who fixes everything as well as caring for kids and moms, even though his job is technically to just watch the door.  I could tell you about our educator who is going above and beyond the call in thinking creatively in how to educate moms and children.  I could tell you about our caregivers who spend day after day deeply caring for the children – its nothing short of miraculous to see in operation.

However, my couple of minutes are up.

Please join us in praying for our staff – and in encouraging them for a job well done.