We had our District Conference on Saturday, Nov. 22nd 

(Priesthood Leadership where Elder Wold spoke and the Adult Meeting where I spoke).  

Then the Sunday District Conference session was on DVD in each area in Ethiopia 

on Nov. 23rd.  It was all in Amharic.

Yetim with the YW after the Sunday conference meeting

Tesfeaynesh in the white top and gray sweater is a new convert.

President Ashebir, counselor in the District Presidency conducted the meetings.

Here he is with his wife, Hiwot and cute kids,

Grant and Nabyat.

Sister Wenishet wanted a picture with me and

she chose this spot in the Priesthood room.

Monday, November 24th, was our Allie's 17th birthday, so we

gave her birthday treat to some of the YW after the baptism.

The treat was Werthers and chocolate coins that Jon and Emily brought.

Genet and her daughters, Meskerem 14, in blue, 

and Kalkidan 9, behind her, were baptized after

the District Conference.  Mekdes, Kalkidan and 

baby Edelawit love Primary! 

Abere, our branch mission leader baptized them.

Abere, Fekadu and Birhanu after the conference

YW and RS women with skirts for church, that our granddaughter,

Allie, collected for the sisters in our Debre Zeyit Branch

Henock (branch clerk), Abraham, Abenezer, and Fekadu were at YSA

FHE and we gave them glow necklaces.  (I took this picture in the

dark but the flash went off and you can't see the glowing

necklaces….  Pres. Kiros was at the building and stopped in too.)

Grant had a birthday Dec. 10th and turned 10, so he brought

his birthday cake to Primary to celebrate with the Primary kids.

We had our FUN elders over for Thanksgiving dinner the Monday before Thanksgiving 

and had a great time!  Elders Payne, Workman, Burdick and Bingham made us laugh all day!

A few days later we celebrated Elder Payne's birthday and I

made German Chocolate cupcakes! He LOVED them!!

Abraham and Elder Workman

 On the following P-day, all the elders in the zone came to Debre Zeyit

for a zone activity, playing soccer and having a pot-luck dinner.

In line for pie, lemon bars, brownies and cookies

made by the elders!

The Meganagna ZLs (left), Elder Christensen (one of our former 

DZ boys) and Elder Melton from Johannesburg

Here are a few photos taken on Jon and Emily's last two days in Ethiopia….

We went to lunch at the Belvedere Italian Restaurant on the hill

overlooking Addis after we flew in on Friday from Gondar.  

Jon and Emily ordered yummy homemade ravioli  (below) and we got 

some good photos of Addis from the restaurant.

A shop on the way down the hill from the restaurant

The leaves wrapped up on the right are chat.  It's hallucinogenic

and legal to buy here in Ethiopia.  People chew it to get high. : /

Emily in front of one of our favorite markets called ALL MART

Jon is trying out one of the tiny shopping carts

in the store as we shopped for treats to take home

to their kids.  Haha!

Saturday, November 15th….

This was taken while we were leaving our house in Debre Zeyit 

to go to Addis Ababa on Saturday. (We borrowed the Zls hardbody 

truck for the week, trading it for our Lifan.)

Our home in Debre Zeyit

We stopped at the top of the road to our cute friends, Ruth and Yeabsra's

home and they ran up to see us, so they could meet Jon and Emily.  

At the airport on Saturday night….

It was hard to say "good-bye"!

We flew back to Gondar Thursday at noon and spent the rest of the day there….

Gondar from our hotel balcony at the Taye Belay

At the FOUR SISTERS Restaurant for lunch

Gate to King Fasiledes' Bath House

A cute mom and her baby near the bath house

The Bath House

The pool surrounding the house, where thousands

of people come and jump in to be re-baptized

every year on January 21 for Timket

Our awesome guide, Gecho

Roots of the banyan trees going over the wall

The Bath House from the back….

The tree roots were on BOTH sides of the wall!

A guard tower

Women coming from an infant baptism

at Debre Birhani Selassie church

A mom and baby outside the Ethiopian Orthodox church

The gate to the Debre Birhane Selassie Church

Debre = mountain, Birhane = light

and Selassie = trinity

Ostrich eggs (7) on top of the church, symbolizing the 

seven days of creation.  As the ostrich looks down at

its egg until it hatches, the Lord looks down at us and

protects us. 

The whole ceiling is painted with angels looking down on us

and taking care of us.

Ceremonial drums with lots of symbolism

that the deacons play in the church 

Murals cover ALL four walls and the ceiling

Mary's eyes watch you wherever you go

in the church...

The Holy Trinity and the crucifixion of Jesus Christ

The church is shaped like Noah's Ark

Gecho, our guide on the left and we ran into

Abebo, our guide from LAST November

when we were there with Elder and Sister Tanner

King Fasiledes' Castle built in the 1600s

There were 6 castles in the royal enclosure…

(For more details see our post from Gondar in November 2013)

This castle was destroyed by the British in WWII

and later rebuilt by the Italians

Beautiful Gondar looking outside of the royal enclosure

What a FUN day with our Jon and his wife, Emily in Gondar, Ethiopia!

This cool shot was taken by our guide, Getachew (Gecho)

Good night Gondar!