Tesfa

Selam!

Today's word will be tesfa. It means "hope," and there are a number of philanthropical organizations withe Tesfa in their names. It is also a first name (for boys, as far as I can tell).

Basic Amharic for Adoptive Families

Tenastilign! Kevin and I are trying to learn some Amharic as we await the referral of our son or daughter. We have been listening to a CD called Simple Amharic for Adoptive Families. I also have a list of words at work and am trying to learn a new phrase each day. If you would like to learn along with me, I'll post some words on our blog, too. Other helpful resources for learning a bit of Amharic:

• http://ethiopianadoptiontravelogue.files.wordpress.com/2007/09/amharic-words.pdf
• http://www.village-ethiopia.net/about_ethiopia.htm#Communicating
• Our First Amharic Words
• http://www.amharickids.com/Toys.aspx (Scroll down to see Amharic Bean Bags)

We'll start ambitiously with three words:
Tenastilign = Hello/How are you?
Emaye = Mom
Abaye = Dad

Welcome to our Blog.

Tenastilign!

Kevin and I decided it would be nice to have a blog where our families and friends can learn along with us about the adoption process and read the latest updates in our experience. In November 2008 for National Adoption Day we presented a service at our church, Harrisonburg Unitarian Universalists. It provides a brief and somewhat organized overview of our experience up to that point. You can read it at the following site:

http://huuweb.org/community-cafe/an-adoption-journey/

Thanks for joining us on this journey.

Julie (Emaye-to-be) and Kevin (Abaye-to-be)