Wasn't gonna post today (SO TIRED!!!), but wanted to let ya'll know we were back and was directed to this thread (by dear Armand - peace to you, dear one! and thank you for keeping our dear ones apprised!). Peace to you ALL! What a WONDERFUL thread - thank you ALL! Through my (great) fatigue, your concern and humor is MUCH appreciated!
We are back, dear JustMom and I (PEACE to you, dear JM... THANK YOU, with ALL of my heart, TRULY, for making this journey with me! I LOVE YOU!!)... but need a bit more time before posting about the journey itself. We've spent a LOT of time on planes/in airports (if you ever travel outside the U.S.... DO NOT return through Wash. DC Dulles if you can help it! O... M... G. More on that, later... ) and I've just now showered and had a bite to eat and I am EXHAUSTED.
All went well, even better than expected, actually... and we DID do some "touring" (peace and welcome to you, dear Zid... and surely you know we have pictures... right??! I mean, would someone really travel more than 10,000 miles and NOT take SOME pix, girl?? C'mon, dear Zid - you may not agree with me but SURELY you don't think I would make up a trip to Ethiopia??!! Girlfriend, seriously??! Although hers are WAY better'n mine, both dear JM and I took pix, chile... and will post a coulple/few in a day or so...)
I won't go into the details of the trip yet, though, sorry, dear ones - just not enough energy to do, right now. Have early j-o-b related appointment tomorrow and need to prepare to for that... and (of course) sleep - just spent about 17 hours on various planes and while I did get to doze, I don't think one can call it "sleep." Until then, though, I HAVE to say that the people of Ethiopia are... incredible. SO nice and giving, VERY soft-spoken and wishing to "serve"... at least from what we could tell from our (very) brief stay with them... and my heart already wants to return just to say "hey" to some the wonderful folks we met and assisted us.
I don't mean to make this frustrating or "intriguing" for your dear folks. But... I am SO frickin' tired. The trip out was fantastic - not one hitch (well, we did have a Virgin Airlines ticket clerk try to give us a hard time over carry-ons but he was wrong... of course... LOLOLOL!). The trip back into the country... and from east to west coast... however... OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wait...

!!!!!!!!!!! (it really does require all of those exclamation points). Exhausted us more, I think, than the entire rest of the trip!
Ennywho, give me a day? I've asked dear JM to let me post first, because of the "mission" and she has kindly agreed. After that, she's your girl. I am SURE she can help you all "see" what all we experienced so much more than I ever could... so that's how it'll prolly go.
Again, THANK YOU ALL for the wonderful thread - it is greatly appreciated and I look forward to sharing some of the details of our adventure with you all. Keep in mind, though, that as I shared with some, not very "eventful," as most might consider that word. But totally WELL worth the trip!
Peace!
Your servant and a slave of Christ,
"Sheldiana" (winks at our dear Sher'f - peace, luv!)