The long-awaited post- here it is…finally! Be prepared- a 10 day trip is a lot to write about.
Wednesday, December 16th, 2009
Happy Birthday to me and let the trip begin! We said very hard goodbyes to our boys at home and to my mom and then my friend, Nicolae, picked us up and took us to O’Hare airport in Chicago. It was the first day I remember feeling really cold, even with a winter coat. We unloaded our 2 suitcases, 3 bins, 4 carry-ons, and 2 umbrella strollers and said goodbye to Nicolae and headed in for check-in. God must have been on our side (the first of many times we would learn) because they were making just about everyone check-in their carry-on bags. We somehow escaped that and were allowed to proceed with all four of our carry-ons. We only had to pay the $200 for the 3rd bin of donations, which we were prepared for.
We left Chicago at 4:35 p.m. that afternoon for Amsterdam. We watched “The Time Travelers Wife” on the airplane and arrived in Amsterdam at 7 a.m. the next morning (with a time change).
Thursday, December 17th, 2009
We had a few hours to kill in Amsterdam, so we cleaned up a bit, walked around scoping the place out, and rested in a restaurant. We were exhausted at that point! We then boarded our 2nd flight, which seemed to go much faster. We made a quick stop in Sudan to allow more passengers to board and within an hour we were off again for a short flight to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. We landed at about 9:30 p.m. on Thursday, December 17th (this is 9 hours ahead of US Central time). The city was not nearly as bright as most US cities, though just as big. Electricity and power are issues that Addis faces on a daily basis. We got off the plane and headed down an escalator and got in a small line for a tourist visa. It was just in a room that was like a large cubicle with a few desks. They still give receipts hand-written, using carbon paper in Ethiopia. We then headed to exchange US dollars into Birr. The rate was just over 12 Birr to 1 dollar. Then it was to a new line for customs/immigration. That took forever. We had our passports stamped and then went to collect our baggage. Thankfully, it was all coming around as we came out and it was all there! We put it through their security machine and then headed out through a large crowd of a few hundred people waiting for family or friends to come home/visit. We eventually found the guest house translator, Aklil. He helped us get our luggage to the guest house van, where we met our driver, Gecho. They took us to the guest house, we got settled, and finally got to bed around 1:30 a.m. I don’t think either of us really slept much because of the stray dogs barking, roosters crowing, and the neighbor dog that barked and whined all night long. They had ear plugs on the nightstand for us, but they didn’t work too well for me. We were warned about the barking dogs and the chanting that happens from the speakers on the Orthodox churches at night, in the morning, in the middle of the day…heck, whenever they want to, I guess!
Friday, December 18th, 2009
We left Addis with our driver, Gecho, and our translator, Aklil around 7 a.m. Once we were 30 minutes out of Addis, we saw a whole different way of life. This was how Ethiopian people really live. It was incredible. Most people live in either circular or rectangular houses made out of mud and straw, with either straw, grass, or tin roofs. Children younger than 3 all were running around in just a sweatshirt and nothing else. There’s no need for diapers. I would think they get cold, but maybe they wear pants at night. There were people everywhere- many walking along the road or on the road with carts of goods or donkeys carrying goods, some people carrying the good themselves (mostly the women). There were animals all over the road too- oxen, cattle, goats, and donkeys especially. When we asked if they had any wild animals in Ethiopia, Aklil said “only dogs and cats.” There are MANY stray dogs and cats and the dogs love to howl and bark all night long. Sometimes the animals (cattle in particular) were on their own…they just seemed to know where to go. Othertimes, the animals were being herded by one or two people, usually a man, but often a small boy or two boys. If you hit an animal, it didn’t matter what the situation was- you paid for it! At times, it seemed as if the people were hoping their animal would get hit. You beep as you approach people and they sometimes move over and sometimes don’t, but often their animals remain in the middle of the road. It was a market day so there were many people walking into the nearest village to buy, sell, or trade their goods at the market. Some were walking away from the towns back to their homes. People walk for miles and miles to get to the market and then walk back. This process could take up the whole day, I’m sure! Most people don’t own vehicles because they cost a ton of money to import from European and Asian countries (no US vehicles there). If they don’t walk, they put out their arm to try and hitch a ride or use public transportation (a very crowded bus that has the worst smelling kerosene fumes or a small little taxi).
Rick was particularly interested in the agriculture. There was a lot of open land. The biggest crop was definitely wheat, but we did see some banana trees, a few corn fields, and some others. They have no machinery there to make things easier, faster, and more productive, as we do here. They do everything by hand. They stomp on the wheat to get the grains to come off, or use their cattle to do this. They put all the straw in a big mound, which becomes feed for their animals. Some people’s land was fenced in by many cactus plants. Some homes were right off the road and many were set back with a 3-4 minute walk to the road.
Most of the 7 hour drive was through countryside, but every now and then we’d go through a town/village. The roads in the villages were PACKED with people and sometimes animals. It was hard to get through. The main roads were nice, but all the side roads were dirt and very rocky/bumpy! Out of all the roads we took, only one was really bad! We got to see kids on their way to school, on their lunch break, and on their way home. There are government schools and private schools. The kids wear uniforms- a certain color is assigned for each school.
After 7 hours, we arrived to a hill-side community called Sodo (population roughly 60,000). It was beautiful and very mountainous! We went straight to the local Compassion International project there, where our 4 year-old sponsor child, Abinet, and his mother were waiting for us, along with the Compassion staff and a Compassion host from Addis. Abinet came up to us with roses and gave us each kisses on our cheeks. He was adorable and so sweet, a bit nervous too! We went in the headquarters where we got to see all the children’s pictures who are sponsored there. We also found out we were the first sponsors to visit our sponsor child in Sodo. They were pretty excited and proud! They had some snacks for us, shared some general information, and had a coffee ceremony. We gave Abinet a gift- a backpack full of some practical things for him and his family, but also a coloring book, crayons, a slinky, and some toy cars. He was in LOVE with the toy cars and couldn’t focus on anything but them for the remainder of the time. We then were shown the church he attends and met the pastor. Abinet came with us in the van (I believe his first time in a vehicle since they walk everywhere), as we drove past his school and headed towards his home. At his home, we met his father and learned that his father pushes a cart to deliver supplies in the town, where he makes about $1 a day. We got to see his cart. They took us into their home, a rectangular mud house with maybe a total of 10 possessions, including furniture (wood benches for seats and a table). There were 2 or 3 rooms- the main room and then one room where they slept, all together on a mattress. Their grandmother lived with them too and she was sick at the time. After spending some time in their home, many of the children that lived nearby started coming down the hills and close to their home to see what was going on. We passed out a piece of candy and a balloon to each of them. They were excited. We said our goodbyes to Abinet and his family after getting some good pictures. It was an amazing experience- we feel our correspondence (letters) with him and our prayers for him and his family will be so much more significant now that we have met him and formed a real relationship.
From there, we tried to find an orphanage we had planned to visit that was run by the same agency that ran the first orphanage our boys were at. We had a big bin of donations to give them, along with gift bags we had made for all the children and nannies and also personal gifts from families to their child they were adopting. People had done this for us and we knew how much it meant, so we were happy and excited to do it for them. Unfortunately, the program director for the orphanage was very rude and did not want to tell us how to get there and supposedly thought we were media. The ball was dropped from the US side (they were supposed to notify them we were coming). We tried very hard to find the place and the kids. We went to an orphange there that we were led to by the Compassion staff, but it was empty. We then drove on to Hossana- the village our boys are from. It was about a 2 hour drive from Sodo to Hossana. It was getting dark when we got there, so we decided to find a place to stay for the night and then we got some dinner with our guest house driver and translator.
Saturday, December 19th, 2009
In the morning, this man met us to take us to the orphanage we thought there would either be kids at or the orphanage our kids used to be in that was now closed down. We went to one that was staffed, but had no kids yet. It was not the one our boys were first at. We toured around Hossana a bit and had breakfast there, took some pictures, and were on our way back to Addis. The most discouraging part of our trip was definitely not being able to deliver the donations and gifts and to meet the chidren many of our friends were adopting, especially after going to two different orphanages.
It was about a 4 hour drive from Hossana to Addis. The area just outside of Hossana was BEAUTIFUL! We got back to Addis mid-day. Aklil and Gecho took us to AHOPE, one of the two homes for orphaned children who are HIV positive. See this website for more info: www.ahopeforchildren.org It was nap time, but they still allowed us in. We took a bin of donations for them and then passed out a treat bag for each child. We went in the boys’ room first where they were trying to nap (some were totally asleep). There were about 12 beds (6 to 8 bunk beds) filled with about 7-10 year olds. Most of them were full, but a couple were empty. I asked them what that meant and they said those are children who have been adopted. As children get adopted, more beds become available to be filled. The boys that were awake were super excited to meet us and to open the treat bags. They whispered in English, “what’s your name?” They told us their names too. They were so happy and kind. We then went to a room with toddlers to maybe 6 year olds. We passed out a bag to each child and gave each a loving touch and then moved to the girls’ room (similiar situation to the boys’ room with bunk beds and girls maybe 7-10). They had never seen some of these things I think because they were asking about the pencil sharpener (how it worked). This small object seemed to be what excited them the most! We then went to a room with a few infants up to maybe 4 or 5 year-olds. The whole thing was hard and heart-breaking, but this room was the most difficult for us. It was so hard to see all these children and the few tiny babies who have this condition that will likely kill them if they don’t get the right treatment or adopted by a family who could afford the treatment. These kids could lead a healthy life if on the treatment they need. One baby held Rick’s hand and wouldn’t let go. It was a very emotional experience and almost impossible not to tear up. We thanked the staff for allowing us to visit and were on our way to Kaldi Coffee for lunch.
It took us a few minutes to reach the 2- story Kaldi coffee (a Starbucks knock-off). We had some lunch there and we were planning to go to a few cool places we still wanted to check-out in Addis, when Aklil got a call from “Z,” this guy who we got in contact with when trying to visit the orphanage in Sodo. He was near to where we were so he met us at Kaldi coffee. We learned that he used to work for the agency who ran the orphanage we were looking for. He was the person who helped Elijah and Jonah’s father take the right steps to getting them into the orphanage care. He was the first person to see them before they entered the orphanage. He said he was very worried about them. Had they not come into care when they did (around 6 weeks of age) they probably wouldn’t have made it much longer. They were very tiny. He told us about the boys’ father and even had his cell number in his phone, because he had to call him to remind him of the boys’ court date. Side not here: just about everyone in Ethiopia has a cell phone we learned because the cell phones and incoming calls are free. You just need to buy these little phone cards to make calls. So meeting “Z” was pretty amazing- definitely one of the God interventions. He made the story of why there were two empty orphanages make sense. He was just starting up a program for child sponsorship and also three orphanages for kids who weren’t sponsored and needed families. The two orphanges we went to- in Sodo and Hossana were his now that he broke away from the other agency. We went to his third orphanage in Addis, where we saw the first child ready to be adopted, a beautiful 6 month old girl and her nanny. We also got to see his referral binder, where he had the boys’ official referral in Amharic. It had pictures similiar to the ones that were on our referrals, but they were naked and boy they were small! It also had the brother and sister’s pictures on it as well because they were brought into the orphanage at the same time and at one point, were adoptable, until they were taken to live with an aunt and uncle in Addis and then taken back by the father. This was unbelievable that we got to see all this! Totally God! We gave him most of the donations that were in the bin we were trying to deliver to the Sodo orphanage. Now it was getting late, so we didn’t have time to get to the other things on our list, but it was worth it! Aklil and Gecho took us back to the guest house and we had dinner there and rested the remainder of the evening.
Sunday morning we had the guest house arrange a taxi for us to meet our American missionary friends, Andrea and Travis, at the International church. We thought we were going to be late, but it wasn’t too far and we made it on time. The service was led by an American Baptist pastor from North Carolina. The choir had people from all over the world. The attendees were from all over the world and even some adults and many small children from Addis. After church, we walked with Travis and Andrea and went into a local supermarket. Most people in Addis get their food from local vendors, but some go to the larger supermarket (of course, much smaller than our grocery stores). The most interesting thing was to see that a quart of ice cream was SUPER expensive…like $25 USD. From there, we headed to a local church service that was in Amharic. Being the one of only 4 white people in a large congregation definitely made me realize how it must feel to be the only black child in a classroom or neighborhood. It was good for us. We sat in the back. The people around us, especially the children, stared at us most of the time. We stayed through the announcements and singing (about an hour) and left when the children left for Sunday school. We went to a Sunday school class with the 3-5 year olds. That was fun! But, again, they couldn’t concentrate real well on their teacher because they were more interested in us, so we didn’t stay too long so as not to distract them longer! We then walked to Travis and Andrea’s place. We stopped at some of the local vendors where they buy their meat, sugar, eggs, and other staples. That was interesting! Rick was infatuated with all their plants- everything they have that we have grows 10 times bigger! We gave them their gift that their family had sent with us to give them and then met their two roommates. We had lunch at their house and spent much of the afternoon talking. It was too late to do many of the things on our to-do list, but we did get some time to go shopping downtown Addis. We got a new experience- we rode the mini bus taxis (not something you’d want to do on your own; thankfully Travis and Andrea speak enough Amharic and have used them many times so they knew what to do and how to find out how much it would cost). The taxi just waits on the street until it is full, so you should try and find a full taxi. Their is a kid who works the door- he tried to call out where they are going and get people to use their taxi. Sometimes they fight over you with another child/taxi. People there sit on the most outside seat of the row, unlike here where you’d move in and let the newest person on board sit on the outside. You have to crawl over them basically. It’s strange, but I guess one of those cultural things. The taxi is QUITE cheap at least!! We went to a few stores and got many things for the boys. We plan to give them one gift each from Ethiopia every adoption day (November 16th). We got to experience the round-about they call “Mexico” where you apparently see the most begging and many crippled people. We didn’t think it was that bad, maybe because we have been to a lot of big cities and other 3rd world countries before though. The beggars don’t really bother you. Crippled people may come up to you on their crutches, but people don’t necessarily follow you….except for people trying to sell random things like maps, belts, etc. They’ll walk with you for blocks, especially if you show one bit of interest! Then, they’ll try and sell you one of each thing they have if you do buy one of the items. It was getting dark and we were told not to be out at dark. The guest house staff were worried about us. We didn’t find it to be that dangerous or unsafe. There were spots that were quite crowded that you had to work through and that was a little scary, but not too bad. We walked to a restaurant called “The Melting Pot.” The menu had foods from many countries around the world. I had Mexican and Rick had fish. It’s not a fondue place like the ones we have here! :) We called the man who had took us to church that morning since the guest house had arranged for him to take us round-trip. About 30 minutes later, he was there to pick us up. We dropped Travis and Andrea off near their place and proceeded to the guest house.
Monday, December 21st, 2009
Today was the BIG day! The first day we’d meet the boys! We were supposed to be picked up around 10 a.m. It ended up being at least 11 a.m. You can count on most people in Ethiopia being at least an hour late for things. We met Karen and Frank and 2 of their biological children from CO (I had connected with Karen before our trip by email). The other WI family that stayed in our guest house, Charlie, Scotti, and their biological daughter, Ricki, were in the van too. All 3 families were taken together in one van to the Thomas Center. The other two families there the same week, one woman and her two sons from Arizona and another couple from Wisconsin were already there. As we pulled up, I knew this was the place from pictures I had seen. Many emotions started going through me. I was nervous, excited, and of course, got emotional! I saw older kids clapping and 3 smaller ones in walkers. I could see Elijah and Jonah right away because they were in shirts I had sent them a few months earlier and they looked just like their pictures. Elijah was in front. From the pictures I had gotten of him, I thought he’d be the one who wouldn’t have as hard of a time. He always looked happy and like he had a lot of personality. Jonah, on the otherhand, always looked scared, sad, or upset in many of his pictures. We found them to be just the opposite! They took Elijah out and gave him to me. With tears rolling down my cheeks, I held him, as he screamed at me and cried fearfully! It was hard, but I knew that it was a good sign. It meant he had formed a bond and attached to the nannies there. He was loved. This would ultimately make things easier for us in the long run, as he’d be more likely to attach to us because he had been able to attach to someone else. Jonah didn’t have a hard time at all! He was happy as could be and very easy going. I was so surprised that they were opposite of how I thought they’d be. We were taken up to their room. There were many stories and many rooms, but we didn’t ever get to really tour the place or see the other rooms. It would have been nice to see how things worked there, how they fed the kids, took care of the kids, etc. The other WI couple who adopted a 15 mo. little boy were already up in his room (same room as our boys) holding him. We took some pictures of the boys’ cribs, them with 2 of their nannies, and were handed their feeding schedule (we think all the toddlers get the same feeding schedule and that they just make a note of any medications they are on at the bottom). One nanny told us that Jonah likes to eat A LOT! We found that to be true later, as we think they probably fed him until he stopped eating. His belly was so bloated, probably from being malnourished and premature and then overfed later on. There were probably about 8 cribs in their room and maybe 10 or so other kids. This all was a blur really and we were escorted back downstairs and outside pretty quickly. We didn’t have any time to really ask any questions. We thanked the nannies and they tried to show us how the boys walk with assistance when we were back outside. They waved goodbye and Jonah just waved away back at them! We spent some time outside with them and the other families did the same with their children. The older children being adopted all seemed to be so excited and happy, playing ball or some other fun game with their families. Elijah was definitely the one having the hardest time. He was crying pretty hysterically, so of course, many of the nannies or other staff workers, including Abdissa’s wife, took him out of our hands many times. I was prepared for this because other families told me it would happen, though I didn’t think it would really help with his bonding with us and was worried how much we’d come back to this place because of this reason.
After about an hour there, they took us to the old Thomas Center, now Abdissa and his staff’s office. Abdissa’s wife held Elijah the whole way there in the van. Did we mention that there are no carseats or seatbelts used in Ethiopia either?!?! You just carry the child on your lap. Both the boys were tired, as this was probably their lunch and nap time. We had some food upstairs and they gave us some soup to feed the boys. They didn’t eat much. I had to go with one person from each family to Abdissa’s office to finalize our paperwork for the embassy appointment and pay the remaining fees for the visa, panel exam, transportation, etc. That took a long time! Rick got to spend that time getting to know the boys and their personalities. He tried feeding them puffs, which they wanted nothing to do with! We’d later learn that they didn’t eat ANY solid foods. They were spoon fed everything or given a bottle of formula. The other two babies who were younger and smaller did eat solid foods. That was weird to us and a big surprise. I finally got to come down and play with them a bit. They were SO tired! They were intrigued by the few rattles/toys we had brought for them and by the cap to the puffs container. We qiuckly learned that Elijah was the boss of the two. He would just come up and take something from Jonah and crawl on him/over him. This was okay. But, if Jonah did any of the same behaviors, Elijah would get so upset and whine. A few hours later, we loaded a vehicle and were taken to a supermarket to buy food for the babies. The boys were asleep in our arms at this point, so the driver held Jonah and Rick held Elijah. I went inside and bought 3 small containers of formula, a few jars of baby food, and a box of baby cereal (honey wheat…it looked and smelled like pulverized graham crackers almost…it seemed much sweeter than our baby oatmeal/cereal). It was expensive- comparable to costs of baby products here, when everything else was about 10 times less expensive. It was about $10-12 dollars for a small can of formula (enough for a few days maybe). I could now see why people couldn’t afford to keep babies, especially if something happened to the mother and there was no breast milk for them. How sad! We were dropped off at the guest house. We put them both right down in their playpens for a nap. Our friends, Travis and Andrea, came over to meet them but they were not awake yet, so we hung out with them until the boys woke up and then introduced the boys to them. We had dinner at the guest house. The boys ate baby food and the baby cereal really well. They would scream or whine when they saw food being prepared. They definitely didn’t have any patience. I think we learned quickly that the child who screamed or whined the loudest got fed or held first. What a tough habit to unbreak! Elijah didn’t really warm up at all until later that night during bath time. I knew he had a personality and a smile underneath that frown and you could tell he was kind of a stubborn little guy. Jonah was hilarious and was bouncing around the floor. He looked like a little puppy with his tongue out, the same noise a puppy would make, and his tummy bouncing up an down, all while in the crawling position. We came up with about 10 nicknames for him in a matter of days, including puppy dog, chunky monkey, and froggy (his tongue is out 90% of the time). We gave the boys their first bath. Jonah loved the water and Elijah slowly started to come out of his shell. He wouldn’t take a bottle for us though the whole first day and much of the 2nd day. I think it was the 2nd night that he finally took one. After their first bath, we played and read some books. I read “A Mother for Choco” to Elijah and that’s when he really started coming around. He thought it was so funny. He started trying to talk, pointed to things, and cracked a smile. We ended up having them both laughing hysterically at the same time while we tickled them. They are quite ticklish. They looked so cute in their matching jammies. Matching outfits didn’t always last long though because these guys were pooping machines and someone would have a blow-out and then they no longer had matching outfits.
Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009
We spent most of the day at the guest house. Rick had some bonding time with the boys and got them down for a nap while I went with some of the other adoptive family members shopping for a bit. I was trying to get the boys more things for their adoption day surprises. We went to this market like place. It was interesting. After awhile, we started to draw attention. I saw a lot of people making their crafts and two men playing checkers with bottle caps. Another thing I saw, which is how they do it in Ethiopia, was a mom with a baby on her back with a wrap around them both to hold the baby in place. The men that took us shopping then took us to a mall, where we looked for Amharic children’s bibles. We had to go through security with a wand and there was a beautiful Christmas tree all decorated in red in the middle of this complex. We went up many levels to a little shop. We didn’t find Amharic bibles, but we did find the story of Jesus in Amharic so we bought those. They then took us to another shop and we did find bibles there. We were stuck in traffic a long time and they seemed to take us the long way home. We were afraid we’d be late for our embassy appointment. We were supposed to be picked up at noon, our appt. was at 2:00. This was the first time that Abdissa’s staff were on time and waiting for us. It was nerve wrecking. Rick had himself and the boys ready to go since they had been there almost an hour. The rest of us got dressed in 2 minutes and off we went. We went to Abdissa’s office where we had a huge Ethiopian lunch! They always had soda for us in glass bottles. We could choose from orange Fanta, Coke, or Sprite. They also had bottled water. The spread of food was unbelievable and way too much for the amount of people in the room. From there, we went to the U.S. Embassy. It’s kind of a whole in the wall. They are building a new one. We were heckled by young kids who danced and waited outside our vehicles while we waited for Abdissa to take us in. We got out, crossed the street (I’m sure we had many on-lookers here) and went in (meanwhile there were about 100 Ethiopian people waiting on benches outside to get visas). We went through security and then into a small room where many other families were waiting as well. There was a small play area with a few toys. The kids were all pretty hyped up. There were a few other agencies being represented this day as well. We waited for probably 2 hours (again these boys were getting very fussy and tired with it being nap time). Our name was called over the loud speaker. We were the last family for our agency to be called. We took the boys upstairs to a window with a lady waiting for us (there were about 8-10 windows and she was one of maybe 2 US citizens working there). She asked us some simple questions, stamped some things, and we were on our way! YAY! The waiting was harder than the 4 minutes at her window. We went back to the guest house for more bonding with the boys and for dinner.
Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009
Today we just bonded with the boys at the guest house. We had lunch there and then Rick went out with one of Abdissa’s drivers (he waited 1-2 hours to be picked up) to get the last few things we really wanted to find. He had to exchange some more money, which he did at the Hilton. It was excessively guarded, but they saw Rick was American and let him right in. It was a good thing he went there, as it didn’t take long to get money exchanged. The day I went shopping, we went to a bank and it took the ladies who were exchanging money a long time because they only had their driver’s license and not their passport and they had to wait for all hand-written receipts. The bank was guarded by police with large guns. After Rick exchanged money, he went to the post office to get some Ethiopian collector stamps. He picked up a traditional coffee pot and some gifts for friends too at the shops on Churchill Road. During that time, I spent time playing and bonding with the boys, especially Elijah since he doesn’t seem to nap as long as Jonah. Rick got back just in time for us to head out to the Thomas Center for the going away party and for our dinner at a traditonal Ethiopian restaurant with traditional dancers.
It was raining that day and we saw many accidents on the way to the Thomas Center, including a car that was totally tipped over and a dump truck that went over the concrete wall in the center of the 4 lane road. When we got to the Thomas Center, we walked in to hear kids singing songs in Amharic for us. One of these songs must have been ones sung to our boys or they just heard it so much, because we see Elijah and Jonah both clap and “sing” every once in a while now and it sounds a lot like one of those songs we heard (we recognized the word “Geta” or “Lord” in it). The children singing were all the older kids- maybe 4/5 and older up to a 14 year old girl still waiting for a family. Later on when we asked our driver about these kids, we learned that they didn’t have families yet. That was heart-breaking. We gave them all treat bags and they were so excited! They LOVED the balloons!! There was this little guy- maybe 4 that was cracking us up! They passed out many traditional snacks to us and again had sodas. Abdissa gave a speech and one of the moms said a prayer. We looked at books that other families had made and had sent to the Thomas Center. The boys were not feeling weel, especially Elijah. He had a terrible cough and they both were hungry and tired. It was cool, but very overwhelming with fussy toddlers. Each family had to go up and cut a slice of this delicious bread that was in a giant circle (it was HUGE)! We got a taste of it too. We then were all called up, one family at a time, to get gifts (one gift per family member in each family, including bio kids). That took a long time, but was cute- they cheered each person’s name and clapped. The gifts were traditional Ethiopian garments. We all put ours on and got the boys into theirs too, even though they wanted nothing to do with it and were super upset at this point (mainly Elijah). A nanny we had seen in previous pictures came down to say goodbye to the boys, especially Jonah. I think she had a real bond with him and you can tell she was going to get emotional and had to make it quite quick. We said quick goodbyes to the kids who sang (never got to go upstairs or get any of our questions answered by the nannies). Again, it was kind of a blur- went so quick. We maybe spent 2-3 hours total all week at the Thomas Center. We loaded the boys and ourselves into a small car with 2 other ladies who worked at the Thomas Center. We dropped the ladies off somewhere and then headed towards the restaurant that was inside a large hotel. Elijah screamed on Rick’s lap the whole way there. The driver was getting a bit frustrated I think, but there was no way to calm him- he was so exhausted and sick on top of it all! When we got to the restaurant, we headed inside. It was a beautiful place! We got seated and then took a tour, complete with a guide. Then we got our huge meal on an injera table and all. It was a huge plate of injera with many different meats, stews, sauces, etc. on top of it. It was way too much for 2 of us, but cost maybe $10 USD or so for the whole thing. We watched traditional dancing the whole time. Both the boys enjoyed that, especially Jonah (he was in a trance). They do a lot of shoulder dancing and squatting up and down to the floor VERY fast! They had these necklaces on that banged on their chest making a very distinct noise. Elijah eventually fell asleep. It was quite late when we got back to the guest house that night.
Thursday, December 24th, 2009
Our last day in Ethiopia! Hard to believe the day was here and we would be going home soon. We hung out at the guest house for the morning and had been in contact with a few people all week to see if there was an opportunity for us to meet the boys’ father. We learned the night of the going away party that he was in Addis for the night and that we’d get to meet him today, our last day! He was driven to the guest house by “Z” and after nervously waiting an hour or two for him, we saw the vehicle approach. We were watching from our window of our room (we were on the 2nd floor balcony and could see over the gate and barbed wire). Rick said “that must be him” about a tall man in a jean jacket and a hat. It was! Naod, our friend and employee at the guest house, came up to our room to play with the boys while we met with their father. ”Z” was our translator. The main worker from the orphanage in Hossana was the host and was there too, along with a caseworker from Hossana. The meeting was emotional at times, but very rewarding. We learned so many wonderful things we can someday share with the boys, including details about their birth and the mother’s complications, what their names mean, how the parents met, where they went to school, all the grandparents’ names, family health information, and their father’s dreams and wishes for them. We learned about their home and then we shared a little bit about us and gave him a photo album with pictures we had received of the boys the throughout the adoption process, pictures of our boys at home, and pictures of their cribs. We plan on sending updated pictures to “Z” to get to the father periodically. We took the father upstairs to see the boys. Naod had gotten them both to sleep…talk about a young guy who will make a great dad someday! The father peered over their playpens and told us who looked more like the mother and her family (Elijah) and who looked more like the father and his family (Jonah). He also pointed out that Jonah looks just like his 3 year old brother. We learned of the brother and sister’s birthdates as well. We got some photos and video. The father hugged each of us, one at a time, and prayed over us in his native language from Hossana. It was touching! We said our goodbyes and they were off. This was yet one more God thing! We feel it gave the father some peace as well, to know his children were going to be raised by a Christian family and to have met us and know where we live and what we do. I can’t imagine having to give up a child, let alone worry and wonder about them their whole life, not knowing who is raising them or where they are.
We packed most of the time before our time with their father, so we just finished things up, paid our remainder of our charges at the guest house, ate dinner, had a coffee ceremony, and waited for Abdissa to come to the guest house with our documents for travel. Aklil came by to say goodbye as well. We got our documents and said our final goodbye to Abdissa and not long after that, our driver was there to take us and the other WI family to the airport to head for home!! We said tough goodbyes to Naod and Rediet, our favorite guest house employees, and now friends!
We got to the aiport around 9 p.m. for a flight that left just before midnight. We got our luggage on carts. Ricki helped us push one stroller in. Everyone was looking at all the adoptive families and children. It was tough. We got through security and then waited to check-in. That took a LONG time. I noticed that it seemed to take the adoptive families much longer than anyone else, but not sure if that was intentional or coincidence. We finally got through that and then Rick had to fill out these papers and we had to wait in line for immigration, got our passports stamped, and were on our way up to the terminal. Just as in Amsterdam, you had to send your carry-ons through security and walk through a security device just to get into the waiting “lounge” at your gate. We decided to feed the boys, walk around for a while, and spend the rest of our Ethiopian Birr in shops. Elijah was fussy, not surprisingly since it was very late! Jonah was chill, as he was most of the week! Ladies at 2 stores just loved him and had to take him out of the stroller to hold him. It was crazy. Eventually we made our way into the waiting lounge after going through the 2nd security stand-point. We sat down, fed the kids, called Rick’s family using our friend’s cell (there were at the farm celebrating Christmas Eve and our boys were there), and waited to board. We boarded and found our seats in the middle section a row behind the bulkhead seats with extra leg room and bassinet seats (of course we couldn’t get one). We had the whole row open until we got to Sudan. The boys slept after taking a bottle. A man took the far seat in the row once we got in Sudan, so we had one open seat next to me. Elijah laid on that seat and my legs to sleep and Jonah slept on the floor wrapped in blankets. We didn’t sleep much, if at all. We got to Amsterdam around 7 a.m. on Christmas Day.
December 25th, 2009
We had about 3 hours to kill in the Amsterdam airport. We walked around quite a bit, got pictures of the boys in the Santa chair, got some food, changed the boys and bathed Elijah thanks to a major messy diaper (thankfully they have that great baby care room there with sinks and cribs). We played in the little play area with a whole bunch of other kids for awhile too. Eventually, we went through the security at the gate and boarded the plane for Chicago. That flight was a little more full. We ended up in the middle again, but this time with a man next to Rick and another woman next to him. Again, no luck getting bulkhead! But, the stewardess was very helpful and got the two of them moved up to the front to nicer seats so we’d have the row to ourselves. Another God intervention! The boys played awhile and then Elijah got quite fussy for a bit. Eventually they slept for a few hours. It was rough at times, but could have been much worse! At 1:30 p.m. we landed in Chicago! We went through customs and immigration. The line for US citizens was much shorter than the other line. We then had to go take our things up to a desk for the adoption. We took our bags through security and then headed out the doors. We couldn’t find our family because they were waiting by the other double doors we didn’t come out of. Eventually we found each other. Evan looked so big with his long hair and oversized shirt that said “Brother” in Amharic. He was holding a sign that a friend of ours made and he decorated with stickers that said “Welcome Home Elijah and Jonah!” Landyn looked SO different to me. I wasn’t sure why for a long time. I was really emotional and we were both so glad to be home, but so exhausted. Josie, our sister-in-law, drove us and Elijah, Jonah, and Landyn home. The boys were not thrilled with the winter coats and gear, but took well to the carseats, thankfully! All three were out after a short time. My mom, JP, brother-in-law, Ron, and Evan were all in the other vehicle. We finally got home and unloaded. After showering and changing, Rick crashed on the couch. Definitely jet-lagged. It was Christmas night, about 5 p.m. What a blessing and what a Christmas! The family hung out for a bit and then it we were all together as a family of 6 for the first time. We magically got everyone to bed at a decent time and went to bed ourselves.
This isn’t the end of our journey. The adoption may be complete, but the journey is just beginning! It will be so fun to watch all of our four boys grow up together, go to school, possibly attend college, get a job, get married, have their own children, and grow in their faith! The real journey has just begun! TO BE CONTINUED! *I told you it was going to be long!
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