We leave for home TOMORROW!!!! I cannot even begin to tell you how ready we are to be joined with our other children and have our family COMPLETE. We won’t feel like this adoption is really finished until we’re ALL together on US soil. Oh, how we miss our three kiddos at home.
Ethiopia is such an amazing place – and so dramatically different than home. I have been especially struck with the people’s genuine warmth and kindness, not to mention their beauty. The way they speak to our kids – and I mean EVERY Ethiopian with whom we’ve connected – has taught me so much about how to respect children. We focus so much in the States on respecting adults that sometimes I wonder if we overlook this important value. Sheer strangers kiss our children’s cheeks, speaking to them with eyes full of love simply because THEY ARE CHILDREN. It’s amazing, and worth noting.
Another thing that’s struck me is how human beings can live in such dire poverty. You can read about third world poverty all you want, but you don’t get it until you’ve smelled it, walked in it, and seen what real hopelessness looks like. Most Ethiopians are genuinely upbeat, but there are those single mothers with hungry children and maimed men on the streets that truly have hopeless looks in their glazed eyes. I imagine this is what breaks the heart of God. Oh, what a responsibility we have as Westerners to really try and educate ourselves about this worldwide crisis, and to DO SOMETHING. We have no valid excuses. I have been so overwhelmed on this trip with how little I’ve really done in my short life for the least of these that are the very heartbeat of my God – they are His passion – how can they not be mine, if I am truly HIS?
We’ve learned some things about our children that are worth sharing, I think…
Bella is smart as a whip. She acts like she’s just observing, but then out of nowhere, she’ll spout this phrase in perfect English! She was sitting in the bathroom and I heard her say “1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8!”. She is SO shy, but when you give her a soccer ball, she kicks it harder than I can, with this look of complete determination on her face. We played the “don’t let the balloon drop to the floor” game and she was quite upset when any one of us failed to keep it afloat – not a “mad” upset – but a “I want to WIN” upset. Smile. That’s my girl. No, that’s BRANT’S girl. Hee-hee. She is extremely affectionate with me, and is acting more and more comfortable with us – so thankful to see that – hoping it means she’s beginning to trust us. Our guess is that she’s 5.
Bode is HILARIOUS. He knows he has the world around his finger (and I mean that literally). He has a smile that completely melts everyone. He’s a typical 2-year-old, we think, and is a very curious little boy. He had quite the eye/respiratory infection when we received him, but thankfully we brought antibiotics with us, and the infection seems to have cleared. They sleep cuddled up next to us in bed, and they are so kind and loving to each other – evidence of a prior relationship, which we weren’t sure about before we got them, since the girls and the boys don’t live in the same rooms. I’m so glad they’re making this journey TOGETHER. God knew what He was doing, and His provision is obvious.
We know we’ve only just begun our life with these kiddos, and there are many layers yet to be discovered, for sure. This year will be so telling, I think. We’re so excited to really KNOW them, and honestly can’t believe we’ve been chosen to be their parents – it is so emotionally overwhelming -- I walk down the hall at the hotel, Bella swinging my hand and Bode on my hip, and it’ll hit me – the tears blur my vision. Their visas should be delivered tomorrow morning (still REELING from that miracle), and we’ll leave Addis Ababa tomorrow night. SO ready – thanks for all your love, prayers, and support!!! It’s nearly 11:30 PM here, so I’m heading to bed – hope this blog entry makes some sense!!!
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