THANK YOU!
I know I will forget to thank some of you! We have been totally
overwhelmed by the generosity of so many!
Thanks for the prayers you have said on our behalf. We feel them!
Please continue to pray for our adjustment and bonding as a family.
Thanks to Hope Church for all of your support. The Youth group
shopped for the girls. Shaya had such fun opening the babies,
Barbies and books! I don't believe she had ever played with a doll.
It took her a few days to figure it out. This morning, however, she
had a Barbie all wrapped up in one of Megan's blankets. It was
adorable! Thanks to our families for the cleaning, cooking and
shopping you all did for us.
We received gift cards for shopping. We received clothes from many
of you.
We simply cannot thank you enough. I definitely underestimated the
"stuff"
we would need for this endeavor. Thank you all for making this
possible! I get pretty teary-eyed when I think of your support.
Keep praying!
Merry Christmas!
We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! It is definitely time to
update our website
The trip home
The trip home was pretty long! It was 38 hours from the time we left the
guesthouse for the airport until we arrived home. Wow! That was a
long trip.
The trip through the Chicago airport was especially rough. We had to
claim all of our luggage in order to recheck it through to
Minneapolis. We had two very tired little girls and lots of carry-on
luggage too! Megan had pooped through all of her blankets and most
of her clothes. We had her wrapped in an airline blanket and under
my sweater. Next we had to go to immigration. I wanted to take a
picture of the girls in the US immigrants only line, but the officer
quickly stopped us. Apparently, they don't allow pictures in that
office!
Next we had to take a train to the other side of O'Hare and head
through security again. Little Shaya was such a ham taking off her
shoes and throwing her purse through the X-ray machine! She copied
whatever Emma did!
We had a three hour layover and barely made our flight! It wasn't
much of a welcome back to America! Thomas and Emma were great! I
don't know how we would've made it through the airport without them!
Minneapolis
The flight to Minneapolis was quick! It was a great joy to walk off
the plane to see familiar faces. Rick and Tressa and baby Grace
drove all the way to Minneapolis to welcome us. Old friends, Kevin
and Leisa Baartman also surprised us with a welcome at the airport.
Wow! It was so cool to see them!
It was also a great relief not to have to drive home. Rick claims
that Steve and I were sleeping by the time he turned the first
corner!
We arrived home just before midnight on my birthday, Dec. 16. It was
9 a.m., Dec. 17 Addis time (:
Home!
Wow! My house!?!?! Kim Heynen and her family, (with a little help
from Paul, Joe and Kendra) painted our kitchen and living room! Wow!
It is awesome! I absolutely love it, and I can't believe what a
generous gesture that was. Several people have asked if I picked out
the color. NOOOOO!
That's the worst part about painting! Kim knew that I would like
whatever the paint store picked! Deb Moret came out and hung my
family pictures. It brings tears to my eyes yet to look around. It
is gorgeous! What a welcome home!
The first week
The first week went quite well. We adjusted to Iowa time in a few
days. Even Thomas was up by 5:00 a.m. for the first few days. Today,
however, it is almost 9 and he's still asleep. Megan is doing very
well. She is sleeping through the night. She is eating real food and
she is a happy, healthy baby.
She will need some physical therapy. She was so sick at the care
center, that she didn't exercise much. She had malaria, pneumonia,
bronchitis, ear infection, etc... We took her to a pediatrician,
where she tested negative for everything and was given a clean bill
of health. A physical therapist is coming to our house on January 2.
Shaya is doing well. She is very smart. She knows her numbers and
and most of her letters in English. She knows a few English words.
She sings a lot in Amharic. I need to get a video of this before she
forgets her songs. She is very tender with Megan. She has a feisty
streak, which I'm sure served her well in the orphanage. I allow her
to make as many decisions as possible.
She didn't get to make many in the orphanage. I allow her to choose
her clothes and her food. Mostly she eats "dabo" or bread, with
loads of ketchup. Here's one story of her feisty personality.
Volleyball practice for Emma
Shaya has a mind of her own. It is fun to see her assert herself
(usually) I had to bring Emma to volleyball practice on
Saturday. Shaya had chosen a beautiful little Christmas dress for
the trip to town. (I let her wear whatever she wants at this point)
She didn't want to leave Emma there.
She insisted on showing all of the girls her dress. Eventually, they
needed to practice, so it was necessary to remove Shaya. I am sure
the result was a picture these girls won't quickly forget!Have any
of you seen the old movie "Weekend at Bernie's"? Bernie dies, and
the other two carry him around and pretend he's alive all weekend.
This sort of describes Shaya when it was time to leave. She became
silent, and stiff as a corpse! I carried her out, propped her up in
the parking lot while I put Megan in her carseat.
Eventually I strapped her little stiff board body into the seatbelt!
By that time, I had the giggles so bad, I was afraid she would think
I was making fun of her!
I'm so glad this little girl has some spunk! She has been through so
much, her spunk must have helped her deal!
The rest of the crew
Paul moved to a house in Orange City with some friends. I already
miss him.
Joe and Kendra had many Christmas gatherings to attend. Shaya loves
Kendra!
She is fun for all kids. Emma and Thomas missed some of our
traditional Christmas doings. We typically play the Merry Christmas
card game on Christmas Eve before opening presents. They both missed
that. We often pick out a real Christmas tree on Joe's birthday.
This year we just got a little tree down from the attic. Next year
we will begin again.
Christmas
Steve and I took advantage of an offer by the Dykstras to go
shopping on Saturday. We left the girls in the capable hands of
Tressa and Aric, Nancy and Rick and even Chad, Anne and Owen. They
took great care of them while we ran to Hull, Sioux Center and
Orange City. Joe and Kendra quickly wrapped them and we had a great
time unwrapping them again.
Back To Top
December
14
Museum
We
went to the national museum yesterday morning. It was fun to see
Lucy, the highlight of the museum. It certainly isn't the
Smithsonian, but it was great to see some Ethiopian history.
Right when we walked in, we saw Haile
Selassie's huge throne. The empress had a tiny throne.
The basement was full of archaeology
history. Lucy is supposed to be the oldest human ever found. She was
only about 2 meters tall. She will be touring the United States in
2007. Maybe we will see her again.
We headed back to the Hilton and played a
quick round of mini-golf. Thomas has been wanting to do that all
week. It was an emergency to get it in. We took a quick dip in
the pool and headed to the care center. We played with Megan until
the good-bye ceremony.
The goodbye ceremony
The good-bye ceremony was touching. Each
family had a chance to say something about their child and the care
they have received. A family member said a prayer in English and a
center employee said a prayer in Amharic.
All the children were dressed in white
ceremonial outfits. They looked adorable.
Then we headed to school for the goodbye
ceremony there. Shaya looked really cute in her white dress. We were
treated to some songs by the children, then the prayer was repeated.
Two students were leaving and both had siblings that were babies.
The center director held the two children on her lap and the
teachers surrounded them. They prayed in Amharic and Mario, Isaiah's
dad, prayed in English. I am sure it was difficult for Shaya to say
goodbye to her center family.
The rest of the day
We spent a few hours at the guest house.
The children played with each other, and Emma went out for pizza
with some of the other families. (We definitely weren't ready to try
that again!) Masi took us home about 8:00. Megan had three
spectacular poops in a row. I'm going to have to devote an entire
carry on for the rest of her clothes. I'm glad we hadn't used them
all earlier in the week.
The first night together
We made a bed for Thomas on the floor.
Shaya slept on one side of the bed, me in the middle and Daddy on
the other side. We ordered a crib for Megan. We had to really
persuade Shaya to take off her beautiful dress to put on jammies! We
were thumbing our Amharic phrases! She finally agreed. Once we
settled down, she went to sleep quite quickly.
Megan got up three times in the night.
She had to be completely changed from another spectacular poop one
of the times.
Our last day in Ethiopia
We're going to go get some breakfast
soon. We might try to explore the hotel for a little while. Masi is
picking us up at 11:30 a.m. He'll take us to the guesthouse where
we'll spend the day. We have a short trip to AHOPE this afternoon. I
have some medical donations for them. I also have some jewelry
making kits. There are older children there, so I'm sure they will
love it. Thanks, Janelle!
The trip home
Our plane leaves tonight at 10:40 p.m. We
go to Kartoum, Sudan for a fuel stop. Then we head back to
Frankfurt. We have a stop in Chicago and then on to Minneapolis. Our
plane should land in Minneapolis at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday. It will
be a long drive from Minneapolis back to Boyden. I can't wait to get
there!
Back To Top
The Internet has been down. Will
try to update today's activities later.
December 13
Shopping
Kasu picked us up at 8:30 a.m. and we
headed to the guest house. Masi got us all into the van for a trip
to the market. I believe there were around 20 in the van. There were
7 people in the back seat! He took us to a shop that must have had
some sort of security. We were the only shoppers. This was a no
bargaining shop. We had fun shopping for some Ethiopian memories.
Later we went to a street market. That was fun too. Masi went to
change some more money for us. Thomas rode along and thought that
was much fun. The men here treat children so kindly. It has amazed
me how many men stop and talk to the kids.
Mercado
Addis Ababa has the largest open air
market in the world. We took the van through it. Masi advised us not
to hang the camera out of open windows. He let Emma shoot a few
pictures through the open window, but constantly had his hand out
ready to shut it. The amount of goods for sale there was staggering.
It was lunchtime, and there were many strange smells in the air.
People were walking around with a handful of sticks with leaves.
Masi told us that it was chat. Chat is a mild narcotic that is legal
in Ethiopia. He told us, "Don't try it. It make you crazy!" He
said many Ethiopians chew chat after their noon meal.
Meeting Asnake
Asnake is the Ethiopian program
coordinator. He was in South Korea during the early part of the
week. Now he is back in Ethiopia and wanted to meet us all. He had
us go around the room and tell him positives and negatives about our
experience with Children's Home. It was fun to hear a little about
the other families' experiences.
The girls
After the meeting we went to get the
girls. We got Megan from the care center and went to school to get
Shaya. We brought them back to the guesthouse for playtime. We spent
about 5 hours there today.
More shopping
Shaya was still wearing the clothes I put
her in yesterday. I'll bet she wouldn't let the nannies take them
off of her. There is a small outdoor shop near the guesthouse on the
walk back from the school. We went over there. The people there were
great. They helped her find a sweatsuit and sandals. She was proud
as a peacock as she was choosing clothes. The lady held up a blue
one. Shaya said, "No, no." She pointed to the pink one. We bought
her some $2 sandals to complete the outfit. She couldn't wait to
find her purse!
The Pizzaria Disaster
The time at the guesthouse went really
well. The kids played games and cards. We hadn't signed up for
supper and decided to take the girls to a nearby Pizzaria. That was
our first new family disaster! I made Megan a bottle, but
didn't have anything to warm it up with. She is used to warm
bottles. She didn't like it and began to fuss. Shaya decided that
the pizzaria was a great place for chase. She ran into the kitchen,
into the bar and even out the door into the parking lot. We were
beginning to draw both ire and sympathy from the staff there. We
decided to take the girls and our meal back to the guesthouse. We
began to eat again, but Shaya decided to undertake another fun
"game!" This time she would climb up the couch, and flip over the
top wanting one of us to catch her. As she went over the top, she
kicked the woman and her baby twice. We have quickly learned the
words for no, "tau" and come back, "nay". Despite both of our
newfound verbal strategies, we couldn't get her to obey. We can't
wait to get her home where boundaries are a little stretchier and
there is less danger.
Back to care
We quickly packed up our things,
including all of our finds from shopping in the morning, and headed
out to find Kasu, the taxi driver. He brought us back to the care
center. We went up to Megan's room with Shaya in tow. The nannies
always had Shaya spend the weekend in the baby place with her
sister. It is obvious that she is a nanny favorite. One nanny came
out and gave each girls a present. It was a shell purse with an
Ethiopian scarf in it. One nanny had gone to the hospital with
Mekdes. She said, "She is my baby!" with tears in her eyes. I had
tears in mine too. I handed her over for the night to Nanny Bette.
Nardos was in Megan's room again. I think she likes Nanny Bette. She
was wearing her bracelet and loved to show it to us. Someone had
braided her hair beautifully. A staff member offered to take Shaya
back to her center. We decided to keep things the same for one more
night. We hope that easing into this will be good for both us and
the girls.
This time Shaya wanted to keep her purse.
I hope she doesn't think we wouldn't have it when we pick her up
tomorrow. I hope it doesn't disappear in the night.
Hotel
We're back at the Hilton. The internet
doesn't work, so I'm not sure when Steve will get this posted. We
took a quick dip in the pool and are ready for bed. It seems as
though we need a lot of sleep.
Prayer needs
We really appreciate all of your prayers
on our behalf. It has been wonderful to know you are out there
thinking of us. If you have time to work in a few specific things,
we are asking God for:
Shaya to accept us as parents
Shaya stop the scary chase game
All of us, including Thomas and Emma to
know how to love Shaya and Megan through the difficulties
Tomorrow
Tomorrow we go to the Ethiopian Museum.
It isn't far from our hotel. We may walk. We will get the girls
later. At 3 o'clock there will be a good-bye ceremony for all of the
kids leaving this week. Then we will take the girls to our little
hotel room with one bed. I'm not sure who will be sleeping on the
floor after that!
Back To Top
December 12
Embassy Day
Today was a bit grueling. We left the
hotel at about 9 and headed for the care center and school. We
picked up Megan and Shaya and caught a taxi back to the guest house.
Although all four buildings are within walking distance, it is a
rough trip. The road is narrow with no sidewalks. Traffic is scary
with much honking. We hear it is not culturally appropriate to walk
the streets with children. Some of the families have had people tell
them that on the walk.
Gifts
We were so blessed by some of you! You
will never know how you saved us today. I don’t know who packed the
little purses, but…. Shaya loved hers. She filled it with Smarties
and the beaded braceletss. She was so pleased to be a little lady.
We brought one beaded bracelet to Nardos.
She is still at the infant care center. I hope she is able to move to the big kid center
soon, so she can see her sisters. She was so pleased with her
bracelet. She kept saying, “thank you” in English as I walked away.
She just beamed. So I say, “Thank you” to whatever friend slipped
that gift into my luggage!
Dress up
We cleaned Megan up and put some cute
little pink clothes on her. She was swimming in her 12 month
clothes, but they looked so cute, I couldn’t resist! (Thanks
colleagues! What a treat to dress her today!) After lunch at the
guesthouse, we cleaned Shaya up for her trip to the embassy. She was
so pleased to have her new clothes. She especially loved her new
shoes. We bought her little crocs and they were pretty cute. Her 4T
purple sweatsuit from Grandma fit her perfectly.
Embassy Chase
The embassy was a bit grueling. We had to
pass through security on the street. They took our camera with a
promise to return it, so no embassy pictures! Shaya decided to
engage us over and over again in “chase”. This means she runs away
and one of us chases her and says, “no, no!” Then she giggles and
we sigh heavily as we pick her up and bring her back. Her family grew tired of this scary game rather
quickly. Can you all pray that she tires of this game before the
Frankfurt and Chicago airports?!?
Emma and Thomas were awesome through the
afternoon. I had to hand Megan over to Emma for the entire time.
Steve and I needed our hands free for "chase" and for paperwork. I’m sure by
next week I’ll laugh at the memory, but you should have seen it.
There she was, in her beautiful purple clothes, wearing someone’s
Oakley sunglasses, and gripping her little green purse, flying down
the sidewalk with a backward glance to make sure someone was
following. Ignoring her game didn't work. It was definitely too
scary to let her go in that situation. Steve says that chase will
lose its appeal at home. The only place to go will be outside. She
will learn to come back quickly in the cold!
“Did we pass?”
We were next-to-last in the line up of
CHSFS families. We took Megan from Emma and charged her with chasing
Shaya if she ran down the hall. We answered some pretty basic
questions to a person speaking American English. We handed Megan
over to Martha, a CHSFS employee who was there to help us. Megan
promptly threw up all down her black dress. Oops!
We walked downstairs where Thomas and
Emma were waiting. Thomas ran up to us and asked, “Did we pass?” We
were so pleased to be able to answer, “Yes. We passed!”
The Hilton
All of the families headed to the Hilton
after that. There is an Ethiopian airline office there. They all
could confirm their tickets and try to work on seating arrangements.
One family, Emilee and Mario, have been here for over 2 weeks. They
passed the embassy appointment today too, but weren’t able to get a
flight out until Sunday. Could you all say a couple of prayers that
they can take their 3 year old and 5 mo. old sons home to their 4
and two year old daughters waiting in Minnesota? Their stay has been
particularly tough. I am in awe of their stamina and good cheer
through it all. Our trip here has been a breeze in comparison.
The evening
Although we would be able to keep the
girls with us from now on, we elected to bring them back to care
tonight. We are thinking that an easier transition for both us and
them might be to have them during the day and to bring them back at
night. Shaya goes to school each day, and we are thinking we will
keep that up.
Ethiopian dinner
Our Rastafarian taxi driver brought us to
the Crown Hotel where we met the other families for a traditional
Ethiopian meal. We ate Injera, the Ethiopian staple food. There were
several kinds of wat to eat the injera with. Wat is a meat sauce. I
tried Doro Wat, which is made of chicken. I was surprised to find a
small (maybe an inch long) hard boiled egg in my wat.
Thomas struggled with his wat, and didn’t
like the injera, but he had plenty of rice. They had a lovely salad
as well. Many vegetables were available in bowls at the end of a
buffet.
We ate at small baskets. First an
attendance came around with hot water and a bar of soap. He poured
water over our hands. We were to pick up the bar of soap and washed.
This was repeated after dinner. We watched traditional dance from
each Ethiopian region as well.
Kasu
Kasu is our Ethiopian taxi driver. He
took us from place to place tonight. He even came in to enjoy the
dance with us. He told us about the regions represented by the
dancers. He told us a bit about his background as well. He was a
street boy begging for food just 5 years ago. His English is only
passable, so I didn’t get the entire story. Thomas was fascinated by
him, and asked him question after question. Kasu has very long dreds
and Thomas wondered what happens when the top grows out. Kasu
laughed and laughed after he finally understood what Thomas wanted.
Then he showed him how to twist his hair until it “locked”.
Kasu wears a necklace with a picture of
Haile Selassie. Selassie’s palace was located right across the
street from our hotel. Now the prime minister lives there.
Kasu will be picking us up tomorrow
morning as well.
Tomorrow
Kasu will pick us up at 8:15 a.m. for the
trip to the guesthouse. We are going shopping! The largest outdoor
market in the world is here in Addis. I am eager to explore. We are
leaving Shaya at school for the day. It is not culturally
appropriate to bring babies out to a market, so we will leave Megan
in care as well. We should arrive back by early afternoon. Later we
will be visiting AHOPE. This orphanage is for HIV kids. I have some
medical donations and a soccer ball to bring there. We won’t see
the girls until late afternoon. We’ll likely eat with them at the
guesthouse and then bring them back to care. Thursday morning we
will go to the national museum and Thursday afternoon we will have a
good-bye ceremony at the care center.
Other notes
We’ve hit the wall a bit for energy.
We’re tired. Steve was ready to check on earlier flights. We do need
to get these girls home. Pray for stamina and the knowledge of how
to integrate these girls into our family. We are thrilled beyond
measure and yet scared to death. Thanks for your constant prayers
and good wishes.
Back To Top
December 11 - Monday
Meeting with the doctors
Today we were asked to be at the guest
house by 10. We met and traveled to the care center. We went right
up to see Megan. We had a meeting with the doctors. They told us
that Megan has been sick almost the entire time she has been in
care. (since July) She had pneumonia, measels, ear infections,
malaria and a host of smaller incidents. She spent much time in the
ICU which is on campus. She also had two trips to the Addis Ababa
hospital for IV treatment. I am so grateful for the good care she
received. They had a report for Shaya too. She has been much
healthier.
Megan is not fond of the doctors office.
She has a bit of a cold and is coughing. When Dr. Frehiwot put the
stethoscope on her back, she cried hard. I think she has had some
painful experiences at the doctor's office.
The care center employs two doctors and
several nurses. They have a small "hospital" with four rooms.
Unfortunately, they each had little patients in them today.
Meeting
Later we packed Megan up and headed back
to the guest house. It is about a 1/2 hour walk. The nurse first
showed me how to mix Bebelac. I think she was pretty nervous to let
Megan go with a mom who didn't know how to make formula. (I was
having some difficulty with the Amharic instructions!) Later, that
same nurse stopped us on our way out of the gate and insisted we
call for a ride. We quietly slipped out of the gate with Megan in
tow when she wasn't watching.
We had a 1:00 meeting at the guest house.
We met with the director, the financial manager and some other
staff. We were able to watch two of the video "lifebooks" that the
staff puts together for each of the children. I can't wait to see
Shaya and Megan's.
Center Tour
We took the big van to each of the
centers. We stopped at the school first. All of the children 3 and
over attend school. They were so happy to see us. Shaya couldn't
wait to show all of her friends that we were her family. Her teacher
told me that Shaya knows all of her numbers, some English letters,
her colors and shapes.
Shaya introduced us to some of her
friends by saying this line "My name is (blank)" meaning her
friend's name is that. It was very cute. We brought a playground
ball, and another family brought a soccer ball. The balls were great
hits with the children. The teachers liked them too!
It was hard to leave Shaya there. We had
Megan and she wanted to come too. I asked her teacher to explain
that we would see her later. She was very disappointed that we
weren't taking her.
Later we toured the compound where the
infants and toddlers live. There are offices, a hospital, a doctors
office and two kitchens. The children live in a three story house.
Megan lives on the third floor. She shares a crib with a smiley boy.
Three or four nannies staff her room, one at a time. There are 8
infants in the room. Megan is the oldest. The others are smiley and
cute and happy.
Nardos, the little girl we picked up
yesterday in Hosanna was still at the infant center today. She was
happy to see us and gave us an immediate big hug. I suppose she has
to stay near the doctors until they make sure she is healthy.
Later we headed to the place where Shaya
lives. She was home from school when we arrived. She was so happy to
see us. She kept saying, "Papa, up! and Mama, up!" We held her a
lot. Emma held Megan which kept our hands free. We wanted to take a
lot of pictures, since Shaya spent a lot of time there. She happily
showed us her bed and told us the names of all of the other children
who slept in her room. We saw Nardos' two sisters at that center.
I'm glad they will soon see her again.
We had another painful parting with the
caregivers explaining that we would see her tomorrow.
Then we headed back to the care center to
bring Megan back. I left her with a few diapers and a bottle.
Back to the hotel
When we got back to the hotel, we swam
and walked around. We then went to the pizzaria again. They have
wonderful pizza and Thomas likes it. Emma wasn't feeling well and
stayed in the room. She was sleeping when we got back. She hasn't
eaten a thing since breakfast. I hope tomorrow goes ok for her.
Tomorrow is the embassy appointment. We
will pick up the girls and go and stand in line. I hope the line
moves quickly and we get out of there soon. I hope to pack some of
the cute little girls clothes we brought. We will dress up too.
Please pray that our paperwork is all in order.
Off to bed!
December 10 - Sunday "The Trip
South"
Warning. This is long! Read
on at your own peril.
The trip
Sunday
was an absolutely amazing day. We were up by 4 a.m. and waited in
the lobby for our ride. We dressed up because in Ethiopia, it is not
culturally appropriate to wear jeans. We have seen no one in shorts.
I wore a skirt, but Emma chose capris. We stuffed our pockets full
of Kleenex, because we heard that no one has bathroom tissue. (in
fact, we learned that a bathroom itself is a luxury)
We met the others at the guest
house and headed south in our Land Rover. We left town around 5 in a
caravan of 5 Landrovers. We had just left town when we saw a hyena cross
the road. Soon the sun rose over a simply beautiful landscape. The
road runs through and around mountains, and past small farms. The
homes and farm buildings are round. They are made with poles stuck
into the ground in a circle. One tall tree is used as the center
pole. Some type of grass or hay is used as roofing. Stucco or mud
covers the poles of the home. Some homes have beautiful carved wood
doors. Many have paintings on both side of the doors. It touched me
to see that people seek beauty even when function has to be the
first priority.
The people on the way
We saw many people on the way.
In Addis, we saw many people jogging in groups or alone. Even at
4:30 in the morning, the roads were full of joggers. Some wore sweat
suits, but some jogged in what looked like their work clothes. Our
driver explained that Ethiopia has a proud running tradition with
many Olympic champions and running is part of the culture there.
In the country we saw many
farmers working. Farmers are gathering their grain by hand. They
strap the grain with string, and carry it to large haystacks. The
staple grain is teff, which looks a bit like wheat or oats. Many
people were gathering water. Often, they were carrying large plastic
jugs. Some carried large gourds. Some strapped the water on a burro.
We saw a few people with a donkey and wagon pulling a small cart
with jugs of water.
The road
To say the road was rough doesn't give it
enough credit! It was paved for some of the way, and it looks like
the plan is to pave the entire thing. Periodically, there is a line of sharp rocks across
the road.
When we encountered this, our driver would simply veer off-road. The last
40 km of the road was more of a bumpy path across the country. There
was tough to nap on the way!
Hosanna
We reached Hosanna, a city of
70,000 people around 10. Our driver was immediately lost in the dirt
paths. We saw a bit of the city driving around lost. There
were streams of people heading to church. The women were beautifully
dressed. Men were all wearing jackets. We saw an Orthodox church and
a Baptist church. Both churches were surrounded by a fence. People
were standing in the church yards visiting and praying.
Our driver opened the window and
asked anyone who would come to the window for directions to the
Hosanna hotel where we would rest before heading to the center. He
was annoyed with the other drivers who hadn't waited for us. He took
out his cell phone and although he was speaking in Amharic, I knew
he wasn't happy!
Eventually we found the hotel.
We were invited to use the facilities. There were no flush toilets,
but there were kind attendants to give us towels and to clean the
sinks after use. Hotel staff served us strong coffee and offered us
a comfortable seat. Soon we returned to the landrovers for the trip
to the center.
The streets of Hosanna are just
dirt paths between buildings. Many of the houses have a store front
on the porch. They are selling groceries or plastic tubs or even
shoes right out of their house. After I saw the streets, I could
better understand why everything has to shut down for the rainy
season. It would be difficult to even walk through the city, let
alone drive.
The Hosanna Drop Off Center
As we drove up to the center,
many of the neighborhood children surrounded our caravan. They
wanted us to take a picture and then show them the picture in the
digital screen. They walked right behind us posing until they could
no longer see us behind the gates.
We had a quick tour of the
center. It is a small house with just a few rooms. The center is a
drop-off center where the children from that region are first seen.
In the first room there were two sets of small siblings. There were
sisters, about 2 and 3, just gripping the other one's hand. They
appeared scared to death initially. There was a baby of about a year
with around a 2 year old sister. The little one crawled over to his
sister and dug his head into her head in fear. She patted his head
to comfort him. It was a heartbreakingly touching scene.
Emma gave one of the nannies a handful of
Smarties. It was fun to see the nanny hand them to the children.
They loved it.
Meeting the First Parents
We all waited to see if our
child's parent or family member had come to see us. girls' names
were
called first. Megan and Shaya's first mom had come to meet us. We
began with hugs and tears. Then she spoke to us through an
interpreter. She wanted to know if we had pictures. Steve had made a
picture of the three of them together at the drop-off center. We put
that and pictures of our family in an album. She seemed to enjoy
seeing all of the kids we had included in the pictures. She wanted
to know where we live. We had a National Geographic map that Grandpa
Dyk had given us. We had marked Iowa and Ethiopia both with the word home. It
was obvious that touched her.
She told us that she is a Christian and wants her
girls to know Christianity. We promised to do that. She wants her
girls to have an education and she would like them to be doctors.
Those are pretty amazing dreams from someone who doesn't read and
write and never was able to go to school. Their mother, Adanach, is a tiny
woman. Thomas is almost as tall as she is.
It was a heartbreaking, but
wonderful meeting. I am so glad that our girls have her legacy.
The rest of the day
We were asked to bring a little
girl with us to Addis. Nardos (about 8) had been orphaned. Her
mother had brought her two sisters into care earlier, but had
recently died. She settled into the landrover between Emma and me.
Thomas was sent off to another car. (That family also has an 8 year
old boy, Quinn, so it wasn't much of a sacrifice for him to ride in
there.) Nardos quickly lay her head on my lap, and despite the wild
ride, fell asleep.
We went back to the guest house
to drop the families who are staying there. I caught a ride to the
care center, with Nardos in tow. We went right up to Megan's room.
We thought Shaya would be there, because she typically stays there
on weekends. She was in care center for the school aged kids. I
understand it is a walkable distance, but we didn't dare try it by
ourselves. Nardos and I stayed with Megan and the Nannies for the
evening. No one welcomed Nardos or seemed to know where her sisters
were. I assume they must have been at the other center. I was
beginning to worry that she would be coming along to the hotel with
us. Finally, I told one of the nannies that Nardos hadn't eaten.
Then someone came and got her, fed her and found her a place to
sleep for the night. It broke my heart to think about what that
little girl has been through.
Evening
The ride home was an adventure.
We called for a taxi, which never arrived. We set out walking toward
the guest house. It is about a 20 min. walk. When we were just about
there, we snagged a taxi and headed home. We went through the line
at the Hilton buffet. We hadn't eaten all day. We had a few crackers
and granola bars packed, but had eaten very little. We certainly got
our money's worth that time!
We went directly to bed and
slept until 8. We have to leave about 9:30 for our days activities.
We meet the doctors this morning. They will let us know any health
concerns they have had for the girls. We get a tour of all of the
facilities today and spend time with the girls.
We have to head back to the
hotel a little earlier today. Thomas wants to play mini-golf and
swim. He has been so great through this wild adventure, he deserves
at least that.
Tomorrow we go to the embassy
for our apartment. I hope all of our paperwork is in order!
More later.... if you can
stand it!
Back To Top
December 9 - Saturday
We finally woke Thomas and Emma up
and headed down for a wonderful breakfast buffet. We held hands
and prayed for our day before we ate. We had so many fears and
felt like we needed family prayer. Mosa, the Children's Home
driver was waiting when we finished breakfast.
We arrived at the guest house by
about 9:30 a.m. and had a short briefing. It was fun to meet
some of the other families from the CHFHS forum. We drove to the
care center and went up to see the babies. The nannies ushered
us right up to meet Megan. The nannies call her Mekidee. She was
pleased to be picked up and we freely passed her around. Mom and
Emma were a bit weepy. Megan was confused by this! We got to
feed her a snack of very runny smashed bananas. Megan is wiry,
but looks very healthy. She holds her own bottle and sits up.
She snuggled right into whoever was holding her. Thomas found
our picture book. The nannies had hung it from string above her
crib. It was well thumbed and looked like the nannies
shown it to her often. We stayed with the babies about an
hour. Then we drove to the place where the school kids live and
picked up Shaya. She ran into our arms. It was obvious she knew
we were coming and couldn't wait to be held. She laughed almost
nonstop for the next three hours. Shaya has been spending
weekends with the babies, so she can get to know her sister. We
drove back there and spent a few minutes all together. The
drivers were eager to head back to the guest house for lunch, so
we headed back with Shaya. She stayed with us and the other
families for the afternoon. Shaya laughed all afternoon.
She played with some of the toys there. She enjoyed watching
Thomas play with Quinn, an 8 year old member of another adoptive
family. We dropped her back at the baby center, so she could
stay with her sister tomorrow.
We headed back to the hotel at
about 4. We went swimming at the pool and ate at the Pizzaria.
The hotel is comfortable. We don't know what we're doing on the
tipping end of things, but otherwise, things are quite
reasonably priced.
The trip through the city is an
adventure. At each stoplight children and other beggars approach
the car and ask for "jus one birr". On the way to the care
center, Steve relented and gave a couple to the kids. On the way
home, I gave candy. Soon the car was surrounded by children
wanting some Smarties. I think it will be hard to get used to
this!
We had a great day. The girls are
delightful. God definitely answered our morning prayers!
December 9
We're waking up in Addis! Steve and I
just had a little discussion about what date it is. We think it is
Dec. 9. I'm not sure where the 8th went. (Happy Birthday, Dennis!)
We had a few adventures on the flight. We
took the 9:30 shuttle to the airport in Minneapolis. Schlepping all
of that luggage through the airport from the shuttle was quite a
project. Check the photo page. When we checked our luggage,
they told us to rush through security to try to catch the 10:30 a.m.
flight. We made it! As we were running up to the gate, they were
giving the last call for the Steven Heitritter party of 4. We
think it might be some kind of a record to check in for an
international flight, make security, check 7 bags and get on a
flight in about 45 minutes.
We caught a little lunch in Chicago and
got on the plane for Frankfurt. After that, time went quite quickly.
At 4:00 p.m. the crew served us dinner. At 7:00 p.m. we had a
bedtime snack and somewhere around 10:30 p.m. we had breakfast.
Since we were traveling east, time multiplied.
Despite the breakfast, our layover in
Frankfurt was pretty sleepy. Only Emma kept watch over all of us and
our variety of stuff. She had a good book to read.
The next leg turned out to be pretty
long. Thomas was airsick and made pretty good use out of all of the
barf bags in our neighborhood. The flight was pretty empty, and soon
there was a wide choice of seats all around us as our fellow
travelers heard and moved!
We had a "quick stop" in Khartoum. We
were supposed to stay on the plane, but some lady got off. She
apparently thought she was in Addis. She got completely out of the
airport! We ended up waiting on the airplane around an hour and a
half while they tracked her down.
We landed in Addis around midnight. After
a long line for visas and claiming our luggage, Mosa from Children's
Home picked us up. There were about 5 guys waiting in the parking
lot to put our luggage in the van. We tipped them because we don't
know who needs a tip, and who doesn't.
We checked into the Hilton around
midnight. We wandered around
the hotel to get our bearings before settling in for the night. We
went to bed around 1 a.m. which was somewhere around 3 p.m. our
time. It will take a bit to adjust!
There is just one bed in our room. We
reasoned that Thomas
is kind of little so should require just a bit of the bed! He is
still sleeping, spread out over the entire king sized bed. Emma
claimed the couch. Although it is 8 a.m. here, we're still feeling a
bit off and Thomas and Emma are snoring away. Steve got up early and
brought up some wonderful coffee. The kids are still sleeping. Mosa
is picking us up in an hour to bring us to the care center to see
the girls. We'll post some pictures soon!
December 6 - Wednesday
We are on the way!! Uncle Ron and Aunt
Lynn treated us to dinner at the Rain Forest Cafe in the Mall of
America. (pictures in the photo album)
We had a great time. And the food was pretty good too. We will not
see Ron and Lynn for quite awhile as they are leaving next Monday
for six months to work at the TLC orphanage in South Africa.
http://www.ronandlynn.com
Tentative Schedule
Many have asked us about our travel
plans.
Here are the tentative plans:
Day 1: Wednesday
4:00 - Leave for Minneapolis, MN
8:00 - Dinner with Uncle Ron and Aunt Lynn
Day 2: Thursday
12:00 - Flight departs Minneapolis
Flight Plan: Minneapolis to Chicago
Chicago to Frankfurt, Germany
Frankfurt to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Day 3: Friday
Most of the day spent in airplanes and airports
Arrival time is approximately 9:00pm Friday
Day 4: Saturday
Rest day and may meet the girls!!
Day 5: Sunday
Travel south to the girl's home town.
Day 6: Monday
Attend a briefing and then go the care center to meet the girls.
Day 7: Tuesday
Go to US Embassy for the girl's visa interview.
Day 8: Wednesday
Free Day - Laura has already noticed the National Museum is close to
where we are staying.
Day 9: Thursday
Free Day - Using these days to bond with the girls and view Ethiopia
culture.
Day 10: Friday - Last day in Ethiopia
Receive the girl's passports and US visa
Attend a special going away ceremony at the care center.
10:50 - Flight departs Addis Ababa
Flight Plan: Addis Ababa to Frankfurt, Germany
Frankfurt to Chicago, USA
Chicago to Minneapolis
Day 11: Arrive in Minneapolis at
approximately 5:30pm.
Drive home and home with our whole family around 11:00pm!!!
Sunday - December 3
Here's a link to an article about Joe and
others in the Sioux City Journal today.
http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/articles/2006/12/03/news/top/12ca009d0e16fd9
http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/
They interviewed him quite awhile ago. It
was fun to see him right on the cover today. I can't believe he will
be 21 this week.
Back To Top
December 1
Birth Certificates
We finally received the girls'
birth certificates! It is wonderful to see their pictures and see
our names under Parent! The certificates are posted on the photo
page. You'll have to take a look! Don't worry! The names will be
changed again once we get them home. I'm sure they don't want
"Steven" as a middle name. They have rather severe haircuts. It is
probably easier for the care center nannies to keep hair very short.
Poor little Shaya could have a pretty cold head here in Iowa.
Gift
Someone left us a wonderful
gift for travel. It was in the house when we came home from work
yesterday. There was no name given. Wow! We are
humbled by your generousity. Thank you!
Shower - November 28
Today, my co-workers had a
surprise shower for us! The education department met at Laurie
Daily's house for our Christmas luncheon. The group found pink and
blue and lavender clothes for the girls. It was such fun to see the
shower of gifts they found for them. I can't wait to dress those
girls! NWC is a great place to work. I work with great people.
Thanks to all!
I've never had a baby shower before! I think I would've been
surprise if my high school yearbook had predicted I'd have my first
baby shower at age 44! Life is full of surprises!
Update - November 27
Katelyn's Fund Orphan Ministry
We visited with the board
members from Katelyn's Fund Orphan Ministries tonight. The ministry
supports adoptive families. They provide education, emotional
support and financial grants for two-parent Christian families who
are seeing to adopt.
The group has monthly meetings at First Reformed Church in Sioux
Center. The meetings have been a great blessing to us. Let me know
if you're interested in joining us sometime!
Emma is FOURTEEN
We celebrated Emma's fourteenth birthday yesterday. We made Volcano
cake! Last summer Uncle Ron and Aunt Lynn took us out to the
Rainforest Café and treated us to Volcano cake. It is fast becoming
a family tradition! The treat starts with a platter of ice cream.
Next we cut strips of chocolate cake and put them over the ice cream
in a big cone shape. Then the kids pour Hersheys chocolate syrup
(a.k.a. lava) all over the mountain of cake and ice cream. We put a
little whip cream (snow) on the top. The crowning glory is a lit
sparkler. Yummy!
Emma loved her present this year. Her dad found her an I-pod on eBay.
Yay!
Pampered Chef
Can you believe I'm doing a Pampered Chef party Saturday morning?
Definitely crazy! I guess it is a good distraction and I'll need
some shower gifts. Joe and Kendra, my niece, Kate and my nephew Ben
are all getting married next year. Amber, are you next?? (Wow. Those
Iowa aunts are pushy!)
Anyway, let me know if you need any Pampered Chef items. I'll get
your order in!
Back To Top
November 23
Thanksgiving again!
We had a very pleasant Thanksgiving. Pastor Todd had an amazing
message on Ps. 13 this morning. I have been thinking about it all
day. It was an unlikely choice for Thanksgiving, but perfect of
course. Steve has "Praise you in the Storm" on continuous loop on
his computer right now. There's a bit of a similarity between that
song and our sermon.
The crew came early. We ate well! We ate a traditional, turkey and
pie dinner. (We also had "burn and serve rolls" in a nod to Grandma
Dyk). We played hard and had great fellowship. Grandma Meester came
with Barb and her family. Grandma is 98 and a joy to be around. It
was great to see Phil, Megan and of course little Gracie. There's a
picture of Barb and her family on the photo page.
It was a nice day to shoot some trap. Check out the photo page.
Don't worry about the photographer. I was perfectly safe! We played
dominoes and liars dice. It was scary to see who was the best liar!
(My kids lie???? No WAY!) Shaya and Megan will fit right in with
this rowdy bunch. We can hardly wait to bring them home. We haven't
received another health update. We haven't received any new pictures
either. I can't wait to see them and touch them.
It's only two more weeks!
November 22
Thanksgiving
Wow! We
have so much to be thankful for this year. We are so thankful for
all the people we love. We have been truly blessed. God has shown us
mercy, kindness and blessings. “How great is his goodness.”
We are
eager to welcome the Johnson clan and the Heitritters tomorrow for
Thanksgiving. We may even get a visit from Dode and Dick. We can’t
wait!
Fourteen
years ago, Emma was born right at noon on Thanksgiving Day. What a
Thanksgiving blessing she was and still is! We celebrate her
birthday on Sunday, Nov. 26. She is busy studying for her driver’s
permit. Yikes!
