Ethiopia November 2012 Day 3

Thursday November 8^th

Well, after our sleepless night, we all fell fast asleep when Eli took his morning nap—I’m talking about the hard, deep sleep that hits you like a truck (it was 2 am our time after all).  We woke up to the phone ringing to tell us our agency representative was in the lobby waiting to collect our paperwork—nice.  So Nick and I threw on some clothes and headed downstairs, got everything settled and then head up for some breakfast of cereal bars and dried fruit.

We pulled it together enough and made it to the Embassy on time.  We were literally there for a total of about 15 minutes.  Security took longer than our appointment-which is a blessing (we waited 4 hours with our first adoption)—and just like that, Eli was cleared to come to the US!!

Now for the bummer part of our trip-because we have made some good friends in Ethiopia and would be doing some traveling and because we would be joining the Children’s HopeChest team for two days, we had to bring Eli back to the care center for a few days—his nannies were delighted—but it as definitely hard to leave him again—for us that is—he was delighted as well to be back.

Next we stopped by to see our favorite shop owner at The Post Office (a group of well known touristy shops that have Ethiopian souvenirs).  We met Mimi on our first trip in January 2010 when Nick went into her shop to buy a pair of shoes for a street child.  The sign by her register said “Jesus Loves You,” and we prayed right there for this boy.   It’s where we do all of our shopping now.  She is amazing.  Last time was there, she ordered an outfit for Caleb because they didn’t have his size in the store.  When I returned three months later, she had the outfit waiting.  This time, she had her staff person walk over an hour to get bracelets that we had requested (like the ones we use for fundraising).  She goes out of her way and is honest and fair and you don’t have to worry about being swarmed on the street by vendors or pushy sales people.  So, if you’re ever in Addis, stop by Mimi’s Souvenirs at the Post Office.  I am always amazed that she remembers us with all of the people that come through there.

After that, we had another dinner date with a friend that we also count as part of our family.  Nick met Fresbhat on a mission trip that he went on with Children’s HopeChest in September of 2010.  Fresbhat is in his late 20’s and has lived for years on church property at a cathedral near our guest house.  He was orphaned as a child, has no family to speak of and was taken in by the church where he does tours.

His dream is to be a professional runner.  Runners in Ethiopia are like football and basketball stars in the US.  Ethiopia is known for its amazing runners and Fresbhat is one of them.  He trains twice daily with a running club and runs two half marathons a week!  His determination and drive of unwavering, yet it is an uphill battle for him to reach his goal. 

He lives in a 10x10 room with no running water, a single light bulb that may or may not work and he shares this space with two roommates.  He eats a diet of only bread and pasta—that is what he can afford—no meat, no sauce just boiled noodles and bread.  He is paid the equivalent of $60 US dollars per month and from this he has to pay for his club fees, transportation costs, food and other necessities.

 He’s a good athlete-great by American standards, running a half marathon in just over one hour and has competed in a race in Croatia, finishing first in his age group and eighth overall. 

 His story of this race is heartbreaking—he had to borough another runner’s shoes (because he couldn’t afford any of his own), after starting the race, his feet began to hurt and blisters quickly formed, he sat down and cried in anguish and disappointment as the chance of his success slipped away.  Other runners around him encouraged him to keep running, so he finished the race (winning his age group).  Prize money was promised, but he has never received it.  He says this is the way it goes in other countries---this is why he wants so desperately to run in America.

If you thought his uphill battle with acquiring basic necessities and stiff competition was a hard one, getting a US visa has proven to be insurmountable.  I have worked over the past year to get him race invitations as an elite athlete.  He has received 4 or 5 invitations, but each time he applies for a US visa ($160 USD non-refundable) he has been denied.  The US considers it a risk because he is a single young man.  It is very hard for anyone to get a visa to the US from Ethiopia.  Count your blessing as a US citizen; we do not know this struggle.

Fresbhat’s dream is to run races in the US.  He tells me, “I know I can win” and I believe him! 

His times are better than most of the winners of the races I have investigated.  We’ve helped him by sending money for good running shoes, encouraging him through our visits and emails and helping with the visa application fees, but he has been rejected three times for an athlete visa.  Despite all of this, he gives thanks to God for his many blessings and perseveres towards his dream.

If anyone reading this post has any suggestions, connections, information on helping Fresbhat fulfill his dream of being a professional runner and running in US races, please email me at jirvin79@gmail.com.

Tomorrow, off to Lalibela….

Ethiopia November 2012 Day 2

Wednesday November 7th

We landed in Dubai on Wednesday morning November 7^th their time—still middle of the night at home-- and having missed the entire presidential election coverage, we hurried to find a paper with the details of the outcome.  It was a pretty weird feeling knowing that such a big event was happening at home and having no access to information, although I have to say it was really nice to miss all the media drama.  By the time we returned home, not a political ad could be found and our mail box was pleasantly empty.

Waiting to board our flight in Dubai for Addis.

Our attempt of capturing the Dubai sky line.

As we boarded our flight to Addis Ababa, my stomach was in knots as I anticipated seeing our baby again and introducing him to his daddy and big brother.  The four hours seemed to crawl by, but we finally landed around 1:30 in the afternoon. 

We got our visas, went through customs, gathered up our luggage (it all made it!) and then out to meet our driver.  I saw Beniam’s familiar face, inquired about any more families coming and when we could go to the care center.  There was another family that we had to pick up, so we dropped our luggage at the guest house, said hello to the staff and then we were off on our bumpy ride through the crowded streets of Addis to see our baby.

This was Caleb’s first real look at the city and you could see his mind processing all the sights and sounds and smells that are unique to Addis Ababa.  Having been five times in the past three years, it’s interesting how familiar it all seems, but also how the stark differences between the US and Ethiopia seem less shocking now than when we first experienced them.  The cows and donkeys crossing the street and herds of goat and sheep for sale on the side of the road, no traffic lights-horns always honking, people-beautiful people- everywhere, some making their homes on the streets as others hurry off to their daily obligations, children walking hand in hand to school in their treasured uniforms, the smog of diesel engines as the day’s work begins-it surrounds you.  Riding in the van, windows down, you are a part of it all—and you feel it. You feel the community, the sense of pride in their country, the progress that is being made, but also the pain and desperation that many experience as they struggle daily for life.

When we returned home from our trip, we all piled into our twelve passenger van, windows up, air conditioning on, everybody securely fastened in their age appropriate safety restraints and Nick and I were instantly back in our own little world-unaware of the sights and sounds and smells around us.

The difference is actually more shocking when returning home from Africa.   As we looked around, driving along in orderly lanes at a safe distance from those driving around us, we realized there were very few people walking on the sidewalks around us.  In fact, there was very little interaction between people at all.  I made the comment that our friends in Ethiopia would be shocked at what a bubble we all live in. 

It is this sense of community that I miss the most when we leave Ethiopia.

As we pulled up to the gates of the care center, the feeling is almost surreal.  You picture it over and over again in your head-what it will be like to finally enter these gate to bring your child home for good—and now here we stood, just feet away from our new son.

The sweetest little boy peeked under the gate to greet us as one of the nannies opened it to let us in.  The dearest people work here—caring so lovingly day after day for children they will love for a time, all the while knowing they will one day place them into the arms of their parents.  It is a beautiful and selfless job and we are blessed that all of our children received such great care while they waited to join our family.  It is always my pleasure to bring pictures of our kids and our friends' kids at home back to the nannies so they can see how much they have grown and that they are doing well.  The nannies treasure these pictures.

As we ducked underneath the hanging laundry and headed over to the baby room, we immediately spotted our little Eli.  He was crawling right for us towards the door.  As his nannies encouraged him to come, he paused several times, turning his head away from us bashfully and then crawling a little farther. 

 I got down on the floor and scooped him up and he laid his precious little head on my shoulder and took it all in. He was definitely a little more skeptical of us then he was three months earlier when I was there for court.  He wasn’t giving up any smiles quite yet and you could tell he was a little unsure of things, but he never cried. 

meeting daddy

Love at first sight!

 The best thing was seeing him interact with his nanny.  She could get him to smile in an instant and laugh a full belly laugh.  You could see the love between him.  I can’t imagine how hard it is for them to love babies and kids and let them go.  We are so thankful for the care he received.

Eli and his nanny.

 Caleb had a great time playing with the older boys.  And before we knew it, it was time to head back to the guest house.

 We had plans to have dinner with our dear friend Fikre that night and we were excited to see him and for Caleb to meet him.  He took us to a great restaurant-one I hadn’t been to before and I ordered my favorite-shiro and injera with a delicious orange Mirinda—kind of like Fanta, but way better.  I don’t know how many Mirindas Caleb ended up drinking on our trip—but I do know he had more soda on that trip than the whole year combined—he was living large.

Don't let this sweet picture fool you--he didn't stay like this for long.

That first night with Eli was a challenge-he was fussy most of the night and up every couple of hours—we found out the next day that he had saved up his teething for mommy and presented us with his first shiny white tooth!  I didn't really mind being up all night with him—that’s what I had prayed for-to have my baby in my arms, so I can’t complain about a sleepless night.

Tomorrow-our Embassy appointment to officially finalize everything!

Ethiopia November 2012 Day 1

I've never documented my trips to Ethiopia day by day, but this trip I want to do that so that one day Caleb will be able to look back on the trip he took with us to bring his baby brother home.

Tuesday November 6th

So, day one started with an early wake up call-3:30 am-so we could get to the airport for our red eye to New York. Caleb slept in his travel clothes so we woke him up at the last minute. Nick and I had spent an exhausting evening packing, re-packing, weighing luggage….I had 2 weeks notice to travel and still we were up the night before finalizing all the details. It is a massive undertaking for both of us to leave the country and leave most of our children at home. This trip was even more complicated by the fact that we were bringing Caleb, picking up a baby and joining a mission team. We've also made some good friends in Ethiopia, so we had some special items to deliver to them as well.

Well, some how we made it to the airport with everything we needed (and as it turns out, Nick was right and I did indeed WAY over pack for the baby : ). Caleb got to experience what it’s like to be an only child again—he ate a cinnamon twist donut for breakfast while we waited for our flight—he couldn't believe his good luck. An uneventful flight to New York followed and for the first time, as is true with all my trips, I was finally able to exhale—everything that could be done was done and now it would only be a matter of 23 hours before we would land again in a foreign place that has now become so familiar.

In New York waiting to fly to Dubai.

Caleb did amazingly well on the flights.  He enjoyed the hours of endless movies and video games, in flight snacks and backpack full of reading and even managed to sleep a solid 7 hour stretch on our flight to Dubai—impressive since we were seated behind the two noisiest kids (seriously cried, banged, screamed and squealed the ENTIRE 12 hours) I've ever encountered on a trans-Atlantic flight (fun times).

Tomorrow, we land in Dubai and make our way to Addis!