It's been a while....August to be exact. In all honesty, I've typed several posts to try and be transparent with what God has been doing in our family, but I've erased each post and decided to come back a little later. You know...after the dust settled for a while.
Today has been exactly 1 year since we landed in Addis Ababa for the first time. Even as I type, I can almost smell the spices that permeated the air as I walked off the plane. Shortly after arriving, we found ourselves at the guest house where we would feast on homemade doughnuts and coffee. There were two children in the home that were leaving for America with their new parents playing in and out of the small room. My heart had nearly burst when I first saw their faces. Jason and I had looked at their file and prayed about whether or not these two were going to be part of our family. God had not confirmed that they were our children and through lots of prayer and heartache, we had to tell our agency that we couldn't take them. I (Michelle) really struggled with thoughts of what would happen to them, but Jason was confident that God had parents that He had chosen for the two. I'd prayed for their parents, and in God's precious way, He allowed us to meet the wonderful parents of the young boy and girl that we had prayed for...in the flesh!! It was amazing to see them with their forever family! Through meeting their parents, we were able to connect through Facebook and email. Just shy of 9 months of living in America, the two children that were never meant to be ours were holding their new baby sister...a miracle birth in their family! Isn't that unreal!
We talked with our "new friends" that were two months ahead of us in the process of passing court and then returning to Embassy to take their children home. We watched as they tried to communicate through charades at the table. :) By all accounts, they were doing well, but I believe they were holding it together for us so that we wouldn't run before meeting our children. I laugh at myself now when I think of the giddy grin that must have been on my face and the confidence that I tried to exude when I HAD NO IDEA about what we were stepping in to! We sipped our coffee and began to head upstairs for a much needed shower when our driver (now friend), Eshetu, stepped in and asked, "Are you ready to go to the foster home?" If you know me, you know that I was thinking of my greasy head, no lipstick and the smell that must be coming from my unshowered body, but as quick as that thought entered my mind, I think I yelled, "Yes! Really? Yes!"
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| Minutes after our 1st Meeting |
The foster home was less than 5 minutes from our guest house, so we didn't really think that we had time to get nervous. Somehow, when we saw that gate that stood between us and the children whose pictures had been sent to us through months of weekly updates, our hearts raced and our palms began to sweat. We drove into the small courtyard/playground/clothes line area, and within seconds, Yohannes (Samuel) stepped out from the front door. He hugged Jason and quietly called him, "Daddy." He politely walked over to me, kissed my cheek, called me "Mommy," and smiled. Serkalem (Sophie) held the hand of her Nanny and then rushed over to me. She kissed my cheek, called me "Mommy," and then jumped into my arms. She giggled a lot and kept playing with my hair. From around the back side of the foster home, I noticed another Nanny walking towards us. She had a sleepy baby, and I realized it was Fiekre (Titus). There were no kisses, no hugs, no smiles...just tears! He went to Jason and the nannies walked away. There we were in the courtyard...holding three children that we really didn't know, that couldn't speak English, and we were going to be their parents. I was elated at the moment. I kept hugging them and kissing them. They called us "Mommy" and "Daddy," but by their own admission, they didn't really know what that meant. Trying to encourage a bond, the nannies had instructed them to do so. They knew that they had friends in the foster home that left for America, and they were going to have a chance to go, too. Samuel, who tells us he had asked for a pretty mom and fun dad, laughs as he remembers those first moments of peeking out his window and watching as we drove into the foster home. He tells us that he was so glad that we were finally there because he knew that meant he was going to America soon where he had heard it was very green and had lots of candy! They knew nothing about us or what real life in America would be. At the moment, we didn't care to sort through all of that. We were so relieved to finally see their faces and hold their hands. Little did we know that in less than three months, our worlds were going to be turned upside down!
A sweet friend, Penny Oates, shared our story titled "Obedient Surrender" in a local publication this month, Faith Magazine. We've had many dark weeks, but during a particularly dark month, she contacted me and asked if she could write the story from our blog posts and a few questions. Once the article was finished, she shared it with us. Tears flowed down my cheeks as God reminded me of how He providentially placed these three in our home. He reminded me of how ALL of it, the easy and the hard, was for our good! It was a look back so that we could begin to see the progress that He was making in our family. All along, we knew that He was knitting us together, but we've been so busy trying to survive that we were having a hard time remembering just how far He had brought us!
I've shared bits and pieces with family and friends that have asked (some of you probably heard more than you wanted to hear!), but sometimes speaking the truth of what was happening in our home and in our hearts was just more than I could handle or could ask someone else to process with me. We've often looked at each other and without saying a word, we've known the other's thought, "Will this ever get better?"
Today, exactly one year after our first meeting, the Lord gave us a sweet glimpse of what He is doing in our family. Today, Samuel and Sophie graduated from Kindergarten and Pre-K4. When we stood in that courtyard one year ago and held them for the first time, we never would have dreamt that we would be cheering for them as they sang songs, recited a poem, and received a diploma on a stage with a classroom of children!
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| I am a promise! I am a possibility! |
Samuel's class sang, "I am a Promise!" As he sang these words, "I am a promise! I am a possibility! I am a promise with a capital P! I am a great, big bundle of potentiality!" Time stood still for a moment. I realized that what He has done, and will continue to do, is good! He promised that, and He is faithful! At one moment, I looked around and saw Titus on Brendan's hip, Sara Kate hugging Sophie as she looked at Sophie's graduation picture, and Spencer and Samuel laughing in the foyer of the church. While someone may look at our younger three and marvel at how "well" they look, we know that what He has done inside of each of us is far greater than anyone can "see!"
So, today, I was thankful for the hard that has changed us! It has certainly drawn us closer to each other, to his Word, and to Him! To God be the glory...great things He hath done!
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| Mrs. Catherine |
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| Receiving his diploma from Mrs. Tracey |
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| Our Newest 1st Grader! |
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| Mrs. Angie - As tough as me, but still full of sweetness! |
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| Our Newest Kindergartner! |
