Answered Prayers

Just settling in at the Guest House after tucking our son in for the evening.  We had another amazing day.  The day started with a visit to the guardian who took care of our son before he was placed in the orphanage.  It was really a blessing to be able to meet this amazing woman and find out more about his history and birthfamily.  She works for one of the churches in Addis Ababa and helped arrange for our son to be sponsored by Compassion International before his time in the orphanage.  Their support as we found out was integral to where he is today.  (We will definitely be posting more about this sponsorship in the future.)  One of the best parts of being able to meet her is that she had a photo album that his family asked to be passed on - it is AMAZING - pictures of him as a baby and much more.  This is something that I am sure he will always treasure.  At the end of our meeting with her she told us that she had been praying for a Christian family to adopt him.  She wept as she told us that she was so happy to see her prayers were answered.

And the day just kept getting better - next we were reunited with our son!  When we arrived at the orphanage in the afternoon, he had the BIGGEST smile on his face.  Our SW told us that he had been asking frequently when we would be back to get him, and it was definitely evident that he was happy to see us.  We spent the afternoon saying goodbye to his friends and snapping lots of pictures for him to keep.  He had a book that we brought him that he went around and had everyone sign (hence the picture).  The most touching part was the farewell ceremony where the other children and caretakers stood up and told him their favorite memories of him and wishes for the future.  They all had beautiful things to say and it was certainly evident that he will be missed.

Today we definitely felt surrounded by all of your prayers.  I can't imagine the day going any better.  Please don't stop praying though, because this is just the beginning and while we are all so excited to be together as a family, there was so much lost today as well.  Our heart broke as our son had to say goodbye to the people that have been his family for the last 2 years.  And in a few days he will say goodbye for now to the country he was born in, his language, and all familiarity as he now knows it.  Nonetheless, your prayers are still needed.

Tomorrow is our day at the US Embassy and first full day to together as a family- will post more then.  From Ethiopia with love!!