Okay, this is terribly out of order. But because this blog functions as my pseudo-journal, if I don't put this in somewhere, I will totally forget what happened. :) This is a rewind to last week--the day right before our Court Date.
Wednesday February 9, 2011
Little Girl was so good today--she didn't cry at all! During the meeting she played with another toy that we had brought and then fell asleep in my arms. We got to meet with the Doctor there today, too. She smiled more today for us, but she is still a bit scared I think (poor girl!).
Then we went to an Italian restaurant for lunch. Ethiopia was briefly occupied by Italy and so there is an Italian influence here. They all say "Ciao" for goodbye. Weird to be in an Italian restaurant in Ethiopia in Africa, though.
Then we went to a market to buy a few things. That was a bit overwhelming. Lots of shops selling the same things--all of the prices are in Birr (thankfully J had printed a cheat-sheet). We also got 20 bags of coffee! :) And a small African stool.
Then we went to Bethaza--the orphanage that Little Girl was at before she came to Hannah's Hope. There are so many beautiful children there. It was very touching to visit with them—to help give a bottle, to rub little backs and to sing the ABC’s with them. Oh, and we had brought stickers to give out at Hannah's Hope but got to give them out there. Handing out the stickers, J was a super-star--but they called him "mama." :)
Wednesday February 9, 2011
(Part of a letter written to our family and friends.)
This morning we went to Hannah's Hope. While we held Little Girl for probably 1.5 hours, we got to talk with Almaz, the director here. Almaz is awesome! We found out a little more about our court date tomorrow and our meeting with Little Girl’s family.
Little Girl was so good today--she didn't cry at all! During the meeting she played with another toy that we had brought and then fell asleep in my arms. We got to meet with the Doctor there today, too. She smiled more today for us, but she is still a bit scared I think (poor girl!).
Then we went to an Italian restaurant for lunch. Ethiopia was briefly occupied by Italy and so there is an Italian influence here. They all say "Ciao" for goodbye. Weird to be in an Italian restaurant in Ethiopia in Africa, though.
Then we went to a market to buy a few things. That was a bit overwhelming. Lots of shops selling the same things--all of the prices are in Birr (thankfully J had printed a cheat-sheet). We also got 20 bags of coffee! :) And a small African stool.
Then we went to Bethaza--the orphanage that Little Girl was at before she came to Hannah's Hope. There are so many beautiful children there. It was very touching to visit with them—to help give a bottle, to rub little backs and to sing the ABC’s with them. Oh, and we had brought stickers to give out at Hannah's Hope but got to give them out there. Handing out the stickers, J was a super-star--but they called him "mama." :)
Oh, yeah, and the word for “beautiful child” is something that sounds like “Kahnjo lej.” So J was calling all of the children that. But apparently “kahnjo” is typically associated with girls. J was calling all of the children that. And one of the older boys there shook his head at the younger guys and said, “Ferenge doesn’t know.” Hah—so funny! :)
Then, we went back to Hannah's Hope to kiss Little Girl goodnight (she was sleeping). And when we got there some of the older children were just coming back from school. They are loved so well! One of the administrative staff greeted them each with a kiss and a hug and some concern over a little boo-boo. Really the genuine love and care here is beyond anything you could ask for (besides a family, of course!).
Now we just finished dinner and we're going to take showers to clean up from the day. It was quite hot!
This place is pretty crazy--lots of signs in English, corrugated aluminum buildings, cattle and goats being herded down the streets, crazy driving, people EVERYWHERE! But we're loving it! :)
Tomorrow we're going to court. To pass the judge will need...
1. Us to show up (they ask about 8 yes/no questions)
2. Her birth family to be there
3. A letter from the Central Authority
4. A letter from MOWA
She'll check each component off on her "list"--if any parts are missing, she'll reschedule a time to review that missing portion.
Hope that you're doing well! Love you!!
~Me :)
Then, we went back to Hannah's Hope to kiss Little Girl goodnight (she was sleeping). And when we got there some of the older children were just coming back from school. They are loved so well! One of the administrative staff greeted them each with a kiss and a hug and some concern over a little boo-boo. Really the genuine love and care here is beyond anything you could ask for (besides a family, of course!).
Now we just finished dinner and we're going to take showers to clean up from the day. It was quite hot!
This place is pretty crazy--lots of signs in English, corrugated aluminum buildings, cattle and goats being herded down the streets, crazy driving, people EVERYWHERE! But we're loving it! :)
(Some sights while driving today.)
Tomorrow we're going to court. To pass the judge will need...
1. Us to show up (they ask about 8 yes/no questions)
2. Her birth family to be there
3. A letter from the Central Authority
4. A letter from MOWA
She'll check each component off on her "list"--if any parts are missing, she'll reschedule a time to review that missing portion.
Hope that you're doing well! Love you!!
~Me :)
(Thank you, Becca, for posting when I couldn’t. Love you!)
No comments:
Post a Comment