We Passed Court!

Our prayers have been heard--we passed court today the very first time. This morning was surreal. Our whole group gathered together in the lobby at 8:30 a.m. for prayer, and that was awesome. What a wonderful experience to be here with so many amazing, Christian families, and a total blessing to be able to pray with one another as each day unfolds.

Then we were driven to court. The courthouse was a three-story building just minutes away. We arrived and walked into the waiting room full of birth family members. How strange it was--all of them looking at us, wondering who was adopting their kids--and all of us looking at them, wondering who our kids' dad and mom were. Every emotion was there: anxiety, fear, joy, sadness. The family members were diverse--some dressed fairly nicely, others not even wearing shoes.

We were called in with three other families to see the judge, who asked us a few brief questions that we simply answered "yes" to, and then she started reading the names and giving the status. Just a minute later she calls out "Gezahegn and Yishak... Your case is approved, they are yours" and then she proceeds to the next family. Scott and I looked at each other with tears in our eyes and a lump in my throat. We just couldn't believe it. Just a few minutes earlier in the waiting room Scott looked at me and said, "How any family passes court and all the documents arrive in conditions like this is unbelievable". Of our group of eight today three families passed, one family passed on one child but not the other, and four did not. Those that didn't pass were missing either a MOWA letter or death/birth certificates.

While still in shock, we drove back to the guest house and prepared to meet with birth family members. We were called down quickly to meet the dad and walked down the stairs. We round the corner and see him. He was the same man who had been sitting next to Scott for a portion of the time in the waiting room!

He looks old to us, but we know by the paperwork that he is in his early thirties if we are remembering correctly. He was dressed nicely, and Scott wonders if he borrowed the clothes from someone, considering he lives far away in the farming area and is very poor. He looked healthy, and he had on slacks and shoes, a polo shirt and an older sports jacket. We think he spoke to the interpreter in Amharic, but we will have to wait and ask when he is done with the other families as well, as the dad is from the southern region that speaks the Sidama language.

He was friendly to us and we shook hands, and gave him our small photo album of pictures. He looked through them and when he came to the picture of our family we told him two of our daughters were here if he wanted to meet them. He said he did, so we called them down and they shook his hand and sat down. We finished showing him the pictures, and then asked our questions through the interpreter. He did not have a lot of information to share with us, but it was really nice to communicate to him that we appreciated his sacrifice and will raise the boys to honor and respect both his country and ours, and get some simple information from him.

We also took a picture of him by himself, and with the four of us, and then we shook hands and returned to our room. So here we sit, knowing we now are the parents of two more children--the parents of six. And now the birth father will be taken to the transition home to say his final goodbye to the boys. It has already been challenging to deal with the boys' emotions as they meet us. Today they will see their birth dad and have to say goodbye, then see us shortly thereafter. I imagine their minds will not be able to wrap around that, as mine barely can as an adult. It is sure to be a difficult day for them, and I ask you to pray for them.