Sunday, April 3, 2011

We wake up praising the Lord for several hours of sleep last night! What a difference a few hours of sleep can make on your outlook and attitude.

We headed downstairs this morning for the group breakfast, where you can sit and visit with other families who are here. We have a full house at the guest house, so there are quite a few people. We all packed an extra comfy, lightweight outfit in our carry-on bags, which mean Scott had sweats, but nothing else he felt comfortable about wearing to the church service this morning. If Scott won’t wear his jeans, you know they must be bad! I think they are standing up in the corner by themselves.

So, my adventurous hubby decides to head down the alley to the main street to purchase some jeans from one of the gazillion small shops. He finds one with jeans and motions to the man, pointing to his legs and saying, “pants – pants!”. The man goes to back and brings back sweats. Scott shakes his head no, “pants-pants” and points to the mans jeans. Ahh...the man pulls out some dark denim jeans. Scott had taken the time to calculate his size in centimeters, since they use metric, but the man disregarded that and asked, “32?”, so he understands our sizing system too. Scott bought his size 34 jeans for 500 birr ($30 American dollars) , which one of our guides said he could have gotten for 400 birr if he had been there, but Scott felt good about doing it himself. He comes back to the room with his new jeans and slides them on…a little tight in the legs, a little low in the waist, and also emblazoned with fancy script writing on the back he had not previously seen, but clean and able to be worn to church. Sweet! Now my white Irish man is a styling Ethiopian in his dark new jeans.

One of the guides (Job) arrived this morning to help us call the airport to check on the status of our missing bags. We found out they had arrived! Scott and Job took a van to go fetch them, while Victoria and I joined the group to head to an International Church Service. Savannah was still not feeling well, so she opted to stay in our room to rest and recuperate some more. We’re not sure if she has some altitude sickness, or nausea from the fumes/smoggy air, but she is still not ready to head out of the room.

There is SO much I want to describe about what it is to drive around the city…my mind is completely blown away with the sadness of it all. I am going to have to process the whole thing and then devote an entire blog post to that alone. Homeless people everywhere, sleeping along the streets. Women holding little babies, coming up to our van windows as we are stuck in traffic at an intersection (think one hundred cars/taxis, no stoplights or signs, no rules or designated lanes..enter the intersection and honk until other cars let you through. Unbelievable.) Donkeys eating grass on a middle road divide and carrying loads down the streets; crippled, deformed men and boys laying in the ground or using sticks as crutches; a young boy with a badly burned face looking at you as you drink your healthy, clean water in a water bottle; old men and women with hands out for money sitting everywhere.

But at the same time you also have to imagine beautiful, smiling children waving at you as you drive everywhere, little kids coming up to you as you walk shouting “hello! hello!”, a beautifully dressed woman sweeping her dirt entrance to her home and coming outside to light a fire to cook on for dinner. There is just so much to say and not enough time. As I said…more on that to come.

SO…the church service was awesome, and I really felt refreshed after worshipping with an amazing mixed congregation. I think that is a little bit of what heaven will be like…all nations and people praising the Lord together. After church the group was taken to a restaurant to eat lunch (a tropical theme restaurant serving burgers, quesadillas, kebobs, etc. All stuff we know and like), and then we stopped by the Guest House to see if Savannah felt ready to head to the Transition Home. She still was not up to the outing, so the rest of us went on to visit our kids.

It is a very weird situation to be in, having new children whom you can’t talk to, and you want them to know things will eventually all be okay, and that you love them and want to help them. Things seem to be going well and the boys are responding happily, but then their mood will change and they are suddenly sad or sullen or withdrawn. G’s whole face will change from smiles to sadness, and he may walk away for a few minutes or go sit by himself. We are trying to figure out how long to let him “process”..do we go sit with him? Give him space? Hug him? Leave him alone? Who knows…we are flying by the seat of our pants and praying God will give us wisdom.

Y. was not happy today, but he also has some bowel “issues”, so I have now officially changed my son’s first disgusting diaper. Yeah for me! As I changed his diaper in the baby room, what should totally surprise me but a beautiful picture hanging on the wall right there of….Samuel Alldrin! Victoria points at it and says, “MOM!”..we both can’t believe it. We motion to the nannies and say, “Biruk? We know Biruk!” They light up and begin saying, “You – Biruk? You – family?”..so over the next 15 minutes we explain how we know little Samuel, we fetch our picture album from our backpack and show them little Biruk now, a year later, smiling with his family, hugging his sister, driving in his fancy little car with a huge smile. They just eat it up, kissing the pictures and chattering excitedly to one another. I told them I will leave them those pictures when we leave, and they told me to kiss him and make sure he is okay. So, beware, Samuel…lots of kisses are coming!

We spent time with the boys, and then were taken back to the guest house to get ready for our traditional, Ethiopian meal at a local restaurant. Savannah finally felt up to heading out, so all four Grants plus about 16 others left for a fun night of loud Ethiopian singing and music, dancing, food, and fun. It was a good day!

Day One in Ethiopia

We arrived in Addis at 7:30 a.m. and made it through the visa line, the money exchanging line, and the passport line, but then we really got bogged down waiting in the baggage claim line because our baggage never showed up! After filing a claim (which took forever!) we got to the Yebsabi Guest House about 10:00, and after a quick room check we left for lunch at an Italian restaurant (Avanti) with the other new arrivals.

Poor Savannah was overcome with tiredness, a nasty cold, little sleep, and then a harrowing, diesel-smoke filled ride to the restaurant. She barely made it out of the bathroom before it was time to head to the TH (transition home) to meet our boys. Once there, our turn came very quickly to meet our boys face-to-face. We had seen them peeking around the corner as they waited, and it was surreal to walk up the stairs and then wait as they led them out.

Our first reaction was, "Wow - they are so little!" Our four-year-old is just barely bigger than the two-year-old.  The boys walked out quietly and then stood in front of us, and we knelt down and gave them hugs, had a couple pictures taken, and then walked over to a nearby grassy area. When you don't speak the same language it is a little difficult to "break the ice",  but we found gestures, tickling, and playing soccer to do the trick.

We enjoyed a couple hours of just watching the boys, getting to know them, and trying to interact. Our little one was more friendly than we thought he would be and didn't cry, so that was a treat for day #1, and older brother seemed to enjoy most of the time. We did not have our nifty bag of fun gifts to give the boys, as that was in our missing luggage, but some other families gave us a few goodies to play with.

By the time we left the Transition Home, we were one bunch of wiped out folks. Two nights of very little sleep, coupled with taking in all the sights and sounds of this country, coupled with the emotions of meeting our new kids made it an amazing but exhausting day.

Travel Days: March 31-April 1-April 2

Greetings from the Grants!
Our long-awaited trip to Ethiopia started with leaving the younger Grants in the very capable and loving hands of our dear friends. Well, actually, it started the night before when Laramie began holding her ear and proclaiming,"My ear hurts!" Oh no!

It seems her week-long bout of the cold and cough morphed into an ear infection, but our doctor was able to get us in at 8:45 Thursday morning, and 10 minutes later we were leaving with prescription in-hand and on our way to our friend's home. God is good!

After prayers and a very tearful goodbye, we loaded up and headed out. It took Mom an hour or so to finish shedding her tears and get a grip, but after that the excitement began to build as we got closer to San Francisco. We enjoyed a few hearty bowls of clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl (perhaps one of the finest things about SF, in our opinion) and took to the skies via Virgin Atlantic.

Our first flight was uneventful and seemed to pass quickly but, by the time we disembarked eleven hours later, we were certainly ready to stretch and walk about a bit. Our time at Heathrow also passed quickly. Perhaps this is due to usually being quite busy at home, but having time to read or for the girls to play the gameboy, has made the time fly.

We are now checked in and waiting to board our Ethiopian Airline flight, and by the time we land in Addis, we will be just a few hours away from meeting our boys.

Life is good!

Going...going....almost gone!

Thursday is a big day for our family....  the day we have been looking forward to for many months! Four members of the family are leaving for Ethiopia to meet our boys and attend our court case on Tuesday, April 5. Two younger members of the family will be having an adventure of their own here in town, staying with friends and grandparents. We ask that you would keep us all in your prayers for good health, for courage, safe travel, and for our court case- we are praying we pass court this first time. We will be trying to update our blog with pictures and stories while we are traveling if we are able to get internet access. At the very least we will be sure to post updates and pics once we get home. Thank you for your support, prayers and encouragement!

With Hugs and love..the Grant Family

The eager travelers

Here are the eager travelers taking a self-portrait during their travel conference call with America World. Perhaps we should have paid closer attention rather than take this picture, but hey...you want to capture these fun moments, right? Now...what did they say we should bring?!?

Good news, good news....

We had our pre-travel conference call yesterday, which was an exciting time and makes it feel like our upcoming trip is real and actually going to happen! We are so excited!  We are in the midst of shopping for last minute things and beginning to pack. Hurray!

Today we received more good news from America World...an update on the MOWA situation which stated:
 

We are writing to update you on the current situation in Ethiopia.  While meetings between Ethiopian government officials continue, we have seen positive steps.  Within MOWA, there have been significant and positive personnel changes which have resulted in overall staff turnover and changes in the adoption unit.  This unit is now called the Ministry of Women, Children and Youth Affairs (MOWCYA).  We are hopeful and expectant that the new leadership will not only support processing an adequate number of favorable recommendation letters, but also implement policies that will best serve the children.  Due to the staffing changes, we anticipate much transition over the next few weeks.  However, we expect that once everyone is settled into their new positions, MOWCYA will work to process a higher number of recommendation letters than they currently are able to process. 

Another huge blessing today was receiving an update from Lifesong. We opened our email to find both large and small donations which will now cover our entire airline expenses for this first trip. We thank you and praise God for your generosity!! What a mighty God we serve -  One who works in hearts, minds and pocketbooks to bring blessings to others.
 
We are praying our case will have favor with the Ethiopian officials (especially those at MOWA who need to write our final approval letters) and we look forward to bringing the boys home as soon as possible. Once we pass court and officially become the boys' parents we can post pictures. Brace yourselves for the upcoming onslaught of pictures from this proud momma!!

Well...I'd better get packing!

Possible Problem

We have been receiving word the main agency in Ethiopia that oversees adoptions is about to dramatically reduce their caseload. At this time America World is unsure how this will affect the timeline of those of us already matched with kids. We ask for your prayers with regards to this issue...for our hearts to be at peace and rest in God's perfect timeline; for our boys to be well cared for and loved in Ethiopia. At this time we are still planning on flying to Ethiopia at the end of this month, but we are unsure when we will be able to return to Ethiopia in order to bring the boys home.

Here is what we learned today:

Government of Ethiopia Plans Major Slow-Down in Adoption Processing

March 9, 2011

Citing the need to work on quality and focus on more important strategic issues, the Government of Ethiopia’s Ministry of Women, Children, and Youth Affairs (MOWCYA)  will reduce to a maximum of five the number of adoption cases it processes per day, effective March 10, 2011.  Under Ethiopian adoption procedures, MOWCYA approves every match between prospective adoptive parents and an Ethiopian child before that case can be forwarded for a court hearing.  The U.S. Embassy is working with Ethiopian government officials and adoption agencies to learn more about this change in procedures.  We will continue to share information as it becomes available.

Given MOWCYA's current caseload, the U.S. Embassy anticipates that this change could result in an overall decline in case processing of some 90 percent.  If this change is implemented as proposed, we expect, that parents who have begun the process of adopting from Ethiopia but have not yet been matched with a child could experience significant delays.  It is not clear if this change in procedures would have any significant impact on cases in which MOWCYA has already approved matches. 

Prospective adoptive parents should remain in close contact with their adoption service provider to obtain updates on individual cases