From Ethiopia - Post 10 - Monday - Awassa & Northward

I don't know that I'd call my sleep on Sunday night restful; it was more just complete and utter exhaustion, mentally and physically.  Regardless, the room was fairly nice, albeit hot!!  We really wanted to sleep with the windows open, but our screens didn't lock into place and were right at ground level so we were leery to just leave them so that anyone walking by could push them to the side and climb right in our window.  We ended up leaving them open for as long as we could, then we shut the windows in the room, but left the bathroom window open with one of those OFF mosquito repellent fans running by the window to try to keep the mosquitos out.  I don't know if it was the fan or if the mosquitoes just weren't bad that night, but we never saw a single mosquito while we were staying the night in the southern region where we had to worry about Malaria.  Figures.  Paid for and took those meds for nothing.

We actually got a wi-fi connection and I was able to check email on the NetBook for the first time the whole trip.  I got an email from Workineh at the guest house, telling us that they had the cribs and beds in all the rooms, ready for the kids, and that he hoped that our trip was going well.  What a sweetheart that man is!

Our room in Awassa

The bathroom was a bit of a tease.  It had this fancy shower with all these different jets AND we had hot water, although it took forever for it to get hot.  Unfortunately, when I attempted to try out the fancy shower, the water pressure was not great enough to actually use the fancy jets and so instead of a hot water massage, I got sprinkled with then freezing cold water (apparently all hot was lost in the attempt to change the jets!).  It was quite a disappointment.  Eric laughed hysterically at me as I whimpered, and yelled, and panicked, trying to change the jets back to the nice, hand-held shower nozzle with hot water!

The teaser shower in Awassa

We met up with the others in the restaurant for breakfast at 8:30-ish.  After a breakfast of deep-fried French toast (a tad rich for breakfast!), we headed out to the vans to load back up and drive north to Addis.  We were told that Awassa is a spa/resort area.  A wealthy area if you will.  I guess in some ways, it was more 'upscale', but not really.  Eric loved seeing these:

Ethiopian chariots

and he kept joking about Chariots of Fire.  It did seem as though there were more 'wagon' type vehicles on the road.  The drive was just as beautiful as it had been on the way down to Durame.

We actually weren't on the road long, before we stopped again.  Tesfaye had mentioned something about "taking us to see the lake".  We all thought that we were just making a quick stop to sight-see at Lake Awassa.  We pulled into a gated resort and the drivers parked for us to get out.  Several of us left our bags in the vans because we thought we were just stopping for a few minutes.  Turns out, that after we had been there for a while, we discovered that one of the vans was gone, and that the Holt staff and social workers (who were riding back up to Addis with us) were gone.  Someone informed us that they had left to go to a meeting in Awassa and that they should be back in 30 minutes or so.  It would have been nice to have known that was what we were doing, because I had no purse, no money, no tissues (for the bathroom), and no sunscreen (and it was sunny & hot!).

It was beautiful there though!  Our travel group joked that, in a few years, we're all going back to Ethiopia and we are staying there -- at the Lewi Resort and Spa.  We figured we'd plan on a mission trip while we're there, but that we'd stay at the spa - kind of the best of both worlds.  It was right on Lake Awassa.  We were told that occasionally, you can see hippos in the water (although we didn't see any).  We did, however, see a lot of monkeys all around the resort as well as 2 bald eagles in a tree by the parking lot!  There was a beautiful pool with swinging basket chairs and hammocks, a mini-golf course, and a restaurant on the patio right along the water.  There were boat docks and beautiful little villas.  The public bathroom even had toilet paper and soap!!   ;-)  (thank goodness since I didn't have my tissues!)

Mariah and her mom toured one of the villas.  She said they were beautiful.  I can't remember now, but I think the quoted price to stay in one was $120 US/night!!  Seriously, if you want to go to a beautiful resort for cheap, try one in Ethiopia!  We chuckled because the man who was giving them the tour was very proud of the fact that at their hotel, each room comes with 2 towels AND washcloths.

Eric had his wallet in his pocket so we sat down on the patio by the lake and drank a soda while we waited.  We sat in the parking lot for a while and watched the monkeys.  They would come down right by you and were very playful.  While we were drinking our sodas, we laughed because there was a breakfast buffet still set up under some tents along the patio and the monkeys were sneaking in and climbing up on the tables and stealing food.  The workers would get mad and chase them away.  Justin tried to get bread to feed them but was told that you're not allowed to feed the monkeys.  haha!  I guess it's like the geese at the lake that we visit in the summer -- you don't feed them or they'll never leave! 

The pool at the Lewi Resort

The villas by the lake

The walkway down to the patio area, pool, and lake

a monkey just sitting on the rail by the parking lot

the patio by the lake (tents on the right are where the buffet was)

mini-golf, Ethiopian style!

Beautiful, Lake Awassa

Lake Awassa

patio area where we sat and drank a soda

Eric and I at Lewi Resort on Lake Awassa

Traffic as we are driving north again

more wagons

There was some confusion with the schedule again.  We had been told that we would be stopping at a grocery store for those who had children who were still drinking formula to purchase the formula that their children would need.  Then, we were being told that we were behind schedule and we weren't stopping, which upset us because...uh....well, it's not OUR fault we're behind schedule.  YOU are the ones who dumped us off at a hotel for almost an hour while you went to a meeting.  Anyway, it worked out and after we visited a few grocery stores, people found what they needed in the way of ET snacks, formula, etc.

We were taken to the guest house to basically drop our stuff off, then we went to the care centers to pick up our kids.  We traveled along with the others while they picked up their kiddos, then some of them who were in our van went with us to CC3 to get Markos.  We all had a little laugh when we piled in the vans at the first care center because as we sat in the seats and were waiting for everyone to get in, one of Stephanie and Mike's boys started to get upset and cry.  Stephanie then started to get upset because she thought he didn't want to leave.  None of us knew what he was saying, but when one of the Holt staff came over, he started to laugh because he was basically freaking out because the van door was open and he was insisting that we can't drive with the door open and wanted us to shut the door.  Stephanie was very relieved that not only was her son not upset to leave, he was very safety conscious!  :-)

When we pulled in to CC3, Markos was in that same common room and the nanny walked him out immediately.  We hugged and said hi, then immediately were ushered into the little office by the common room to change Markos' clothes.  The care center is always short on clothes and shoes, so they prefer that you bring clothes and shoes to change your child into when you take them.  You basically get to take the child, but nothing else.  So, we changed Markos quickly and gave her the clothes and shoes that he was wearing, and that was it, we were free to go.  It was strange.  Markos would have been totally happy to jump onto the "mini-bus", but I urged him to go say goodbye to his friends.  The nanny gave him a kiss and a hug and she had him peek his head into the room where all the other kids were sitting.  He smiled and waved emphatically as he said "ciao!" to his friends and they all yelled goodbye to him.  It was very sweet, but sad, too.

Markos was also fairly safety conscious and insisted on sitting on the seat and on buckling his seat belt.  The other kids had all done the same, so we could tell that the nannies must make them sit with their seat belts buckled anytime they're taken anywhere.  He was very attentive to watching out the window as he nervously grinned at us over and over.  Stephanie and Mike's twins were singing, as they often did, and began to chant, "America, America" over and over.  Very cute.  But, the funny thing was, when we pulled into the guest house where we were staying, we are pretty sure that the kids all thought it WAS America!!  They would talk about America whenever we'd pull into the guest house gates the rest of the time we had custody in Ethiopia.  All I could think was, "wow - if you think this is America, just wait until you really see it!"

We had ordered dinner prior to leaving for Durame the day before because we knew we'd get back to the guest house right at dinner time.  So, we headed downstairs and had our first meal together.   After we ate, we went upstairs and happily found that there was some hot water so we washed Markos.  Our tub did not have a stopper, so it was more of a modified shower, but Markos thought the sprayer was hilarious!   At first, he was panicked and didn't want to get washed.  I suspect that the kids frequently had to endure freezing cold baths at the care center and it had not been a pleasant experience for most of them.  However, once he realized that the water was warm, he loved it.  He also loved that he could control the sprayer by turning the water on and off.  Oh, how I wish I could post the video of his naked little body standing in the tub, turning the water on and off, laughing hysterically every time.  It is the cutest thing EVER, but alas, I don't want to be arrested for kiddie porn or anything, so I shall refrain from sharing that little gem (until he's a teenager and has his first girlfriend, then maybe...)

Markos ready for his first meal in the guest house

Markos with his very favorite toy!

OOH, and the ear buds are pretty cool, too!

Once he was clean and all lotioned up, we put his jammies on him and we were all ready to crash - Markos in his twin bed next to ours, and us in the queen bed.  He went to sleep surprisingly well and stayed asleep all night.  I, on the other hand, tossed and turned all night worrying that he was going to fall out of the bed because he's a very restless/active sleeper!  Well, that and the fact that he was with us!  After everything the past year, he was actually in OUR custody!  Praise God!

Clean, moisturized, and ready for bed

You mean, I can really sleep WITH my new radio?!  Awesome!

From Ethiopia - Post 9 - Sunday - Durame, Shinshicho, Families, and Theft

The day started early.  We left for Durame around 6:00 AM.  We filled 2 of Holt's white vans, with luggage strapped onto the roof of each.  I had heard horror stories about the drive, so I went back and forth about rather or not I should take some motion sickness medication.  It tends to make me dizzy and tired unless I REALLY need it, so I ended up opting not to take it.  Turned out that I really didn't need it.  The roads were a little more smooth and a lot less congested, therefore the drivers drove FAST - which was a little unnerving.  However, they weren't winding, hilly, and awful like I expected.  Until we were about 30 minutes outside of Durame anyway, then they got horrendously bumpy and winding. 

Sometimes it pays to be short.  Poor Mike.  During that last 20 miles or so, he had the options of bending his head forward or to the side thereby risking injury to his neck when we hit the bumps, or crashing his head into the roof of the van.  :-)  (Tall, future travelers, you may want to take a helmet. ;-)

As I expected and had heard, the drive was absolutely beautiful.  Like, breath-takingly beautiful!  Very lush and green.  Very spacious.  Gorgeous mountains off in the distance.  Wide open spaces.  Traditional mud huts, and occasionally a shanty town along the road. 

Traditional hut with "false banana" trees surrounding it

Ethiopian Countryside

Kids playing in the shade of a tree along the road to Durame

Mud hut surrounded by "false banana" trees

About half-way there, we stopped for coffee, snacks, and a bathroom break.  My anxieties about the day were building and I didn't feel much like talking.  Plus, I was tired - just tired of being there, tired of being tired, tired of being emotional.  

Shortly after we turned at the intersection to head towards Durame, we turned off the road and into the Shinshicho Health Center.  We all visited the restroom which was a "squat pot" outhouse area down over the hill behind the clinic.  Then, we met with the doctor who runs the Shinshicho Clinic.  He took us on a quick tour of the facility.  A few years back, Holt renovated and reopened the clinic after it had been closed for some time due to lack of funding by the government.  Currently, Holt continues to fund Shinshicho with some government funds also being contributed for supplies and materials.  The patients who come to Shinshicho do not pay for the services that they receive.  HIV testing is conducted on all the children who are treated, as well as all the pregnant women who come for prenatal care and/or delivery assistance.  Anyone who tests positive is referred to a larger HIV/AIDS clinic in the area.  Children receive some immunizations there when they are treated.  Most people travel far distances in order to come for treatment.

After touring the current facilities, we were walked out back to see the large construction area where Holt is leading the construction of a surgical center for the Shinshicho area.  It is a much needed facility in an area where there is little to no medical care available for most people.

Shinshicho Health Center sign at entrance

Shinshicho Health Center buildings

One of the examining rooms at Shinshicho

A room used to deliver high risk babies/pregnancies at Shinshicho

Other side of the delivery room

New Construction for the surgical center that is being built at Shinshicho

After being rushed through our tour of Shinshicho because we were running behind schedule, we loaded back into the vans and headed into Durame.  We stopped at the one and (I think) only hotel there for lunch.   They were expecting us and quickly sat us and offered us a choice of one of 3 different meal selections.  For the most part, we were all very subdued and quiet, nervously looking toward our upcoming meetings with the birth families.  Some of us looked over the questions that we had written down to ask.  I recopied ours onto a piece of paper with space to write the answers on the same sheet of paper.  Mostly, it was just busy work, trying to keep our minds off of the nervousness we were all feeling.

Durame

The street in Durame outside the hotel where we ate

A neighborhood child chasing the Holt van into the orphanage

 When we finished eating, we again loaded into vans to drive the very short distance to the orphanage in Durame where we would be meeting with the birth families.  Children from the surrounding community ran after the van and were shouting, "they're here. they're here." as we pulled into the gates.  We were ushered into a room that was set up for us with rows of chairs facing the front of the room where a TV sat in the corner and one of the staff persons was roasting coffee beans and preparing a coffee ceremony for us. Tesfaye, the coordinator of the day from Holt, explained the process to us and introduced us to the social workers/translators who would be facilitating our meetings. 

We were told that there would be three interview rooms being used at the same time.  The families were divided into three sessions of meetings, and there were translators in each room.  The birth families were waiting in a separate area, but would join us and sit with us for the remainder of our time together once our meeting was over.  We were in the second session of meetings.  We spent the time mostly in silence, praying for our friends who were in their meetings and for our upcoming meeting.  The majority of meetings lasted about 30 minutes or so. 

When it was our turn, they came and called for us.  We went into a tiny room where three people already sat.  We sat in chairs in a U-shape in the little room.  Markos' father sat in front of us with a translator on each side of him.  He appeared sad and defeated, but he did not cry.  He held some things in his hands and mostly looked down at his lap.

Markos was born in Wolayta and his family speaks Wolaytigna.  Therefore, there was a double translation required for our meeting.  We would ask a question.  Gelila would translate from English to Amharic.  Then, the social worker from Wolayta would translate from Amharic to Wolaytigna.  For the most part, we were just free to ask whatever questions we wanted to ask.  We asked about Markos family, about his birth, about his siblings, about his mother.  We asked about the extended family and family traits.  We asked his father's wishes and desires for Markos.  And, we asked about his life as a boy.  We asked these things for Markos.  For him to know details about the first few years of his life when he is older.  For him to know about where he's from.  For him to know what his first parents were like and what they went through.  The details are his story and will mostly remain private for him to tell if he chooses to do so when he grows up.

I will say though, that a parent's desires and wishes for their children are much the same regardless of rather one lives in poverty or wealth, in the United States or in Ethiopia, in hard times or in good times.  He wants the same things for Markos that we do.  Sadly, he just had to make a horrible, painful choice in order to make those things happen for Markos.

I mentioned before that we had purchased a Bible for Markos while we were in Ethiopia.  We took the Bible to our meeting with his father.  We showed it to him and explained that it was for Markos when he is older.  His father smiled and was happy to hear that his son would have a Bible.  We asked him if he would like to write or dictate a transcription for the front of the Bible for Markos to read when he is older.  So, he dictated a short letter to the translator and she wrote it in Amharic inside the front cover of the Bible for him.  Then, he wrote his name and signed the Bible.  Gelila translated the note for Eric and I later and we wrote it in English and sealed it in an envelope for Markos in the future.  Again, the contents of this special letter, from father to son, shall remain private for Markos.

Eric and I had both done fairly well with keeping ourselves together, but near the end of the meeting, as I tried to tell his father how very sorry I was for his loss and how much we would love Markos and care for him and do our very best to make sure that all his desires for his son would come true, I started to cry...and cry....and cry.  Eric started to cry, then noticed that Markos' father was giving him a strange look.  So, he somehow pulled himself together and finished the talking for the rest of the meeting.  We gave Markos' father a framed recent picture of Markos and a small photo book containing more pictures of Markos and pictures of our family and home.  He loved looking at the pictures of Markos. 

He presented us with a small gift as well.  He gave us a candle holder made of clay from the soil where they live.  Along with the candle holder, he gave us a bunch of grass.  The translator explained that in Ethiopia, it is customary to exchange a bunch of grass when one is making a promise or entrusting someone with a large responsibility.  By giving us the grass, he was asking us to make a promise, to assume a huge responsibility; and by our accepting it, we were accepting the responsibility and agreeing to the promise.  The three of us hugged and our meeting time was over, so we stepped outside together to have photos taken.  I wouldn't feel right posting Markos' father's picture on a public site, but here is a cropped picture of the two fathers holding their gifts.

There was mass confusion after the meetings because we had been told that Holt had a photographer who would travel with us and photograph these sorts of things so I hadn't taken my camera outside for our meeting.  When we went out, however, a Holt volunteer approached us and asked if we had a camera and wanted pictures taken.  I ran back into the room to get the camera because of course we wanted pictures of Markos' birth father for Markos to have.  All around us stood small groups of adoptive families with birth families embracing, crying, hugging, looking at pictures.  I was having a hard time keeping it together. 

We went back into the waiting room and sat together.  We had taken Eric's NetBook with us with pictures loaded onto it and short video clips of Markos playing so that he could watch them.  He loved watching them and seeing all the pictures of Markos smiling and laughing and playing.   During our meeting, he had told us that Markos most resembled him (which we could see the second we walked into the room), and as we watched videos and looked at pictures, he would occasionally point to Markos' eyes and then point to his eyes, etc., as if to say, "see - he has my eyes".  When we went into the room, I threw my camera on top of my open bag on the floor against the wall.  At one point, I couldn't take it anymore and I had to get up and leave and go outside to have a good sob.  I stood behind the building sobbing about all the loss in that place, about the sacrificial love that was given to save these children, about the world we live in that makes such choices even necessary.  Once I finally got myself semi- under control again, I went back in and sat with Markos' father and Eric again.  Eric gave Markos' father a bottle of water that he had in his computer bag.  He opened it and chugged half the bottle in one drink, then put the cap back on and put it under his chair to take with him when he left.

Once the majority of meetings were completed, a Holt staff person called for us all to come out for a group picture, so we all got up and filed out.  Pictures were taken and then we were basically told to "say goodbye now and get your things".  So, we hugged again, said goodbye, and went in to get our bags.  We all walked out the gate and next door to the orphanage as the birth families were ushered elsewhere.  As we entered the gates there, I went to get my camera out to take pictures and it was gone.  

Long story short - after we emptied our bags (several times), had our friends empty their bags (several times), went back and forth between the two buildings (several times), talked to every staff person who was anywhere near, it was determined that it was gone.  Someone had taken it.  During the search phase, I was in a panic - rushing around and trying not to completely freak out.  After we determined that we weren't going to find it, I lost it again.  I pretty much missed the entire tour of the Durame orphanage and instead, stood outside with Eric, crying on his shoulder and desperately wanting to get out of there and get to the hotel where I could just sob alone.

I really didn't care at all about the camera.  Our sweet new friends, Stephanie & Mike, graciously gave us their extra camera to use for the remainder of the trip.  I didn't really care about the pictures that were still on the camera from our trip to Durame.  I knew I could easily get copies of everyone else's pictures.  Thankfully, most of the other pictures had already been loaded onto the NetBook to show Markos' father so the only pictures that were on the camera were pictures from that day.  All I cared about were the pictures of Markos' birth father that were now gone and could never be replaced.  Yep, I was a wreck.  It wasn't pretty.

When the tour was over, we loaded back into the vans and again began driving.  This time, north, to Hawassa where we'd be spending the night before we returned to Addis Ababa the next morning.  The hotel was very nice.  I tried to calm myself with the fact that the one social worker had taken a picture of us with Markos' father so at least we'd have one.  She warned me that my eyes were closed in it, but that she did at least have it of his dad.  We ate dinner there and the room was fairly nice.  It was the only time the entire trip that we actually were able to pick up Wi-fi on the NetBook and connect to the internet.

The day seemed like it had lasted at least 2 or 3 days!  It was the most emotional, exhausting, devastating, and, at the same time, very special and memorable day EVER.  I think I cried so much that I was nearly numb by the time we went to bed that night.

The hotel we stayed in that night in Hawassa

A few more pictures from the drive:

Ethiopian countryside

Children trying to get water from a mostly dried up river bed

Beautiful traditional home in Southern Ethiopia

Countryside in Southern Ethiopia

People gathered around a well outside Durame

Traditional hut on drive out of Durame

Photo Break

We interrupt the current stream of posts from our Embassy trip in order to bring you this photo break.

We had our first family photo shoot as a family of 5 yesterday. The kids were wonderful and we are thrilled with the pictures. I was even asked to sign a Model release so they can use Markos' pictures in advertising and in the store for displays. (he's already a star!) ;-)

Markos - home 3 weeks, taken 2/19/2011

 

The Stark Family - taken 2/19/2011

Our kids - 2/19/2011

Happy Family

New collage for the living room

Photos taken at The Picture People in the South Hills Village Mall by Chrissie.  She's awesome!

From Ethiopia - Post 8 - The Rest of Saturday

After our visit to Workineh's church, he took us shopping to an area that he knew well. We wanted some different things than we had seen in the typical tourist shopping areas. He graciously helped us all negotiate prices for our purchases. I felt a little guilty about this whole process, because frankly, I'd have paid the originally quoted prices (which were generally significantly higher for us white folks). The thing is, they were still CHEAP! And, really, do I need the money more, or do they? But, Workineh kept insisting that, "no, it's not right. It's not worth that." and so he would squabble with the sellers, occasionally telling us "no. we're leaving." Mariah had me laughing at one point because she looked at me as we walked away and said with a sad face, "But I really wanted that!" Workineh said we'd go back later, and we did, and I believe she got the dresses (for less than the original price). I understand that bargaining is just part of shopping in some areas, but I'm just not a negotiator when it comes to buying stuff - which is why I generally hate shopping for cars!

Some of us had decided that we very much wanted to buy Bibles in Amharic while we were there, so we had Workineh take us some place where we could buy them. He took us to a very small book store, containing all religious material. When Eric and I had exchanged money for this trip, I insisted that we make sure that we exchange enough for this Bible - thinking that it might be a very pricey purchase. HA!!! No negotiating needed for the Bibles! In fact, I think we all WANTED to pay MORE! Price for a nice Amharic Bible.....80 birr. About the equivalent of $5.00. We bought 2 - one for us to keep, and one for Markos to have when he's older (more on this in the next blog post). Had we thought about it, we would have purchased a lot more and given them to Workineh for his church. Us and the 3 couples shopping with us all bought Bibles. I think someone bought some Ethiopian Christian music as well.

We returned to the guest house after shopping, and after a lot of confusion and things just not working out, I ended up canceling our visit to AHOPE for lack of time. I'm still a little disappointed that we didn't get to go, but it's just so busy when you're there and Holt really leaves very little free time during your scheduled days there. Unfortunately, in this case, part of the problem is also that AHOPE requires an appointment to take you on a tour, and Holt doesn't give you the schedule for you to even see when the tiny bits of free time are until you're there. Oh well. There's always next time.... ;-)

Around 2:30, we went to the care center to visit with Markos some more. He ran to see us when we arrived and the three of us went into that same room for the time we were there. No Miruk this time, so we were pretty much totally on our own the entire time we were there. Again, the head nanny/nurse was not there for us to talk to. We were told that she'd meet with us on Monday before we took custody.

As always, Markos loved playing with our camera and video camera.  He loved seeing himself on the video camera and would laugh at himself and us; he would sit very attentively looking at the pictures.  And, of course, as dads do, Eric had to run around, chasing him, and tickling him, and picking him up and swinging him around.  Markos loved it, and would just laugh and laugh.  He has the best giggle in the world!! 





Sometimes, when Eric would start to crawl after him to "get him", Markos would run to me and cling to my legs and hide behind me or want me to pick him up.  It was so sweet.  He would playfully scream, "ahhhhh, Emama, Emama!" while laughing and smiling as he clawed at me.  Of course, I would pick him up and protect him from the big, bad Ababa.  ;-)  The nice thing was, when I would chase him or pretend like I was going to get him, he would do the same to Eric - run to him for protection.  We felt that it was a good sign as to the bonding and attachment that was to come.

We had a fun time playing, but it also became a little awkward because all the other children were out in the courtyard playing while we were there. They had all just gotten up from their nap time. It was warm so the window to the room we were in was opened. As was the door....until the other kids came out. Then, Markos got very defensive of us and kept running to slam the door shut in any kids' face who dared to try to enter the room with us. He would actually push them and claw at them to get them out. I was really afraid that someone's fingers were going to get smashed, and I think the nannies got tired of intervening, so we eventually just left it closed.  I was a little sad because I really wanted to hug and kiss on the other kids - especially those whose adoptive parents I have met and who I knew were waiting to come get them and desperately wanting news of how they're doing, news of them getting hugs and kisses, news of them...well, pretty much ANY news. But, I also understood Markos' need to claim us as his own. Also, we had taken toys for him - more machinas (cars), the magna doodle, etc. - and when the kids see new toys, they kind of go crazy wanting them.  (By the time we left, after a few kids stampeded into the room a few times, all toys were gone, except one small machina.)


The kids didn't get mad or upset with Markos at all, they just begged and pleaded and yelled to him.  (BTW, if anyone is going to care center 3, seriously, all the kids seemed to LOVE little cars.  Take cars.  And punching balloons.  They loved those, too.)  Eventually Markos started sacrificing the toys in order to try to appease the kids and keep them away from us.  Not the machinas, he wasn't giving those up without a fight, but he did end up throwing all the punching balloons that we had blown up and were playing with out into the courtyard for his friends to play with.  He was also sweet and stood at the window for a while and blew bubbles out the window for his friends who were gathered outside.  (Of course, they were all still begging for the machinas!)





There was something very disturbing about trying to play with Markos and enjoy the time, while there was constantly a group of kids climbing up to the open window, yelling and begging for Markos' cars, reaching their arms in, desperately wanting what he had. Very sad. Very heart-breaking.

When the Holt driver showed up to pick us up, the kids had gone back inside.  The nannies were not around, and we had yet to really meet anyone there who actually spoke English anyway.  Markos ran to the door, grabbed his shoes to put them on, and was saying, "Markos, mini-bus; Markos, mini-bus" over and over again.  Eric and I gave each other a panicked look, realizing that Markos thought he was coming with us that day.  We kept trying to tell him that we weren't taking him yet, but he continued, "Markos, mini-bus.  Markos, ewedahalu (I love you)".  In a total panic and almost tears, I grabbed the driver who speaks some English and knows Markos and I told him that he had to explain to Markos that we'd be back and that we couldn't take him that day.  So, he picked Markos up and he talked to him and again explained that we had to go, but that we would be back after 2 sleeps to get him and take him in the mini-bus.  As this was going on, the nannies were leading all the other kids into the room where we had been so they could all sit and watch a movie.  Thankfully, Markos was ok after his talk with the driver and quickly joined the other kids who had gone into the room.  We saw him run over to his friends and sit with some of them against the windows, they watched us out the window and Markos smiled and waved and blew us kisses.  (shew!!!  Talk about calming a mother's heart!)

Those are the sort of things that are exhausting while you're there.  The extremely emotional moments.  They seem to come one after the other with no reprieve.  Then, when you have some tiny bit of downtime, you're so exhausted that you can't even begin to process anything, or think, or journal.

After getting back to the guest house, we basically had about an hour or so before the driver was coming back for us to take us to our big group Cultural dinner.  It's always fun to go to the Ethiopian restaurants and see the singers and dancers while you eat, but I will admit that between the exhaustion, the emotions, and the fear and anticipation about what the next day held, I did not enjoy the evening as much as I would have liked to have.

The food was ok (we had better at the other place we went last time we were there though).  The dancing and singing were great.  Very entertaining....although the part where the dancers come out into the audience and drag people up on stage to attempt the dances, or to get them to dance with them in the dining room might have been more entertaining.  Apparently we stood out, because Kendra and Allegra were both taken up on the stage at different times.  Stephanie, Mariah, and Dic were all chosen to dance in the dining room.  I think someone else was also chosen at the other end of the table, but I couldn't see them so I'm not sure who.  Also not sure which was funnier, the panicked looks on the chosen people's faces, or the "oh, wow, you are terrible" looks on the faces of the dancers as the chosen few attempted to copy the dancer's moves.  :-)  Actually, they all did great and were very good sports about it.  I have most of them on video, but due to my being incredibly unphotogenic and fearful of terrible retribution, I will not post them.  (And, once again, I was very thankful that I recognized the music preceeding the whole - go out into the audience and embarrass people - part of the night and was quickly able to make myself look invisible.)  ;-)

Next post - trip to Durame, birth parent visits, and other chaos

From Ethiopia - Post 7 - Christ Foundation Church

During our trips to Ethiopia, we had the pleasure of getting to know Workineh, one of the guest house staff persons.  He is a committed Christian and is very involved with his church - the Christ Foundation Church - an evangelical Christian church amidst a largely Orthodox country.  We wanted to give him some of the donations that we had taken because we knew that he takes them to his church and gives them out to those in need.  He wanted us (and we really wanted) to attend one of their worship services, but unfortunately, Sunday is the day that we had to drive south for our birth parent meetings so we were unable to attend with him.  We did, however, want to visit his church and take our donations so he took us on Saturday morning.

He explained that his church used to be located near the airport, but that the government had come and closed it down some time before.  The church then moved to it's current location - a tent inside a gated area.  Since moving, the church has "added on" three different times!  They have grown to membership of close to 1000 people, with an average of 700 attending each week!

the drive back through the gates to the church

We had to laugh at the "parking lot".  And to think how many times during our church involvement that we've had to hear complaints about the parking!  :-)  They reported that they also use this area to host a youth program every Wednesday night.

the "parking lot" (for an average attendance of 700 people!)

The inside of the sanctuary tent

The Sunday school room/prayer room

The pastor gave us a tour of the church.  Mike spent some time praying with/for him.  We were all moved to hear the pastor's prayer requests for their church -- all spiritual!  We somewhat expected requests like:  money, Bibles, a church building!  He reported that there is such great poverty that it is hard for the church to get people to see that the church is not there to meet their physical needs, but it is there to help to meet their spiritual needs.  He said that although they do provide for people in extreme need, they try not to give things out too much because they don't want people coming to the church just looking for "stuff".  His prayer requests:  that people would come to a relationship with Jesus and learn to trust God to provide for all their needs; and that people's hearts would be open.

We asked what it cost to operate their church.  He reported that it currently took about $2000 a month to operate their church.  1000 members, average attendance of 700 people, services on Sunday mornings and a youth program every Wednesday night, 3X needing to enlarge the church.  Money well spent!!

Workineh and his pastor

Side note:  the pastor's wife is pregnant with their first child.  He was practically beaming when he told us that they were expecting. 

the inside of their Bibles

Kids everywhere feel the need to color in the Bibles  :-)

Us girls

The men

When we first pulled up to the gates, some boys went running to help and open the gate for us.  They were hanging around the church, coming in and out of the gates.  We gave them lollipops and they were so happy.  We asked about them and discovered that they were just neighborhood boys who like to come and hang out there.  I felt it was special that they found sanctuary, solace, and comfort just hanging out at the church in the midst of their difficult lives.

Sweet neighborhood boys who come to the church to hang out

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Matthew 11:28 - 30