Days 2 and 3

Day 2:
After enjoying an American breakfast (with an Ethiopian flare) at our transition house, we headed out for Nazaret. It is a city a couple hours outside of Addis (the capital). Two of the other couples with us had children at an orphanage there. Although it meant we wouldn’t get to spend any time with our kids this day, we were glad to get to be with our new friends as they met their children. It really was an unexpected gift to get to be a part of a special moment for these families- one we will always cherish. You can see in the pictures, how precious this time was!

We enjoyed lunch and a tour of the countryside together which included feeding monkeys at a park. In addition to the bananas, our eyes were peeled along the way but we saw no signs of lions, elephants or zebras- just more cows, goats and donkeys.

The Sweeneys stayed the night in Nazaret to be able to spend one more morning with their baby while we and the Borders came on back to the transition house. We were looking forward to one more visit on Monday before the big day- COURT.

Day 3:
We were so excited to get back to the orphanage where we could spend some time with our kids. Just before we arrived, however, Woudeneh informed us that Chernet wasn’t there- he was in school. We asked about going there or just staying longer at the orphanage so we could see him but could tell it wasn’t a great idea. Therefore, we decided to go with the flow and enjoy our time with the girls. The “no photographing” rule was strictly enforced and we were unable to even take pictures when it was us alone with them. Again, we remembered the suggestion to be polite and not question the nannys or other orphanage workers and just focused on playing with Mulu and Woubet.

We blew up a couple punch ball (balloons), chased after small bouncy balls, shared peanut butter crackers and hershey kisses, and let them have free reign of the pens in my journal (thanks again, Cassie! They loved it!!!). We watched as Mulu shared everything she had with her little sister. We discovered a strong bond between the two of them in the short two hours we were there. It was precious!

The two hours went by so fast and right on time we heard the beeping of the van as it backed into the open gate. We headed back to the Borders kids’ orphanage to pick Lewis and Margaret up then went to lunch and prepared for the shopping excursion.

The consensus over lunch was to try the market where the bartering was more challenging but potentially more rewarding. Thankfully, we had some pros with us- real salesmen, who were up for the challenge. Tim and I decided to just follow their lead. This was our Ethiopian street experience- unforgettable! The best deal was a drum we purchased for Victor. Thanks to Ryan’s bargaining tactics, the salesman begged us to take it for half of the "original" price.

The day was full of once in a lifetime experiences. We saw heart wrenching signs of poverty as beggars approached us asking for money. Many of them children- such an injustice. It reminded us of what a mess sin has made of this world we live in. Thankfully, it is only temporary and our God is a god of justice. Psalm 146 reminds us,

"How blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God, who made heaven and earth, the sea and all that is in them; who keeps faith forever; who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets the prisoners free. The LORD opens the eyes of the blind; The LORD raises up those who are bowed down; The LORD loves the righteous; The LORD protects the strangers; He supports the fatherless and the widow,but He thwarts the way of the wicked."

After this amazing day of sights and experiences, we returned to the transition home to gear up for the purpose of our trip- court (day 4).

Our trip for court (day 1)

Happy New Year!

“If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” 2 Cor. 5:17

We are so thankful for the new life we received when we decided to go all in with Jesus. Sure it was a risk, trusting in something/someOne we couldn’t completely see with our eyes, although evidence of His activity was (and still is) all around. And now, as we enter into 2011, we get to begin another new chapter in our lives as a family of eight. Unaware of the challenges we’ll face, God promises that His “lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning, Great is (His) faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23. Thank goodness! And how exciting!

Our hope and prayer is that God will use our story to motivate others to follow His call in their lives to experience the blessings of adoption. We certainly are examples of how He can accomplish much with little. Evidence of that is in a previous post about our adoption expenses.

The following is the beginning of an abbreviated version of our first trip to Ethiopia. Of course we are still processing much of what we experienced and for the sake of brevity, many details will not be included. If anyone is interested in more information, however, about our process or experiences, please don’t hesitate to ask- we’d love to share!

Traveling:
We were so excited to see our children that we couldn’t relax and sleep on the 12 hour flight. We arrived at 9:30 am Ethiopia time which was 1:30am our time. One of the first things Woudeneh said at the airport was, “no resting today- too much to do.” Thankfully, the adrenaline kept us awake and excited about our first day in Ethiopia.

Day 1 (Saturday):
We went straight to the transition house (a place for West Sands couples to stay where children also stay between passing court and going home- a brilliant idea), and settled in our rooms before having lunch. We then headed to the orphanage to meet our kids. Out of the four couples traveling together, there were 3 orphanages to visit, in two days. We learned that we would all go together on these initial visits. Although it made us look like a documentary crew, we were happy to have friends there taking pictures and videotaping so we could concentrate on enjoying that initial meeting. Obviously, we quickly bonded with the other couples with us!

Ours was the first orphanage the group would visit. The expectations were lowered a bit when just before entering, we were told not to tell the children the purpose of our visit, nor to take pictures of ANYONE other than our kids. This, plus the fact that we couldn’t speak their language made the initial meeting a bit awkward- but forever preciously etched in our minds. You can see in the pictures how hesitant Chernet and Mulu were to our affection. Woubet, on the other hand, had no trouble loosening up. Thankfully, God gave us a peace and joy about this meeting and although we didn’t want to leave, we loaded back into the van only 30-40 minutes after arriving.

(more to come)

We Made It!

Other than the inability to communicate with friends and family through email or our blog, our trip to Ethiopia for court was flawless. Thankfully we could use facebook to send short updates.

Our experience meeting the kids, going to court, and meeting their birth father could not have gone more smoothly. There is so much to tell but we still have a few days of celebrating Christmas and this battle with jet lag, so we'll post a few pictures now and save the details for later.

Thanks!

We made it to DC through the ice and snow and even have time to rest before the flight to Ethiopia tomorrow. God is good!

Leaving the kids was harder than I expected because we discovered just before leaving that Tommy has strep throat. There's not much worse for a mommy than to leave her kids for a week when they are sick! Thankfully, God has given us awesome friends and family who will take great care of them while we are gone. Because of the storm, we took an earlier flight hoping to avoid the delays. Although it gave us peace of mind concerning our flight schedule, it meant one more night away from Tommy, Victor and Vanessa which also made the departure a little harder. Again though, I'm continually reminded that they are in great hands and will probably have too much fun this week to miss us.

Thank you, Cassie, Kerrin, Mom and Dad, Julie ,and Jenny for your willingness (and eagerness) to watch them for us while we are away this WEEK before Christmas!

Thank you, Nicole, for being ready to watch Vanessa, and thanks, Molly, for understanding that now isn't a good time for you or your mommy or daddy to get strep throat! Vanessa can't wait for that overnighter once we're all home.

Thank you, Katie, for taking care of our house and for volunteering to wrap up some tasks I didn't finish, and thanks, Taylor, for caring for our feathered friends.

Thank you, Tom and Loreatha, for keeping Jazzy, transporting our van from the airport, planning to pick us up from the airport, and filling in the gaps that may be created while we are away.

Thank you, Amy, for all you did (and loaned us) to help us prepare for what is to come. As we've said before, if it weren't for your example, we wouldn't be here!

Thank you, Susan, Cindy, and Lesley for the imperative part you've played in this story as our adoption agency.

Thank you Denise, Kelli, Donna, and Nikki for the encouragement and tips from your experiences.

Thank you, Vanessa, for your enthusiasm, prayers and support.

And most importantly, to everyone who has offered to help and/or pray for us in this radical endeavor, thank you! God is clearly hearing and answering your requests to give us strength and peace.

Thanks!
Love,
Tim and Alicia

3 days left!

Proverbs 19:21 says, "Many plans are in a man's heart, but the counsel of the LORD will stand."

Many of you know how I like to organize and plan. I'm so glad we had 2 months to pack and plan for this trip, however, I'm also glad that through trying to remember EVERY little detail, God has reminded me that He's got this covered!

We are about to bust with excitement as we countdown the days to our trip- THIS THURSDAY!!! Thank you to all who have lifted us up in prayer. We certainly feel God's protection as we move into the last leg of this first waiting period to meet Chernet, Mulu and Woubet. It's so exciting to say that our next post will be from the other side of the world (where it's not so snowy)!