To Dream the Impossible Dream

Blog Moved

2011-12-16T14:38:00.002-08:00

Our family blog has moved. Actually it moved a long time ago!! When the girls came home we began a blog:

http://www.andthentherewere10.blogspot.com

We then moved onto another one:

www.havefaithwilldream.blogspot.com

Welcome!

New Blogs

2011-04-17T22:40:00.001-07:00

If you would like to follow along with our journey it continued on http://www.andthentherewere10.blogspot.com

Thanks for following along!

Day 15 - Flying Home to Canada

2008-12-29T16:00:00.000-08:00

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Day 12 - 14 Back to Addis

2008-12-22T21:14:00.000-08:00

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Meeting Our Birthmum

2008-12-17T21:12:00.000-08:00

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Day 10-12 FAYA Orphanage Video

2008-11-20T14:33:00.003-08:00

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Day 8 & 9 - Ethiopia Video

2008-11-20T14:26:00.000-08:00

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Turn down the audio

2008-11-20T11:17:00.000-08:00

Don't forget, before listening to the videos to go to the bottom and turn off the music player.

Justine

Off to Ethiopia - Video 1

2008-11-20T11:13:00.001-08:00

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Gotcha Day Video

2008-11-12T15:47:00.001-08:00

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Invites

2008-10-01T21:11:00.001-07:00

Hello there!

If any of you who asked for an invite have not received one, please resend your request, as I had so many that it is possible yours got lost in the shuffle. Sorry!! I would love to add your name, so please just email me.

mum2boys@telus.net

Thank You

2008-09-20T23:53:00.004-07:00

I have been receiving so many wonderful emails from people who want to keep reading my blog. I had no idea how many people were following my writing/story. To all of those who left me questions: I will respond as soon as I am able.

But in the meantime, thank you to all of you who came out of the woodwork and told me who you were and a little about yourself. I truly appreciated that!

The interesting thing is that 90% of the requests were from people I did not even know. So I am going to guess that all the ones I *do* know are *assuming* that I will send them an invite, even if they don't request one! *grin*

I can only sign 100 readers to a Private Blog, so if you want to be included, please send me your email ASAP.

The new blog is up and running. A little unfinished looking, lacking all the goodies, but it is a work in progress.

And PLEASE all you NOW NON-LURKERS *smile* leave me a comment once in a while!!!! I LOVE my comments!! And you all know that from my previous posts. Your comments are my fuel to writing.

My email: mum2boys@telus.net

Blessings, Justine

Oh to Gather Energy...

2008-09-17T20:36:00.019-07:00

How sad a title is that! LOL!! But seriously, I am so tired. The days are so very full, and so very positive, but that doesn't stop me from being exhausted by the end of the day. I am determined, though, to get this post written. It will mean a LARGE bowl of icecream to be infused directly into my blood stream to give me a high boost of energy! LOL!!

Okay, so WHERE do I start? Yawn. *smile*

The kids are sleeping. Actually only 3/8 of them are. One big boy is doing schoolwork - still; one is working on his computer; one is cleaning a bathroom; two just knocked at the front door - reminding me that I had sent them out a few hours ago with a so kind friend, who took the poor hibernating children swimming for the evening! I had forgotten all about them. I just kept hearing someONE persistently knocking on my front door. I figured it was an annoying teenager! LOL!! Only to discover my children outside! My poor tired brain. And then of course, I have one small boy and two small girls sound asleep. That SHOULD add up to 8. I hope I haven't lost one!!

And trust me, that could happen!

So, back to the airport. You are going to get a somewhat shortened version. Sadly. The girls were awesome on the airplanes. We landed in Vancouver and headed out right away and down to Immigration. It only took about 30 minutes to get through Immigration.

Leaving the Airplane All Dressed Up

On the Way Down to Immigration

Waiting in Immigration

When we were called up I asked the lady in as submissive a way as I know how *ROFLOL* to please write the girls names on the legal paperwork. I didn't want to make it seem like a big deal or she might think she 'shouldn't' do it. So I just told her that by simply writing it on the paper it would make it easier to get the medical card in that name. She did it. So we then had our girls legal name change done at the airport! No one year wait!! That was wonderful!

When we came home it meant that we were able to order our Medical Cards for them and have their new names on those right away, and then we had a legal thing in our hand (the PHN cards) and that would make everything else legal right from the get go!! Very good! So now when we apply for Citizenship the name has already been changed! No wait and then change later.

When we got through Immigration we went simply out the door and had friends and family waiting for us. It was wonderful to see. I had chatted with the girls before we went out the doors that there would be friends there and to be sure to be happy and smile at everyone and say hello. The girls were already very happy and so excited to be in Canada. As they walked on down the walkway they began chanting: I am happy! I am happy! in unison. It was cute.

Well, Gadisae certainly did not disappoint!! LOL! She bounded into everyone's arms. No shyness there! Simply: oh, I might know you? Then I think I should hug you!

I only have these photos so far, as I am still waiting for copies from other cameras. These came from my son taking pictures, so I am sorry if you were there and you are not in pictures. We are hoping to get other pictures from people.

It was wonderful to see the friends that came out. Sarah, I loved seeing your little ones! Thank you for taking pictures for us. I still have to see if I can get my email box big enough to download them all. One day at a time, right now! LOL!

Susan, I haven't had a chance to talk to you yet - you threw me completely with the new hair do! I didnt' recognize you for a few minutes - I suspect you picked up on something there! I hope you weren't offended! We had only met the one time at the seminar and your hair was long! I love it short. We will have to get together when we come down sometime. My sister is blocks from your house!

Roger and Melania, Jenny and Kids, so glad you all could come! It was such a nice feeling to see you all and have a chance for you to meet the girls before we left!

Meeting Auntie Mandy and Niva and Ahria (cousins) For the First Time

Meeting Wonderful Uncle Dave

Finally Girl Cousins!

Auntie and Her Girls

Yeah! Another Uncle! Gadisae and Uncle Roger

Kind Uncle Dave Traipsed the Girls Everywhere

Old Good Friends

These four young people were born knowing each other. The two on the right are my friend, Jenny's children. We have been friends since we were girls. Since moving to our town the contact between the teens has been cut back to almost nonexistant. It was a real treat for our kids to find out their old friends were at the airport!! A real unexpected surprise for my boys!

After we stood there gabbing for an hour or so, we headed out to the next airplane check in. It was to be our last flight home.

Beautiful flowers from Jenny and her children. On our way to catching our next and final flight home!

We got on the plane and the girls got buckled in. It was to be a 1 hr 8 minute flight.

We were all so terribly tired that within minutes we were fast asleep.

We woke up upon beginning landing in the little airport. The girls were so out of it we could barely wake them. It was wonderful to see the window in the little airport full of all of our friends and family!!

Unfortunately, because the girls had now been up for 48 hours (minus cat naps on the planes) and they had just had a 1 hour nap, they were pretty out of it. They were shy (which is NOT like them; they are just like our boys - very social!) and stuck pretty close to us.

We had tons of people at the airport and that was so wonderful for us!!

Our boys were very calm about the girls but obviously so excited to finally meet their sisters. What to me is a funny thing is an observation I made. My boys, who are known for being string beans, actually looked chubby in the faces!! I think it was from spending so much time with two little girls who are really underweight and have no chubbiness to their faces at all.

After a very short while, Mesai warmed up and began running around the little airport with the boys and my friend Erin's little girl, Julianna. They had a wonderful time and I am sure the airport was glad when we finally left!! LOL!

Shortly after this we packed up in our van and headed for home. The girls had been amazing up to this point - no tantrums, no big tears, no problems of any kind. I loaded them into the backseat of the van, helped them into their carseats, buckled them into their 5 point harnesses (NOT like Africa!) and off we went. Not a peep. Not a complaint or a comment about the straps. Soon the girls were asleep and I zoned out. Sorry, I couldn't be a friendly mother to my boys. I was so incredibly tired that I just had to try to sleep.

We got home about an hour later, climbed out of the van, put the girls and little boys into the tub and then jammies, into their new bedroom, tucked into bed, and then the house was silent! It was as quick and simple as that! Before they went to bed though, the boys had to give them hugs and kisses.

And in answer to your questions regarding the girls and their new bedroom. No comment. Literally. But you have to remember - EVERYTHING from the minute they got to that airport was brand new to their eyes: escalators, elevators, airplanes, audio machines, movies on planes, new faces, new clothes, new toys.

What is one more thing - a new bedroom. One day they may tell me their thoughts that first night. And I hope they do. But in the meantime, it is enough that they are happy. Last night, I asked them if they would prefer to be in Eteeopia (as they call it) or here. Without hesitation, Mesai replied: here! And Gadisae, when it was her turn, replied similarly. They are happy and we are beginning to be a family, and life is good.

It'll Soon Be Time to Move On

2008-09-17T20:36:00.018-07:00

Now that our girls are home we will be beginning a new family blog. This blog will stay open, but I would like to take our family stories and transition stories somewhat private. Not the general public reading - just the readers I already have.

I would LOVE my readers to follow us. So please, if you enjoy our family blog, please send me a quick note with your email and please, if you have the time, drop me a note telling me who you are.

My email is mum2boys@telus.net

I am not sure how quickly I am moving the blog, but it will be soon. As soon as I have energy. In the meantime, I am going to be composing my next post - the last two weeks with the girls. That will be a BIG one and you know me - it will be very descriptive and loaded with photos, and full of info, attachment, details, fun, transitions, boys and girls, so please send me your email, so you can stay in touch!!

Blessings, Justine

Sister Chicks

2008-09-17T20:36:00.014-07:00

What would I do without my best friend? Sometimes it is so hard having my best friend live thousands of miles away. But God knows best. Maybe He knows that our friendship will be that much sweeter and that we will truly cherish the few times we get to spend together!

It was a hard decision for Denise to not be able to come with us to Africa. Some people didn't understand why I would want an 'outsider' to be there when we met our girls. But they don't know our relationship. Denise is a sister to me. But for reasons beyond our control our trip together wasn't meant to be.

But that did not mean that she was not to be part of our trip. I was blessed by Denise's involvement in my journaling. Thank you, Friend, for being there for me. Only you would know how important that trip was to me - not just for the girls, but for so much more. Thank you for being there *with* me, in spirit!! And I know that one day we *will* take that trip together - a real Sister Chicks trip!!

Love you!!

New Photos

2008-09-17T20:36:00.000-07:00

There are new photos on MILK FOR THE BABIES.

Update

2008-09-13T17:57:00.002-07:00

There are new photos in a few posts:

the newest: Last minute....

August 31, and Shopping August 29.

I also have edited them all with more info. You might want to glance through to see the changes.

Claire and Tracy, your gifts were given out. Read and see. *Smile*

Blessings, Justine (PS - getting closer to a Canada-side update)

Last Minute Stuff, Leaving Ethiopia & Heading Home

2008-09-13T13:39:00.014-07:00

We had a number of things to complete early today, because we wanted to meet up with our good friend Abebe. We wanted to spend some more time together before we left and then take him out for lunch.

Abebe and the Girls

We had our driver take the girls and Ray and I to the German Embassy, while we left the boys back at the guesthouse sleeping.

This is the Weygoss. It may look fancy, but the hospitality and service were no better than at the Oziopia. It was just central.

I dropped Ray off at the embassy and the driver and I headed to find dresses to give as gifts. When this was done we headed back to get Ray and then off to the jewelry shop. I ended up buying myself some silver as I love it and do not really have any jewelry. The silver is Ethiopia and I was able to buy 3 bracelets for myself, 2 for the girls, 1 silver chain, 2 pendants and a ring – all for under $200!

While we were out it was my goal to give Tracy’s two shirts to a deserving child. I didn’t want to give them to just *any* child. It had to be the *right* child. Our driver drove very slowly through the streets and we scanned the children. He was scrutinizing as carefully as we were. He knew what he was looking for. He understood us! A child with decent clothes didn’t need it. A child with a job didn’t need it. It had to be the right one. We saw different children, assessed them, and then moved on.

We saw two little girls walking down the road and I thought that would be good - two girls, two friends, they each get one. But no. It didn't feel right. The driving and scanning continued for about another 15 minutes. Soon, we were driving down a road and suddenly I said, “STOP!!! There’s the girl. Back there. Go, back, back!!”

We had traffic behind us, but our trust driver, Esyas (Weygoss driver) stopped the car, and backed up towards the child. There on the side of the road, pulled back to the brick wall, were a little girl of about 10 years old and her mother. The woman looked old enough to be her grandmother – she was worn down from a hard life. The child was dressed in rags and was sitting strapped in a wheelchair. This was the perfect child. I got out of the car and walked over to her with the shirts in my hand. I unfolded one and lay it on her chest and said, “Konjo!” (beautiful). She beamed. I then took the second shirt and did the same thing. Her face was beautiful. I don’t know if this child ever had anything pretty, but she did today, and she was so happy! I then pressed 50 birr ($5) into her mother’s hand. Her mum bowed her head over my hands and said, Amaseganallo (thank you). I told the little girl she was beautiful again, and then went to get in the car. During this time there was a congestion on the street and I thought we were in trouble for stopping traffic and parking where we did. Our driver told me that no, they were so happy. They just wanted to know what I was doing. Driving away, again my throat was full and my eyes smarted with tears. Sometimes you are fortunate enough to get more than just a child that is hungry – you get an unusual situation that just hits your heart in the softest way.

From here, we headed back to pick up the boys and Abebe. He had had his driver bring him in and we were picking up his driver and leaving ours. We took Abebe to Cloud 9 restaurant for lunch. Out of all the restaurants we went to Cloud 9 was the best!! The desserts are fabulous, and Mr. Smith Steak is really great.

We were hoping to have time to get to the Fistula women’s hospital, but we were given misinformation from Solomon (the airport driver). He had told us it was 3-5 days to get an appointment and it was so very far away. While we were eating lunch, Abebe managed to get us an appointment right away and it was a 35 minute drive! I was very disappointed as I wanted to go there and give them a donation.

If you are going to Ethiopia and have 10 or more days, then I would highly suggest you stay at the Oziopia. The place is small and definitely a guesthouse, but the service is wonderful. I actually preferred it to the Weygoss. The Weygoss did not have their toilet (our toilet) fixed the whole time we were there. And also, they could not do our laundry for two days. So we ended up doing some ourselves and bringing the rest home with us. The Oziopia, on the other hand, did it every time she saw a little pile in our guest room. The food is remarkable and the mother will cook every night for you for $5 per adult head, and $3 per child. Abebe is incredible. Even while eating lunch he was on the phone lining things up for us. You will be dissuaded from staying there by Solomon, the driver, because ‘it is their duty to take care of you’ (his words) – and it is a longer drive for them. But geographically speaking – A = Oziopia B = Weygoss and downtown Addis C= Transition House. You will not be at the Transition House, a lot. The Oziopia Guest House

abeberob2006@yahoo.com - tell them Justine from Canada sent you. *smile*

Eating Dinner and He is Still Organizing Our Plans!!

Amazing Guy!

We have been so impressed with him that we have accepted an open invitation for our oldest son to go to Addis, this coming February and stay with our new friends. He will help them out in return for room and board. If we can line up his graduating year to make it work, it will be an amazing opportunity!!

Once we left Cloud 9, we headed to the Transition House to meet up with the head nurse to discuss our girls medical history. On the way there we took the opportunity to look for all the little girls that we could find. We had a handful of pretty necklaces and we wanted to give them away. Mind you, finding little girls was not nearly as easy as finding little boys!!! Boys were everywhere; girls tended to be noticeably absent.

But on the road up to the Transition House (if you could call it that) we did find many little girls wandering with packages from place to place. It was more of a residential area than a city area. That was fun. We leaned out of opposite windows and put them on their hands and necks and told them how pretty they looked.

The reaction from the girls was good. They were probably mystified when a white girl in a truck is hanging out the window or a guy calls out a door offering them a necklace - a 'konjo'. They came willingly when they saw what we were holding out, and they allowed me to place them aroud their neck. It was neat. I would love to have done the same thing with a bunch of little metal cars!! You have to be in a place where you can easily drive away - NOT in Addis - and just drive casually past the boys. They are all doing something productive, so are not begging. So handing out the cars is possible, without them begging for food.

This little girl was gifted with a special necklace that our 9 year old sent. He wanted me to find a little girl and take a picture for him.

This was actually the first little girl I gave a necklace to. We were driving up our alley near the Weygoss and I suddenly saw this child and called for the driver to stop. I think by the time we were done he was used to my odd ways *smile*. I got out and asked if I could give her a necklace. I held it out and her mother said I could. The little girl just smiled so prettily. And then her mother told her to say thank you.

BACK to the TRANSITION HOUSE STORY

There was a screw-up by the person who was supposed to arrange the meeting and the appointment had not been arranged. This was unfortunate, because now it entailed driving to the baby house to see the nurse. When we got there, she was not there…. So Solomon (the director) graciously arranged for her to come to our guesthouse and bring the files with her so that we could have the meeting.

In the meantime, our girls had fun saying hello to their friends. Miss Social, Gadisae, ran from friend to friend giving them hugs.

MORE FRIEND PICS HERE

Mesai just hung out but was not affected enough to run around. Neither of them showed any upset at coming or relief at going. They were very matter-of-fact.

Rebecca - the Girls' School Teacher and Mesai and Gadisae

The Laundry Staff

They were so sweet - quietly working in the background. When I asked for a photo they appeared a little shy. I told them I would send them a picture; they were pleased.

The Laundry Staff Saying Goodbye to Mesai

Our last stop was the Internet Shop. It was my goal to send out my last post from Ethiopia. Here is our minivan and everyone waiting for me to come back. It was a quick stop today.

Our bags were packed and sitting in the guesthouse lobby since 12:00 pm that day. When we arrived home from all of our running around we didnt' have much to do. The girls and boys sat and watched tv in the lobby and Ray and I waited for our meeting with the nurse. When she arrived it was almost 7:00 pm and we were worried it was not going to happen.

She rushed in the door, full of apologies having been held up at the hospital. We had a nice meeting and it was clear the girls and her had a bond. She is the head nurse and the one that would have taken care of their medical needs.

By the time our meeting was over it was 7:30 pm and we were now just waiting for our ride to the airport.

Last Minute Bag Searching For Oil of Oregano and No Jet Lag

Arriving in the Rain

When we were putting our bags through the security Dane took some video and almost immediately a guy came up and demanded the video camera. I was just imagining him taking the camera with all my 8 hours of video tape!! ACK! I quickly showed him that he had not gotten anything harmful. The man said to be sure not to video near the security - only the bags and girls. Okay, no pro. man!! Whew!!

The most bizarre thing happened at the airport. Our kids were so hoping to see Corrie’s family coming in, but our departure area and there arrival area were in two different places. Well, as we got through security and before they got into the Visa area, Dane suddenly went running up to the glass partition. There they were – right on the other side of a glass wall. We tried to explain to the girls that that was Fikru’s family. I believe this was a God blessing. What chance was there of our few seconds between security and baggage and their few minutes in line to match up that we would be there at the very same moment and have a chance for Dane to say hello to his friend! God knows the things that important to everyone, kids included.

We got through security and into the airport. The funny thing is the AFRICA TIME thing. When we got to the checkin we had no baggage tags. We were told to stand there and fill them out!! Uhhh, in Canada, we would have lost our place in line because people were in such a hurry!!

Filling in Luggage Tags - The Line Behind Us Waits!

Next, when it came to weighing the bags, the first bag was overweight by a couple kg. I pointed this out to the woman and she said it was fine. Then she didn’t even bother weighing the bags; she just had us pile them all up on the scales!! LOL!!

Notice the 70 kg on the Scales!! LOL!

Once on the airplane the girls were great. Mesai said she was excited.

They didn’t like much of their food as they really only like bread, buns, injera, Ethiopian food, and pasta with meat sauce!! *laugh*

Before the flight was over Mesai suddenly got cold and clammy, but she was okay. A little tummy upset and then it was gone.I think it might have been motion sickness because she did the same thing in a car and then puked all over the backseat floor! Lovely. But she was better right away. And I didn't have to clean it up! That is when you call in the men. *grin*

As soon as we got on the plane, Gadisae put her hands to her head to show she was tired. She lay down and was asleep in ten seconds. She has shown us that she has this art down pat!

12:00 pm German time – 3:00 am Canadian time

You are all sound asleep right now. We have arrived in Germany – actually we arrived here 6 hours ago.

Arriving Pics to Follow:

Note the Exileration of Riding an Escalator For the First Time!

We have been killing time waiting for our plane to be ready. It was a 6 hour layover. We had a video to watch, and then sat, and sat, and sat.

All Wired Together

And of course, our girls had to go to the bathroom about 8 times. No lie. What is it with girls??!! Give me a boys bladder anytime I am traveling! Boys can go 6-12 hours, no problem! But at least we have spent enough time in the bathroom for the girls to now know: hands in the air, no touching things, how to wash hands properly etc. LOL!

'Hanging Around Dane'

I Love My Big Brother

The last thing we did to kill time was get something to eat. The restaurants actually had a McDonalds. Usually we stay away from that place, but today I was looking for something familiar. The girls actually liked the French fries, but turned up their noses at the ketchup. I can see that introducing new foods will take time!! LOL!! They love their injera, pasta, and buns. Oh yeah! LOL!

I love this picture with the Lufthansa plane in the background and the girls having Ethiopian hats on. It really gives perspective to being coming home through Germany.

Oh, and as usual, they are perfect children. Perfect travelers, cooperative, pleasant, well behaved. Wonderful!

Does she ever look like a 'typical' Canadian kid!! Got her cell phone and all! (well, not really! LOL!

We are now waiting to board our plane for Vancouver. It is about an 11 or 10 hour flight, but at least there are entertainment systems in each seat! YEAH!!! So we shall see you on the other side!!

August 31 - Running Around

2008-09-13T07:58:00.006-07:00

Sleeping Beauties

Today was another busy day. I was determined to get as much eating in as I could, since we are now on holiday. *smile* This morning, as soon as we had finished our breakfast we got our driver (LOVE that luxury!! The man walks with you, talks for you, bargains for you, carries your packages, does crazy things like run back to your car through the rain to get your video camera because you just NEED to video camera a scene for your memories!!) and headed out for some last minute shopping.

First stop: scarves for the girls. I love the headdresses the Africans wear and the girls traditional dresses have them, but I wanted some for when they are wearing regular clothes and such. I love to see the many, many ways the young girls and women will wear their headscarves!! Beautiful!! I am actually getting pretty good at putting on the scarves in different ways.

While I was getting the scarves, I ended up getting some more dresses for the girls. These all come with head scarves and are so pretty! We then headed to the coffee store. I intended to buy about 18 more bags of coffee – 6 to give away, and 12 for me. I know that will not be enough, but I want to start right. Perhaps we can get some shipped to us. This coffee will go very nicely with my new espresso/cappuccino maker that I am going to get! HA! Can’t spend time in Ethiopia drinking Murikato and other great drinks and not go and get the supplies to duplicate them!

Coffee Shop

Next stop – Silver stores. Our wonderful driver knew exactly where to take us to find silver. The second that we got out of the car it began to rain. Within minutes, it was pouring down raining and very cold! The ‘puddle’ on the side of the road became 10’ wide in no time!! It was unbelievable how quickly we could go from dry streets to almost under water in literally minutes. That sure shows what the rainy season is all about!

At the jewelry store, Ray and I settled on two little silver bracelets for the girls. We put their name on the top side and Adama, their birthplace, on the bottom. I will have this engraved in Amharic tomorrow and be back to pick it up in the morning. I might also buy myself some silver while I am there.

When we left the store we had a dilemma. We had to get across the street and the ‘gutter’ – the side of the street where cars park – was literally 8-10’ across of water!! Our driver picked up one of the girls and was going to pass her to Colt, but there was a fear of dropping her in the water. At one point a minivan pulled up into the river of water, and opened it’s doors. It was going to give us a ride thinking we were stranded!

I wanted to get a picture of this and my camera was dead because two children, who shall remain nameless, borrowed my camera to take a picture, which quickly became 14, and then my dying batteries were then totally dead. So I asked our kind driver if he could run back to the car and get my video camera. He handed off the little child he was carrying and took a flying leap through the air and landed on the far side of the river. He returned a few minutes later with the camera, but now the river was receding –that quickly!!!

But it was still not narrow enough to cross safely. Everyone else got across neatly, but I had to take a jump and that was not good enough. I ended up with my feet in the river and my stomach squirmed all the way back to the guest house, just thinking what was floating down the river of water from up town!! *grimace*

When I got back to the guesthouse I quickly washed my feet in the tub, along with my flip flops and then I rinsed both with Purell antibacterial. *grin* I was not taking chances! I should mention that anyone smart would have been wearing shoes, but my shoes went walking in Adama. I have no idea where they might be or who might have taken them, but they vanished, and so now I get to travel home in flip flops!!! I can only hope it is not too cold in Canada!

I will say that the next time I go to Ethiopia, it will be in about Feb/March, so that means I will not get wet, and I will be warm!!

After we left the hotel we kept our eyes peeled for some little boys to give Claire's toy cars to. When our driver was parked near the dress shop, and I had already done my buying, I had an opportunity. I saw this woman walk by with three little boys. I waited for someone to come back and sit with the girls and then I jumped out of the car and headed down the street towards the little family.

I stopped near the boys and held out the cars and said in an invited tone, "Makina?" (car?) You should have seen the jump of delight from these boys. "MAKINA!! MAKINA!!" And they put out their hands, barely containing their enthusiasm. Claire, trust me, your little cars certainly made these little boys' day!!

We had one more opportunity to give a car away. We were pulled up to a stoplight and a woman walked by with a little boy sleeping on her back. I handed her 10 birr and the little car. She smiled widely when she saw the car. As a mother I can only guess that somebody noticing *her* little boy out of all the children was a nice thing for her.

Lunch was next and we had a wonderful lunch – almost a dinner! The girls eat so much it blows me away. Seriously if we are talking cups of food, Briton and Cooper eat about 1 cup of spaghetti and meat sauce. The girls ate about 3-4 cups of that for lunch today!! That was about 3:00 pm. At 7:30 I was still stuff from my dinner. I asked the girls: Ra BESH? Are you hungry? And they both said, Yes.

We are taking them to see an adoption doctor in Vancouver once we are settled, and you can bet your bottom dollar that I am going to be asking about parasites. It is either parasites, or just plain years of hunger and making up for lost time!

The boys are enjoying the freedom of drinking pop, cause at home they don’t get it. It will be rather sad for them when these days come to an end. *grin*

After lunch, the driver dropped Ray and the girls, and Dane off at the guest house. I headed to an internet café with Colt and the driver. We ended up going to the Sheraton as that internet would be fast. That hotel is something! I would love to stay there sometime! Not that we could afford it. But it would be nice to have hot water when you need it, toilets that always flush, and toilet paper in the bathrooms! Every one I found in the Sheraton had paper. What a thrill. I have only found toilet paper in a handful of bathrooms so far!

The packing continued when I got back to our room. We are almost packed for home with the dresses, and coffee being the main thing. I bought a beautiful fine porcelain coffee set. The cups are about ¼ cup size. They are white with a trim of gold on the upper part of the cup, plus a section of Ethiopian art on each piece. I then bartered and got myself a coffee table and a stool to sit on.

I was ready for bed, as I am bushed from all this busyiness on this trip, but Ray really wanted to go out for dinner again. So we packed up the girls and the boys and walked down to the Ricos restaurant. The food is good enough – nice – there. Nothing special and if I chose again, I would go to Cloud 9 instead. We ate there a few times. The best.

When we were leaving the restaurant we did the typical thing – ask for our dinners to go as leftovers. The driver told the man what I had said: we buy 6 dinners, and we end up feeding 9 people altogether with our leftovers in the count. Well, the man who worked there was so pleased that he headed off to the kitchen and then came back with a handful of buns. It is nice when people get involved.

When we got home we packed the girls into bed and hit the sack ourselves. I am at the end of my energy and so the writing is coming early in the morning.

Tomorrow we leave. Packing to finish. Shopping to complete. Little gifts for street children to give out.

Some Fun Pictures of New Life

2008-09-11T14:54:00.005-07:00

I surprised the girls with an Ethiopian meal. Gadisae walked in and said, "Injera, Tibs, and then some word that meant Potato." Mesai took her seat and said, "Meat, Potatoes."

Well, at least the little one believed it was Ethiopian!! LOL. Mind you, except for the Injera, they did eat the meal with relish. The injera? Well, it was eaten slowly but no complaints. I did hear a few Yummy's through the meal.

Since they have been home they have willingly eaten 95% of what has been served to them.

Definitely Enjoying Her Meal

Something else I have done in the past is paper plates. I have brought this back. The last few nights, and on the plan for the next few weeks, is to use paper plates for dinner. It has cut the work back and makes life simpler!

Notice Our "Dishwashing Pile" - the Cutlery

The rest goes in the garbage! Love it!

Our NicelyPacked Table

It is funny how before the girls came the boys complained about how crowded each side of the table was. But do you think they would be so rude as to complain about a new person at the table? I'm not going to remind them how polite they are.

The weather around here is odd. Right now it should be getting cold. It is September, after all!! Mind you, we do have chilly mornings, but thankfully, we are in a warm spell in the days, so by noon the children are stripped down to summer gear. I love it! It is great transition weather. The kids are outside from 9:00 - 6:00 pm every day!!!

An Indian Summer Picnic - The Girls' First Picnic

Making Silly Faces

These Girls Love Fruit - They Inhale It!

The kids spend the full day outside, but in the middle of the day they need a recharge time. So it is lunch time and then this is followed by naptime. I have five that laydown. We have begun a little routine that works quite well. Rather than the jumble in the bathroom of kids falling over kids, and kids all trying to use the toilet or sink at the same time, I have come up with a plan. I feel like I run a preschool. *laugh* I suppose I do!! Given I homeschool!

So now they line up. Not always in the same order. Briton tries to budge to the front of the line, so we might just put the littlest first, to keep him out of trouble!

Giggly Kids

Teenage School?

2008-09-11T13:59:00.004-07:00

Too busy to get the adoption stuff updated, but for my homeschool friends I thought you might find a "Serious" Grade 10 student's idea of a desk humourous.

What's a Mother To Do?

Re Pictures again

2008-09-05T20:34:00.003-07:00

If you are looking for the pictures I am putting up: they are down at the first posts. They begin on the flight from Frankfurt to Ethiopia. I have managed to do about 5 posts, so far. So many pictures to choose from and my convenient computer is in the shop getting debugged.

Justine

Pictures

2008-09-05T14:50:00.003-07:00

I am slowly going to be adding pictures to the previous posts. Please check back to keep on top of it. Also, I have not been able to upload the last day in Ethiopia, and the trip home, as my computer caughter 'a number' of bugs and viruses!! while in Ethiopia!! The disk that has the last day on it has the virus and I can't affect my second home computer. My laptop is in the shop being decomtaminated as I write.

I'll be back as soon as I can!!

Blessings, Justine

Traditional Dinner

2008-09-04T19:47:00.005-07:00

Sisters!

Having Fun Teasing Big Brother

Solomon and Gertichew picked us up at 7:00 pm tonight. We were heading to a local traditional restaurant for dinner. When I walked in I was very impressed. It is a gorgeous restaurant. At one time it was a church at one end.

The Boys Enjoyed the Endless Supply of Soft Drinks!

I can’t begin to put into words how it felt to see these beautiful young men and women dancing, knowing that my girls have that in their soul. I just had to watch Gadisae to see how her shoulders would just start to roll forward to see that she knows what she is doing. She and Mesai were too shy to dance for us, unfortunately.

Look at Those Hands - Just Beginning to Dance

I did video tape as much of the dancing as I could, in the hopes of having our girls learn to dance from it. Since we homeschool there is nothing to stop me from having them take a Traditional Dance class at home! I have taken many pictures of these people dancing in a variety of ways and I was very impressed!

As I have been here in Ethiopia, the music has grown on me and I now really like it! But when you see the dancers dancing for their seasons, and harvests, and other special events, it really speaks to you.

I was able to find a store that sells traditional music and I bought two vcds. These are cds that play like dvds.

A Tired Girl at the End of the Night

We're Home

2008-09-03T12:12:00.003-07:00

Hello all,

I am not really writing right now. *smile* Just telling you that if you have posted a comment in the last 4 days they may have bounced to you. My mail box was so full. I hope I have rectified the problem. Please resend any messages to me or the blog that you may have tried to send, as I would love to read them.

I will be updating the blog in the next short while. Thank you for your faithful following! It has been fun!

Justine :o))

Shopping - August 29

2008-08-31T09:15:00.003-07:00

This morning we were up a bit later – tired from all these days of running around. It is exhausting how much we have packed into our time here! But it has been well worth it. The boys have their own room on a floor below us. And the girls are with us. We got up and headed down to breakfast. I had ordered pancakes for all of us. They arrived looking like crepes. They were delicious!! The girls did not like them and so we asked for their bread and jam to come earlier. They had that with tea (shy) and were very happy. I suspect we shall continue that at home. Herbal, of course, but I will be buying lots of Ethiopian tea also!

As soon as we were done breakfast we headed outside and found a taxi driver that works for the Weygoss.

Friendly Africa!

We told him we wanted to go shopping and so he took us to the main post office. Right outside of it there is a strip of little market shops. We spent about three hours walking through these shops. Who knows how much too much we spent, but our driver helped us. I bought presents for the boys back home and a beautiful coffee pot, coffee cups, coffee table, and stool, plus a painting of a little Oromo boy carrying a lamb. I also bought the girls Oromo bronze traditional bracelets. Later, we will go and buy silver for them, plus CDs of the music here. I should mention that our driver was very helpful and helped us to get better prices. He also carrying our parcels and helped look after the girls.

Our Friendly Driver Helping Me Buy

Negotiating For Me

Negotiating All My Drums!

There was a point when one child had to use the bathroom. I was pointed up behind the market stores and I wandered up there. One lady questioned me and I said, “Shint”. She pointed to the ground. So guess what we did – right there in the middle of the cobblestones, between parked cars and corregated tin shacks. When in Rome (again!)

Early in the afternoon, it began to pour with rain and we headed into a coffee shop. The boys ordered frappucinos (which I was certain they would not carry). The drinks arrived and they were cappuccinos. It was funny because at breakfast the boys had ordered milk and had received steamed milk. When in Rome…. LOL!! They decided that they did like the cappuccinos – after Dane added about four teaspoons of sugar!! LOL!

We continued our shopping with the boys buying some spear heads. They had tried to get knives but I said: no way. I was not taking a chance on a child getting a cut from an old knife that has been who knows where! The spear heads will stay on the wall or be put away til they leave home. Too risky, not knowing what they have been used for! They were collected from villages before being sold.

When we were done our shopping we headed to Cloud 9 for lunch. I am determined to eat out three times a day, plus have snacks twice a day. I have two weeks of eating to do in a three days!! *grin* The boys loved the stores in the mall of Cloud 9 and want to go back. Colt’s more interested in buying sunglasses, tshirts, jeans, runners, belts – anything clothing. As usual the girls ordered spaghetti with meat sauce – that is all they ever order!!

There was a fair bit of food leftover when we were done eating, so we had them package it up, along with the 7 bread rolls. As we left the building we were aware of a group of about 5 children about 40' feet from us. One boy of about 13 was wearing a little one of about two years in a sling on his back. There was a boy with him missing an arm, and two girls. They came towards us and put out their hands.

I opened the package and handed them all the leftovers – about 4 different trays of food. As I handed it to them I said, “Share,” as I looked the one boy in the eye. He said he would and then they dashed off. A few minutes later, just before we were getting in the car Ray spotted them sitting in a group eating their lunch. I wanted to see if they would mind if I took a picture of them, so I went over. I later learned that one of the door men from the Cloud 9 mall followed me to be sure I was safe.

I approached the children, showed them the camera, and asked if I could take a picture. They beamed and said, Yes. (There is one child that chose to hide rather than have her picture taken. The rest smiled.)

After I took the picture I asked the children if they were related. The one boy carrying the small girl, were brother and sister. The rest were just friends. I handed the one boy with the baby a ten birr note, and then gave 10 birr to another of the children and told them, Give this to your mother. (They may be homeless and without mothers, but just in case they aren’t, I was hoping it would get home.)

As we were talking, suddenly the van that was parked directly to the left of the children (they were pretty much leaning up against it), began to back up. The baby was directly behind one of the back wheels. It was the most freaky moment. The children screamed – I yelled and began banging on the back of the car – and the car stopped. My heart was pounding!! After it was all settled I left and went back to the car. A few minutes later, after they had finished eating, I saw the children walking away. The little one was still crying. What a frightening moment!

There was another incident later. As usual we were being surrounded by children and so we were not giving anything out as it was turning into a mob situation. We were in the car and trying to drive away. There was one little boy that I remember at the window. He was persistent. We finally pulled away from the crowd and headed fast down the road. About ½ - 1 km later we pulled to a stop, and lo and behold, there beside us, standing at our window was the little boy from before. He had been running behind us the whole time and we were not aware.

We could NOT say no. My throat was full of tears, as I said, Give him ten birr. He deserves it. Look how hard he worked for it!

We opened the window and handed him ten birr and told him to take it to his mother. You should have seen the beam of delight! He said, Thank you. And then as we drove away he stood waving, waving, waving, and smiling so big, and we kept waving at him. Then suddenly, he took off at a run, across the street, and down the road. That was the most wonderful moment!

On our way home to our room we saw a lady with two children on the side of the road. When we parked the car I dashed out of the parking lot and went down to her. I didn’t want people knowing what I was doing, so I acted nonchalant. I walked up to her, crouched down and quietly gave her ten birr. She thanked me and then we began talking. I asked her her children’s names: Elias and Abraham, and her name was Hannah. I said, “Abraham – Father of many nations.” She said, “Yes, the Bible.” After talking for a moment, I left and headed back to our room.

We put the girls to bed for a nap, and then Colt, Dane, and I headed out for the internet café.

Later, that night we headed to the Traditional Dinner. That will be in another post.

FAYA - Day Three

2008-08-31T09:06:00.009-07:00

This was to be our last day at FAYA. We had much to do. Because I am too tired to write at night, I have been writing early in the morning, before the girls wake up. When our girls woke up this morning they put on their shoes and went into the main house (the orphanage) and had tea and bread for breakfast with the other children.

The children are precious. Kalkidan has a smile a mile wide. When she found out that the bikes were for her she was so happy!! When I was opening the suitcases and putting the supplies where they went I gave her the hair products to put away. She took the little clips and said, “For me?” And I said yes. She almost bowled me over throwing herself at me and hugging me, and then gave me the biggest kiss. This little girl has come from nothing, had nothing, and expected nothing. So when someone came and told her that the hair pretties were for her – how special did that make her feel!!!

PICTURE OF KALKIDAN REMOVED FOR ADOPTION REASONS

The little twins are very sweet, and then there are the new children. The little boy, is so sad. Meg says she sees a change in him already, though.

PICTURE OF TWINS REMOVED FOR ADOPTION REASONS

PICTURE OF KALKIDAN AND NEW BOY REMOVED FOR ADOPTION REASONS

The baby has a head of hair and everyone is in love with him. And then there is a new little girl,who is the brother of the baby. All three of them are clearly still adjusting. They have only been there 24 hours.. The difference between them and the older three children is amazing. A little love, food, and care and they change so quickly.

NEW BABY AND NEW GIRL REMOVED FOR ADOPTION REASONS

Ray Tucking in a New Little Family Member of the O.

Meg and I got to work as soon as we woke up. Showers, deodorant, clothing, makeup, hair brushing? Ha. We had work to do. We basically crawled out of bed, threw on our shoes, had some tea and bread, and started moving furniture and unpacking.

Unpacking School Supplies

Some of the Baby Milk and Medicine Cabinet

Unloading Tons of Cough and Cold, Tynenol,

Anti-Fungal, Antibiotic Ointments, Bandaids,

Lidosporin (ear infections), Multi-Vitamins, etc.

Medicine Cabinet - Nicely Stocked Now

The New Bunk Beds and a Dresser

Rearranging Furniture.... Again

New Beds

The New Bedroom

Putting Up the New Kid's Bedroom

New Bedroom Behind the Couch

New Baby in a New Cradle

This side is the diningroom and leads to the front yard. The couch is the divider to the new bedroom. Eventually, there will be a curtain closing it off. (I think that was the plan) The toy shelf full of the donated toys - educational toys from one store owner in our town!

It used to be the room off of the livingroom. It now holds a set of bunkbeds, a crib, and a dresser. Room for 6 more children.

The Old Bunkbed Has Been Delegated to the Caregivers Rooms

New Kitchen Shelving

There was a boy of about 8 years, going through the garbage at the end of the road. He was picking through it for five or ten minutes, so Ray went walking towards him and he gave him 10 birr ($1). He said, Give this to your mother. The little boy beamed and then Ray turned and walked away. When Ray turned around the boy was racing as fast as he could home to his mother. Most times when a person is given money, it will be 1 birr, so this made his day.

There is no phone book in the area we were staying at and Ray would ask Meg for a phone number. Once he asked for the Yellow Pages. HAHA. So one day before we left he presented her with her notebook. The front cover was shut and it was bright yellow. He wrote: THE YELLOW PAGE – and on it were listed all the phone numbers that we had used at her house.

YELLOW PAGE PIC

While I was moving furniture and unpacking, Colt and young S were building bunkbeds. It was not an easy task, as it turned out that two sets of bunkbeds would not fit in one of the bed rooms. So then they had to take apart the old metal ones and take them out to the back house for the caregivers to use. The children will get the new beds. By the time they were done we had two bunkbeds and a crib in one room, a bunkbed and dresser in a second room, and a crib, bassinet, and bunkbed in the third room. They could feasibly put two children in each bed, making 16 beds with the four bunkbeds, plus another 5 babies. So I think they are good for a while. After that, I think their house might be too small.

Ray took off for town with older S and bought paving stones, a large mirror, and brought back the couch, and paid for the table and chairs that we were ordering. When he came back he set to work putting the paving stones down. It was beautiful when it was done. I wish I had a picture before the rocks were removed and the sand and stones laid!! The ground was up and down, and every inch was full of pointy, sharp, round big and small rocks and small boulders.

He also brought back 200 kg of Teff. It was funny to watch these trying to carry these great heavy bags!!

During all of this work there was a moment when I heard a child crying and then I heard a lot of commotion and noise out in the yard. I thought something was wrong. Well, I was wrong. I went outside and you should have seen the excitement. One of the caregivers who was sitting under the tree had looked up and discovered there were mangos growing in the tree!!

Excited Caregive Finding Mangoes

I said, God is good. He has now provided fresh fruit for the children!

We finished all that we could do and then packed up. It was time to say goodbye. Meg has her little family of 6 children and all of her helpers. S is a wonderful man and Meg and he will do very well with this little orphanage.

THANK YOU to all of you who donated money to be able to furnish the orphanage!! We could not have done it without you!!

ADD ORPHANAGE GROUP PIC with US here

The Boys and Their New Friend

Once we were on the road we decided to stop by a restaurant in town and say goodbye to Salam, the orphanage director, where our girls spent six months. She had a clear love of the children and she had asked us to stop by before we took them to Canada.

We stopped for a quick goodbye – hugs for the girls.

Salam - Our Girls 'Mum' For Six Months

While waiting for Salam to arrive to say goodbye to the girls, the boys decided they needed gum. What fun. Soon they had 'vendors' of all kinds clustering around our van!! When will they learn?

Driving in Ethiopia has certainly been different to Canada! There are no seatbelts and the drivers are all over the road, but really I feel safer here than I do in Canada! The girls are going to have to adjust to being tied down in carseats, once we get home!!

The drive from Adama to Addis is long. It is supposed to be an hour, but I think it is more like 2.5 hours. It is well worth the drive through. You see so much amazing scenery and things you would not see in the city: thatched huts (like our girls lived in at one time), children driving their cows home from grazing at the end of the day, rivers, and the landscape.

I love how familiar our children are with people and how loving the Africans are with their children. Gadisae would stand behind the driver and play with his dreads, and rub her hands on his cheeks. Once she stood there putting a sticker on his face. People are so loving towards children here. Though children are very respectful and listen to their elders, they are also loved deeply. An interesting and beautiful combination.

Once we got to Addis we headed to the Weygoss. It is a nice hotel and is very different to the Oziopia. But! The service is vastly different. We had a shared hallway bathroom, versus our own bathroom. And we had to order our food the night before, rather than have it made in the morning. Nothing much different. The water problem is pretty much the same – toilets don’t always flush, and sometimes there is hot water, but no cold, or vise versa. Each place has its flaws. We are enjoying spending a few days in the centre of town. Next time, I would do the same thing: a few days in town, and a few days in the suburbs.

We dropped our bags and immediately walked out the door to the Markush restaurant. It is a nice art gallery with a classy restaurant. There were a number of white people there, where usually we have seen mostly black. The pizza is different to Canadian – I prefer Canadian. The boys and I ordered pizza, but Ray decided to order lasagna cause he was very hungry. We had a laugh when his food arrived. The serving was so HUGE!! LOL!

Ray ended up eating all of my leftovers and some of the boys! We ordered icec ream for the girls and you should have seen the faces from Gadisae!

At one moment Gadisae put her hands together (like I do to show sleep) and said, “Daddy.” Literally, ten seconds later she was sound asleep!!

The boys decided to order two desserts cause they knew they couldn’t take their birr home with them.

"Oinkers"

At one point Mesai said to Dane, “Dane sing a song.” And Colt and Dane began singing, “Hit the road Jack, and don’t you come back no more, no more, no more! Hit the road Jack.” She said this because I had taught her what these words mean because she and Gadisae do a beautiful job of singing many songs and I wanted to teach her a prompt to show her when I wanted her to sing.

It was fun to actually feel like tourists when we went out! On the return walk to our hotel this little boy of about 12 came running up to us. He walked with us for a while. He told us his name was Solomon. I said, “Solomon, the wise man.” The boy spoke good English and he liked it when I told him (he probably already knew) that he was named for a wiseman.

Tomorrow we do some major shopping!

MEETING THE GIRLS' BIRTHMUM

2008-08-31T08:54:00.003-07:00

We knew that today was to be the day that we had our official birth mother meeting. Meg and I had been downtown all morning buying furniture and supplies, and the guys had been doing the same with furniture and landscaping materials. We got home and had about 30 minutes to clean up, before she arrived for her meeting.

I asked if it was possible for us to give her something to eat. Meg told me that they would do a coffee ceremony for her. This is something that shows a person that they are welcome. I had Dane take the video camera, and I asked him to be so careful getting the most important emotions and moments on camera. It was a big responsibility, but I

didn’t want just answers on paper, I wanted to be able hear her speak and res

pond.

I didn’t tell the girls she was coming, until I was certain she would not back out. When we heard the truck arrive, I had Ray pick up the girls and quickly bring them in the house. I then sat them down and had young S explain to them that their Enat was coming to visit them. I had no idea what I was doing. But, I had been told by Solomon, S, and other Ethiopian people that ‘this will be good’. I have since learned that the Ethiopian culture and the white culture are so vastly different – simply because of what these children grow up through and with. You cannot compare an Ethiopian child’s way of handling loss a

nd grief with a North American child!! There is simply no comparison.

There was no upset, no reaction at all. Simply a

n understanding and an acceptance. Ethiopian children are mature beyond their years.

When she walked in the room, she sat down but the girls didn’t rush to her. I put two chairs on either side of her, for the girls to sit on, and gently took them to her and said, “Enat.” A moment later they went to her and gave her hugs. But I could see that the transition was already taking place. It was just like other adoptive parents of Ethiopian children have said – the child just naturally went between two groups of parents. They were happy with her, but yet engaging themselves with us.

I have 1.5 hours of video of this meeting. What I can tell you are a few things, and it might help other adoptive parents of older children. We were told that our children have been prepared for a long time to go to Canada – therefore, they were ready and wanting to go. They will not make a choice to go back to their mother.

Well, this is true. There was a moment in our meeting when both the birth mum and S were laughing. They laughed because both girls said the same answers. After each situation, it was translated to me, so this is what I learned: When asked by their mother if they wanted to stay in Ethiopia or go to Canada, they replied that they wanted to go to Canada. When asked their reason Mesai said she wanted to go to Canada so that she could get a good education, and then she could become a doctor and then she could come back and help the sick people.

She was then asked who she would come to see when she came back, when she was older. She replied, her grandmother, as she had lived with her. She then said, “I want to come back and see Fikru.” To which birthmum and S both laughed. Fikru is Corrie’s boy and of course, we will be seeing him. So her little heart will be very happy to know that she is not leaving him behind. Of course, she then said her Enat.

What is amazing is how these children have such a deep understanding of poverty, illness, and death. This was not the first time that Mesai has said she wants to be a doctor, and each time it has been said that she wants to help her people.

The wonderful thing about our meeting, as grief stricken as their mother was, was the stories behind the birthparents’ marriage. When their mother told the stories of their father and herself, they were love stories. The tragedy in the girls’ lives is that their father died and life became devastatingly hard for the children and the mum. Far beyond anything, you or I could imagine. I thought I knew what poverty was. I do not know it, but I now have a better understanding.

I am so thrilled that we have beautiful stories: how they met, how they got married, the unusual marriage they had, the love they shared, how the birth father was a hard and dedicated worker, good husband and father, and had a special spot of Mesai, because Gadisae was a wee baby when he died, and how he would come home from work to play with her.

We have wonderful stories to share with the girls. I am so glad I wrote out so many questions to ask. We learned that we have similarities: her father was tall and slim, like Ray. When she said, tall and slim, I immediately said, “Like Ray.” And the interpreter said, That is just what she said.

We both had deliveries of our babies in 1 – 1.5 hours. It was neat to make some connections.

What was truly surprising, seeing how deep her grief was, and how little she could share with me about simple questions, was how she would go into full detail when explaining about how she wanted to know all about Canada, and its culture, what the girls learn to do in Canada. She has no hope, but to know where her girls’ are going and what their new life will be like, is like a piece of hope for her.

What opened my eyes were the questions I asked. Our interpreter was amazing. When I would tell him that a question was silly, he would say, not to worry. I would then go ahead with the question and I would feel frivolous and silly from some of her answers.

For instance, what is your favourite colour.

What I learned: do you really think someone is thinking of favourite colours when to have an item of clothing is a luxury? How petty and foolish!!

Or: What is your favourite memory?

I am thinking she will tell me a funny story of Gadisae or Mesai doing something cute, but instead she tells me her happiest memories are when they got food to eat…..

We had some wonderful moments during our meeting. When the food came out Gadisae sat with her mother and tried to get some injera for herself. Ray tried to dissuade Gadisae. I said to let her. This was wonderful to have them interact. There was plenty of food. It was beautiful because the birth mum helped Gadisae to eat and it was natural and right.

But then a little later, when I was sitting on the chair slightly across from her, Gadisae came up to me and put her arm around my neck and looked into my face. I leaned down and kissed her; she immediately kissed my cheek. As I looked up, I saw the birth mum watching, and I could see her smiling. I knew, as a mother, as much as my heart might be breaking, that I would want to know that my child loved and was loved by their new parents.

Other times, when Dane was videotaping the interview, Gadisae stood beside her mother and made silly faces at the camera. It was priceless and caused the tension to loosen a little.

We were very blessed when our birthmum took our girls’ hands and one by one, me and then Ray, she put their hands in our hands and gave them to us. She told us that though she gave them to us on earth, and she was thankful that they would now live, that one day in heaven we would all be together and she would again be their mother. We all cried at this. It is true. Our girls have two mums now.

I asked her if she would like to talk to her girls and give them a message for when they were older. Many, many of her answers were empty answers because she had no memories to share, no good times, and no frivolous thoughts, but when I asked her this question she was quick to agree. I placed the girls in front of her and she began to earnestly talk to them.. They listened intently and answered her questions and they talked for about ten minutes.

She asked them who their mummy and daddy were and the girls pointed to us. She told them to go to Canada and get a good education, and to be active (not lazy) and to listen to us and to do as they were told, and to be respectful. She told them that they could come back someday and see her. The girls showed their concern for their mother in going to Canada, so that they could grow up and come back and help her.

When they were done talking, S said he was astounded. He did not know that the girls would open up and talk so ‘frankly’, as he put it. And he did not think the birthmum would begin to share so openly with her girls.

After we had done all of our questions, and she had had a nice meal, we brought out our bag of gifts. Each gift was quietly and graciously received, but when she came to the book of Canada, she became animated. It was a children’s book that showed the alphabet of Canadian items: Terry Fox – either T or F – I can’t remember. She was quick to point out that though he had a crippled leg, he still did the run to help others. It was neat to interact and see her smile when certain things drew her. I was able to show her the hand cream and rub it into her hand and show her. The zipper at the end was neat. None of us knew the zipper was invented in Canada, and it made her laugh. It was nice! When she left I offered to keep the bag for her at the orphanage to keep it safe, until she could find a place to stay. She said she would keep it with her. It is important – there are pictures of her girls and little goodies for her.

I am so thankful that we were able to have this meeting. What she doesn’t know yet, is that I have been able to find a job for her. It is a good job, with good people, where she will also get lunch, and coffee and tea, five days a week, while she works. She will be able to earn money, and she will then gain back her self respect and hope, because she will then be able to find herself a little place to live and be able to cook her other meals. This place also has another mother who has given her child for adoption to Canada, and this other mother is at peace about it, because she knows that her child will have a good life. So it is my hope that she will be able to help our birthmum, through her grief.

We are also going to have a friend take her shopping and buy her a new set of clothes and shoes, so she can feel good and pretty again.. Every woman deserves to feel good.

When she got up to leave, Gadisae simply put out her hand (in the Ethiopian custom) and said, “Goodbye Sintayehu.” (As that is her name) She then shook hands with both her girls and we took her to the gate. Ray and I hugged her and told her she was family. It was very emotional for Ray and me. Mostly, because the girls were so clearly our girls now – we could see this by their lack of emotion about losing their Enat. What gives me comfort is knowing that we will be sending photos and letting the girls write to her. She said she wanted to know about Canada but mainly from what the girls wrote in their letters – not just stated facts.

I think when she left that she had a little more hope in her life. She had seen with her own eyes that her girls were settling and happy, and yet, she knew that they loved her and wanted the best for her. And Mesai knows, through the translator telling her, that her mummy and daddy have helped her Enat, and that I believe, will give Mesai the permission to attach to us and be happy herself.

FAYA - Day Two

2008-08-31T08:42:00.007-07:00

8:00 am

Last night Ray and I slept with the girls. Mesai sleeps well by herself, but Gadisae wrapped herself up with me much of the night. Suffice it to say, I did not sleep the best. We woke early this morning and I began typing last nights report. The little ones are up in the house and our little ones joined them for breakfast. They had bread and tea, the same as our girls prefer. We will continue this at home for them.

Ray is going to town this morning to dry to get dirt. Meg and I are going shopping for clothes, food, rugs, shelving units with baskets, and anything else we can think of. The boys will work with Ray to landscape the yard.

As soon as I arrived in FAYA, beauty went out the window!! LOL!! Seriously, I arrived windswept and not knowing where my brush was. I realized that really, noone cared! And then this morning I have to go to town with two days dirt and unwashed hair – who really cares!! LOL!! Seriously, I didn’t look *that* bad!! LOL!

I Found a TINY Mirror

But I will get a shower tomorrow. It was just hard last night as we were so busy after arrival and then today our day is so packed and I don’t know about the water situation. I do know they don’t have hot water.

11:00 pm

Today was another very full day. Everyone is asleep, and the house is full of children. Meg and I, Ray and young S left the house this morning to go on our errands.

Assembling the Baby Walker Before We Left For Town

Daily Traffic

The Tiny Mini Cabs in Adama

10 cents a ride to town

Cuties in the Neighbourhood

Precious Cargo

This adorable little boy was walking down the road parallel to us. He had his hand behind his back holding a 8" stick of bread. As he came to his turn-off point, where he would take a left and we would continue straight, there were a group of children. He was obviously shielding his treasure from the 'hordes'. As he turned to the left he quickly switched his bun from behind his back to the front of him, so the kids couldn't see it as he walked away. I tried to take a picture, but he did not that bun seen!! He took off running after he made his exit. It was so cute.

Dane and older S went to Addis to pick up furniture. They were going to pick up the three bunkbeds and the two shelving units. We had decided to add another two shelves and to buy two dressers. We were also thinking that it might be better to buy a table and chairs versus making one.

When we came here, we came with the intent of Ray making as much furniture as he could. We quickly realized that after buying tools and trying to find the right kind of wood, it would be easier to just buy what we needed. The prices are very similar to Canadian prices, but because of all our donations, we are able to furnish this house! God is good!!

But plans changed regarding the furniture. While Meg and I were out this morning we went to a million little shops. One of the first shops we went to was a furniture shop. You have to understand our language barrier to see what adventures and fun we are having!! We asked about a table and chairs – the cost – centanoh – the man tells us the table is 850 birr - $85 – wow! He says with chairs it is $2500 birr – we had decided to buy a table in Addis for $400 – about 4000 birr. This set instead would be a great savings. But now that we had figured this part out, we had to try to explain to him that we wanted benches and not chairs. We have benches in our house and I knew that chairs would create clutter.

I wish you could have seen us holding a plank from each end with one hand and trying to sit on it in midair – so he could see what benches are! Well, we finally got it across. We headed to the office and talked about size.

When I said I wanted a table 1.5 metres by 3 metres, the woman said, 1.5 x 1.5. After a LOT of discussion, borrowing a tape measure, teaching English for Width and Length, we finally got it figured out that we wanted 4.5 feet by 9 feet table. This is a wonderful size and will feed many children!! He was so surprised and said, That is a BIG table! We told him, We have many children!

We talked about benches as well. The whole thing will take about a month to build and will cost 2950 birr - $300.

Calculating the Cost of the Beautiful Big Table

If you could see the state the wood is in when it is unloaded from the horse and wagons!!

There is broken glass all over the ground in front of this working area – so incredibly dangerous!!

Before

After

After Meg and I finished at the furniture shop, we went wandering down the main road. The stores are not very organized and it is hard to find what you want. We went to this one store to get a water bottle and then tried to get the guy in the store to understand that we wanted to know where we could get the huge bags of pasta that he was selling. He tried to sell us his – we wanted the source. He didn’t get it; we gave up.

A Little Boy With A Wool Stringer

The bridges over these 5’ deep and probably 8’ wide ditches, gutters, are made of wood branches and tire treads. A little dangerous, but creative.

Meg and I were having lots of fun doing the shopping. It felt a lot like my adventurous spirit that backpacked around Europe at age 19. Meg has the same ‘go get it’ attitude that I had! What she is doing with these orphans is immensely impressive. For those that don’t know it, Meg is only 21. God gave her a vision and she ran with it! For us, it was a huge privilege to be able to go to FAYA and bless her. It blessed us to see this empty shell of a house, come to life with cribs, beds, bookshelves, dressers, toys, school supplies, medicine, landscaping, bedding, pantry filled etc!!! Wait til you see pictures of what one families endeavor with a whole lot of supporters could do!! Can you imagine how many other orphanages could be blessed!

After this store we passed these couches and chairs in front of a building. I wanted to get a couch, so we stopped and asked how much. They only sold them in a set. I said I only wanted a couch – could we? The whole set was 3000 birr. He led us to the back of the building, down an alley, through a gate and into a back yard area where they were making the furniture.

Couch Construction Yard

Rest Break - Waiting for a Couch Receipt

He said we could have the one that was in the yard that afternoon. We could have it for 700 birr - $70. We quickly agreed and again were quite pumped and thrilled with how efficiently we were managing to do all this shopping by ourselves!! Now of course, we weren’t doing too well in the bartering department, but hey, we were knocking things off our list!! *smile*

We headed to a little shop after this that had kitchen ware.. We did so well choosing cheese grate, ladels, spoons, mixing bowls, oven proof dishes, stove top baking pans and many more things – basically anything that Meg needed to run her kitchen. Well, I had an idea what the total should be – about $25. Well, when the woman finished adding it up her bill was $51. I told Meg to be ready to walk and call this woman’s bluff. I told her it was too high. She laughed and shook her head. I tried putting some kid size stools in the pile and told her I would pay what she wanted, but I wanted the stools in the same price. She shook her head. Nothing would change her mind, so Meg and I walked out – hoping she would follow us. We went to the store next door and the prices were similar – truly very similar to Canadian prices and yet, they earn 1/100 of what we earn! So we decided to go back. It was annoying cause we knew we were being taken, but what could we do. It is one thing to give voluntarily to people; it is another when someone takes advantage, cause you are a firenge (foreigner)!

I told Meg I was going to try another tactic. She wanted 519 birr. So I would give her 500 birr and she *better not say no!* or what was I going to do. This was bartering after all, but I wanted those things and was willing to pay through the nose if I had to!! LOL!! SO I went in with Meg, held out the 500 birr and made it clear that was all. She looked at the cash and agreed. Her boys then very quickly and efficiently tied up our packages into a box, complete with rope carrying handle.

While I was standing there in the store, suddenly there was a commotion and this older boy went flying out of the store and grabbed this child that was near the products in front of the store. It looked like he was going to hit him. It settled pretty quickly. I wonder if the child was going to steal?

Once we had our couch ordered and paid for for pickup that day, our table and benches ordered and to be paid for the next day, and all our kitchen materials ordered, it was time for the internet shop and then grocery shopping.

We headed to an internet shop. The first place was down, so we went next door. It was the worst experience of my life!! I thought it was bad enough when my email took ten minutes to get the page BEGUN, but this was a nightmare. The owner kept coming over and doing things to try to move things along, but after 40 minutes of trying to get my email pages up and loaded, I finally quit and paid and walked out. The joke is I had to pay! No time on the internet – just trying to connect through his incredibly slow system!!

I then popped next door to see if it was up and working yet.. It was. It was bizarre. I sat down and began immediately. No problems here! Go figure.

So Meg came over, checked her email and then we decided she would go down for groceries while I was up there. She said she would only take a few minutes and I was telling her I would be about an hour. She decided to go anyway. I gave her 1000 birr - $100, as she said that was more than enough. All of this came out of the money we had collected.

When I went downstairs about 30 minutes later, she was all done. She had this eensy, weensy, tiny little pile of groceries. It came to a grand total of $40.

Right away she told me about this great drink – murkato – this is a drink where it is a tiny coffee cup and there is very strong coffee, steam milk on top, drizzled with chocolate, and then sugar in the bottom. You stir up the heavy sugar and you have a heavenly drink! The man went and got me a murkato and some interesting pastry thingy – I have since had it two more times with different fillings and it is wonderful!

It was time she learned how to shop *grin*. Our goal when we came to FAYA was to set them up for 10 kids, and that included filling the pantry for a good period of time. So we went to work. It was so much fun to be able to have the guy follow me around and have him ask: how many kilograms of potatoes? 15 kg potatoes.

Then I would say: 10 cabbages, 15 kg carrots, 5kg onions, 12 cans tomatoe paste (large), 20 kg rice, 20 kg pasta, baking powder, baking soda, jam, and on and on.

Then we began on the other things: mops, brooms, dettol for sterilizing and sanitizing, shampoo, toothbrushes, soap, laundry soap, scrubbing products, towels – basically anything that we could think that Megan might use in the orphanage.

Some of the Supplies

By the time we were done, it was another hour later and we had a grand total of $240 spent. We had a ton of food – enough to feed those little children and their workers for about 6-8 weeks (I believe). On top of this Ray and the guys went and we bought 200 kg of teff flour – this is what they use to make the main product – injera.

Not UnCommon Sight in Addis

While we were at the store waiting for the bill to be tallied, this beautiful woman came in. She was sooooo tiny, with this beautiful head of straightened, yet wavy black hair – total model quality. I look at people all the time, but I am a little more observant of Ethiopian women, since our daughters will look like them one day. We were whispering to each other how gorgeous she was, when Meg heard her say, “Firenge” (foreigners) to the guy she was with. We had a laugh and in a minute, all three of us were talking and laughing that she had understood us and told her friend what we had said.

This struck up a conversation and she found out what we were doing there. She was a new mama and had a beautiful Ethio/German baby boy. Soon after this, Meg had to go to meet some guy she knew, so I was left at the store. The woman and I continued conversing and she told me about this little boy living with her and asked if I knew if anyone could take him.

He was left with her two years ago, by his mother. His mother is in Dubai, apparently working, but no money has come back for him. This young woman and her husband have the grandmother and boy living with them in their villa, but the husband does not want to adopt the boy. So this young woman is concerned about what to do about the boy when it is time to go back to Germany. She has permission to have him adopted out.

When she said this, I immediately asked what his name is. Some of you will know why I asked his name *smile*. It was Andreas. A kind of Italian name for a non practicing Muslim child. She was worried about the child – wondering if he was sick, because his belly was so big and his arms and legs so tiny. This little boy has no joy. He eats what the family eats, but is so sad all the time. He is about 3 ½ - 4 years old.

I decided to go and see this child, in case God had put him in my path for a reason. Her driver took us to her villa and I met the child. I asked to see his tummy and it was very bloated. She agreed to take him to the hospital for testing for parasites. I explained to her that it didn’t matter if he didn’t want to go, as she was holding back because of his fear of doctors. I told her if she was mothering him, then she needed to take him, for his own good. She agreed. I told her I would tell Meg about him and see if Meg would be able to help her at all.

When Meg and I finally met up again, I told her this story. It was really quite fascinating. This woman is university educated and her sister lives in Vancouver and is in a Pentacostal church as a choir member. She gave me her sister’s info, so I could contact her. I told her my thoughts that we might have been led to this child by God and she was so excited. She said that she had been praying daily for someone to find her and help her with the boy. Meg told her she will talk to S and see if anything can be done by them to help this child. I hope so!!! This young mum, only 21 years, has had a real responsibility to this child, not her own!

We left Soron, the young woman, and had a store worker hail us a taxi. It was funny seeing them trying to fit everything into the taxi!! We finally made it and this picture shows you our feelings from all our successful shopping. It has been so much fun darting around and shopping. It is like being 19 again! Here I am in Africa, of all places. Africa!!! Helping set up an orphanage. Who’d of thunk??? Seriously, 18 months ago, I was looking forward to our life finally calmning down: no more house building and no more babies, I said to my friend, Denise. She laughed and said, You always have to keep things interesting. Something will come up.

HA! Adoption, Africa, Orphans – wow!

Boy!! Were We Successful Today!!

When I was at the villa I saw the most amazing trees. One of them is about 10,000 years old, and one is 1,000 years old, according to the girl. They were beautiful!

As soon as we got home from shopping we could see how hard the boys had worked! They had gotten all the rocks out of the yard and created a rock wall around the front of the high brick wall. They had also had sand delivered and had spread it and the yucky, rocky, uneven back yard was gone!! Later, Ray intended to get paving stones and create a walkway from the front house steps to the gate.

A Caregiver Washing Laundry

Gadisae and Mesai had had a wonderful few hours playing with the children in the orphanage and are adjusting so well, that when I told them that I was going shopping and that Wundin Colt (brother Colt) would be looking after them, they just smiled and said, Bye Mummy.

But it is clear that we are mummy and daddy. They will spontaneously come up and cuddle, come to mummy or daddy when they got a cut etc.

When we arrived home Meg got a wonderful surprise: three more little children had arrived: a 8 year old girl, a 4 year old boy, and a 2 month old baby. The baby and the girl were siblings. The so sad thing is the little boy was so sad. The grief and shock was written all over his face!!

But, according to S, the little twins that have only been in the orphanage for a week were as sad, ill looking, brokenhearted, and malnourished, as he does when they arrived. And yet, a week later, they are radiant! A little food, love, care, and somewhere to call your home. So I can’t wait to see the transformation in that little boy!!!

We continued with our work at FAYA after the birth mum visit, and then we went out for dinner. When we arrived home again, it was back to work: bookshelves to be assembled, boxes of toys, and supplies to be unpacked and placed on shelves. We finally hit the sack by about midnight.

FAYA - Day One

2008-08-28T14:14:00.011-07:00

We packed up our belongings and said goodbye at the Oziopia. That was sad to do as Abebe and his family are wonderful!! I would highly recommend them. They may be 25 minutes from the Bole Road and the airport, but it is well worth it. We simply rented a driver for each day, and when you think that it was just $5 per hour, it was worth it.

Our Friends at the Oziopia

Since we have left Abebe’s good care, we have seen how difficult it is to have to do it alone. Even with a so called ‘translator’ it is difficult. Abebe was really well spoken and it was like speaking to a North American. It made life very simple.

Before we left, his mother did a coffee ceremony for us. This was really nice. She did the cooking of the beans, the burning of the incense, and then her daughter walked around and let us smell the bean. After this she ground the beans and made the coffee. I don’t usually like black coffee, but there is something different about Ethiopian coffee. I was able to drink it black with sugar and it was good!

Meg arrived for us with a jeep type truck at about 9:30 or so.

We worked to pack all of our belongings on top and within the truck.

By the time we were done, the vehicle was truly loaded! The big boys had a small seat in the back, and the girls sat on our laps in the middle, with bags and boxes between and around us. Meg, S, and the driver sat in the front. And then we were off.

Loaded Up and Ready to Go

The Boys Had About 2' to Sit In

We headed for Adama and along the way we stopped at a furniture store to discuss beds. We found some really nice bunkbeds for $250. They are sturdy metal and wood ones. We paid for three bunkbeds, since they already have two at the orphanage. We also bought two nice wood and metal shelving units, and will buy two more of these tomorrow. These were $66 each. There were also nice wooden dressers for $85, of which we will buy two. Because our van was so full, we decided to send the guys back the next day with the truck and pick up the furniture.

Discussing Bookshelves, Bunkbeds, and Dressers

The Bunkbeds and Bookshelves

$1000 - Paid in $10 Bills - Only in Africa!

And we headed out again. Can you imagine spending all this money and the highest denomination you are working with is a ten dollar bill?! You can imagine how big the stack of bills is!

After we left here, we traveled about another hour or so and then stopped for lunch. It was a traditional restaurant. The girls had their own table, and the boys theirs.

While Meg and we were talking, S got on the cell phone and then put it to Mesai’s ear. She talked to someone with a big smile. She would say, “Hello! HELLO!” I am not sure if the other person was speaking English or Amharic, but she was replying in English. After she was done, she ran up to Gadisae and told her that she had done this. Gadisae came and asked Sintayehu if she could do it. When it was her turn to speak, she didn’t speak much. It turned out it was the orphanage director that she was speaking to – the one at the first orphanage that she came from.

PIC ON PHONE - Mesai and S.

While we were eating lunch, of course, someone had to use the bathroom. After a trip to the bathroom, where there are waiting attendants! They came back and asked for toilet paper. There was none to be had. The waitress gave the boy two napkins *smile*.

When it was my turn, we are getting good at this, I was able to see that there were two napkins on the boys table that came with their French fries. Colt said, There might be a bit of grease on there. And I replied, It is better than nothing!!

So a lesson to the wise, Do NOT leave home without your own toilet paper!! They do sell it here, but they do not put it in public bathrooms!!!

We ordered Coke and Sprite for everyone. It was sweet to see how Gadisae just helped herself to S’s coke!! The love he has for her is apparent! She walked around drinking his pop, before she sat and drank her own.

After we left here, we continued on our way.

The No-Car-Seats Lifestyle is Rather Nice!

It is a beautiful drive and makes you think of the movie you might have seen of Africa: lush, short trees, endless quite flat plains, with canyons, and gorges. Absolutely beautiful!!

We arrived at FAYA and the children were waiting for us.

There are three year old twins, and a little girl of about 6. They were all dressed alike and I asked if this was a uniform. Meg told me it was because that was the only set of clothes that she had for them.

REMOVED FOR ADOPTION REASONS

Cute Kalkidan and Our Girls

Unloading the Goods

So basically people, FAYA has begun with four wall, one table of about 18” x 4’, two chairs, and a bureau of sorts, a fridge, a stove, and two sets of bunkbeds and sheets, and blankets. Meg’s money has had to go to secure the building, and bring in the the staff and buy a bit of food, and buy the few supplies they could get.

The "Before Shot" Kids Bedroom

Which is 'off' the Main Livingroom

ANYTHING that you can bring will put this place on its feet!!

The children were adorable and happy and obviously adjusting well and feeling loved. The staff were welcoming and very nice.

The boys loved Tigist. After every one else had gone to bed those three sat up on a mattress on the kitchen floor and tossed a ball back and forth. You would have thought we had three teenagers there. I am sure Tigist was happy to just plain ‘play’.

Earlier, when I was putting the girls to bed, she told me that she had a 4 year old baby that was adopted to Canada. What do you say when someone tells you that?!!

While we were driving on the roads from Addis to Adama, S made a phone call and told us that he had found our girls’ birth mum. We would be able to arrange a meeting for that afternoon!

I should mention that in the morning, while we were getting ready to go, Abebe took a few minutes to ask Mesai as many questions as I could think of. It was great because she was able to give me a lot of answers as to what her life was like before. She was not a city child – she came from a little African hut, with chickens in her yard. She lived very rural without neighbours. The rest I will be writing down for her, but I was very thankful to get a picture of her life. She remembered a lot, including her grandmother and her mother. I didn’t bring up her mother – she did. I was planning to stay away from that topic for now.

Abebe explained to me that in the African culture, children are given (adopted) to other family members so frequently that it is not a big shock, like it would be to a Canadian child. So since this had already happened to her she was quite used to the idea. S even told us that when they see their mother, they will not want to go with her. They have been prepared for so long, to go with their new family, that that is what they will do – and happily. They have made the mental shift.

When we got to FAYA, the guys unloaded the truck and we stood around planning for a few minutes. Then Ray and I, Meg, S, and his nephew, S, headed out. The guys were looking for wood to make a large table and benches, and Meg and I were buying mattresses, sheets, and blankets.

But first, we were going to meet the birthmum for a quick visit. The plan is that we will get together with her the following day for an interview and for her to see the girls.

We arrived at this place and soon she arrived. She came in with traditional clothing on, and she looked older than her 28 years. She was a solemn lady (of course). It broke my heart to see the sorrow in her eyes. She had the orphanage director with her and we had S to interpret. We asked her a few questions and made arrangements to meet her the following day.

At one point, she shook her head and wagged her finger as a way of saying ‘no’. I laughed and told S the story of Mesai at the restaurant. I asked him to tell her the story. She laughed when she heard how Mesai wagged her finger just like her. When the girls’ mum wagged her finger, it was like seeing Mesai for a minute. She is clearly like her mother.

Both girls have their mother’s chin and cheekbones, and Gadisae has her eyes. It was so nice to see!

We took some pictures with her and then parted ways. We will reconnect the following afternoon. She was ready to see the girls that day, but she was promised that we would see her the next day. We also made arrangements to send her photos and letters, and to give her stamped envelopes to have someone write letters for her. She was happy about that. Happy, as far as happy can be shown, when you have given up your children. But I know it meant something to her. We told her she is family now and she nodded.

Once we had left, we headed out to the market. We met up with Meg and she and I went shopping for mattresses, sheets, and blankets. The guys went looking for wood. The boys were left clearing all the rocks from the yard. By the time we had arrived back, the boys had cleared the whole yard of rocks – about 5 wheelbarrows full!! The guys are trying to bring in some soil, or sand and lay it down to seed. They hope to bring in some concrete pads to make a small area for the kids. This might be more difficult that we thought, as we are on Africa time, dealing with lack of trucks to deliver things etc. It is a bit frustrating. Meg is doing her best, but things are not so available. For instance, the wood stores did not have good wood. So we decided the table and benches would have to be bought. That will be another $400, if we only buy one set. Preferably there would be seating for 12, but we don’t have space in the car for that. So they will have seating for 6 for now, and the children can have a little seating area as well.

Meg and I wandered through the market – mud, animal, people – definitely rural!!

And I Was Wearing Flip-Flops?! Yup, Poor Choice.

We made some deals on the things we needed. We tried to get a rug, but the price was too high. We will go back tomorrow and buy it, as we both think a rug will make it much homier. So expense or no, we will pay for it. It is not that bad, it was just way overpriced compared to the smaller ones.

Negotiating Sheets

Buying Blankets

The Mattress Store

Home Again, Home Again

When we finally arrived home, the children were all playing together. Tigist and the other staff made injera and lentils for everyone. We opted for Ramen Noodles, after having had Ethiopian food for the last week!! We then sat and planned into the evening what needed to be done the following day.

REMOVED FOR ADOPTION REASONS

The Dinner Table

Soon to be Replaced With a 9'x 4.5' Table and Benches!

When I took the girls to bed later, Tigist came and helped and at this time she told me of her child. I think she sees the good in it. She can love these children, but she knows that her child has the ‘good’ life and a future all set out. She is a wonderful caregiver!!

We are staying in two room that are behind the main building. We are using the mattresses, sheets, and blankets that we bought yesterday. The beds will be set up tomorrow.

Colt and Dane's Room

We Four Slept Here

I discovered the Shinty Bay. This is ‘something’ interesting. The odor assaults you as you enter the room. It is the same as at the children’s shelter. There is an oblong shape on the floor and the children squat over it. As I am sitting here the ripe smell reaches my delicate nose *grin*.

I told Meg about lime. If she can get this it will be good to help eliminate the odor and decompose what is down there! Also, a bucket of bleach water to swash it with twice a day will bring down the smell.

As I took the children to the bathroom before bed, in their lily white and pink pajamas, they readily squatted over this hole and it just reminded me that we are in Africa and they are African! *smile* I found out afterwards that there is a nice normal toilet inside!! LOL!!! Oh, well, we have used the shinty bay twice now!!

The sweetest thing happened at bedtime. After they were in bed, I asked Gadisae to pray. She quietly prayed, but not very well heard. I then said, “Mesai.” And she knew this was her prompt to pray. She proceeded to obediently pray, ‘Father God (pause) I love you (pause). Father God (pause) I pray for (pause) Gadisae (pause). Protect her (pause). Bless her. (pause). In Jesus name (pause) Amen . (During the pauses Gadisae would repeat her words. I love this!)

At this point, she should have been done. Instead, she began to speak again. “Father God. I love you. Father God. I pray for Mummy. Please protect her. Bless her. In Jesus name. Amen.

Wow! When I heard her pass the words and say my name I felt such an incredible warmth in my heart. This child had chosen to pray for me. No prompts. Their hearts are so open to new love and a new future. Thank you, Lord!

Forty Minutes to Get Nowhere!!!

2008-08-28T14:09:00.004-07:00

I sat for forty minutes in an internet shop waiting for my email page to load. The guy was very nice and popped around occasionally to try to do things, but this is ADAMA and NOT highspeed. CRAZY!!

I come next door and get on in seconds!! Go figure.

~~~~

The girls are asleep and the guys are out – it is time to write! The girls may be on a honeymoon period, so I am aware that things could bottom out. But I believe that God has answered the prayers of many, when we all asked that the girls would attach easily, and have their hearts prepared to meet us. Those prayers have surely been answered!! I will fill in those detail later, but first, let me start at the beginning of the day.

We had to go to the German Embassy today to get the girls Transit Visas, since we are traveling through German on our way home. We do not leave til next Monday, September 1, but we wanted to get it now because we are going to be in Adama for the next few days.

Our wonderful Abebe arranged our day so that our time was used to the best, but still there was much running around to do, as we had so much to accomplish – yet again. I am hoping to slow down and be able to relax after we have left FAYA.

Our first stop of the day was to get our girls’s Visa pictures taken. While at the photo shop people spoke to the girls. They told them that they were ‘lucky’ when they heard they were going to Canada. Whenever someone asked them their names in Amharic, they replied in English, “My name is Mesai (Gadisae)” They were impressed that they could speak English.

We headed to the German Embassy next. When we arrived I could see a few people milling around the gates, so I asked the only white guy I saw there. He told me I could line up with the rest, so we did. After waiting a few minutes I decided to go and take some pictures of the river. There were women washing their laundry down there, and the river bed was beautiful.

There were people all over the bridge at this time – not waiting for the Embassy – just hanging out. I took my river pictures and then I turned and shot a photo of the Embassy. I was immediately swiftly approached by the German guy who was waiting with the rest of us. He frantically told me that pictures were absolutely *not* allowed of the Embassy. Oooops!! Glad *he* caught me and not some German official!! I told him I knew we couldn’t take pictures of the US Embassy, but didn’t realize that we couldn’t of the German Embassy.

It wasn’t too long before the door opened and I was called inside with the girls. Ray was told to wait outside. As I was waiting for them to go through my bags, I saw this white couple with two little black children. We began talking and I promoted Imagine and our BC agency, as I think they are both wonderful. They were discussing their next adoption *smile*. It seems that everyone who adopts from Ethiopia is in a rush to go back! Wonderful people and well adjusted children.

The official who was searching my bag made me try out my mouth spray and my hand sanitizer! If I didn’t die, I guess it meant it wasn’t poison! As I stood there I noticed this guy sitting at the small table behind this official woman. He looked familiar but I wasn’t sure. Then I asked him if he worked for the Embassy (big duh) and he said, “Yes, a policeman and here.” Okaaaay, so he *was* the guy I saw outside. He was not a German waiting to get into the Embassy. He was a guard stopping nuts like me from taking pictures!! LOL!

Embassy Entrance - Ray With Girls

We got through our Visa process and we will have to go back and collect it tomorrow or next Monday.

A few things that I have observed while in Ethiopia:

The women and men that are in the better paid group dress like Westerners. The ones with less money seem to usually dress in traditional clothing.

There are shoe shine boys everywhere!! Sometimes you will see 6 boys in a 30 foot stretch. While there are wealthy looking people walking down the street, you will also see the shoeshine boys that make sure the better dressed people’s shoes always stay clean, by providing the service. This shows the way the money flows – a person will earn enough money to pay someone a few pennies to polish their shoes. This way both are covered and all coexist.

I realized that though we brought granola bars with us we might have been smarter to save the luggage space and weight and buy the local grain here. The kids would have been familiar with it and I could have filled my suitcases with other supplies. I was thinking that imagine if the Chinese came down Canadian streets and handed out rice cookies. It would not be what Canadians would want to eat. So next time we will not bring granola bars.

I didn’t mention just how much it rained yesterday!! A ton. Within minutes there were flooding streets everywhere! The pot holes were twenty feet wide and the water was gushing down the centre of the streets.

If you want to go somewhere yummy for desserts and coffee, go to Kaldi’s. It is the Ethiopian version of Starbucks, but it is NOT Starbucks.

There is a grain market near where we are staying. Every day hundreds of people gather and line up to get their share of the grain. Apparently the government gives it cheaper through these distributors. The people sit all day waiting for the grain, when it was their day to get grain.

What was curious was that Abebe had no idea how bad the famine is in Ethiopia. I am going to guess/wonder if the Ethiopian government is censoring things. We had a great discussion about what *we* know from the reporters who are going out to Ethiopia and bringing back pictures of the children and the devastation.

I think we are seeing signs that our girls are beginning to attach. Or at least, they are not attaching in the wrong areas. When we take them out they do not approach other people. When other people begin talking to them, they warm up slowly. But for us they ask to be picked up or held all the time.

While I was at the photographers with the girls, Ray went to the post office and bought stamps for 15 envelopes, so our girls’ Enat. We are hopeful that she will be able to have the pastor at the church in her area write for her, and then she can mail them to Canada.

The LIGA School was next. This project takes care of 244 kids and 400 families! We would love to have had more time to go out and see some of the families, but our time is so incredibly booked and there is so little time left, so we had to forego that. (We did take care of other families later today. That will come up later in the post. )It took us a while to find it. It was not as joyful a place as the Shelter for Mothers and Children. You could see the children had many needs! We dropped off a suitcase full of supplies, plus a soccer ball, and then some granola bars for everyone. I was just a little surprised at the lack of interest from the children. They appeared to need so much, and yet, they had no delight at the granola bars, nor the soccer ball. When we took the soccer balls to the kids at the Shelter yesterday, they were over the moon with excitement. The same with the suckers. It makes me wonder how hard are the lives of these little children, that they have no obvious joy.

At one point, Colt actually got them lively. It was very cute. They were in a classroom and he would put his head around the door and call out loudly, “Hello!” and the children would respond with, “Selam!” and then he would do it in reverse. That was fun to see.

We tried to find the sponsored children of two girls: Claire and Tracy, who sent gifts with us. We were not able to find them, as they were at the PATH program. The CH contact number that we had was not answering, so we had to miss out on seeing PATH. We will do what we can to get the packages delivered. I am just sorry that I miss out on a photo opportunity for these sponsors who are waiting at home.

Once we left the LIGA School, we headed over to Entoto Mountain to buy the dresses for the girls, and other items for the boys. After a lot of haggling, Abebe was able to get us about 5 or 6 dresses for the girls, plus some cool Ethiopian hats.

While we were buying the hats a little boy kept tugging on my coat, “Mother.” “Mother.” I couldn’t give him anything at that moment, as I had no granola bars with me. If I gave him money at that particular moment I would not be able to do my shopping, and I felt that since we have not done any ‘tourism’ stuff at all, until this moment, that it would be okay to not take care of the child at that time. I kind of brushed him off and continued shopping. He smacked me on the backside as I walked away. It sounds callous, but you can’t do something for every child all the time. I wish I could! The little boy heard me talking to someone about Canada, and immediately I heard this little voice saying, “Mother, I love Canada.” Man, it made me sick to think this child would possibly not get a meal tonight. If I fed him or did not feed him, what would happen to him at the next meal time?

When I finished shopping I reached into my pocket and pulled out a ten birr note – equal to a dollar and handed it to him. Immediately, as I had known would happen, someone else approached me - A mother with a wee new baby on her back. I right away pulled out another ten birr note and put in her hand and said, “For the baby.” She knew what I said and repeated, “Baby.”

We got back to the car and were immediately surrounded by children. Dane was in the van and I was trying to get into the van, because I knew there were granola bars and once I was safely in the car we could hand them out the window. Dane threw open the door; I leapt in, and hands immediately reached forward to the windows.

Ray got the granola bars and I grabbed a few, since I was at the front middle window. Four hands shot in and I handed out four bars. Ray handed out two to a little boy through his window and said, “Give one to your friend.” Cause the little friend had begun walking away. We watched to see what would happen. He ran up to his friend and handed him the bar.. He then looked back at us. I made eye contact and gave him a big thumbs up sign, and smiled. He gave me the thumbs up and smiled back. There is something more dignifying about giving a gift to someone when you act like you are their friend and want to give them it, rather than hand it to them like you are doing them a favour. I believe it saves their dignity.

Just as we were pulling out some more little boys arrived. I began to hand out the bars and one of our boys said, “They already had one.” Now when you are limited in your resources and you want to spread it around, you do have to be tough and only give one thing to people.

I began to pull back my hands from the window, since the kids knew they had already had a granola bar, but then I just couldn’t and I handed them out the window to them, and I nearly sobbed as I said, “I don’t care! They’re hungry.” It just killed me to think these kids are kids like ours and everyday is a struggle to get enough to eat.

While out today, Gadisae found a fruit leather in her backpack. She pulled it out and called to Mesai to see if she had one. No, she did not. Gadisae immediately took a bite of her fruit leather and then took it out of her mouth and handed it back towards Mesai. At this point I had found another one for Mesai and was able to give it to her. Gadisae was commended for her kind spirit.

Here is something funny that happened in traffic. We were going down the right hand lane. The left hand lane was coming towards us. Our driver decided that our lane was too congested, and so he made a turn and pulled into the left hand land and drove up that side, complete with cars driving towards him on the same side of the road. No one honked – hey, this is Ethiopia!!! No road rage – just manners.

The girls are starting to get comfortable. They are fun and silly and full of life. They giggle like little girls, and romp like little boys. One time during the car drive they were playing. They were doing some kind of silly chat game and it involved hands. At one point Mesai reached over and gently smacked Gadisae’s face and said, “Don’t be cheeky!” They were both really playing and those words and tap meant nothing malicious. Well, Gadisae decided to take it a step further, and she accidently head butted Mesai’s nose. Oh, what happened next happened so quickly!!

Mesai began to cry and then reached out and bonked Gadisae on her head with her knuckles. I climbed into the seat with them and pulled Mesai onto my lap and cuddled her. A good attachment situation! She melted in my arms, but was still mad at her sister. Gadisae said, “Mesai are you okay? I am sorry.” All on her own volition. Mesai was most upset still and did not let it go for a while.

They later patched it up and all was settled. So we have now been through learning the vocabulary for: Be nice to your sister; share; stop; and a few more. As we go through situations we will learn what we need.

From the market we headed to the Teff Mill. We had arranged to meet this guy to give him bags of grain for a number of families. We were hoping to do ten families, but as it turned out it was not to be possible. We ended up getting four – 100 kg bags of grain and dividing it ten ways. They will all get some, but only 40 kg each. If we have money leftover after the rest of our people, then we will be able to buy more. As it stands that purchase cost about $500. But that will feed ten families for about 3-4 months, if they can get other goods.

This mill is not to our standards. They grind the grain and then they put it through a strainer and pour it right onto a pile on the floor. From here they bag it up. Not the cleanest method! Finally, after the Teff mill we were basically done for the day. What a long day! And our girls are being amazing troopers!! We headed home and went in to have dinner. The food at our guest house is outstanding. We have been here a week and so far there has only been one item out of about 20 items that I have not been keen on!!

Once we were done dinner we had the girls do a show for us. They are great little singers and they can sing spiritual songs, as well as songs in English and French! They also did a little bit of chanting, and some minor dancing. We video taped it all, so that we will always have their sweet little Amharic voices.

Playing at the Internet Shop

The Sweetest Girls at the Internet Cafe Play With Our Girls

We headed to the internet shop to drop off my post after dinner, and then the guys took off for a movie and I took the girls for a hot chocolate and cake at Kaldis. I knew that it was very late, so I decided to do take out. I was at the counter and told them I wanted a certain cake. I heard a little voice say, “Mummy.” I looked down and Gadisae was pointing at a cake in the bottom window. I asked the man for a piece of that cake. As soon as Gadisae noticed the man taking the cake from the platter, she looked up at me and said, “Thank you, Mummy.”

Shortly after, Mesai came up to Gadisae and Gadisae spoke to her. Mesai then said, “Thank you, Mummy.” I am assuming she told her about the cake.

Once we had arrived home the girls wanted their cakes and I told them they could have them after their baths. They quickly got ready for their baths. While they were playing with the bubbles, I threw their two white sweaters into the tub, with the intent to hand wash them and hang them to dry. Immediately the girls picked up the sweaters and began to wash them, as if they were washing clothes in a bucket or a creek. Bit by bit, we are learning a little of our girls previous life. They did a wonderful job.

After their tub, I helped them put on their jammies and then put a pillow for each of them to sit on, on the floor by their beds. I then gave them each a piece of cake and the cup of hot chocolate and then sat and joined them. Each of them said thank you for the cake at least 2 times.. Finally, while eating still, Mesai got up from her spot on the floor, crawled over Gadisae, came over and spontaneously kissed me on the cheek, before going back to her cake and hot chocolate. I wonder how many times their Enat was able to buy them treats like that. They are such grateful, well mannered children! A real testimony to someone’s love and care before us!

I popped them into bed right after this and they were asleep in two minutes. Before this, I told Mesai she could pray, then Gadisae and then me. They do this adorable little prayer: Father God. I love you. Father God. We love you. Father God please take care of Gadisae. Protect her. In Jesus name, Amen. They then each pray for the other sister.

We have had two awesome nights with them falling asleep very quietly, and cooperatively, and then they have slept peacefully through the night without a peep. When they awake in the morning, it is like they have always been here. Gadisae is quiet in the morning, as if she knows people are sleeping. And no wet beds!

Tomorrow we head to FAYA. We shall see what we can do. It might not be much, as they do not need much built. Hopefully a table, and shelves, and then some landscaping, plus lots of shopping.

Street Kids, Mums, and Wee Ones

2008-08-26T12:52:00.017-07:00

UPDATED WITH TONS OF PHOTOS

As I am sitting here there is a terrific lightening storm going on. TONS of rain, thunder and lightening! We have really hit the rainy season now!! Dane tried to convince me that we were near the equator and therefore it was shorts weather. I *told* him to pack more pants! Hmmm.

The girls slept like a dream last night. New beds, alone for the first time, and not a peep all night.

This morning at 6:30 when I awoke I looked over to their beds and saw Gadisae’s big eyes peeping out at me. I smiled and lay down for a minute. I was so tired from being up to midnight the night before writing my post! Then I got up and took her potty and then we snuggled in her bed for about 30 minutes.

Ray and Mesai kept on sleeping, so I got her dressed in new clothes and then headed down for breakfast. Ray arrived shortly after I arrived and poured her some cocoa puffs type cereal. She said, “chocolate bono” – chocolate cereal. While she was busy with Ray, I went up and got myself showered and ready to go. Mesai then woke and she dressed and came down for breakfast. She turned her nose up at the chocolate bono. I then offered her cornflakes and she said no. Okay, so what does she eat? Ray offered her a piece of bun with jam – yes, to the bun, no, to the jam. Good, she will fit right in with my boys. They all eat dry buns as snacks on the go.

Gadisae and Mesai have not stopped wearing their backpacks, since they got them. They also love their stylish sunglasses! While they were eating Mesai brought out her magnadoodle. She wrote her name and showed me. I then wrote Daddy and showed her. She looked at it very carefully, clearly studying each letter – it was like she was photographing it into her memory. She then erased the board and wrote Daddy correctly. I then did the same with Mummy, and again she did it right. Dane – she needed to redo it a couple times. When I did Colt she said the letters while writing it and did it correctly. When Colt arrived about 10 minute later for breakfast, I asked her to write Colt again. She did very quickly without even putting any effort into it!!

Update: 2 weeks later, when I was writing the kids names on their Ethiopian hats, I came to Colt's hat and began to write. Before I got the first letter written Mesai began to spell it out loud for me. She was completely correct. Her Enat said she was always very bright; I find she absorbs like a sponge!

I have had four sons learn to read and not one of them absorbed as quickly as she does! Meanwhile, our cute little Gadisae was drawing little circles on her board. Ray thought she was writing Amharic. I told him she was doodling. *grin*

While we were waiting to go the girls huddled around Abebe’s oldest sister. She was playing a DS that was given to them by the Australian family that runs the orphanage. Our girls were entranced.

I have also noticed that they love the tv! Later today, when I went out in the evening for an hour I set them up with some playdough and tools and Amelech, who is 10. They would have preferred to watch tv. Uh, nope. Not in our house. They will soon learn that tv is not on very much! We will be learning new things all the time! Slowwwwly.

We did have one incident. Interesting!! Last night when the girls were playing and squealing and talking in Amharic Dane was recording them. I was watching the situation and was facing him and they were in the middle of us. Both of us *thought* we heard one of them say, “Shut up.” We looked at each other and our eyes bugged out. Dane quickly turned off the machine and said, “She said, Shut up.” I said, “No. It must have been Amharic!” LOL!

Then this morning Colt came to me and said, “Little Sister said, Shut up, to me.” He looked shocked. I knew he had to be right! I quickly got Amelech’s attention and asked her to talk to the little culprit. I spoke and Amelech translated. She was quite serious about it and the little one looked perhaps a little embarrassed.

“You love your brother,” said Amelech, and the little one just looked seriously. “Be nice to him. You don’t say shut up.”

So we have had our first ‘naughty’ word. It will be interesting to learn what exactly they have learned in their short life! It amazes me that they knew this English word!! Situation Number Two – Language: Handled.

Our driver for the day was a bit messed up and so our plans were changed. We ended up hiring a new driver and went to the Orphanage for Street Children and Mothers with Babies first. We had a long list of things we had to do today:

Orphanage
LIGA School
Postage stamps for birthmum

Photo copies of adoption papers for Embassy

Entoto Mountain and buy dresses and head wraps for girls

Market

Sheraton to try to upload photos

Well, our day did not go as planned. Each and every day that we have been here has been jam packed!!! We have not gotten home before 8:30 and not to bed before midnight. We have accomplished a lot. I am looking forward to a couple of days of rest and ‘tourism’ when we are done at FAYA. A bit of rest before we head back home.

We arrived at the Orphanage and found it to be a corrugated tin fenced compound. The buildings were all corrugated tin and metal bars. It was very impressive though! The history of this place is quite simple. An engineer with an incredible career including the UN and other type employers was challenged once. He was told he was selfish. He was in a career to get and not to give. He was injured one day and nearly died. He promised God, who he did not know up to this point, that he would take care of the poor, if he could just live. That was a man who was in a coma for two months, had three broken ribs, leg broken in five spots, long gash hole in his skull – his car went 135 metres over a cliff and he survived! As I said to him – God had a plan for you, but first He had to get your attention!!

This man took a garbage dump and while still on his crutches, he threw up some tin walls. Bit by bit, his walls crept further back, until he had this huge compound. It is free of rent because it was just a garbage dump! It is clean and organized and quite amazing now. Yes, it is 3^rd world looking, but oh, so clean!!

When we visited one of the houses where the mums live I was so impressed. Shoes were lined up at doors, beds were army style made, not a scrap of paper on the floor, cups were upside down on upside down plates – waiting for the occupants to come home and use them for the next meal. These girls were being taught self respect!!

Mother's Bed With Baby Bed Along-Side

This Young Mum Takes Care of the House

While the Other Mums Work

But back to my story.

As we walked through the gate – many, many, many little ones of ages 2-4 came running to see us. Even though they were obviously seriously poor and not the healthiest children, each and everyone wore a little purple smock. This was their school uniform. There is something about these countries that has a self-respect. You may be poor, but you can still be respectable. These little smocks were wrinkled, but they still owned one each.

The Entry Gates

The Playground

The children looked like street children. Our little girls were certainly more healthy than them. These children had runny noses and some had little sores. But they were still children! I quickly remembered the soccer balls in the van. We were heading to the LIGA School with one. I ran back to the van. You should have seen the delight when I stepped in and tossed the ball up in the air over the heads of these little ones!!

Look At Those Future Stars!

The way those children played soccer at such a young age, makes me think there are some future soccer stars in the mix! You should have seen how naturally they all kicked the ball!

When I saw how delighted they were with the ball I ran back to the van and brought them a second ball. You think you have enough stuff and then you start delivering it and see how big the need is, and you wish you had so much more!

This compound is a place where the young mums learn trades. They do hairdressings, sewing, literacy, cooking, incense making, candle making, sweater making, weaving, and more. There is one metal work shop where a few guys work to continue to make the compound. They do repairs there.

Hairdressing

Hand Sewing Room

Sweater Making

Incense Making

This Mum is 15

The Young Incense Maker's 18 month old Baby!!

Machine Sewing Room

There have been 1065 mums come through this system and out of that he has only had 25 go back to the streets. The rest of them have gone on with their babies and made a future for themselves!! He is the *only* shelter of it’s kind in Addis Ababa!! While other people encourage giving up the babies born to these young mums – most of which are rape victims, he doesn’t. He does the opposite. He encourages them to keep their babies.

They live in one of four houses. Each of these houses costs him $250 a month to rent. He does it solely with faith that will provide what he needs! This man needs $1000 US per month to keep his mum’s houses running. He had a fifth one but had to shut it down due to lack of funds. He provides meals for ALL of these 140 children, plus the mums!! He goes through $12 of milk a day – that is nearly $400 of milk a month!!!

We were able to give him a month’s rent on ONE of the houses and enough milk for one month. We also gave him a suitcase full of school supplies, for which he was incredibly grateful. When we gave him the stuff he called me: Mother Christmas. I had one Bible in the box and when I put it on the table, he immediately asked me to open it up to Psalm 41:1. He asked me to read it. It was the verse God gave him years ago telling him to take care of the destitute and the poor.

When I told him what the fungus cream was for he was THRILLED!!! He NEEDS this desperately. We are going to try to buy it here as he says it is quite cheap.

But PLEASE, if you are reading this post and are coming to Ethiopia, PLEASE buy this cream. It is not cheap – about $15 a tube, but while I was standing there, he called out of his office and soon we had a line of young mums carrying babies that NEED this cream!! It is just one more expense and he already has so many. This is an ‘antifungal’ cream. I don’t have the box with me, but it starts with the letter Clotrimizole (or some such name). PLEASE if you can bring some, call Abebe, at the http://www.oziopia.org/ guesthouse and he will direct you how to get to this man and his children. If you want the number before you go, please email me privately.

Also, not only the medication. If you are coming to Addis and want to have a simple job of helping some amazing people – I have done your research *grin*. You simply have to email me and I will get Abebe to take you to (or direct your driver to) the Baby House with eighteen tiny, tiny babies, or the Street Children and Mothers Shelter with 140 children and their very wonderful young mothers! These two places are simply run on the goodwill of others. If we spread the word *neither* of these places need go hungry. They can thrive and maybe be able to expand and bring in more children! Please consider this.

The two things that are most needed: Baby House: MILK – they will tell you which formula – as the wonderful lady wants the best for her babies, so she has a special brand she likes. The Shelter: MILK – Nido brand, RENT – 2500 birr per month PER HOUSE – he has FOUR.

He told me that the Nido was 1300 birr not very many months ago. It is now 2600 birr – about $12 per day to feed his children!!! Inflation.

We went through each of the rooms and saw the mums at work. Each of them was young – many were as young as 14 years old, but they all had their babies. The babies were nearby, either sleeping or playing.

I cannot tell you how many times my throat felt too full to swallow – the tears were so close all the time. These mums and their babes were given a rough start, but through the love and devotion of this ONE man, they have hope for the future.

Babies in the Sewing Room

Wee Ones Play While Mummies Work Nearby

Babies in the Hairdressing Room

The babies are born in the mum’s home and then they will live in the program for 2-4 years, before they graduate with skills.

Doing Laundry With Her Little One

Meanwhile, these little ones are not idle!!! We were blessed with a performance from each little classroom. These children are all ages 2-4, but you would not know it from their smarts!! The first classroom the children sang us a song. They were loud and clear and had beautiful little voices. The second classroom had a teacher in a doctor’s white smock coat. He was taking these little children through their English lesson: A,B,C,D,E – all the way through. They went on to do their numbers, and then again in Amharic. Tiny smart little children who are being given a future, simply by the love of one man! I don’t know who his teacher was, but the rest of the workers are all the mums. They all work and run their own centres.

These Little Ones Sang Beautifully

These Little Ones Recited Numbers and Colours in Amharic and English

We went through the rooms and finally we were taken to the bathroom. My goodness, that was archaic!! There was simply an oblong shaped hole on the floor. Then there was a wash trough with taps.

The Toilet Hole

We were initiated into how this is used because Gadisae decided she needed to go, Shinty. So off we went. Hygiene 101 – out the window again! No questions. She went in, pulled own her pants, held onto the bar in front and did her business. This little one has been around! Such an eye opener. If any of our other children were to see such a horrid place they would have been horrified and held back. Gadisae didn’t even blink.

The Washing Trough

Once we had been through the building we went and got the lollipops. Now that was fun! We didn’t just hand them to the little ones – we instantly decided to hand them to the mums. These are not ‘women’ – these are children who were forced to grow up much too soon! You should have seen the joy on each mum’s face when we gave them the lollipops!! When I saw a mum with her tummy big with child, I reached out and handed her two lollipops and said, “Baby”. You should have heard the delighted giggle of laugher! It felt so good to affirm to these mums that their babies *are* precious and they are doing a wonderful thing in keeping them!!!

This Young Girl Was So Pleased To Get Her Lollipop

Dane Handing Out Lollipops to Mums

A Little Boy Bowing in Thanks For His Lollipop

His Philosophy - Basic Needs First, Eventually Help Others

This man introduced us to his sons – both well educated with Masters and BA degrees. He insisted that his boys go all the way to the top. His attitude was if you get the best education, THEN you are in a place to help others. If he had not had his engineering degree when he had had his accident, he would not have been able to continue (as he was fired due to inability to work for the company he was with). He would have been homeless. He really, really pushed this at the boys – get your education and then you can help others. “It is good to have a heart, but it only goes so far without an education.”

We finally left here after about two hours.

He Protects His Family

We were now pretty behind schedule. The girls were doing wonderfully!!! They have had an amazing day. No meltdowns, no tears, cooperation, happiness, - wonderful. We decided to forgo the LIGA school for the day and head to lunch. We went to a nice hotel for a meal. Just briefly, this is what we learned. You can be in a restaurant where your meal comes like a five star hotel, but it doesn’t mean there will be toilet paper in the bathroom. We had to ask for paper napkin. When they came they were nicely presented on a plate – two of them. They were obviously rationing! We managed. We are getting good at this. I am learning two things: we have a bathtub for a reason! And: our girls lived on the streets – I am sure they have encountered all kinds of situations that my mind can only begin to imagine!! We will survive and so will they. *smile*

When lunch was over I asked what would happen to our leftovers? I didn’t want to see them going in the garbage, but I didn’t think it was likely. Abebe told me that he would take them to the driver. Now *that* was humbling!!!!! On one hand you want to be able to give them a fresh meal, because you feel icky giving them your leftovers, but at the same time, you need to understand that they are grateful for the meal that you present them with.

We asked for a leftovers box but they did not have any. Abebe went to the kitchen and came back with a plastic bag. He then carefully poured the leftover vegetables, rice, and steak into the bag. These drivers that we have had do not eat lunch. They patiently wait for us while we eat. When we stop for coffee or a drink, we always bring them something, but they never eat when we are out with them! I had not realized this until today!!

After I knew that we were taking the leftovers I suddenly noticed that the bread baskets at both ends of the table were full of about four buns each. I said to Ray to quickly dump them in his back pack. He looked at me like he didn’t know what I was talking about. So I grabbed my backpack, opened it wide, picked up the baskets, made sure no staff was looking and then dumped the content into my bag. I then realized that the four limes on the table were fresh fruit. So into the bag they went also. It was quite funny because while I was doing this Mesai was watching me with a quizzical look on her face! I later had Abebe explain that the food I was taking were for the hungry people. I could just see her at a restaurant in Canada dumping food into her backpack. *grin* I think we covered that one!

When we left the restaurant Abebe gave the guys the bag of leftovers. I offered the door boy the buns and limes. As we drove, I saw him eating the buns and limes. That was pretty humbling. We thought we bought a meal for seven people, but before it was done it fed two more people a complete meal.

We then handed out lollipops to everyone and went on our way. We were now heading up to Entoto Mountain. This is a beautiful mountain. Women come down this mountain with huge stacks of firewood on their backs. Because it began to rain I didn’t get great pictures like I could have done.

Going Up Entoto Mountain

Once we reached the top, we took pictures of the girls with us on the big rock overlooking Addis Abeba. That is a traditional place for adoptive families to take pictures.

While we were doing this Colt had fun playing with one of those large whips. This one, when cracked, seriously sounded like a shot gun going off!! It is incredibly how powerful those things sound! I have told the boys they should make some to bring home.

We were going to go shopping for dresses for the girls, but we were rained out. It was flooding!!! Instead we headed down and visited the beautiful church on the hill. We visited the Emperor’s first house.

The First Palace

Trying to Get Pictures Without Getting Caught

Inside the Palace

In the church there were there little girls. They were all Orthodox Christians with their little headdresses on. There was one child drumming, while the others enthusiastically sang songs. I thought they were playing. Abebe told me that they came on their own – no parents – simply to sing their prayers of worship!! It was really quite beautiful to see and hear. They were no older than about nine years. One little girl gently took the face of a little one who was looking around and redirected their gaze forward – toward the drummer.

When they had finished singing (before I knew they were praying!) I said, “Tih roo sih rah” (this is a phonetic spelling NOT actual Amharic) and they said, “Thank you!! Well done.” So sweet!

Outside the church we had to remove our shoes. We did this and then were approached by an old woman. She spoke in Amharic to Abebe and he talked back. He then turned to us and said, “She is saying that her son has HIV and she has rent to pay.” Knowing that there are many rules of ‘do and don’t’ I was careful to ask Abebe what we should do. His response struck my heart.

He was clearly affected by his choice of words. I pulled out 100 birr and handed it to the lady. (Usually you give 1 or 2 birr). She gently took the money from my hand and then took my hand and held is close and kissed it repeatedly saying, “Amaseganelo” (spelled wrong) – Thank you, thank you, thank you.

I was overcome and did not know what to say. Ray reached out and rubbed her shoulder.

As we came down the mountain, we had four more little buns with us. The driver had had enough. So we watched for some little children. We saw a little boy, so we slowed down, smiled big, and held out the buns. We didn’t want him to see sad faces like we were taking pity on him. He beamed at us and accepted the buns. I then pulled out the stickers. Before I knew it I had ten little hands in my window and I was working as fast as I could! I didn’t want to get mobbed by the rest that would truly appear out of nowhere at any moment!

Hungry Children

Sometime during the day I asked Abebe if he could ask Mesai if she knew how to sing. Her reply was that yes, she does sing spiritual songs in Amharic. We are so blessed in this. Tomorrow we are going to try to get her and Gadisae to sing for us and we will record them. It breaks my heart to think that these beautiful Ethiopian, African ways will be lost, unless we live in Ethiopia. And even if we live here, they will be lost, as we are too Canadian.

Another example of their manners – when we sat to eat, we asked the girls to pray. They didn’t do the ‘shy thing’ like most kids would do. They simply did as they were asked, in public, with strangers. Also, when we reached for buns from the basket at lunch, the girls both didn’t. They were waiting for an invitation.

During our long day, Gadisae took a short nap on Ray’s chest.

Mesai was wide awake and was a real trooper. They were both wonderful and at the end of the day, while I was out (delivering the post to the internet shop for an hour), Ray fed them dinner and got them ready for bed and tucked them in. Quite amazing little girls.

Another full day. Tomorrow is yet another big day. Tomorrow we go to the German Embassy at 8:00 am, on from their to the LIGA School to deliver school supplies, and hand out stickers, bubbles and granola bars. From there we will then meet up with Yoseph, our Compassion friend, who has a number of families for us to buy food for. We will be going to the Teff mill and will buy 100 kilos of teff for each family and then will head out and deliver it to them.

What I have seen in this country is that the prices are *very* similar to Canadian prices, but yet the people earn so very little. We will pay a man to be our driver for the day and he will receive 50 birr ($5) per hour. At the end of a long and tiring 8 – 10 hour day, he will take home 400 – 500 birr ($40-$50). Out of that, he will receive about $25 (250 birr). The rest will go to the cab company. When we realized this, we began to give him a little more on top. It will go directly to him.

And that, is a good job! Many drivers do not get all day jobs! They rely on one job at at time, for 10 cents per passenger!! How is a man to feed his family on that little amount.

PHOTOS AT LAST!

2008-08-25T15:00:00.000-07:00