VISITING THE ORPHANAGE DAY...

2/19/10

Our day began early. We had prepared Elijah's bag the night before thinking he would be staying with the ladies at HOH2 (what we were told...just a miscommunication) but when the van arrived we were told they were taking us to drop the boys off at the HOH. This made me sad. I know they have done a great job with him but the idea of him being stuck in that crib again for the next 6 to 8 hours just made me feel sick! When we got there and took him up, everyone was excited to see Bereket but he just kept looking at me confused. I handed him to his nanny and gave her directions the best I could. I kissed him several times and promised we would be back soon and walked away with tears in my eyes. It was very tough. I could only imagine what he was thinking. "Hey, I've had it great the last few days, why did you bring me back?" Talk about feeling guilty!

Our ride to Numan was a little crazy. I took my dramamine (and really thank those who advised me to!). I still felt icky but just tried to keep my head laid back and take it all in. The country side was beautiful! The fresh air was wonderful.

So many things caught my attention as we drove. The livestock that was just roaming free where ever. I just knew we were going to hit one several different times. Children walking to and from school. Several towns with different "specialties" that they were well known for. Ficker was with us as our guide and translator so he told us about the different things and answered our questions. We saw lots of mud/grass huts with families sitting around outside or kiddos playing around them. In my mind I wonder what it would be like. Karen and I have said several times...we are so spoiled! We have never really known what it is to do without the major necessities. The things we think are important...but are they?

We get to the orphanage and there really are not a lot of kiddos there. We are told that several are at school. We give them all of our donations and then Ficker comes out and says all of the birth mothers are there and that the Hubbard's will go first. Don and I look at each other and say why do we always go first! The nerves kick in and I begin to shake. I tell Don to ask the questions and I will write so that I can do my best to keep my emotions in check. Our meeting was amazing. I will NEVER forget it. But as most of us know...this is Elijah's story to tell so I will not give much details here. I will say...we asked her why she named him Bereket and she said because he was a gift from God. I almost lost it there...we know he is! We did promise he would be raised in a Christian home which pleased her. We gave her a photo album and she teared up a little. Then when she saw the picture of our other kiddos holding his picture the day we passed court she cried and that was all it took for me...she was so happy that he had siblings who are already loving him so much! We got a picture and thanked her several times.

As we waited for the other families we got to see where our 3 boys met each other and became the "3 amigos". The most amazing thing is that the three birth mothers have also become great friends through all of this. God is so amazing in the way he works. I guess there are times when we need to be reminded of this.

Once everyone was finished they had a coffee ceremony for us. This was the first time I had coffee while here. YIKES...it is sure strong. I am a tea drinker not coffee. I did like the roasted barley. It was yummy. During this time Don had grown attached to a sweet little boy of about 3 years old. He had climbed into the van with Don and was enjoying the fruit snacks we had brought to share. I think if Don could have take him he would have. The little guy did not want to get out of the van.

We said our final good byes and said thank you again (just will never be enough!) and gave big hugs. She hugged us tightly but especially Don. I really think she was so thankful that he would have a Daddy!

We pulled out all in tears sharing our experiences together. I know we will treasure this forever and are so thankful we did this for our boy. She will always have a special place in our hearts! She gave her gift to us and we will forever be grateful for that.

We stopped and ate on our way back. It was great food and even I ate. (just no meat!) We enjoyed visiting more with Ficker. He is really a great guy and has been with us for most of our trip.

When we got back we ran up to get Elijah. When I walked in the room he was just sitting in the crib looking down at the floor. I bent down a little and said "Elijah" and he looked up at me and got a huge smile on his face. It was like he was saying," Hey you really did come back!" Yes my love and we will be together forever! I snatched him up and gave him lots of hugs and kisses.

We truly have been so blessed during this week and are sad to see it coming to a close. We leave in less than 24 hours. Where did the week go??