Day 5:

Selam! (Hello in Amharic)

This morning was a lot of fun as we got to meet two families who arrived late last night as they have court the day after we do. It has been incredible to me throughout our adoption journey that we can have such an immediate connection when you have two main connections: first, belief in Jesus Christ; and second, adoption. These couples are here to adopt a 7 month old baby girl and about a 1 year old little boy, both absolutely precious! We enjoyed getting to know more about each other's families and getting the courage to learn /practice Amharic together with some of the staff at Hannah's Hope. After eating breakfast, all 3 of our families headed to Hannah's Hope. What a joy it was to be able to witness these families' first meetings with their children! It is so fun to be able to share your joy with others who just "get it."

"G" was sunning as usual this time of the morning: I never tire of seeing her dimpled smile when we greet her each day. She is such a "happy little bird" as another AGCI mom commented to me who had met her earlier. We had a little more time at Hannah's Hope today, so we were able to stay with her throughout her nap time until she woke up for her next bottle and a little more play time. She is a champion napper while she's being held, outlasting all the other babies in her group today! After she woke up today, Aaron and I had a wonderful time as the special mothers turned the music up and all started singing and clapping together with the babies. "G" seems to enjoy music and was very content watching the other babies in her group while being held by her daddy. I was trying to learn a little Amharic to use with "G" today, and learned how to say "I love you." Her eyes definitely perked up when I said it to her: definitely a different reaction than when I speak to her in English. This really made me want to learn more of her language so I can have some familiar comforting words for when she comes home with us next time. I also learned "beautiful child" and a word for comforting babies used here.

One little guy here has stolen our hearts along with "G". He has only been here since late last week, but immediately took to Aaron. If one us isn't holding "G" and he's awake, he finds us and wants to be held and talked to. Today he played with my hair for a long time, and put up a bit of a fuss when I had to put him down to leave. If we knew others weren't on the waiting list for this little guy, it would be hard not to start the process to adopt him as well!

I unfortunately wasn't feeling very well today. I think the business of the trip and fragmented sleep finally caught up to me and I basically had a migraine by the time we cam back from Hannah' Hope for lunch. I was out of commission in our hotel room until our dinner outing tonight, which at least I was able to attend: headache was finally gone, but I was still pretty shaky legged and light headed. I'm feeling a little better now thankfully as we have a BIG day coming up tomorrow: court.

The cultural dinner was so much fun this evening. We, the two other couples we met today, and two staff members from Hannah's Hope all went together and were able to share a traditional Ethiopian meal. It is custom here to share one big plate of food together. Before you eat, you wash your hands under a pitcher of water that is poured into a basin. The food was served on a huge platter covered with injera layed flat. Injera is the national bread of Ethiopia, and basically resembles a large pancake. It is spongy in texture, and more sour dough like in flavor as the batter ferments for 3 days before it can be used. Each separate dish then is spooned onto the injera, making a beautiful display of rich color. Rolled pieces of injera are also served on the side. It is polite to eat only with your right hand which you use to tear a piece of the injera and then pinch a bite of the food which you then eat together. The food was delicious! Some a little too spicy for my palate, but the flavors intense and very enjoyable. We also tried a bread made from banana root that is more popular in the southern regions of Ethiopia (where "G" is from) because it is much more difficult to grow "teff" there: this is a type of grain that I believe is grown only in Ethiopia that is needed to make traditional, authentic injera. Teff is a "super grain", extremely high in iron and played a huge role in preventing complete starvation during the famine that occurred in Ethiopia years ago. The southern area of Ethiopia is much more green with vegetation like coffee and bananas. If you travel North like we did earlier this week, it is not uncommon to see rounded piles of teff grass (kind of like a hay stack) sprinkled along the country side waiting to be trampled by oxen to separate the grain.

As we enjoyed dinner tonight, we were able to listen and watch live music and dancing representing different regions of Ethiopia: the dancers were absolutely fascinating to watch and have amazing endurance. They have very particular shoulder movements that jolt with the music in a way I never thought possible! One of our group members and his wife worked up the courage to try some of the dancing with the performers, and I have to give them credit! They were quite the hit with others attending the dinner tonight as they attempted to recreate the same type of shoulder movement as the native people: NOT an easy task!

Once dinner was finished, we of course ended with coffee, and popcorn. Yes, popcorn! This is a very common combination in Ethiopia, and I have to say, it was nice to have a "taste of home" with the popcorn! We were all getting pretty tired by this point and were brought back to our hotel for the evening.

Another great day in Ethiopia: I cannot believe that we only have two days left here. Although I'm really excited to see our kids back home again and miss them immensely, I'm dreading leaving our new daughter behind, along with her beautiful country. The people here are wonderful, hospitable, and have definitely made an impression on us.

Please pray for us as tomorrow we have court: we will be leaving our hotel at 9 in the morning, which is 1 a.m. for you Michiganders, so if for some reason you have insomnia or you're a night owl, please think of us and pray! We know God already knows the outcome, but we long to hear the words that "G" is officially ours before we leave the country. This would be such a blessing to us. Please pray that "G"s birth mother is there and that we can meet her after court: the plan is to have a meeting with her at 11:30 if all goes as planned. Please pray that all of our letters are there: especially our "MOWA" letter, as the office recently relocated and more letters have been absent than usual. Please pray for peace and calmness for us, and that we would feel the presence of the Holy Spirit tomorrow in all things.

And so…good night from Ethiopia! We will post about our court outcome as soon as we are able. Love to you all!