Travel: Did You Say Snowstorm?!

This past Monday, my mom called me and said, "Did you see the weather?"  And I said, Noooo….whyyyy?" And I proceeded to find out that a gigantic  winter storm was on its way, headed directly for us, and scheduled to  hit the night before and morning of the day we were supposed to leave.  Can't tell you how emotional those few days were as all weather reports  confirmed this. I was like a pendulum on a clock with my thoughts going  between: "God's in control. When we get there, we get there. I'm not  going to worry because it's not in my hands." To….. "But this mama is  supposed to leave on February 2, and I don't care when on February 2,  I'm leaving February 2!" Aaron didn't' like the idea of possibly getting  stranded in an airport somewhere when he could just as easily wait in  our home. And I on the other hand really didn't care if we got stuck  somewhere as long as we "were on our way." So we decided to keep our itinerary the same, and roll with the punches.  After a small delay for a later departure, we awoke Wednesday morning  (Feb 2) and checked the  computer as fast as we could:  red….red….red….cancelled….cancelled……and then 2 blocks of blue on time  flights. And OURS is one of them! So off we went to the airport, chauffeured by my mom and dad through the  snow. We checked in: 5 duffels and bins packed full of donations for the  precious kids who call Hannah's Hope home, and our personal belongings  in our carryons. As we waited, our flight moved from 3:25 to 3:35, then 4:15, then 4:25,  and finally we were boarding. We ended up taking off just after 5:00. As  joyful as we were to be in the air, we had a sinking feeling that we  would miss our connecting flight in Detroit to Amsterdam. Our feelings  were confirmed after running off our plane to the desk. This also meant  we would miss our connecting flight to Addis Ababa. We were rebooked  onto the later flight into Amsterdam, but as we researched options of  when we'd get into Ethiopia, it was looking like it might not be until  the 5th. Thanks to Aaron's endurance on the phone with KLM, they were  able to form an agreement with Ethiopian airlines to get us into  Ethiopia on the morning of the 4th if we were willing to fly through  London instead. So of course we took it! Needless to say our travel plans ended up being nothing like we had  planned! Instead of flying almost nonstop for 18 hours, we ended up with  a nice 8 hour layover in London. We took the underground to Westminster  Square, and did a VERY fast walking tour of that area. We were able to  see and take pictures of Big Ben, House of Parliament, Buckingham  Palace, the Clarence House, and of course the double decker buses! As  much as we wanted to do a little more exploring, there was no way we  were going to risk missing our flight to Ethiopia, so we headed back to  the airport with 4 hours to spare before our flight was to depart. It  was a FUN, but tiring day! At 8:25 pm London time, we took off for Ethiopia on a VERY full plane.  We were supposed to have had emergency row seats for extra leg room for  Aaron, but there obviously was a misunderstanding, and he ended up  squished in the middle of a row of 3. We didn't care though: we were  finally really on our way to Ethiopia!   Day 1:  We Met Her! 8 hours of flight time later, and we're finally here! I think we  traveled about 36 hours total with about 4 hours of sleep at the most,  but we're here! And, yes! We can hardly believe it, but we've met our precious baby girl  already. What an incredibly special surprise after a long, long, trip to  get here. I'll back up a bit, and then describe our meeting today. We arrived in Ethiopia at 7:00 a.m. their time which is probably when  most of you were going to bed last night around 11 pm. We flew in to a  beautiful sunrise coming over the countryside. We got off the plane,  went through the Visa line with no problems, and then went to claim our  luggage. We were relieved that 2 of our bags of donations arrived, but  disappointed and concerned that 3 are still not accounted for. As far as  we know, they were all on our flight from Detroit to London, but London  could not track them since we switched airlines. Their thought is that  they will come in with the KLM flight tomorrow that we would have taken  if we hadn't been able to get on today's flight. Please PRAY! The 3 that  are missing have the most diapers and formula in them. After filing a missing baggage claim and getting through customs, we  walked out to find that no one was there to greet us as had been our  understanding. Knowing it was very possible that they did not get our  updated itinerary, we decided to try to call the Hannah's Hope staff.  Realizing we needed Ethiopian birr (currency) to use their pay phones  with no exchange place in site, we went with plan 2. I finally got up  the courage to approach another hotel's representative and explain our  situation. "No problem! I will assist you!" he said. And he proceeded to  use his personal cell phone to call the family coordinator for AGCI.  Long story short, he helped us find our hotel's driver OUTSIDE, and we  were on our way again. What a blessing he was to us! We arrived at the hotel after a very interesting ride through Addis and  were greeted warmly by the staff here. Imagine our surprise when we were  given our itinerary and it said that we would be picked up in just an  hour and a half to go to Hannah's Hope! We went upstairs, freshened up,  and then grabbed a quick bite to eat. "Wass" was the driver who picked us up today and as we told him who our  baby was, he said, "Ah yes! "G". She has a beautiful smile!" As we made  our way down the bumpy street that led up to Hannah's Hope, it was so  surreal: this is the drive I've heard so many other families describe,  and finally it was our turn: we pulled up the gate I've seen in so many  pictures, and then it opened! We were greeted by smiling faces of  toddlers who were playing in the court yard. Almaz (the orphanage's  director) came to greet us and brought us to her office to complete some  paperwork we'll need on the next trip and to prepare us for what to  expect with court next week. And after that, she said, "Let's go meet  "G"! We followed her into the "baby" house to find that it was naptime. "G"  was sleeping in a bouncer all bundled up when we walked in. Immediately  I was filled with love and amazement that this was my daughter! The one  I've been praying for before I knew her name and now by name since  November. THIS was our gift directly from God! Can I tell you that she  is absolutely perfect? She is everything her name says she is:  WONDERFUL!! I was able to hold her right away while she was still  sleeping and Aaron and I absolutely marveled over her TINY hands and  feet, her beautiful eyelashes, the way she kept sucking in her sleep.  She has the most delicate features: a tiny little nose and lips. After  holding her around a half hour or so, she started to stir and then she  woke up in my arms. This I feel was a moment given to me by God:  immediately she looked directly in my eyes and smiled! She would look  back and forth between Aaron and I and just smiled. It was one of the  most precious moments of my life and I will never forget it. Her smile  is beautiful, complete with little dimples. The special mothers clearly love her! They told us today that "G" is  very content: she typically only cries when she is hungry or tired. And  we found this to be true today. After we had played with her a little  while, she started fussing and I was able to give her a bottle which  calmed her immediately. We played a little longer just enjoying holding  her, talking to her, and doing the same with some of the other babies in  the room. I could tell she was getting tired, so I started to walk  around with her and sway with her while I sang "Jesus Loves Me." She  settled down quickly and fell asleep in my arms. Precious. Not long after, our driver came to bring us back to the hotel, and so I  had to say goodbye for the day. Oh how I wanted to stay! As I laid her  down in a Moses basket, she awoke and gave me the same precious little  grin, looking right into my eyes. Thank you God for an absolutely  perfect first day with my little girl. She's got Aaron around her little  finger already! I am so excited to go back tomorrow and just continue to learn more  about who she is! We will keep you posted as we are able: tomorrow we  get another morning with her, and then because it's the weekend,  Hannah's Hope doesn't have the capability to drive us back in the  afternoon, so we are taking a short tour a little North of Addis Ababa  to the Debrelibanos Monastery region.