Remembering

A year ago this week Mike and I were on an adventure that changed our lives forever.  On the 22 of January 2011 Mike and I traveled 8 hours to Durame, Ethiopia in a white van with 8 other families.  It was such a great day driving through Ethiopia and getting a better sense of this beautiful country that our boys were from.

I remember watching children running through fields, playing with sticks, and herding their families herds of goats or oxen, or hanging out in front of their round mud huts.  What a wonderful, simple, beautiful life they have and I wondered if my boys had come from a different circumstance if they would  be running around in these fields, playing with sticks and rocks and living with such joy in the simple.  You see with adoption there can also come a sadness about what these children are losing.   I would never want to take a child from such a wonderful, rich culture but our boys had no alternative.  They were orphans in a third world county with no other options.

When we were choosing our adoption agency something that was so important to me was that adoption was the last resort.  An agency that had people, and organizations in place that could help these families in country. I wanted what any mother would want, help to keep my family together.  I wanted an agency that would know the culture, the needs, and heart to help the people.  Whether that be a health clinic, education, mother and children's centers, or simply sponsorship.  An agency with an amazing reputation and integrity. 

A new hospital being built with the help of our agency.

As we drove  back to Addis Ababa after meeting Dawit and Israel's brother Ufayesa I was so sad, so burdened, so blessed, and so honored all at the same time.  I was sad that they could not stay together.  I pictured my oldest Sean having to make this hard decision and being separated from his younger siblings.  I was so burdened to help the remaining part of our boys family and so blessed that God had chosen me to see the miracle of Ufayesa's prayers being answered through our family coming along and saying yes to God when He asked us to adopt.  I was honored to meet such a wonderful young man who was raising the rest of the family on his own and learning and growing not only educationally but spiritually.  I was honored when he said to Mike and I you are now my new mother and father.  Yep a few more tears flowed when he hugged us goodbye and said that to us in English.

What an incredible and incredibly hard day that was.  One that is permanetly etched in my mind.  The sights, sounds, smells, emotions, and absolute assurance that we were doing what God had intended us to do long before we knew.