Gotcha Day

March 9th will always be a special day for our family now, its Eli's "Gotcha Day".


Monday morning in Ethiopia we enjoyed a good buffet breakfast, though all of the foods were a little different than American. We got to know a few more of our travel buddies, and we were all wondering when we'd get to see the kiddos because the itinerary given us Sunday night did not mention it until Tuesday morning...no way we were waiting that long!


The infamous Almaz came at 9:00 to do Visa paperwork, which was fairly simple. She told us a little of what to expect during our trip and meeting our kids. She gave a few examples of the differences in the children, and the first she mentioned was Tamru - the screamer. She said the others may kick us out of the hotel! We were so impressed with her knowledge of each child, but thankfully Tamru rarely lived up to his reputation.


Finally, it was time to go meet the kids. Walking the alley to Hannah's Hope was surreal. It is about a 5 minute walk...if you go slow. It is a stone walkway that's very dusty this time of year. Others are always walking this way or that and there is a little market along the way. The street in front of the hotel is very busy and noisy, but as soon as you get back by HH its very quiet. You'd never know there were over 50 kids inside the gate. There were flowering trees all along the way, and birds singing. The weather was beautiful all week...80's in the day and sunny.


We took photos by the AGCI gate and then entered in. We were the last to go in, so we watched as the other families were handed their babies or shown their children (they were all outside). WOW, what a privilege. At last we asked Almaz where Tamru was, and she in turn asked a special mother. After they looked a bit (there are LOTS of babies!) they found him in a walker faced the other way. It seemed like slow motion that they turned him around and we saw his sweet face. He was very sleepy and had that glazed over face. He had a broken toy in his hand and mouth. When we bent down and started touching and talking to him, he puckered up. I couldn't take it another second so I picked him up. He started fussing, so I turned him around so he couldn't see me. We walked around the yard and he was content. It was so good to feel the weight of him in my arms.

Eli eventually fell asleep on me so I sat down and watched all that was going on. Josh played with kids and took pictures. One little girl sang Jesus Loves Me to Eli and a little boy kept putting stickers on us. Another girl kept asking us what state we were from. She'd say "Me California" and stick her chest out. I don't know if she was right or just repeating what she'd heard from others, but I'd gladly bring her to Indiana. The younger kids absolutely captured our hearts. They didn't know English, but we knew exactly what they wanted...a hug, a pat, a smile.

It was a very emotional day to say the least. I think the best part for me was walking around HH trying to get Eli to go to sleep and coming upon the young children singing in Amharic. I knew the tune and finally identified it as "I have decided to follow Jesus". WOW, that's a sound I never want to forget! That's my prayer for Eli Tamru, no turning back.

Another great part of the day was watching a family meet their 4 year old son. Seeing them work at winning him over, and him easily loving them was very neat...maybe because I have a 4 year old son. He was the oldest adopted child in our travel group, and we all adore him. A week in a hotel with a boy who knows no English...they did great, even if they had to eat spaghetti every meal!

After a few hours at HH, we went back to the hotel with Eli. He left with the clothes on his back, which we later returned. We ate lunch at the hotel, during which Eli started bonding with Daddy, giving big smiles. We knew we were goners when we saw that smile! We spent the rest of the day either in our room or in the lobby. It was exciting to give him his first bottle and change his diaper. We couldn't wait to strip him down and inspect every inch....pure cuteness all over. He loved his bath too.

That night he got up twice, after the second time he slept with us (which he hasn't done since...he likes his own space). In the morning, he opened his eyes, looked at me, and grinned. It was going to be a good day!