ethiopia. day 18.

my foes are many, they rise against me

but i will hold my ground
i will not fear the war, i will not fear the storm
my help is on the way, my help is on the way

When we landed in Addis at sunrise on October 9th, I never imagined we would still be here 18 days later. That morning, I was concerned about having to stay an extra day or 2 and having to change our flights. Ha. If I only knew...

 

My last post left us headed to embassy on Wednesday the 16th to get some direction from them on our next steps. We were praying for a huge miracle, for embassy to clear us to travel in spite of the Class A classification. Thanks to a contact made by mom, Congressman Kevin Brady, who has been so helpful these last couple of weeks, made a call to the ambassador to Ethiopia in regards to our case. The ambassador made the consular general aware of our case and when we walked into embassy Wednesday morning they were waiting for us and were very aware of all that was going on. The consular and his associate were very kind, compassionate, and understanding. It was such a relief to finally talk to another English speaking American person who cared. I was totally expecting just to be another name, another case on their desk. Unfortunately, they couldn't just overlook the diagnosis as we were hoping, but they did give us hope that the waiver would be approved and that it could be as short as 1-2 weeks. They assured us they would do everything to expedite it once it was submitted to USCIS (US Citizenship & Immigration Services). They sort of acted like it was no big deal, so this gave us big hopes for the waiver getting approved. It finally felt like there was a light at the end of the tunnel. We spent the rest of the evening completing what we needed to on our end, then handed the waiver off to my mom for the final legwork of collecting local and state health official signatures. We went to bed very hopeful that night!

oh, my God, He will not delay

my refuge and strength always

i will not fear, His promise is true

 my God will come through always, always

A little side not here about this day... To be honest, we have had some rocky days with Eliyas. He is figuring us out, we are figuring him out, he is getting used to having people telling him what to do and having rules and boundaries. It's expected. Any attempts at "conversations" or "talking" to him had not really gone over very well. He wasn't exactly talking to us very much or liking us very much. All that to say, we had to make a couple of trips to embassy that day and the second time we waited in a long line before we even got in. Once we got in and sat down I told him that we appreciated how patient he was being, that we know it's no fun to wait in lines and sit around. I told him that we've had to do a lot of waiting, a lot of work, and a lot of stuff that is no fun, but that we would do it all over again, that he was worth it all and we were never giving up on him. I figured I would get the usual brick wall response, but he turned to me and gave me a huge smile. It was so good for my heart. He gets it... After we were done at embassy he was playing around on Chase's phone and pulled up music somehow, the second song on the playlist was "Whom Shall I Fear (Angel Armies)" by Chris Tomlin. "And nothing formed against me shall stand, You hold the whole world in Your hands, I'm holding onto Your promises, You are faithful, You are faithful..." Such a sweet reminder that God is for us and He is faithful.

trouble surrounds me, chaos abounding

my soul will rest in You

i will not fear the war, i will not fear the storm

my help is on the way, my help is on the way

My mom spent the rest of the week tracking down health officials and we were put in touch with an organization who specializes in advocating for special adoption cases like ours. They told us that we might have a way to just send the waiver electronically and to hold off submitting the waiver via regular mail until we heard from someone at USCIS. My mom got the last signature she needed on Monday 10/21 and we were still waiting to hear from the USCIS contact on how to submit the waiver... to make a long story short, it is now Saturday 10/26 and we are still waiting to submit it. This is driving us absolutely crazy, we feel like we are just wasting time with it just sitting, not being submitted. We have been instructed over and over not to send it the normal way because it will cause delays. Last night we got a call from someone at USCIS that someone else would be calling us on Monday (they were out Friday) with instructions on submitting it. The question is if we will mail it as normal or if we will have the originals submitted at US Embassy in Addis. She sounded like the embassy route would be quicker for us in the long run because embassy could submit it 

to be expedited somehow. If that is the case, my mom will have to overnight the originals to a traveling adoptive family to bring to us in Addis. The next possible person to send it to won't be in Addis till Friday... so we will be 3.5 weeks in and just submitting the waiver. :-/ This makes us so anxious, but we are trying really hard to rest completely in the fact that God is in control. Not us, not USCIS, not embassy, not anyone. ~Jeremiah 29:11-14 - For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.~

i lift my eyes up, my help comes from the Lord...

from You Lord, from You Lord

Someone has asked for us to share what we do with our days here (great idea Kim :)) so I will try to give a short recap of what we have been up to! I think we all know the first few days were spent running from hospital, to lab, to embassy, crying in our room, Chase sleeping off his sickness, eating Zebra Grill take-away (as they call it here) almost every meal, and E playing lots of video games. Sunday morning, things started looking up. Chase was feeling almost 100% better, I had renewed hope, Eliyas was in an especially good mood and talking to us a little more, and my sweet friend Ashley and her husband arrived to Addis to pick up their son to bring him home! Along with Ashley's family, there was another dad, David, staying at the guest house picking up his 2 boys. Ashley's son and these 2 are close in age to Eliyas so they had a blast together. They spent every waking moment they could together playing soccer, playing video games, watching TV/movies, telling jokes... it was so sweet to see them interacting together. Always huddled around each other, touching, hugging, holding hands, arms draped around shoulders.  

I think it was Monday of that week that Chase and Eliyas went to play golf with David and his 2 boys. Who knew there was a golf course in Addis Ababa? They had a great time. Chase got a sunburn and Eliyas is still asking to go again! (Can I tell you how cute it is when he says "golf" with his little Ethiopian accent?!) There were lots of boys v. dads soccer tournaments at the guest house that week! I think the dads even won a few times! I don't think I can describe how sweet it was to watch these 4 older boys play soccer with their new dads. Something they probably could not have imagined a few months ago. So thankful for a God who redeems! On Tuesday we had lunch at a yummy, American feeling burger place, Sishu, with our friend from Canada and his 3 Ethiopian sons followed by an afternoon at the Hilton. It was one of David's son's birthdays, what better way to spend it than swimming at the Hilton?! It felt like home, enough so that I even dared to have ice in my drink! We ended the night with dinner at Top View. It was a really nice place that again, felt very American, with good food and good prices. At the nicer restaurants we have been to in Ethiopia, you still don't pay more than $5 a plate!

We got to spend one evening at Habesha 2000 where he had dinner and a show! Traditional dinner accompanied by traditional dancing- SO entertaining. We got to go last trip and were so excited to bring Eliyas back. The kids got a kick out of it (after E got over the original embarrassment of it! lol) and we had a great time! Other than these particular events, our typical days start with breakfast at the guest house- sauteed vegetables, pancakes, another fried pastry, some type of cake, toast, fresh squeezed pineapple or orange juice, horrible coffee (what the heck?! We are in the birthplace of coffee!!) and bananas or cantaloupe. (Oh and some type of deli looking meat and cheese, along with some type of oatmeal looking stuff?) Basically a lot of carbs and sugar, as is with every meal in Ethiopia! Most days we go to lunch with other families at one of a handful of restaurants that AWAA frequents. Almost all restaurants here serve pizza, pasta, and sometimes a handful of traditional foods or hamburger. You spend a lot of time in the car getting anywhere- traffic has been really bad this trip! No A/C means the windows are open to get a breeze and you are constantly breathing in all the exhaust and dust, along with smelling the herds of sheep or the livestock place on the side of the road. We've both had cold/allergy symptoms for a few days that we figure is from all the junk outside. Our afternoons have been mostly spent at the guest house, playing soccer and also basketball now that Chase constructed a basketball goal! We order in Zebra Grill pretty frequently for dinner, much to my dismay, and have found a new cafe that we like to walk to that serves a yummy spaghetti with meat sauce for less than $2 and a delicious macchiato for less than 50 cents!

We have started Eliyas' TB treatment, as required by the CDC, and it has to be given at the hospital every morning before 9am. I believe we get to thank the CDC for that lovely requirement. So we get to spend $15 for a cab every morning to sit in traffic all to have E take 2 pills! By we, I mean Chase... most mornings I sleep in while this is going on. :) We have said goodbye to about 8 families since we have been here. I am so happy for everyone that is going home and families being completed, but it is really hard to say goodbye every time, wondering when we will ever get our turn. As my new friend Tiffany reminded me, at least we are getting to meet lots of cool people! :) And we really are. It is truly a blessing to be surrounded by all these wonderful families who are all here with the same end goal. We will leave Ethiopia with a lot more friends than we had before! :) Tonight, as we said goodbye to a family, E told Chase, "No America. Me, you, mom, live in Ethiopia." Chase said, "What about our families? They will be sad!" E said, "They are weak." Funny story, but I pray this isn't all too confusing for him! 

We got to visit the BEAUTIFUL Gorge last week. They call it Ethiopia's Grand Canyon and it was breathtaking. It is a 2 hour scenic drive outside of the city, with beautiful views of the countryside, and no fumes or exhaust to bother you! I did get a little carsick, but nothing a little Dramamine couldn't fix! We hiked around the mountain and just so happened to get attacked by huge hawk looking birds that we found out later were eagles! I was walking with foil wrapped sandwiches in my hand when one knocked me on my shoulder and hit the sandwiches out of my hand! If you know me and how I'm scared of bugs, you can only imagine how freaked out I was to be hit by a ginormous bird!! Later, Chase was eating his sandwich under the bridge when one swooped down and scratched his hand, thank goodness he didn't let go of the sandwich! :) We discovered E is quite the daredevil. He liked to get close to the edges of the cliffs and scare us to death, run up and down the steep hills and rocks... he's not like his dad at ALL!!! ;-) We also got to see baboons up close and personal! That was neat!

We decided to intrude on one of Eliyas' friends going away party at the orphanage and had a combined going away party on Thursday 10/24. We had been holding off on it, since a going away wasn't exactly for sure, but we decided to go ahead and do it and just tell the US government, "Sorry! We have to leave now, we've had the going away party!!" It was our first trip back to Abenezer since picking E up the first day and I wasn't prepared for how emotional it was going to be for me! Eliyas got out of the van and started making his rounds hugging and kissing every kid and nanny he saw. He went from room to room hugging and kissing older kids, toddlers, and babies. It really hit me that this has been his family. This is all he's known for the last 15 months. And as far as orphanages go, I would have to say it is one of the best. 

I can't even tell you how special the party was. It started off by Eliyas (and the other 2 kids that were leaving) getting changed into a traditional outfit. Then the party started and all the other kids presented them with pictures they drew, along with a big hug. The nannies and staff prayed over our kids and families in Amharic. I have no idea what was being said, but it was so emotional for me! We could not have asked for a better place for Eliyas to be before we could get to him. They love these kids and it shows. The older kids did a couple of dances to music in Amharic, it was so sweet. And a party isn't a party without cake and snacks! They had cakes made with their names in Amharic, along with other homemade snacks and sodas. It was such a sweet and thoughtful ceremony and a day I'm sure Eliyas will never forget. Thankfully, we know quite a few of the parents of the kids that have families, so we will be able to keep the kids in touch throughout the years. Something they probably never imagined possible! 

I should add that this last week has brought us more good days with Eliyas. The walls are starting to come down and we are starting to see more of our sweet, funny, loving boy. He is voluntarily giving hugs and "I love yous" and jokes with us, this is quite the change from last week. He is learning to understand that we sometimes have to say no and make him do things he doesn't want to and we are learning how to make him feel secure, loved, and reassured. We are all learning more about each other every day, and let me tell you, we have so much to learn from him. 

If anyone is still reading this, I will close here. Some people have asked if there is a way to help with the financial aspect of this unexpected extended stay. We cannot thank you all enough for your support and prayers! Our dear friends have set up a PayPal account to accept donations on our behalf. If you are interested in helping us this way, you can find the link along with more information at bestlocalinfo.com. Can I tell you what a blessing this is to us? While we are here, the costs are piling on by the day while Chase's income has completely stopped. You would think it would be cheap to stay in a third world country, but it is costing us about $200 a day. We are trusting that the Lord will provide and see us through! Please feel free to share our story and the link above with anyone you think might feel led to support us through monetary means or even more importantly, prayer!

We are praying for a final answer on how to submit the waiver on Monday and for it to be approved soon after! We cannot thank you all enough for your prayers. Please, please don't stop now. We are amazed on a daily basis by our great God who is working all of this for our good and His glory. We are trusting in His great plan! Check back next week for an update!

Isaiah 40:31

But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.