Photo Albums

Here are some photos from our trip to Ethiopia.  Most of these photos are from Addis Ababa while some others are from The Blue Nile Gorge and the Southern Region.

Here's Album 1 - Click Here

Here's Album 2 - Click Here

Now we're really home

After spending a week at the beach with family this past week(we were home from Ethiopia for about 20 hours before leaving again) we are now officially home and starting to settle back in. My hope was to blog last week from vacation, however I found that its actually easier to find a reliable, low cost internet connection in Addis Ababa than it is in Ocean City, NJ. Hopefully we'll get some things posted this week.

We're home!

After a 17 hour flight, we are home!  We had a good flight - Hanna was a trooper - and we passed through immigration, etc.   We had amazing immigration officers along the way.  They were so kind and helpful.  Its good to be home and ready to settle in to our new family life!

Traveling Home...

This afternoon is a quiet afternoon around the guest house as we pack up and prepare to leave.  This morning we had an Ethiopian cooking lesson where we learned how to make shiro wot and a bunch of other dishes. Joshua even got to try his hand at making injera.   We then followed lunch up with a coffee ceremony.  Its an amazing time of roasting coffee beans over charcoal, grinding the beans and serving them fresh.  It is a relaxing, community building time which is a great honor to be part of.

 

We are all packed up and leave for the airport in a couple of hours and then our 17 hour journey back to The States begins.  We'll be back in DC by 8 am and then pass through immigration, etc.  

 

Please be praying for one of the little children in our travel group who has gotten quite sick. 

 

Catch up with you all Stateside soon!

 

By the way...Hanna is doing amazingly well.  She is definitely part of the family!

Happy New Year!!

Thursday is New Year's Day in Ethiopia, so Happy New Year to you. Because Ethiopia follows a different calendar, their New Year's Day falls on September 11th each year. This also means that they are just entering the year 2001 and this whole past year has been full of Millenium celebrations. So while in the States is might be 09.11.2008, here in Ethiopia today is 01.01.2001 . Just in case you needed the day off, let your boss know today is New Years Day.

a pic from today

here's a pic of Hanna from today.

It's officially official!

Today was an amazing day. We started off the morning with a tour of the CHSFS care center. At every turn I am utterly amazed at what great care our children have received here. Those who have cared for Hanna have thought of everything and are some of the most caring, loving and sacrificial people whom I have ever met. They truly have loved on Hanna.

As a side note to this, yesterday while we were touring the CHSFS womens hospital we saw a nanny who started saying something in Amharic which we couldn't make out, but we did catch the word, "Hanna." We found someone who could translate and as it turns out this nanny has been one of Hanna's nannies back at the care center and she recognized us from our picture we had sent for Hanna back a couple of months ago. It was another affirmation about how loved these children are. It also has been wonderful to know that for many of those who have been caring for Hanna, the love that they share with her comes from a deeper place as many of them are believers who have been praying for her and who will continue to pray for her.

This morning we had a teary goodbye ceremony which was so touching. It was a great opportunity to thank the nannies for all they have done. After the ceremony, Hanna came into our care full time!

After lunch we headed to the American Embassy for an interview. We had to pass through a number of levels of security to reach the Consulate Office and then waited for a few hours for our names to be called. We were asked a series of questions about Hanna and our ability to care for her and then the Embassy official said those wonderful words, "Congratulations, Hanna's visa has been approved." Tomorrow we receive all of our paperwork and Hanna's passport and we'll be ready to travel home on Thursday.

Tonight we had an amazing time sitting around with her and watching her bloom more and more as we played and laughed. We even got to see her crawl a bit. She is something!

Joshua has been so amazing on this trip. He has such a great servant heart and has been a huge help. Its also been great to see this very special bond developing between he and Hanna.

All along the way we have sensed God's grace and have known His Presence with us. It has been incredible to experience the practical care of our loving Father in very small and at other times extremely huge ways throughout this trip. It has been the trip of a lifetime.

Here's a pic of our smiling daughter!

Pic of Hanna...taken today.

Hanna Bloomed!!!!!!!

Dad's been posting, but Mom just couldn't not post about today!!!!!

What an amazing day we had today!!!! Hanna has been a bit afraid of us (on Friday and Saturday), and kind of cried when we took her. When we had her with us, she usually just fell asleep or sat really still. Well, today, we were able to bring her back to the Guest House where we are staying for the morning, and we watched Hanna bloom!!!

She started out by falling asleep again, but woke up and started to play with some toys. Then we fed her lunch, and while Daddy held her, I got a small smile from her. (Before this, she was barely looking us in the eyes.) Then Daddy was playing with her and we got HUGE smiles from her!!! Then she really started playing and shaking the toys. Then while we were eating lunch, Joshua was playing with her, and she started laughing!!!!! And she was babblling and clapping and standing on my lap. Oh, she just came alive!!!! She also let Joshua hold her for the first time today. She is so wonderful!!!! It was hard to take her back, but we put her down in her crib (it was nap time) and she was fine.

Tomorrow morning, we go and get her for good!!! What a beautiful little girl...such a gift!

Trip to Hosanna

Today we went to Hosanna, 3 hours south of Addis Ababa. It was great to see southern Ethiopia and to see some of the area around where Hanna is from. It was absolutely amazing and way too emotionally involved to post much on now. We have tons of pics and we'll get some up here sometime!

Day 5

Day 6

This morning we had a team meeting with the head of the video department, Hanna’s social worker, one of her nannies, a nurse and the doctor. These people really care for her and making sure that we can have as smooth of transition as possible. It was a great meeting where we could ask any questions we had as well as watch part of Hanna’s video. Joshua stayed at the guest house during this meeting because of the confidential nature of the meeting and watched the rookie.

After our meeting, Jerry walked back to the guesthouse and got Joshua – its about a 10 minute walk. Jerry loves walking here…lots of people, lots of cars and lots of livestock. Makes every walk a fascinating journey which helps to cure his ADD.

Christy went to see Hanna and Jerry and Joshua came a bit later. It was a great couple of hours we all got to spend with her. Hanna snuggled close to both of us and really seems to be attaching well. This is amazing. It was hard to go today, knowing that we won’t get to see her again until Monday (today was Saturday).

After lunch we headed out to visit AHope, an orphanage that works with HIV+ children. It truly is a great agency.

The whole guest house then headed out on a shopping trip. It was a great time. It has been great buying Ethiopian souveniers since we are trying to buy items that will help us pass culture on to Hanna.

Tonight we went to an authentic Ethiopian restaurant. It was terrific. I love Ethiopian food! Injera and wot ! mmmmm! It was a great time as we had very good food and also got to watch some Ethiopian dancers. They were outstanding!
Tomorrow we head 3 hours South – to Hosanna, close to where Hanna is from.

We met Hanna!!

Today we met Hanna. She is so beautiful. It was great to finally meet her!! Tomorrow we get to spend more time with her as well as meet the social worker, nurse and doctor. Thank you for your prayers during this initial bonding period! More to come!

Day 4 - Addis Ababa

Day 4

Today we toured Addis Ababa. We were supposed to meet up with a local pastor, but it did not work out, so instead we headed out with a driver for a day. Our driver Girtma was recommended to us as someone who knew some English, however upon setting out we found out that our ability to communicate was going to be quite limited. We wanted to see St. George’s Cathedral and Museum. This is an Ethiopian Orthodox church built in the late 1800’s by King Menelik to commemorate his victory over the Italians in a battle, but in the 1940’s it was burned to the ground by Mussolini destroying not only the building but all of the artwork, too. It was reconstructed within a few years and everything was restored. It is a basilica style cathedral and has a great museum on the grounds, too. With our inability to communicate clearly we ended up instead at a Roman Catholic Church. We walked around experiencing the people of Ethiopia for awhile and then back to our driver. Fortunately we had a Lonely Planet Guide with us which had St. George’s listed in Amharic, so our driver could get us there. We had plenty of time to sit and explore the grounds at St. George’s. It was amazing to see hundreds of people come and pray. We got to climb a bell tower and tour the cathedral which was a great hit for Joshua who got to play a huge Ethiopian drum which is used in their church services. Afterwards we toured the museum which has a huge collection of artifacts from the history of the Ethiopian Church which dates back to the 4th Century AD. In addition we learned that it was an Ethiopian who first started using musical notation in church music. His name was Yared and he started notating music in the 6th Century. AD. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church still uses the same words and notes written 15 centuries ago as well as a liturgy written in Ge’ez which is a language that died out in the 11th Century everywhere except in the church.

After our tour we went off shopping. Shopping is always a journey. We first went to Halie Sylassie Market because the prices are fixed there in order to see what we could expect to pay, and then it was off to the shops and vendors where we had to haggle pricing. We had a great time and found some great things for decorations to help share with Hanna her heritage.

At night we moved from our first guesthouse to our second one, where we will stay for the rest of our time here. Fortunately it was only a 5 minute drive because we fit 3 of us plus a driver and 6 huge suitcases as well as 5 carryons and a couple of shopping bags into a Lada sedan. We were packed to the room, each of us holding bags and with the trunk tied shut. It was quite a sight (and sound as we bottomed out on every bump we hit!). The amazing part is we had a taxi for 7 hours and we paid him very well, but the total cost was $30. I’ve paid that for a 15 minute taxi ride before.

Late at night we got to meet the other birth families. There are 9 other families who we will be living with for the next week. They are from all over the place, however there is a family here from Baltimore and one from York. Its amazing to have these folks close enough that we could stay in touch since we are all using an agency from Minnesota. Tomorrow we meet Hanna. I can’t wait!

pictures from day 2 and 3

Some pics...Addis Ababa, The Road North, Debre Libanos & The Blue Nile Gorge

We're Here...Day 2 and 3 of our journey.

Day 2

Walking through the process at Bole Airport in Addis Ababa was uneventful. We easily got through getting our visa, exchanging money, getting all of our luggage, and customs. We met a bit of a hitch when the person who was supposed to meet us at the airport didn’t make it because of some crossed signals. We called him and hung out in the airport for awhile. While there Jerry met his first opportunity to be shortchanged. He bought a coke for 18Birr (almost $2 –airport prices are always higher) however when he counted his change (he gave him 100 Birr) he found out that he had been shortchanged 60 Birr. That Coke would have cost $8 – a bit steep even at the airport. The waiter quickly gave him the correct change when asked.

When our ride arrived we were off to the guest house. Addis Kidan is a great guest house. Alayu, the guest house manager, is a wonderful Ethiopian who is a student at a local Bible College and used to work for Compassion International. It’s a comfortable spot in a neighborhood that is only a 5 minute walk from the guesthouse we will be staying in with our agency.

It was about 10:30 pm (Ethiopian time) when we hit the beds at the guest house and we crashed for the night.

Day 3

We started our third day off bright and early by hiring a guide and driver to take us 3 hours north of Addis Ababa through some of the most beautiful countryside I have ever seen. Because it is the rainy season, everything is bright green with life. We took the main highway north of the city which consists of a paved road that has 1 lane in each direction. It twisted and turned as we headed up and down through the mountains and valleys. While traveling up the mountain to head out of the city we saw a bunch of runners. This is where the Ethiopian national team trains daily. Our guide told us that its not uncommon to see the Olympic runners out there training, including Selasie.

Our first stop along the way was Debre Libanos Monastery. This is an Ethiopian Orthodox Monastery which was originally organized in the 12th Century. It is in a beautiful setting with a waterfall in the background. The legend behind the monastery was that the founding monk stood on one leg while praying for 7 years and as a result he lost one of his legs. In the paintings which depict him he is shown as only having one leg. This is a fascinating place. There are 500 monks and 300 priestesses associated with this monastery, however they do not have housing on the grounds. Instead they live within the community or in caves which are not far from the monastery. They live a life of poverty and are either retired or have someone who provides their basic living expenses for them.

The current cathedral there was built in the late 1940s by Emperor Haille Selasie since the original building was destroyed by the Italians years prior. During the Italian occupation in Ethiopia, a couple of men made an attempt on the life of General Graizone from the Italian forces. This was during facism and Mussolini. After the attempt the men went to Debre Libanos and hid. Grazione showed up with his forces during a festival in which the monks were in a cave praying. The Italians massacred hundreds of priests as they gathered in the cave to pray. The Italians then returned a few days later and killed hundreds of lay people associated with the monastery.

The current cathedral has incredible stained glass as well as old paintings and murals. The building is divided into 3 sections based on the Jewish Temple. There is the outer room where people gather for singing and chanting. There is the Holy Place where people gather for Mass. The innermost part is the Most Holy Place where only the priest can enter. In the Most Holy Place there is an altar containing a replica of the Ark of the Covenant. The most striking feature of the whole monastery was the devotion with which the monks, priestesses and the people of the community demonstrate. The monks and priestesses fast almost every day and will eat only one meal on those days. They also gather in the courtyard throughout the day to offer prayers. One of the most striking features were prayer sticks. These are like walking sticks which they use to lean on while praying. This enables them to stand and pray for sometimes 10 or 12 hours. These acts of devotion struck me. While we did not visit it, the marketplace there seemed incredible. It looked as if one could buy anything they wanted to in this small market for locals.

On leaving Debre Libanos we saw a family of baboons playing in the field which captured our attention for some time before we continued another 1 hour up the road to The Blue Nile River Gorge. This gorge is deeper and wider than the Grand Canyon and was a spectacular sight. It sits in this huge valley which was lush green and with the start of the yellow flower addis ababa which blooms every year at the end of the rainy season. We drove a 40km road from the top of the mountain to the bottom of the gorge. Filled with twists, turns and fresh mudslides and rockslides it was quite an adventure. Along the way there were numbers of shepherds herding their livestock and shacks which people had built on the side of the road. We ended this leg of the tour after crossing the Blue Nile and having a picnic lunch in front of a small waterfall. It was beautiful. This river eventually flows into The Nile. Our guide was certain to point out that the muddy water was taking all of the rich Ethiopian soil to Egypt where it would continue to provide fertile land there, but while depriving Ethiopia of its natural resources.

Our final stop was a place called the Portuguese Bridge. This took us to a beautiful overlook where we could see for miles over a different gorge area. As we kept hiking we came to a stone bridge which our guide informed us was built by the Portuguese in the 18th century. This is not entirely true it would seem…rather it was built by an Ethiopian ruler in the 20th century…however it was beautiful. After crossing the bridge we were able to look from the top of a huge waterfall which only flows for a couple of months out of the year. It was breathtaking. We also saw 3 families of baboons at play in this area. I think we all then fell asleep on our travel back to Addis.

At night we found ourselves in the middle of experiencing our first blackout. Ethiopians have gotten used to these daily blackouts. Since we couldn’t “eat in” we headed out to the local hotspot – Metro Pizza. They make great pizza and since they cook over a wood fire, we knew they’d be able to cook our food, even if they did not have power. Here we are all the way in Ethiopia eating pizza…go figure.

We're here!!

We are here in Addis Ababa and having a wonderful time.   We have very limited acess to the internet at the moment, but I did want to post to say we are here.  We had a wonderful time in the Northern countryside yesterday.  Today we move from one guest house to the other and tomorrow we meet Hanna.  We can't wait.  More hopefully to come soon...complete with pictures if all goes well.  Thank you for your prayers!