Journaling from Ethiopia trip #2

I wanted to put this journaling on here, just to tell our story a bit better.  There were so many miraculous things that happened on this trip.  Michael wrote most of this from Kuwait after talking with me on the phone.  I'd like to fill in a bit at some point, but I think this is a good starting point.

March 29th
I didn't get a chance to talk to Nancy tonight. Although I tried for about half an hour, the call wouldn't go through. Such are the difficulties of international calling. I don't know if this makes things harder, but I'm calling from Kuwait to the states to get a line to the calling card center (wherever THAT is), which patches me back into Ethiopia. Certainly not the most direct route, but it's the only one I've got right now!

But Nancy did write an email, and I include her news below:

> We had a little bit of a crazy day today, but it was productive. Justice got up at 4am crying. I got up and exercised in the bathroom while he was crying. He cried straight through until 9am except for an hour when I put him in the bathtub to play with the water. At 9am, he finally went down for a nap and I did, too! YEA! We slept for two hours. We got up and I was able to feed him grits--same food Hannah would eat after not eating for about 3 days. Funny, I thought. He also drank a half bottle of formula and then smiled and laughed for me. He definitely perked up! Today while we were driving in the car, he said, "shoe" about 3 times while we were playing with his shoes. We were so excited!

> Everything went fine with the visa appt at the Embassy, but the authentication for the army was much more complicated. We had to get the ministry of foreign affairs to stamp it first before the Embassy can authenticate it. So, we sped across town to pick up a Gladney representative (they have to get the stamp), sped to the ministry. They wouldn't stamp it because they said they needed another local office's stamp. We sped over there and they wouldn't stamp it because they said they needed two pieces of original paperwork from the Embassy. We sped to the Embassy and the personnel looked at it and said the local office's stamp was already on there (interestingly, neither the ministry or that local office noticed the gigantic purple stamp in the middle of the document). Went back to the ministry and they were closed! We'll head back over there with the same paperwork tomorrow morning. Belay, who used to head the Gladney program here and owns the guest house I'm staying in, happened to be here at the guest house when I got back. He called someone he knew at the ministry and she said she'd meet us over there in the morning. Amazing what can happen when you know the right people! UGH! Exhausting day, but Justice is bonding well with me now. He won't really eat or drink from anyone else now and gets upset when other people try to hold him. He grabs onto my shirt and won't let go. So cute!

Faith and I are going to the cultural dinner tonight while a caregiver comes to watch Justice.

March 30


Nancy, Faith, and Justice are still in Ethiopia, having a blast! Well, not exactly--but I'm hopeful that at this moment, they're all passed out! A nice night of slumber does good for everyone's mood.
 
Especially Justice's, hopefully.
 
I talked with Nancy for a good long while tonight, split between a few calls, each truncated by the limits of $5 phone cards and the Defense Switched Network. Anyway, we got to talk quite a bit, amidst Justice's interminable crying and a thunderstorm and power outage. Pretty exciting stuff going on in Ethiopia.
 
Nancy was frustrated yesterday that she couldn't get an authentication for Justice's certificate of birth. The authentication isn't necessarily a big deal for all adoptions, but it is for us, as the military health care system requires it in order to register Justice and let him see a doctor--and he'll need that soon after he gets back to the states.
 
So, Nancy and the kids met up with Solomon, their driver (the same she and Christian had last trip--and a true blessing on this trip!) and went over to get the authentication. I think everyone believed this would be a relatively simple task. To describe the blow-by-blow would be impossible for me, but to sum up: Nancy and the crew got sent back-and-forth from place to place in Addis Ababa, returning to the Embassy something like five times. The entire morning was very tense, as Nancy needed all this to get done by noon, since the Embassy closes at noon on Friday, and doesn't open again before their plane back to the states.
 
The unabridged tale sounds like an adventure movie, with high-speed car rides (even in the wrong lane!), standoffs with government officials, and sprints across lawns--and a last minute deus ex machina just when you thought all hope was lost! There's a screenplay in there, believe me.
 
Anyway, Nancy has Justice's visa AND his authenticated documents--everything they needed to get done is done. Now, hopefully, they can just relax a little tomorrow and get a little rest.
 
The one complication is...well...Justice, who doesn't seem completely at home at the hotel room with his new family. He cries incessantly, unless he's in the bathtub apparently. Sometimes he'll calm down when watching a movie on the computer. Most of the rest of the time, he's pretty unhappy. And reports indicate that he can remain pretty unhappy for truly impressive stints. And he's pretty clingy to Nancy, which ends up wearing her down, since he doesn't really stop crying, even when she's holding him.

And he likes to hit and throw things, too. Which might be a plus, since he shares such interests with his older brothers. But I think we'll have to address that....

So, on the negative side: four straight hours of inconsolable crying wears on everyone's nerves. On the positive side: he has staying power, and great lungs!

Another bright spot: Justice seems to be repeating English words pretty well. Today he said "shirt." Impressive!

Nancy and I think that his unhappiness now is probably a pretty good indication of his ability for forming good bonds with us (since he's grieving so deeply for the loss of his former caregiver, with whom he was very close), so that's promising, too.
 
Oh, I forgot: Nancy's also not feeling well, and fears she may be coming down with something.

Seriously, it really hurts my heart to be missing this, and to make Nancy and Faith weather it by themselves. The past couple of days have been really intense, and I would love to be helping out with all the craziness there. Feeling pretty helpless here as I listen to the chaos in the background while talking with Nancy over the phone. Not a good feeling.

But in the midst of it all, I'm really proud of Nancy--she's really taking the bedlam like a champ, and she's really manifesting a wonderful faith and reliance on God through this. THAT's my girl! (And Faith is also helping out wonderfully, as she always does.) 
March 31


I talked with Nancy earlier about her day. Please keep praying for her, as she is still feeling under the weather, and is concerned about how the flight on Sunday will go. But after a grueling day Friday, it sounds like things improved some. Here's what she wrote me:

"Had a better night last night after a crying spell. Justice said mama,
which was awesome!! He woke at 5am and took a 2 hour bath, interrupted
by pooping in it. I got him out, disinfected everything, cleaned the
tub, and drew him another bath, which he loved. He was waving at me,
blowing kisses, and smiling. He's been playing nicely with his toys
this morning."

Doesn't that just sound so precious? Well, the good times didn't last, and she later wrote this:

"He had a great morning, but after a 1 hour nap, he woke up
screaming and has been screaming for about an hour now. I let Faith put
on a movie for her--he won't watch one right now--and asked her to watch
him to make sure he didn't hurt himself while he lay on the floor
screaming. I tried food, bottle (of milk , and one of orange fanta,
I'll try anything right now), toys, movie, medicine... Don't know what
exactly is going on, but I'm thankful for the good morning, anyhow. It
was a little light in the cloud right now."

I called in the early evening, and she reported that Justice had been crying lots that afteroon, and that he had also been displaying poor restaurant behavior by dropping and throwing things, spilling soup on people, and trying to pull the tablecloth off. I have a feeling the meal would've been improved with a good highchair, but such was not to be had there. Thankfully, they're mostly everywhere in the states.

Justice has also taken to pulling Faith's hair--hard--another thing we'll have to discourage. For right now, Nancy's pretty worn out, and not looking forwad to a seventeen hour flight back home wrestling down a rambunctious (THAT was the word she thought really describes him well) one and a half year old.

Nancy and I both agree that things will improve once everyone's home. Then she can start laying down some rules--which it seems to her was something lacking in the orphanage--and making the schedule regular again. There's just a little plane trip between now and then. (I wishI were there!!) April 2

Nancy, Faith, and Justice made it safely in to Washington's Dulles airport the morning of April 2nd, and we're full of praises for the trip. The day leading up to the flight wasn't bad, and Nancy made sure to leave plenty of time to get to the airport. They got there early, as Nancy knew there was a first come-first served opportunity at a bassinet, available in the bulkhead seats. Arriving four hours early, she scored one for Justice, which was HUGE!

They boarded, and took off and...had a wonderful flight! (Not that I wanted to emphasize this to Nancy before the event, but I was pretty concerned about how this would go, and had an image of a seventeen-hour wrestling match.) I prayed throughout the day as they were getting ready for the trip, and while they were on it, and God was really gracious, as He always is. Although he fussed a bit before takeoff, Justice ended up sleeping a long time, as did Nancy.

When Nancy sent me an email at work telling me she could skype, I got the rest of my work done quickly and sped back to my room to climb on--and she looked great! She said she felt great, too--well rested, and ready for the day. Truly a blessing!

Even when Justice was awake in the plane, he was playing quietly, though not always non-destructively. But magazines and safety inserts can always be replaced, can't they?

When I talked with them, Nancy and the kids were at the USO, a volunteer-run place in most airports where military can hang out. In this case, it was a life-saver. Nancy found a room there with kids' books and toys, which kept Justice (and Faith) occupied.

So, I got to see my new son live on skype for the first time--fantastic! He looked great, and I think he liked seeing me, too. Nancy even got him to say "Daddy," which he then said over and over again. I know, I know, completely heartwarming, right? Awww!

He seemed very content to play, and showed great precociousness. The kid's into everything, and is a great mimic. He repeats words really well, and blows kisses (to die for!) and raspberries, and such like. I think he's going to be a sharp one. My prediction. We'll love him, no matter what. He was really into sticking things into his mouth, including a Baby Ruth candy bar, still in the wrapper. I tried to explain to him that it doesn't taste as good that way. But maybe he's onto something, as it IS healthier--and less messy.

After talking, Nancy went to take the kids to eat lunch, and I didn't talk with them again before I went to bed, but they should be landing in San Antonio about the time that I'm sending this message. I can't wait to hear all about the last leg of their journey, and then about how Justice likes his new home. There's a great welcoming about to happen, and our lives won't ever be the same!


April 5


A final update, to function as the denouement to the story of Justice's arrival to the states.

Nancy, Faith, and Justice had a good, though slightly restless, day at Washington's Dulles International Airport, after which they climbed on the San Antonio-bound plane. Justice slept again on the flight, which was again a blessing. Gammy and Christian met them at the airport, and Nancy reports that the other kids were up to meet our new addition at home late that night.

Nancy told me that they were really cute, loving on Justice and talking with him in sweet tones and such. I'm sure that will change--but those moments are precious when they happen. Just wait a few months, though, and have Justice break a Lego construction. You KNOW it'll happen.

Since then, Justice has been on-and-off working out of the jet lag, sometimes crying all the way through a nap or getting up at 5 am, other times going down quietly to sleep. He'll get the hang of it. He plays well by himself at some points, and at others just wants Nancy to hold him (she was trying to fix her hair with him in her arms for about fifteen minutes the other day while skyping with me).

Our thanks to Gammy and Great-Grandma for watching the kids while Nancy and Faith were gone, and for sticking around to smooth the week after, too. Couldn't have done it without y'all!