So I awoke on Thursday, July 10th amped up for a big day! I had no clue what was about to come my way and all I can say looking back now is “I asked for it!” and I’m so glad I did!
Our day began at a place called Hannah’s Hope; a transitional home for the adoption agency All God’s Children. That means the kiddies we were meeting are the lucky few that would soon be on their way home to their forever families. I met the extraordinary Almaz for the first time ~ a lady who is dear to many hearts!! FYI: Sorry no pictures of the kiddies could be taken so you'll have to settle with only a few shots.
The girls in our "gang" posing with Almaz.
Coming to the front door of this place was symbolic for me as an adoptive mom. Here’s a door I’m about to enter that means so much more than a door to so many people who are aching to become “mom & dad”. A door that many adoptive families gaze at through a single photo endlessly for months until it is finally their turn to knock; a door that holds so many precious dreams behind its bolted lock; a door that opens to a new chapter for every child and parent whose beginning takes place behind this door. Here I was about to be gifted the opportunity to walk through this door and smother these children with love, love that so many desperate parents are aching to pour out of their hearts. I had the chance to be a vessel for that love to find its way to their precious child on this day. Although I have no idea who had parents and who did not nor who their parents would be, I walked through that door with the heart of an adoptive mom throbbing on my sleeve. Coming from that place of excruciating patience longing for the day to touch the magically soft skin of the very baby God chose for you, the child you searched high & low for, the one you cried bucket loads of tears to be gifted to you, the child that took you on a journey that changed your life before you even had the chance to meet, there was no denying this moment was a tender gift for me.
But wait, because there’s another side to this coin and another box to unwrap inside this gift. I was being given an opportunity to see the children’s lives inside their “home away from home” and to be a part of their world to see inside their view of this journey. This place truly is their home, they are so loved here, they are magnetizing in their boisterous personalities too large for their little bodies. They clung to their nannies for protection from our big scary white (some nearly albino ~ like me) faces! They giggled profusely at the mere sight of our crazy puppets. They were ticklish beyond belief. These children were happy and this was their home. The mood was so much lighter, the hope and renewal in their spirits was big enough to nearly grab onto! Every one of these 50+ children confirmed to me the miracle of what love can do when sewn into one’s heart. There were a couple vivacious little divas in the making, somewhere between 2 -3 years old. I remember thinking their families have no IDEA what’s coming jam packed inside their tiny bodies! I LOVED IT! Every little face was gorgeous, which was no surprise because that seems to be the norm in Ethiopia ~ absolute stunning natural beauty. I played outside for a solid 30 minutes before someone announced to me there was a house full of babies to be drooling over, so I raced inside for my chance to oogle! When I walked in the room I was shocked to see somewhere around 20+ babies. There were babies everywhere! I guess thinking from an adoptive mom’s point of view I always thought babies were so “far and few between" thus creating such painfully long waiting times for parents. So to see more than 20 sweet babies inside this room blew my mind! Of course there was a chubby little guy just waking up from a nap flirting with me, using his endless smile to lure me in ~ so I scooped him up a laid the kisses on thick! He was such a sweet natured lil ham, dimples and all! I could barely give him back, but I was missing those little divas outside so I had to give him up so I could commence with the running, tickling and torturing the toddlers!
When I came back outside I laid my eyes on a beautifully shy little girl, I came over to see if she wanted to play and she shrieked with terror and latched onto her nannies leg for dear life. Soon, I began to piece together that I was probably one of the first whitey’s she had the pleasure of seeing. The nannies were caressing my arms and one kissed my cheek to prove that I was harmless…and finally this little girl warmed up to me and planted a tiny peck on my cheek that took me by complete surprise. Once I had taken my eye off her she found the courage to sneak in for the kiss. Then she became my best friend! I loved it! Soon Donny came over and she shrieked in terror again, I totally understood where she was coming from on that one! Ha!
There was this little toddler boy that captivated the audience and I hung on his every swift move. He was truly a little Einstein in the flesh. This boy was so eloquent in the way he danced with a soccer ball, his coordination far surpassed his tiny age. This boy had soccer skills that would give David Beckham a serious run for his money and I think this mini-pro was about 3yrs old. I know he schooled every [bad] American soccer player we brought with us! The boy just could not quit kicking the soccer ball and wooing us with his mad skills. I was tired from simply watching his explosive energy never end. This kid was a genius! I inquired with Almaz if this boy’s family had any idea the little energizer bunny that was coming home to them. That was when I learned this little boy hadn’t been chosen by a family yet and I felt so sad in that moment because he was so exceptional, a true shining star with a little extra twinkle. She said he might have a harder time than the other children here finding a family because his "head is bigger" in circumference than the average. I thought this boy was so special, incredibly adorable and simply magnetizing and it pained me to think of this vanity. Here was my first glance inside the view of a child longing for a family. The flip side of the coin I mentioned above but here was the reality of that side being overcast by shadow. Because of some measurements on a piece of paper prospective parents might be deterred from seeking him as their own babe. That hurts my heart to think about a child who longs to be loved and dreams of a family while he watches all his friends go home with their forever families. I came in the door as an adoptive mom but now I was envisioning life from the little shoes of a waiting child. The agonizing time I spoke of as a parent waiting for their child miserably fails in comparison to the heart-wrenching wait of a child who can only dream and never have security in knowing a family is coming to love him, although that dream is coming true for all the friends that surround him. What a dark shadow to be living in when every single child is so preciously and uniquely designed by our Father to be perfect. I see this sweet boy every time I close my eyes and I pray God's perfect family finds him soon because he is the grand prize of one-in-a-million kind of babes. He will do great things in his life, I could see that instantly from sharing time with him. What an ultimate gift he would be to a family that took a chance on "not-so-average" numerical statistics. Those statistics we base our decisions on in life seem so minuscule when you meet the faces before ever seeing the numbers. God gifted me yet another valuable lesson in this encounter at Hannah's Hope. He proved to me with a beautiful, talented, shining star of an adorable face with beautifully brown eyes so big you could fall into them that beyond a doubt "waiting children" have a cozy warm home in my heart that I didn't know existed this deeply until now.
So again, I'll leave you with the last sight my eyes were set upon when leaving Hannah's Hope. This picture seems so symbolic to me ~ a perfect visual representation of the long, lonely journey for a "waiting child" to find their home.
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