Processing the Court Trip

Overlooking Addis Ababa from beautiful Mount Entoto

Well it's been almost three weeks since we left for the Court Trip, almost two since we returned home. I thought I'd have written a post by now, more than one actually. I haven't. Thankfully, David has recorded many of the details. Since he'll cover some play-by-play, including pictures, I'm going with a summary of thoughts.

Addis Ababa, the capital, is located centrally.

Of course, A is the primary reason we went and I will share about him in a minute. Before you get to that part and see a sneak-peek picture which will cause your eyes to blur with wet stuff (so scroll slowly), I want to mention some other points. First off, we loved it. We loved the trip, we loved the city, we loved the people we met (American & Ethiopian), we loved the food. 

A's country has a fascinating history and there is much to be learned there. We were so grateful for our agency's hardworking in-country staff. In an area of the world where you can expect the unexpected, we did our best to take a back seat and go with the flow. I sure wish I could make myself do that stateside. It works so much better to trust God with the details (hello, understatement.) 

Yes, there are many hard things and yes, there is need; but, God is working and there is hope. I want to share soon with you the story of Nesibu and Birkutan, the amazing couple who own Morning Coffee Guesthouse, where we stayed. They humbled and blew us away, and we cannot wait to see them again.

Here's what I posted on facebook after meeting our little guy on Friday, November 2nd:
Had a good day. Loved meeting A though it is hard to explain the experience of meeting a child you know will be yours, but who doesn't have the same knowledge, etc.

There were other precious children there; we just can't show you them :)

I've mentioned before that our agency prefers kids under 10 not know about their adoptive parents during the Court Trip. During our visit, we played with all of the children at his orphanage and A seemed quite oblivious, happy to play with the soccer ball we brought. There was a keen observer though, a 10-year-old girl, who pegged us before we ever saw him. Apparently she let him know during the movie time inside, however he seemed to shrug it off, more intent on  the TV screen about to feature Homeward Bound (it's universal, isn't it ladies?)

I'm running out of steam, so here's what I'll end with: it wasn't as hard as you'd imagine when we were there, but it has been harder than I'd imagined since our plane left Africa.

The crazy thing is he's ours. If we were there, we could have custody of him; we just can't bring him here until the US Embassy reviews and clears the case. We're praying his birth certificate and passport (with our last name) will be ready soon so the agency can submit our case to Embassy. Hopefully, we'll be back on a plane Africa-bound in the next 4-6 weeks. We can't wait to see this smile again.