Today was unbelievable. And wonderful. I have prayed for so long that God would go ahead of us and prepare the way, and He certainly showed up. I still cannot process all the emotions, but let's start back at the beginning of the day...
I had a dreadful night. I slept for 2 hours, then awoke thinking it was morning. My watch confirmed it was only 12:47 am, and I could not get back to sleep. My night consisted of staring up at my mosquito net, or at the bed beside me, continually brushing hair out of my face that was being blown by the fan aimed toward me in order to help keep mosquitoes away.
I finally got up and got ready for the day at 6:00. My shower was freezing cold, and the spray from the non-adjustable shower head hit the center of the bathroom floor instead of the shower pan. Although the bathroom rather resembled a lake when I was finished, I felt a bit refreshed. I just ignored the very large worm that presented itself in the corner of the bathroom. We met in the hotel restaurant for breakfast, and then headed to the prison to buy handmade beaded jewelry, belts, etc.
Outside my room at the Baro Hotel:
There's nothing quite like Ethiopian macchiatos...
Street scenes in Gambella. The town felt very different to me this time...maybe slightly more developed? Five years ago when we were here, we honestly felt like we were some of the first Westerners to step foot in this part of Ethiopia. As we would walk down the street, people would whip out their phones and take photos of the strange white people. Now, there are so many aid workers helping the refugees from South Sudan (UN workers, World Food Programme workers, mission teams, etc) that we aren't such an oddity anymore.
Soon, it was time to meet A, the beautiful woman who gave birth to our sons! We saw her on the street, pulled over, and the boys got out and ran to meet her. There were lots of hugs and tears!
Others came to meet us, including lots of family members and friends. This is the twins' uncle:
Rev. Omod was there, too. He's been such a good friend and help to us over the past several years.
We piled into the van, and drove down the street for a ways. We parked, got out, and were joined by more people as we walked through grass, fields, and a stream where people were doing laundry and washing dishes. As we neared the house, the women started singing and doing the trilling worship sound that I've only ever heard in certain parts of Ethiopia.
We entered the yard through a gate and were met by dozens of people, including the boys' siblings, uncles, aunts, cousins, and grandmothers. We entered the house and found photos of us and the twins on all the walls, along with all the photo books we have sent over the years. We went in an adjoining room and gave them gifts we had brought. A gave us gifts as well: a centerpiece basket she had made, a CD of Anuak music, hand-beaded jewelry for each of the kids made by A and C, and an American flag wall hanging that A had made. Definitely precious keepsakes!
It was hot and sticky inside, so we soon went out and sat on the porch where Jalen and Jordan were seated. Lots of people gathered around to talk to the twins, but of course they couldn't understand. I think it was a little disappointing to some of the people that the boys couldn't remember Anuak or Amharic, their first two languages. Soon, C and another woman came around to wash our hands, and then we were invited into the house for some traditional food, including chicken stew and ugali. It was really good.
The little boys had fun playing with some toy cars we brought for O.
When it was time to leave, we made the long walk back to Wass's van with a parade of others. O, the boys' brother, was allowed to climb in the van with his dad to ride into town with us, and the boys had fun playing with him and his red balloon. It was heartbreaking to say goodbye. A really cried, and Shana and I sobbed, too, as we pulled away. So many emotions!
A couple of the beautiful hand-beaded bracelets given to us:
We then headed to meet my nephew's birth mom and her family. They were so sweet! We took some photos, visited for a bit, and then told them goodbye and headed back to the hotel to sort donations.
More scenes around the Baro Hotel and Gambella Town:
After stopping at the regional MOWA office and meeting with the director, we went to the One-Stop Center for children. We gave them a couple of totes of medical donations and visited with the director of the center for awhile.
Next, we headed to hospital, and gave them some donations as well. The medical director gave us a tour, and it was interesting to see the place where Jordan was born!
The hospital serves 900,000 people in Gambella, plus refugees. When they run out of room, blankets on the sidewalk become "beds." :(
We also visited the NICU, where we saw some VERY tiny babies, and visited the cooking areas as well.
We arrived back at the hotel and visited with the mission team from Texas again. They wondered how our day went and said that they had prayed for our meeting with the boys' birth family. :) The boys wanted to go on a bajaj ride, so Wass and Shana went with them. They stopped to take a photo outside of Gambella University.
We ate dinner with Wass and Azeb. I ordered French fries...they were SO good. Fries taste much better when they are freshly cut and fried potatoes, instead of the frozen version we get a lot in the US. :)
Ethiopian Coke:
What an AWESOME (and emotional!) day. My heart is full.
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