We travelled to Ethiopia today. It took us all night, but we made it. The plane ride started out with my wife sitting on one side of me and a tiny Ethiopian woman on the other. But then the largest man on the plane decided to switch seats with her just before takeoff. That’s ok though because he was nice, and the three of us worked out a mutually beneficial system of synchronized bathroom visits.
It’s amazing how dazed you feel when you have been up all night without a moment of sleep. When we hit the ground in Addis, we had that feeling. For me it was coupled with a sinus pressure headache, a lovely stomach issue, and my body’s rebellion against our skipping dinner. We met our contact, Abel, and he was very cool. He wore a shirt that said “Oregon” and then naturally asked if we were from Oregon. I said no, no we were not. We were from Pennsylvania. This threw him a little bit since I had my favorite Providence Friars shirt on. (Whenever I wear this shirt when I travel, people stop me to ask if I know so-and-so. Sure enough, someone in Addis asked if I knew so-and-so, from Providence. People apparently believe Rhode Island is so small that every person knows every other person.)
Abel gave us the surprise of the trip by telling us that we were going to the orphanage…today! We were happy, but the change of plans also scared us. I mean, we looked like death, smelled like feet, and were as disoriented as drug users. (We’re not though--drug users.)
Meeting Matthew was amazing. It was a group setting, and we were not allowed to single him out, or tell him that we will become his mom and dad. There was an immediate connection between us. He is perfect. We bounced a ball together, snapped lots of pictures, and tried to include all the other kids at the orphanage in the fun. My wife’s toughest emotions were about all the other children there. Who would come for them? There was another adoptive couple in the room with us. They were great, and as God would have it, were also from PA.
At one point, a bigger kid took Matthew’s bouncy ball away from him. I waited to see his response. His eyes started to well up with tears. He did not fight back, but he pleaded to have it back. He wanted to keep throwing it to me. He really enjoyed this attention that he was getting, and neither of us wanted it to end. The bigger boy did give him the ball back.
All the while I was thinking… Soon, Matthew. Soon. Our lives are about to change.
When we left, it wasn’t quite as hard as we expected, because we will be visiting the orphanage twice more. Out of nowhere, Matthew came to say goodbye to me with a big hug. We hugged for a long while. And then he kissed me on the back of the neck.
This was the day I met my new son.
[Sorry no picture! We are not yet allowed to post.]
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