That is a long time to sit still. What is incredible to me is that there were a fair amount of babies and kids on that flight and they all did so well - I know this, because I really never slept. Ugh. How I wish I had Jason's narcoleptic like ability to sleep anywhere.....it would come in handy for times like these.
The man that I sat next to for 12 1/2 hours on that direct flight? An Ethiopian man who has been a pediatrician in the states for 20ish years. Just a tad bit of awesome getting to speak to someone who knows children, knows the culture, etc. Amazing grace. Things to be thankful for are literally everywhere!
So we arrived at 6:45am Thursday morning here, which is 10:45pm Wednesday night for all my central time zone folks. We had to then wait in a fairly long line for our visa into the country, but I can not tell you what a JOY it is to be in this country and witness the little things (besides the gawking at the absolute beauty of people from this region), such as this - those families with little babies and kids on the plane? Some of them needed visas. These folks automatically get bumped to the front of the line because they have children with them. It is obvious the value this culture put on families. That it is automatic to help them in any way. One person in front of the line was confused about why all these people were allowed to continually get in front of him and he voiced it to one of the workers. Her explanation? "That is how we do things in Ethiopia". Things are just different here. Priorities are different. Like an awesome kind of different.
Since it took us longer than we anticipated getting out of the airport we only had about 10 min. once we got to the guest home to settle in before we were off to see the kiddos.
Knowing that Little Miss is older (therefore a lot more aware this time) of just WHO she is with, I was bracing myself for a tear filled visit - mostly her tears, not mine. Thankfully that wasn't the case. She came right to me, but after a few minutes began to cry, but being young (therefore easily distractible) a few toys and pointing out a few random things changed it all. I got to feed her and she napped for about an hour, which means this mama got a rest in too, which was MUCH needed! She woke up her super happy self, about 15 min. before our visiting time was over.
JOY unspeakable! I love that little miss :)
Rhonda took custody of her little man this morning and it is incredible to witness the love of this mama and just how much her little dude is opening up. I just keep thinking of Psalms 68:6 "God sets the lonely in families......"I am watching redemption at work. God giving this little man beauty from ashes.
Incredible.
After that morning visit, while Rhonda went to the US embassy to get her little man's visa, I took the world's deepest power nap. I slept like a rock. It was a beautiful thing!
My afternoon visit with little miss was awesome. She stayed awake the whole time, no tears, LOTS of smiles and consumed almost 6 oz. of formula in an hour and a half timeframe (which I believe is a record for her!). I still can't get over how small she is. I am praising God that she is healthy & happy despite her stature. I can not wait to get her to the US and see what changes happen when she is part of a family and has access to more specialized medical care.
Please be praying for favor. That as little miss's documents proceed through the process that they would be expedited whenever possible due to her noted health concern. Oh how I would love to be back here in a couple months and pick this sweet girl up for good! I can not wait until she comes home - what an amazing story she will have.
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