Ethiopia & Travel

Daniel Fraol & David Behayelu

The flight to Ethiopia is L-O-N-G!!  We arrived late and then it took two hours to get our visas, go through immigration, exchange money for Birr, and get our luggage.  Abebe and the drivers had been waiting since 7:00pm and we finally met them at around 11:00pm!!  We arrived at our Guest House sore and tired, but were greeted by lovely Tsebay and her staff, who treated us to a beautifully presented coffee ceremony!!  Awesome!!  We barely went to bed and it was time to get up! 

Off we went to get the boys!!!  As the gate to the Thomas Center opened, we saw all the children lined up.  They were clapping their hands and singing “Welcome, welcome” as Fraol and Behayelu stood front and center holding bouquets of roses for us!!  There are just no words to describe the emotion of the moment – it took our breaths away!  The boys gave us such big hugs and their smiles and eyes spoke volumes.  They gave us a tour of the Thomas Center and we were warmly greeted by all the children and their caregivers.  Then we were off to see Abdissa, sign more papers, and receive a briefing on the following day’s Embassy appointment.  After that we drove two hours to Adama to visit the Orphan and Widow’s Home.  We enjoyed the beautiful Ethiopian countryside and even more, we treasure the special bonding time we had with the boys. 

We had a wonderful visit at the orphanage, although it was very emotional.  We met the two children that our friends, the Butlers, are adopting, and took pictures and video of these precious kids receiving the care packages we brought from their new mommy and daddy.  We met Tezera, the director, and had time to chat with her about the boys.  The boys showed us where they ate and where they slept.  The widows hugged and kissed us.  Two especially touching moments were: 1) comforting and explaining to the little boy the Butlers are adopting (he happens to be Fraol and Behayelu’s BEST friend) that we live very close and we’ll get to see him soon, and 2)meeting the boys’ half sister.  WOW!!  Weren’t ready for either of those!!  It was an exceptional visit – definitely time well spent!  The children just melt your heart.  They are beautiful, beautiful, beautiful! 

Two hours back to Addis Ababa and we went to dinner with Abebe and his sweet wife, Abonish.  It was a full day.  Once back at the Guest House, the boys got their first bath, which left a 3 inch ring around the tub – ugh!  And another short night….. 

Tuesday morning – ready for our Embassy appointment.  The boys looked so handsome in their khakis and blue button-up shirts!  Abebe and Abonish took us shopping for Ethiopian clothing and coffee.  We had a great time watching the weavers and listening to Abebe and Abonish bargain on our behalf.  We dropped off our packages at the Guest House and then they drove us to the Thomas Center.  From there we went with two other adopting families to the American Embassy.  The accumulation of no sleep, altitude, pollution, brutal car rides, hectic pace of our days and the emotional aspect of the trip took their toll on Sary-Jo and she got pretty sick!  The Embassy was hot and crowded with many screaming babies, which didn’t help.  By the time our name was called, she was pretty green, but we made it through the swearing in and all the questions.  We experienced another emotional moment as the lady behind the window turned over page after page after page and we flashed back to all the hours we spent carefully preparing and praying over these papers the last several months. 

We returned to the Guest House late afternoon and Sary-Jo went straight to bed while Randy tended to the boys.  Wednesday we skipped the morning activities (museum and shopping) so we could rest and Sary-Jo could recover.  That evening we went to the Thomas Center and were treated to a concert by the children.  Pastor Abdissa delivered a beautiful message on the importance of communicating cheer, compassion, and Christian love.  Each family had a chance to speak to the children and staff, was gifted with Ethiopian attire, and took turns making three cuts into a freshly baked round loaf of bread.  We ate, visited, and took many pictures.  Then we boarded the van and were taken to a restaurant for an Ethiopian dinner and a fantastic show.  It was a very long night.  We felt so bad for the other two couples who had exhausted babies!!! 

Thursday we met with a doctor and the boys had their exit exam.  We also met with Abdissa at his office and received the boys’ passports and a sealed package of documents for immigration upon arrival in DC.  The driver took us shopping (Sary-Jo wanted a doll and we wanted a flag for the boys) and then it was back to the Guest House to pack.  Tsebay’s mom made an absolutely delicious vegetable soup and we ate a relaxing dinner out on the balcony as Mimi graced us with a parting coffee ceremony and Tsebay gifted us with a beautiful leaf art of a village scene.  Abebe joined us and we visited for a while before departing for the airport. 

All in all, it was an excruciatingly difficult trip in every sense.  We loved meeting all the dear people that took care of the boys and helped us with this process.  That was a highlight for sure!  However, there was little to no time to just relax, given the short duration of our stay and we never really recovered from our journey there so that made it extra difficult.  Add to that the emotional aspect and to that the images, sounds and smells of a populace lacking in sanitation, infrastructure, and a visible plan for improvement.  And did I mention the driving?!!!!  It was rough all around.  Our voyage home was extra L-O-N-G, but also amazing as we completely devoted ourselves to these unbelievably precious gifts from God.  The boys slept off and on during the first leg (Ethiopia to DC with a fuel stop in Rome).  Behayelu got sick before landing in DC, but he quickly got over it.  Fraol hit a wall at DC that had us rather concerned.  As it turned out, he was just exhausted!  Both boys fell asleep at the airport and didn’t wake up until 10 minutes before landing in Seattle.  Sarah and Janel got permission to meet us at the gate and that was the sweetest reunion ever!!!  About two dozen family and friends waited for us at baggage claim with big “Welcome” signs and cheers.  It was just an amazing sight! 

First week home

We’ve been home for one week now and the boys are adjusting remarkably well.  Despite serious jet lag, the first few days were spent busily exploring their new environment.  It was fun to observe them using all five senses as they discovered so many new things!  Saturday the boys met our neighbors, the Nielsens, who brought over a balloon bouquet.  Every time the big mylar is hit, it plays “Baby Face”.  The boys LOVE it!  They also gave them a soccer ball which has been a huge hit! 

We went to church Sunday morning and many of our friends met the boys.  They recognized The Ashcraft family, whom they had met at the airport.  Tim taught them thumb wrestling!  Sunday afternoon we had several visitors – Sarah and Kyle, Grammy and Grandpa, Julie and Cindy and MacKenzie and Mason.  We took family pictures in the front yard with our Ethiopian clothes while Janel and Ryan were still here.  Julie was our photographer and she captured several great shots for our Christmas card.  After pictures we went to a nearby community park and had a blast watching the kids run around and climb on the big toys.  They boys just loved their cousins!  Sunday night Joany, Lauren, and Alyssa stopped by, as well as the Forshay family.  It was great to see them!  We were all pretty wiped out by bedtime. 

We seem to be communicating just fine and are amazed at how much the boys understand.  Their English is improving daily.  They are doing great with a fork and spoon and are learning table manners.  So far the only food they really don’t like is peas.  We are working on remembering to flush and wash our hands every time we use the restroom as well as using a tissue instead of our fingers or clothing.  Both boys are extremely sweet.  They are super energetic in the early morning.  Daniel Fraol loves gadgets and was quick to figure out the TV controls as well as a vintage Mattel football game.  He is the more serious of the two and not quite so clingy.  David Behayelu is happy go lucky.  He’ll climb on both of us and smother us with kisses and hugs.  Both the boys are really funny.  Bath time is especially a hoot. 

Tuesday they had their first visit with our pediatrician.  We were very pleased with how thorough she was in asking questions and examining the boys.  They got their first set of vaccinations and their arms were pretty sore for a couple days.  Wednesday morning we started “Mom school”.  Through games, books, and repetition, we’ve worked on a few letter names and their sounds, writing their names, colors, shapes, and reciting their Bible verse.  They are sponges and have responded very well to routine and parameters. 

Wednesday evening we picked up our new kitties from our friends John and Barb and took them to the vet for their first check-up and set of vaccinations.  Daniel Fraol is not interested in them at all.  David Behayelu likes them, but doesn’t go looking for them.  There are still too many other things he’d rather play with.  Meanwhile, Columbus and Isabela are doing great.  They are very cute and cuddly.  We’ve been putting them in our big bathroom at night, but letting them roam the house during the day.  The boys are learning to shut the door when they go out to the back yard. 

Thursday night the Butler family came over and after dinner we went to the African Children’s Choir concert at the Nazarene church.  That was really fun, but we’ll have to get together again so the kids have more time to play.  Last night (Friday) we went to visit the Young family in Gig Harbor.  They adopted Besufecad from the same orphanage.  The boys had a sweet reunion.  They played in the cul-de-sac with all the other children and Fraol learned to ride a bike!!! 

Throughout the week we visited Mom’s nail ladies, Karshner School, the grocery store, and a couple of parks.  Joy stopped by and our other neighbors, the Passmores came over also.  And we’ve had countless phone calls from family and friends.  Thank you all so much for your love and continued support.  It has been a physically demanding and emotionally exhausting two weeks, yet we are filled to the brim with joy and are closing our eyes at the end of each day praising God for His goodness.

We are checked into our flights home!!!  I can’t wait to see the boys’ faces when the pilot powers up for take-off.  You should have seen them when we came into the airport and they saw an escalator for the first time!  They were astonished and had ear-to-ear grins.  We had to teach them how to get on and off.

We have talked to them about take-off, but they’ll be sitting together and I will be across the aisle next to Sary-Jo.  This could get interesting.

The boys continue to make us laugh.  They are so intelligent and so eager to please.  In the last twenty minutes they captivated the airport cleaning crew and were speaking with them in Amharic.  We have no idea what they were talking about, but the women smiled a lot as they talked with the boys.

As we face the next 28 hours of travel (assuming it’s on time), Sary-Jo is longing for Janel’s in-flight comfort.  I’m just not up to Janel’s level when it comes to comforting Mom during travel.

We are incredibly excited to see everyone at Seatac.  The boys are prepped and will give hugs quite easily.  Pray for safe travel and the boys’ ability to comprehend it all.  They’ve been fantastic!

More later.

Our guest home has internet access and we have a few minutes so we thought we’d try a quick update.  Important stuff first – the boys are even more adorable in person that on video.  We can’t wait for you all to meet them.  We are adjusting well and quickly as a family.  They have had terrific teaching to this point, including excellent spiritual guidance!  They are very helpful and extremely loving.

We went to the embassy today and all is in order for us to receive their visas on Thursday morning (as planned).  We went to the orpanage on Monday (with the boys) and were moved more than you can imagine.  Special for Chris and Jeff: your kids are amazing also.  Your son cried when we entered the area with our boys – they were so happy to be reunited for a little while.

As I (Randy) write this, Sary-Jo is resting upstairs.  She has not slept well and is susceptible to motion sickness.  The time in the car today, much motion combined with incredible pollution and other smells (let’s just say nobody will be fishing in these rivers) proved to be too much for her.  The good news is that she’s finally sleeping a bit, which she really hasn’t done since about last Wednesday.

All in all, we are overcome with joy because of how well this trip has gone – praise God!  Next update will probably not happen until after we return.  Love to all. 

(no time to proofread – please overlook mistakes)

We made it through the first leg of our journey with an uneventful flight to Dulles airport. We have checked in with Ethiopian Air, but they wouldn’t let us carry on our roll-aboard luggage so we had to do some unpacking. We are now carrying quite a bit of stuff. But all is good. We have seats together, which was a concern due to our late change of plans.
It’s off to Rome for fuel and then on to Addis Ababa!

We just spoke with our in-country representative, Abebe (or, as we refer to him, Señor Fantástico).  After seeing him with our boys on video, we had already bonded with him – we are excited to meet him Sunday night!  We sent him an email last night and followed up with a phone call this morning to clarify our agenda with a much shorter visit in Ethiopia.  We asked for his advice as we try to fit a trip to the orphanage in while still leaving maximum time to bond with the boys and, or course, take care of all the necessary paperwork related to the adoption and immigration.

As we expected, he was tremendously helpful and cheerful.  He had read the email and arranged for all the details even before we called.  He will meet us at the airport with a minibus to accommodate all our luggage.  Short version of the itinerary:

• Arrive Sunday night and go to our guest house.
• Monday morning we meet/get the boys!!!
• Then we meet with our lawyer, review paperwork, prep for the embassy appointment, pay for the boys’ visas, etc.
• With the boys, we will go to the orphanage.
• Tuesday we’ll do a little shopping in the morning and go to the US embassy in the afternoon.
• Wednesday the adoption agency has a program for us and others with embassy appointments this week.
• Thursday is kind of a down day before we board the plane to come home that night.

Specific concerns and prayer requests:

• Travel – specifically that Sary-Jo does not get sick during this long journey
• Boys – in addition to blending as a family, it might be difficult for them to return to the orphanage and even more, to say good-bye again
• Embassy appointment – no issues or obstacles
• General frantic pace of this trip – we will need rest but it really doesn’t fit into the schedule
• Return travel with the boys – we cannot even imagine how confusing and difficult this might be for them, even as they must be very excited to fly for the first time

Praise God that the second medical test (the quick one) gave the boys clearance to come home next week, so we don’t need to wait for the lengthier test or, more importantly, drawn-out treatment.  We leave Seattle Saturday morning and retun on our original itinerary.  So, we fly halfway around the world for a four-day stay, and then fly back.  No, I don’t think we’ll be tired at all!

For now, we repack (lighter this time) and replan our brief stay.  Our trip to the orphanage is in doubt right now; we really desire to go there, but we have to work out the logistics and ensure the boys’ needs come first.

More to come, but join us in thanksgiving now!

The bags are packed

Well… Sary-Jo spent four days in labor with Sarah and three days with Janel.  Now the boys seem to be continuing that pattern (metaphorically speaking).

After checking in for our flights very early this morning, we were next in line at security when we got “the phone call” that we did not want to receive.  One of the medical tests is causing a delay with one of the boys and at this time we don’t know if the delay will be a matter of days or of weeks.  For now, we are thankful that we got the call before we boarded a flight and that United Airlines was able to retrieve our checked luggage (and they did it with a smile).

We’re going to try to reschedule our departing flight to later this week.  If we receive the “all clear” by Friday we’ll travel Saturday and return on the original itinerary.  If, however, the delay turns out to be longer we’ll have to reschedule the whole thing.  Obviously our preference is that we can still travel this week so we can get the boys home.  But God is in control and we believe He has a reason for everything.  We might not ever learn what that reason is, but that doesn’t diminish His goodness toward us!

For now, we need to reschedule our flights and take a nap.

Our friends John and Barb have birthday presents for the boys.  They are furry and adorable as you can see in the pictures.  We will bring them home sometime after we return from Ethiopia. 

Bus and Bela

As part of our travel preparation we went shopping (doesn’t everybody?).  We bought enough clothes for the boys to get them through our time together and to get them home.  We’ll have a better sense of the correct sizes when we return with them so we’ll do a LOT more shopping then. 

We also packed up the formula and diapers that were donated at our shower, and went shopping for more of those items with some of the money donated.  Our guests were so generous that we won’t be able to take all that was given; fortunately more people from our area will be traveling to the orphanage next month so they will buy more.  We understand that it’s very difficult to get formula or diapers in Ethiopia so these items are very much appreciated.

 It was so much fun to shop with the gift cards and think of each person who blessed us as we used the cards!  Also, the back to school sales are in full swing so the money goes a long way.  Our boys should be set in clothing and other necessities for some time.  We continue to be moved by the support and generosity that has flooded over us.  We just cannot adequately express our gratitude, not to mention other emotions.