A Week

It's amazing the changes that happen in one week. I'll recap a few for those interested.
1. Melaku now responds to James!
2. John Owen shares a little better. It was a real issue mainly because JO just got invaded by a one year old and that's tough for a 3 1/2 year old, but he's rising to the challenge.
3. James eats anything you put in his mouth. I think I could put a fried chicken liver in his mouth and he'd eat it.
4. Our anonymity has forever disappeared. We've ventured out to Kroger and Walmart and maybe Cracker Barrel and gone are the days of walking into a place unnoticed.
5. Memories of Africa are beginning to fade---for James. As we introduce new people and places, the life he knew before is fading away being replaced with this new one.

And now for a few pictures.

Turning Corners

A picture is worth a thousand words so if you haven't already seen the pictures of James Melaku we posted on FB, you should go take a look. We've turned a corner and I know God is answering your prayers for us. Please continue to pray as we have many more corners to turn.
We have James' passport and Visa and his immigration papers. We fly out tomorrow night. We can't be more excited to get home on Sunday.
Please pray for a good flight home, that we make our connection in DC. We have to go through passport control and the lines could be long.
Pray specifically that James begins to trust Zack and will allow Zack to hold him.
Right now, I am the only person who can hold him. He started today to interact with Zack so we're headed in the right direction.
Love you guys and see you soon as a family of four!
Praise God that a journey begun two years ago is coming to an end at a new beginning for a little boy named Melaku!

Perks of Being An American

There aren't any at the US Embassy in Ethiopia. You still have to wait in line and they still take your phones and any other electronic device. We did get to wait inside as opposed to outside, not because we're US Citizens, but because we had a baby. So there are perks to being a baby!
There were many, many Ethiopians waiting to interview to receive a visa to enter the US. Beza, our adoption officer said most would not receive a visa, yet they will continue to come back again and again. We "interviewed", which was basically just standing in front of a window and saying "Good afternoon " to the American guy on the other side. That was literally it. He gave us some documents, told us the visa would be ready tomorrow and that as soon as we stepped foot on American so, Melaku would become an instant American citizen.
Amazing, isn't it? All those other Ethiopians working SO hard for a chance into America, their promised land and Melaku gets automatic entrance because he's adopted into our family.
Guess what though? Right now, today, he'd like nothing better than for us to take him back to the orphanage. No exaggeration, he has been crying almost all the time. Today he has found some comfort with me, but when he saw Beza, he reached and cried for her because she represents the orphanage to him.
He is afraid of Zack because he's had little to interaction with men, especially white me.
We need prayer---big prayers. Please pray for peace for Melaku and that God would knit his heart to ours. I'm staying in our room except for official visits because the women here all want to hold Melaku and that is not helpful to his attachment to us.
Please pray for us. We are so thankful to be officially done and now we are to the difficult part in this journey. The days ahead are so crucial to Melaku's emotional health and to our family.
Love you all!

A converter and a sad baby

The guy we know in Addis hooked us up with a converter so we can charge our devices. He's a blessing!
Today while most of you were sleeping, we were picked up by Beza. She is our adoption officer here and works/worked for CWA. We went to the orphanage to pick up Melaku. It was highly emotional for Melaku and the orphanage staff. We stayed a few hours so everyone could say their good-byes adequately.
The staff was very happy for him and he was very upset to be leaving. We got back to the guesthouse around one. Melaku has cried most of the afternoon and evening except for the hour he slept. We are sad he's sad, but feel incredibly blessed that he was so attached to his nanny. We took his picture with her so he can always have it.
He also has a severe ear infection--liquid is literally dripping out of his ear. Please pray it heals quickly. Pray also that he begins to find comfort in our arms.
We feel very blessed to have him with us. We go to Embassy tomorrow and then home on Saturday!

It's the little things

It's 10:30 pm here and we're not sleepy because we broke the first rule of time zone travel and we took a nap when we got here this morning.
I keep thinking about tomorrow and that tonight is James' last night in an orphanage. His life and our life will change tomorrow!
Our converter died so we've had no way to charge our phones. The guy we know says he has one and will bring it to us tomorrow. Pray we get one somehow and if we don't, I'll update when we get back to DC on Sunday.

Broke(n)Down Luggage, etc.

(Disclaimer: this post is just the minute details of our flight. Feel free to skim the boring parts.)
Luggage was not made to survive arduous flights and careless handling.
Thus, the first thing we had to do when we reached Washington, D.C. (actually it was Chantilly, VA) was to buy a new piece of luggage. We ate well, slept so-so, and arrived at the airport in record time thanks to our Colombian-born shuttle driver.
Our plane took off ahead of schedule and then had to make an unexpected landing in Rome to pick up some stranded Europeans.
May I just pause and say that life is such a wild ride at times?!
The man next to me must be deaf because he blares the sound to his movie, music, etc. I get to share in his viewing/listening experience with him. As way of thanking him I'm now blaring The Lumineers back at him. He can thank me later for introducing him to great music. (You can, too.)
On a different note, my dinner on the plane tasted like...bad breath. Yes, food can taste like bad breath. Lol
This ride is almost over and I can't wait to get my hands on my chubby boy Melaku.
My new meal has arrived. We'll see if it tastes like bad breath too!

Get a Load of This!

Sometimes the most unexpected things happen in life at the most unexpected times.
For instance, two days before you leave to pick up your son in Ethiopia, you don't expect to receive an email saying your adoption agency, the one you've been with for almost two years, is "going out of business" and filing bankruptcy.
But rarely is life what you expect, so you just have to stop expecting from life and starting expecting from the Creator of Life. Not that things work out like I expect, but that He is true to His word and I know that He is.
So, we leave tomorrow to travel to Ethiopia to pick up James Melaku. And yes, our adoption agency has closed its doors and has filed bankruptcy.
We are to "settle up" with the orphanage, meet with the Embassy and then get ourselves home!
Originally, our agency staff in Ethiopia was going to meet with us, go with us to the orphanage to pick up James, and then to the Embassy. We have not heard if this is going to happen or that it's not going to happen, so we are just going to play it by ear.
Thankfully, we "know" a man in Ethiopia who can get us around and to the Embassy if it turns out we have to do this by ourselves.
God is faithful and steadfast and He has gone before us. This I do know to be true!
Please continue to pray for James' transition to our care and for our flight home. One leg of it is 17 hours.
Please pray that we will "settle up" with the orphanage successfully and everyone will be happy.
Also, pray that we can minister while there and glorify God.
We'll update the blog when we can and look forward to everyone meeting James Melaku!
Thank you for walking this wild and crazy journey with us.
It has been two years and I know at times it's seemed like forever, and surreal, and like it'd never happen.  Thanks for laboring through this with us! You all have been a part of bringing him home and we are so close to seeing what was just a thought two years ago become a reality!
Hang on! It's going to be a wild week!