Monday, September 6, 2010
It was Labor Day back in the U.S., but in Ethiopia we were celebrating the day for a different reason. We were going to Hannah’s Hope to get Yohannes, and we woke up so excited! We got ready, went to the hotel restaurant for breakfast, and then Wass picked us & the Roche family up at 10:30 to head out. I told Brad to get the video camera ready in case Yohannes was outside when we got there, and I’m so glad he did because this is how he reacted to seeing us again! . . .
WOW! We were relieved and happy that he was so glad to see us. We played outside with him for about 30 minutes, and then we all went into Almaz’s office to go over information regarding our Embassy appointment. Yohannes sat in Brad’s lap the entire time and wasn’t about to get down and go play without us. When it was time to go, he hopped into the van and didn’t seem sad at all about leaving. On the ride from Hannah’s Hope to the hotel, he sat and stared out the window the whole time, taking everything in. As you can see, the road going to and from there is very bumpy! . . .
It was surreal walking into the entrance of the Riviera with Yohannes. Since it was our second time to be guests there, we had gotten to know some of the staff, and they seemed genuinely happy for us. We decided to go to the room for a little bit and show him around, and then we would meet the Roche family for lunch. We had set out some toys in the sitting area of our suite, hoping he would be excited and feel comfortable when he saw them. He immediately began to play and seemed content and happy to be with us. We ate lunch, and he acted weird and wouldn’t touch anything we offered him. We enjoyed our time with the Roche family, though, and headed back to the room for a bath – which he LOVED!
After dinner, we headed back to the room and started getting Yohannes ready for bed. He started crying as soon as we got out his pajamas, and he cried and fought us for about 30 minutes until he fell asleep in my arms. I just sat on the edge of his bed (which was right beside ours) and rocked him and sang “Jesus Loves Me,” “You are My Sunshine,” and “Jesus Loves the Little Children” over and over and over again. It was really hard, and I must admit that I shed a few tears, too. We had been told that night time might be hard because it’s the only time the kids lose complete control, and they often wonder if you’ll really still be there when they awake. We made it, though, and Brad and I sat in the other room and talked about what a good day it had been after we laid him down.
We wondered what he would think when he woke up the next day and how he would do at our Embassy appointment. Needless to say, we didn’t sleep great that night because we were constantly checking on him and hearing him squirm and make noises in his sleep. It was great to finally be with him, though, and we went to bed content and with hearts full of joy and thankfulness!
4 comments