This past autumn of 2009 our adoption dream came true when we brought home our Ethiopian sibling duo. After a series of family meetings and much prayer, our family pooled resources, as an act of faith, and for Christmas 2008 we gave each other "the gift of life" for an orphan child. That commenced our 8 month journey to bring home what we thought, at that time, would be a girl around eight years old, but turned out to be a brother/sister sibling duo of thirteen and ten years of age.
Before this adoption, we already had been blessed with four biological children ranging in age from fourteen through twenty-two as well as a son adopted from Burkina Faso, West Africa, now eight, who came to us at nearly two years old. I was so very proud of our children for being willing to give of their own resources to begin this adoption…to make a statement…to give sacrificially…to take the risk of adding another child (or children) to our already large family.
The placement agency we chose was Adoption Advocates International (AAI) out of Port Angeles, WA.. Since 2002 we desired to adopt from Ethiopia and followed this agency closely…read their newsletters…perused their web site….talked to others who'd used their services. So when the time came in December of 2008 to mail in our application, the choice was natural to utilize AAI's exceptional services. In March of 2009 we were given the referral of our very own Weyessa (boy 13) and Masho (girl 10). Weyessa's name means, "one who makes things better" and Masho's name means "bearer of light". They truly live up to their names!
During our "pregnancy" of 8 months the paperwork was tedious, but AAI kept it moving right along to the best of their ability. As for financing our adoption, we raised some money and generous friends and family gave to our cause to bring home Weyessa and Masho. Towards the end of our term, we knew we would be short of funding to travel to Ethiopia. My husband and I felt very strongly about traveling to our children's country of birth especially since they're older children. A generous grant from A Child Waits Foundation made it possible for us to travel in late August 2009 to receive our children in their own land. What a once-in-a-lifetime trip this was. While there, we had the privilege of traveling south to Shashemene to meet with our children's extended family. What a loving and welcoming family they were. What a day to remember…forever emblazoned on our hearts and minds. The time spent with these people who raised Weyessa and Masho was a treasure. They gave us blessings and charges in raising these two whom they entrusted into our care. My husband and I are truly grateful for this.
When it came time to return home to America with our two Ethiopian
children we encountered an unforeseen immigration protocol requiring Weyessa
to stay an additional nine weeks in Ethiopia. That was a huge heartbreak for
all involved - for him, his sister and for us as parents. There was no way around
this glitch. So, after sadly returning to the USA without our son, we busied
our time from Labor Day to Columbus Day by baking Ethiopian Honey Bread and
asking for donations for yet another trip back to Ethiopia. Upon hearing the
story of Weyessa being left behind, people poured out their compassion to us,
as well as their hard earned money and within that nine week period we raised
enough funds to return to bring Weyessa home.
Since the autumn of 2009, Weyessa and Masho have been home and adjusting well to their new surroundings and family life. They are an absolute delight to be with and envelope into our growing family.
We're so very grateful for the generosity of A Child Waits Foundation to help make our dreams come true. We appreciate the thoroughness of their application process and the way it caused us to reflect even more on what we were about to undertake.
Thank you, Cynthia. Thank you, Raymona and to all the others who made this possible!