WrapAnOrphanInYourArms.org

Where have we been for the past six months!!!  A lot of stuff has happened – some good, some not so good. (but mostly good!)   Deacon is bonding well, and it seems like there’s never been a time in our lives when he wasn’t here with us.

When we were in Harar, meeting Deacon for the first time, we met a nine year-old boy who always seemed to be playing with Deacon.  (We’ll call him “A”)  On our second trip, we visited the Abenezer Orphanage in Addis – another “campus” run by the same woman who operates Abenezer in Harrar.  This time, we were visiting to deliver donations and we had Deacon with us.  We were thrilled to find that “A” had been moved to Addis, and the two boys spent most of our visits playing in the courtyard together.  While we were there, we discussed the possibility of trying to keep the two of them together, long-term.

When we got home, we took a few weeks to let our emotions settle out, and we decided that we did, indeed, feel called to bring “A” home.  After we talked with our agency, we began working on the mountain of paperwork – AGAIN!  After my brief stay in the hospital, we got our paperwork back on track, and over the past few weeks, we have been waiting on “A”s paperwork to be completed in Ethiopia, and receive official word from our agency.  Tuesday, they called to let us know that they were sending us his file!

We sent our acceptance form in today, and we are officially pursuing his adoption!  It’s been tough to keep the news quiet, but we wanted to wait until we knew whether or not we would be allowed to pursue him.  Currently, we are collecting a few more documents, and waiting for the Dept of Homeland Security to do its thing and set an appointment for us to be (re)fingerprinted – this will get us a critical document that allows us to adopt and bring our child home.   Lord willing, we hope to be travelling again this summer! 

It’s a little different feeling this time, because we already know him, and have spent time with him – some of the unknown is not there, but we are SO excited to bring our boy home into our family and community!

So the blog has been resurrected, and we are jumping back in with both feet, asking for your prayers as we set out on another difficult but wonderful journey!

 Andrew and Lucy

“Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east, and I will gather you from the west.”

                                                                                                                                                                            Isaiah 43:5

So, he is in our arms, and we are in his! 

What a trip this has been!  We flew into Frankfurt, feeling pretty worn, like an overcooked – frankfurter…  When we boarded our connection from Frankfurt to Addis, as we walked past the ticket counter and she scanned our boarding passes, something spit out of the machine.  We were both fearing that one of our bags was going to cost us more, or had been lost, or something was wrong!  To our surprise, in a heavy German accent, the woman “invited” us to upgrade to business class, compliments of Lufthansa!  We considered the invitation for about as long as it took to snatch the boarding pass, sprint down the jetway, and seatbelt into luxurious digs!  It was an increddible blessing to be able to stretch out and sleep for a few hours before we landed, and not feel like a complete zombie wandering through Bole Airport! 

We checked into our room, met our neighbors, and crashed about midnight.  A few hours later, keeping with my Ethiopia tradition, I woke up, wide awake!  The following night, I did the same, waking up about three am.  Last night, however, possibly due to exhaustion, I managed to sleep from 8:30pm until 4:30am!  I feel like a new man! 

Our first morning here, we eagerly ate breakfast, and piled in the van, off to “take custody” of our son!  He was great, coming out the door with his little hoodie on, stretched out his arms, and went straight to Lucy.   He hasn’t been far from one of us since, and we love it.  He is definitely high-energy, always on the go, always into something! 

Together again!

We’ve been spending time with him, bonding, cuddling, and playing.  He seems to be doing well, so far, and his biggest hangup is that he won’t let us take off his shoes!  Lucy brought him some white Nikes, and when he wakes up, he points at the shelf where we keep them, and wore them around in his pajamas!  When we change his diaper, he holds one in each hand, and once he falls asleep, we can take them off!  I’m sure we aren’t past the emotional trauma and healing of what’s in the past, but we are loving our time with him.

Yesterday we went to the University Museum, which was awesome.  It’s great to be able to take in some of the culture to bring home with him.  We are going shopping for a few items today, and I’ve already secured a stash of spices and coffee! 

Lucy went to a Silk Factory yesterday, while I went back to the America World Transition House to play with the older kids.  Four hours in the yard with thirty kids is a workout – I was able to determine that IF the ball bounces over the wall, it’s gone, because there is a mean Woosha(sp?) over there.  (that’s a dog)  Downside of yesterday is that I now need to figure out how to hide 30 kids in our luggage monday… 

We miss Carter and Molly terribly, but are grateful that we have a little time to spend with just him.

We will be home on Tuesday the ninth, finally a family of five!

 Also, during our auction, I forgot to Link two items – One is a rafting trip for two on the White Salmon River with Zoller Outdoor Odessey, and one is for one night and breakfast at the Columbia River Gorge Hotel for two!  The rafting trip expires at the end of this summer, so don’t delay!  We are landing in Portland at 4:23pm on the 9th, so if you’re interested, post it in a comment here, and whoever has the highest bid for each item wins it!

Well, it’s 12:41am, and we lift off out of Portland at 11:30am tomorrow morning!  We are flying from PDX to Chicago to Frankfurt to Addis Ababa, arriving at 9pm their time, 11am our time Tuesday.  We found out this evening that we do indeed have a confirmed appointment with the US Embassy on the 4th!  Until tonight, we were unsure whether or not we were confirmed.  It’s amazing to realize that the path we’ve been on for the past 18 months is entering its final chapter!  We will soon close the book on the adoption process, and begin our family’s process of bonding. 

Many families create a very firm plan of bonding and attachment, for instance, planning from the outset that they will stay home, not receive visitors, etc. for the first three months.  We have decided that we will wait until we are home to make our decisions on how long we will  “hunker down” and bond with our son.  Those decisions will be based on how he is bonding and adjusting to our family life, how we adjust to him, and how open to new people and experiences he is.  Until we know what his comfort and attachment level is, we will hold, feed, change, and sooth him ourselves, and gradually introduce other people as he becomes ready. 

We covet your prayers, support, and assistance.  Thanks to our friends and families, we are carrying 200 pounds of clothing, shoes, medical supplies, and educational materials to orphanages in Ethiopia that desperately need help.  Amazingly, along with this outpouring of support, the question most people asked is “when can we send more?”.  We will be working in the days and weeks to come on this question, and are committed to continuing to support the orphan children of Ethiopia.  You may have seen media coverage of the developing famine in Somalia, Ethiopia, and Kenya.  The orphaned children are some of the most at-risk, and as this suffering continues, their numbers are sure to increase. 

This process has been a life-changing experience for our family, one that we never expected, but cherish.  Adoption is fraught with fear and uncertainty.  In the beginning, your fear asks the question “Can we really make this happen?”.   But at some point near the middle of this journey, your fear begins forming the question “What if we, for some reason, can’t make this happen?”.  We aren’t home yet – one of our friends who were with us in Ethiopia told me “it won’t be real until we are all home sitting on the couch together.” – but we are close.

We will be posting on here and on Facebook as we can, we love knowing that so many people are walking with us!

We thank you for lifting us up, and we know that whatever happens, this final chapter has already been written.  We simply need to open the book, lay our fears and faith on God, and turn the pages.

When we were posting from Ethiopia, after we had met our son in Harar, I wrote about meeting the founder and the staff at Abenezer Orphanage.  Elizabeth Mulegeta is someone special - it’s not often that you meet someone who has committed her life to care for vulnerable children.  Elizabeth was born in Ethiopia, but moved to Canada as a young adult,  where she lived for 20 years.  During her time there, she always felt called to return to Ethiopia and care for orphaned children. 

 3 years ago, she opened two homes up to these kids, stringing together funding to make it happen – Abenezer is not a government-funded orphanage, it is a group of people who love children, caring for and loving the most vulnerable.  Today, because of what she and her staff have done, 33 kids in Addis Ababa and 14 in Harar have a roof, a bed, nutritious food, and someone who freely hands out hugs and kind words.  I don’t really have the eloquence to illustrate how this woman’s work affects our world.  Because of her faith, her love, and her amazing staff, there are 47 kids, who have been through tragedy, suffering, deprivation, and worse, who can now see a completely different future than that which our world had handed them.  Maybe five feet tall, Elizabeth bears an amazing strength, unflinching determination, and most importantly, a huge heart for the children that our world turned away. 

At Abenezer, toys, clothes, books, and even medicine are in short supply – without government funding, every penny is pinched, soaked, and squeezed to provide for these kids.  We saw boys wearing girls clothes and vice-versa, a mad scramble for the community shoe pile when it was time to go outside, and 18 kids sharing only a few school books, but hungering for learning.  

We met with the staff nurse in Harar, an infinitely resourceful man who is the doctor, the nurse, the EMT, and comforter for these kids.  When he showed us his medical supply room, I was humbled – how on earth he can do what he does with such meager supplies?  But every day, he gets up and makes it happen.  Some shortages occur because the orphanage doesn’t have the money, but some things you just can’t get over there.  I asked he and Elizabeth to give us a list of things that they need the most, that can’t easily be found in Ethiopia. 

When I got the list, I was shocked.  The things that we take for granted, these kids, this huge family, cannot afford.  Look at the medical needs and consider what happens when a sick baby spikes a fever and there simply isn’t any Tyelenol to give, or Neosporin and a Bandaid to cover a cut foot.

So again, I come to you with my hat in my hand, asking for your help.  We will be able to take 150 pounds of supplies with us on our next trip, and I am asking that if you have any of these items, or feel called to help by making a small purchase, please find an item below and help brighten the lives of these kids.  

THINGS THAT EVERY KID NEEDS:

Kids clothing - especially for older kids 3-10 years old.  We did the same thing everyone does – we brought clothes for little babies.  Orphaned children come in all ages and sizes.

Cloth Diapers – they just can’t get quality cloth diapers that last.

Vaseline

Desitin/Diaper Rash Cream

School Books - Come on Home School Peeps!  If someone has a range of grades curriculum, it would be invaluable.  Space (and even more so weight) is a premium, so we have to try to send a broad spectrum of books that don’t take up too much weight.

MEDICAL SUPPLIES:

Does anyone have a good used stethoscope?  I’m sending one of mine, but they need one at each of the two campuses.

Peds BP cuffs

Fish Scale (I’m going to rig a sling so they can weigh the kids…)

Sewing Measuring Tapes (So they can measure the kids)

Antibiotic Ointment (Neosporin, triple antibiotic ointment, etc)

Antifungals like Lotrimin AF (or clotrimazole generic – waaaaay cheaper)

Poly-vi-sol with Iron (Vitamin with Iron)

Tri-vi-sol (another multi-vitamin)

Infant or children’s Tylenol and ibuprofen (imagine how many fevers you get when you put 20-40 kids together in close quarters!)

Moisturizer with Vitamin E

We are going to take 150 pounds with us this trip, and  try to either ship more, or send more with other adoptive families later – we are committed to supporting this orphanage, and we are inviting others to join us. 

The thought that brings me to tears is this:  Earlier this year, Elizabeth and her staff took in an underweight, malnourished little boy.  They clothed him, fed him, gave him medical care, and loved him.  All these things they did before we knew our son, and every day since, they do exactly the same thing for 47 other kids, despite the daily shortages. 

UPDATE:  I wrote this two nights ago, but wanted Lucy to proofread it for me.  Since then, we heard from the Embassy yesterday.  They were asking for one more document from the orphanage, that our agency provided yesterday.  Our agency contact is hopeful that we will hear back from the embassy tomorrow!  This all depends on how quickly the embassy picks up our file and gives us our clearance – but the next available court date is August 4th – THAT”S NEXT WEEK!!!  So, if you feel like this is something you want to be a part of, time is short – contact Lucy or I – we will be checking for comments frequently.  Let’s change some lives!

Man, I can’t believe how long it’s been since we updated the blog! Life seems to have a way of accelerating away from you if you aren’t careful!

So, what’s new? Well, we safely arrived home from our court trip to Ethiopia, which was easily one of the most amazing experiences in both our lives. We met our new son, got attached, and then had to hand him back to the nannies and leave him on the other side of the world – not easy, not fun, and definitely not a natural thing to do. We daily remind ourselves the he is safe, being cared for, and waiting for us to bring him home.

It’s hard to explain, but when we got home, and overcame the jet-lag, we both sort of retreated into our house, with Carter and Molly, and waited to pass court. For 20 days, waiting for the letter we needed to complete the adoption, we just waited, life almost suspended. I don’t know if this is common with parents who are waiting, but I don’t think we even realized we were doing it.

July 1st, we got a call informing us that the letter had arrived, and we were now the parents of a beautiful little boy. We keep hearing from other families who are making their trips, about what a little ball of sunshine he is! It’s so great to have the chance to get informatn and pictures, and a comfort to know that other folks are cuddling and playing with our son.

So, now, we wait again! When we passed court, our paperwork began a slow trip from the adoption court, to the US embassy. It arrived on the thirteenth, and the embassy has ten business days (that’s next wednesday – as if we were counting…) to advise us whether they will approve the immigration side of things as-is, or if they want to do their own investigation. If they approve it, we travel quick – hoping for early next month. If they investigate, that will take longer.

It’s hard to grasp that we will be bringing our son home soon! It feels like we are nearing the end of our journey, but it’s really like finishing the prologue of a novel – we are setting the stage for an amazing life, together!

So, here’s hoping that we are back in Ethiopia in a few weeks, with our son, and our friends there, turning the page to Chapter One!

I will be posting more, hopefully tomorrow night, about some things we are looking for to fulfill some very desperate needs at the Abenezer orphanage, the incredible organization that took in and loved our son, before we even knew him.

Andrew

We’re back!  (Sort of)  After three days in Harar/Dire Dawa, we landed in Addis yesterday afternoon.  The internet was down, so I’m finally getting caught up! 

Where to begin!  We met our son two days ago – we’re all totally in love!  He is a little guy – almost none of the clothes we brought fit him, but he eats like a horse and he’s putting on the pounds like only a Nichols can!  He is amazing to watch – he’s always on the go, with this “little-old-man” toddle, into everything.  The only time he sits still is just before lunch is served!  Tons of pics and videos, an amazing time spending several hours both days at the orphanage with the 18 kids there.  Looking back at the pictures almost brings tears – such a special bunch, full of energy and life, having survived an assortment of tragic starts in life, together, playing, learning, and being loved by a very special staff of nannies and caregivers.   If you ever thought you might be called to adopt, we can show you a few pictures that will make up your mind in an instant.  These kids are yearning for love, just dying for a family to be adopted in to.

Abenezer Orphanage was started a few years ago by a woman who had dreamed about it since she was a teen.  She moved to Canada for 20 years, and when she returned home to Addis, she opened an orphanage there.  When I asked her why she decided to open an orphanage in Harar, she said “because that’s where the children need help”.  Running on donations, with no government support, Elizabeth and her staff love these kids like their own, and when she comes through the gate, it’s clear that she is loved for her effort. 

As rich in kindness as that place is, they are struggling mightily.  When I met the Nurse for the children, I asked him for a list of supplies he needed the most.  First on his list:  A scale to weigh the babies.  A tape to measure their height.  Things like Tyelenol, antibiotic ointment, a stethescope.  It’s incredible what these people do, with so little, not even considering the scarcity that surrounds them.  They just get up, go at it, and do it again the next day.  This is a hard place to live, and that hardness makes some things ugly, but when you struggle, you rejoice in what God grants you, and that is the the beauty you see in faces here.  We like to mutter about how every day is a gift, but as quickly as the thought leaves our lips, we take that gift for granted.  I don’t know how I feel about this place – this is the real world, and we don’t live here.  This is a place where people appreciate the tiny joys of every day, and we don’t.  We run around with our heads in the clouds, crying about our bills and our jobs, and our lousy economy, when for many of these people, their only concern is feeding their children, or someday having a family to love.  The prayers they pray must make me seem a wretch in Gods ear. 

These few days have been amazing, beautiful and heart-wrenching.  Every one of us who can click and read this should see this place for what it truly is, with our own eyes.  Because if you are sitting at your computer reading this, myself included, you are truly the rich man or woman in this world, and that can be a damning burden. 

Our boy got back to Addis tonight, and we are going to get to see him again tomorrow.  We have court on Friday, we would appreciate your prayers that we pass, and that we can soon bring him home!

What a day!  We found out yesterday that our boy had been taken back to Harar to be “accounted for” at the orphanage he was first in.  So the agency is sending us to Harar to spend a few days with him there and then we all come back to Addis.  So this morning, we went out on the street in Addis to get some coffee and lunch, and it took a pickpocket about five minutes to make off with my wallet - which was in my front pocket!  Dude was a pro!  So that resulted in a “we’ll report it to the police, but…” which I already knew – my wallet is adios in Addis!  The guy took it when I was standing in a crowd of us from the guest house, and everybody thought he was a very nice man until I got about 40 feet down the street and patted my pocket!  Needless to say, he had left the area shortly after I traded my wallet and a hundred and change for a pack of kleenex!!!  : ) 

So we did recover our lost bag from the DC – Addis flight – it arrived at the hotel just as we were headed to the airport to fly out to Dire Dawa (where we are staying, because there are no “good” hotels in Harar).  We had a great dinner, and start out for Harar in the morning – it’s about an hour’s drive back up into the mountains

What a surreal experience to get off a plane in Dire Dawa, which was until recently some sort of black market crossroads, right behind an Orthodox Priest, in full regalia!  The ground crew were kissing his cross while checking our plane tickets!  So we took a crazy cab ride from the airport to our hotel, and had a great dinner.  Going to crash soon, and try to reset our internal clocks! 

All this has been a little much, but it is an awesome chance to see where he was born and lived, we flew out with the director/owner of the Abenezer Orphanage, where he is now, heard a little about his history and what he’s like from her.  We also got to hear her amazing story of why she founded the orphanage in 2008.  Totally looking forward to seeing the ancient city, meeting our son (fingers crossed that tomorrow is THE day!) and shopping for some of the culturally unique aspects of his hometown. 

We appreciate your thoughts and prayers, it’s great to know that so many people are thinking of us! 

I can sum it up by quoting our driver, David, who heard the pickpocket story, our crazy travel plans, and everything by saying “Hey, it’s the Africa Life, man! 

PS – I am writing this via better wifi that is every bit as good as at home, watching ER, sitting under a mosquito net, because Malaria is only a concern when you travel outside Addis – which wasn’t part of our trip plan!  : )

PPS – Thanks Chaney, for getting up at 2am Washington time to help us cancel my cards!

So we’re here!  We arrived at Bole Airport at 9 am, slogged through customs, and went to pickup our baggage.  So far, we are batting 750!  We lost one of our four bags in transit, one of the duffel bags full of supplies for the orphanages and some of our clothes (EMERGENCY:  Andrew is in Ethiopia with ONE pair of sneakers!)  They think it should be here tomorrow – but we may not be!

The big news of the day is that our son isn’t in Addis as we thought he would be!  We were slated to meet him this afternoon, but found out that he and a few other kids had to go back to Harar (to the government orphanage he originally came into) to be “accounted for”.  When Duni ( America World’s ET director) told us that he was back in Harar, and wouldn’t be back til Tuesday, we were a little stunned! 

So the upside of this is that the agency is flying us to Dire Dawa and driving down the road to Harar to see him tomorrow afternoon.  We’ll be staying there with him until we all come back to Addis on Tuesday.  While I wasn’t looking forward to another airplane trip, it will be awesome to see the city he’s from, and several of the other families in the guest house say it is an amazing city http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harar 

So we don’t know what the internet situation is in Harar/Dire Dawa is, but we’ll update as we can! 

Addis is amazing – the poverty is overwhelming, but it is an amazingly colorful, active city! 

We’ll post some pics as soon as we can!  We appreciate your prayers and thoughts!

Here’s the link to the auction page!  Please take a look!  

Nichols Family Online Adoption

More to follow from Ethiopia!

What an exciting time!  We fly out in six days!  we are frantically trying to figure out what to pack, how to pack it, how much of it we can pack, and how I’m going to do 24 hours in a Coach Seat! 

So that is the good news – that’s the GREAT news!  We are less than a week away from meeting our son!  His health is improving, he is gaining weight like a good little Nichols, and we can’t wait to hold him! 

It seems like with all good news, comes some bad.  We don’t really have any bad news, but we’ve both been struggling with some hard news lately.  A couple of weeks ago we recieved the full report of our agency’s investigation into the circumstances of our son’s journey to the orphanage. 

It was wrenching to read, and both of us were out of sorts for a few days trying to digest it.  Let’s face it – he is an orphan, and there is rarely, if ever a happy “disney” story following these kiddos.  We are currently not allowed to share much, if any, information about our son, and once the adoption is completed in Ethiopia, we will become the sole caretakers of our son’s history.   

While we are eager to share all we can about our adoption, and love to tell our story to anyone interested, we have come to the natural decision that we will hold our son’s history in confidence.  When he is ready, we will share it with him, and him alone.  That part of his life is his story to tell, to whomever he chooses.  We ask for your continued prayers for our safe travel, a smooth introduction, that we pass court, and for healing and bonding when we finally get to bring him home! 

Looking forward, we will be in Ethiopia June 3-11, and will be spending as much time with our son as possible.  We will try to post on the blog whenever possible, in order to keep you up to date.  We will be going to Court sometime around Friday the 10th. 

We are excited to host an online auction on this blog, to help cover travel costs for our two trips – items should start showing up in the next couple of days!  Bidding will open on June 1st (just before we take off from Portland!), and will run through the 14th.  We have been amazed and blessed by our communities support and willingness to help us bring our boy home!

Stay tuned, things are about to get exciting!