Tariku

We have been home now 3 weeks. It has been a busy 3 weeks. Tariku is such a great and happy baby. We are so gratful for all your prayers and support.
Gavin and Whitney love Him. They think he takes to may naps and they always want to play with him. He is healthy, doing good and adorable.
I smile at Tariku and he always smiles back. He is so precious and we all love Him so much.

HOME and many miracles

We are home. I know it has been a couple of weeks since I last updated.

I do want to tell a little about our flights. Our travel was hard, and we saw so many miracles.

I will try to be short. But you know me, short is not in my vocabulary.



Flights back to Grand Rapids, MI USA.

Abel picked us up at 7:30pm to go the the airport. We arrived at Addis Ababa airport and we were like the 30th vehicle to get in the parking lot. So many people and cars. Unbelievable. Abel said he has never seen the airport so busy in all his life. We of course took a deep breath and thought I hope we make our flight. The next 4 hours were stressful to say the least.
There was a line to get in the airport that ended in the parking lot. In order to get in, all your luggage has to be scanned and you go through a security check point. (shoes off the whole business). We waited in a not organized line (a group of people pushing to get through). We were a little nervous as they were checking passports and flight itineraries in order to even get in the line to get in the airport. All the info. we had on our new flights we wrote down. Praise God- a miracle me didn't look at our info. just looked at our passports and waved us through. As we climbed the hill to the airport police and security were coming b/c it was starting to get very pushy. We made it just in time. We waited to 8:30pm to even get in the door of the airport.
We went to the Lufthansa ticket counter and I was praying the whole time. Please let us get on. Lord help us get home. They got us checked in and then they said, Do you have a ticket for the baby? This was one problem we had. B/c we switched Airlines we had to get the info. from Kenya air, but they were not even open. So we had to get our of line and go to a window and buy a infant seat. It was suppose to be $200, but it ended up costing us over $500 American dollars. It also took about 45mins. + to get it. They did not take American money so we had to put in on our charge card, and the computers were not working. It was frustrating, as we still had to go through customs yet.
Once we got our ticket we had to go back to Lufthansa line and get our tickets issued. We finally got it. We then went to customs and had to fill out exit forms for every person. (Including Tariku)
He woke up from sleeping and was crying as we were trying to fill out all the paperwork and then had to wait in a lONG line to get through. I felt bad, b/c everyone was looking at us as we are white adopting a baby. Who knows what everyone was thinking. Of course by now we are sweating and just praying that we will make the flight. We finally get through customs and find our gate. And go through security again. UGH.
We make the flight, with not much time to spare.
Tariku slept and woke up fed him, changed him and he went back to sleep again. So this 8 hour flight to Germany was not bad.
Germany Airport was again not a great experience for us.
Landed at 5:30Am. Our flight left Germany at 10:30AM. We thought great, go to the gate take a nap and leave. Ohh no, not how it went.
Well b/c we were on Lufthansa airline we had check in with the Delta Desk for the rest of the flights. The fact that we were switched to Lufthansa was a HUGE MIRACLE. We found out from our travel agent when we got home, that airlines just don't switch you to a different airline. We flew Delta and they have sister companies that we will fly. (such as Kenya air, KLM Etc) Lufthansa is NOT associated with Delta and the whole agency staff said what a miracle. They have never seen Delta do this before. WOW- What a awesome God we serve. Even to have the travel agency say what a miracle (I do not know if they are a christian company).
In Germany airport we went to the delta ticket counter. Which you had to go through immigration. They would not allow Tariku to go through b/c his Visa was only good for USA. So we were again frustrated. So Aaron went through and Tariku and I found some seats and waited. He was fussy and we were low on diapers. He was having blow out diarrhea and we were down to 3 diapers. I finally rocked him to sleep and we waited for 2 hours. Aaron finally returned to say he could not get my ticket b/c he did not have my passport. Uhh- so confusing.
We decided to try to get through security to go to our gate even though I didn't have my ticket. They let me through and then I asked a Delta person if I could get my ticket from her, and she said YES. Praise God. We were stressed at the point.
I thought I better go see if the gift shop has more diapers. They did have a pack of diapers and they were 2 sizes to big but I was desperate. So I went to buy them. The price was in Euro, so I asked how much. They said $96. WHAT? Thankfully he screwed up the exchange rate but for 20 diapers is was still going to be $36 after he figured right. I decided to wait and see if I could come up with something else.
I left the store and turned the corner and a women with twins was walking with a stroller. Her Girls appeared to be about Tariku's age. I stopped her and asked her if she had some extra diapers and if I could I could buy them from her. I told her our situation and she gave me 4 diapers. I thanked her and went to get on our plane.
Well while I was getting diapers, they motioned for everyone to get our of the gate and we had to go through passport checks etc. before boarding.
So we waited in a line for 30mins. and when we finally got our turn they said we did not have enough paperwork for Tariku and put us aside to wait. So we waited and waited. We had a control freak flight attendant. I slowly moved away from her and asked someone else to help us and she did. The freak flight attendant said she was going to have to see our pack of Info. from the US embassy and was going to open it. We were told- Strict instructions that ONLY the US Immigration Officer can open. No one else. So that is why I went to the next person.
She was much nicer and told me that she would not open it, but that they are checking for child trafficking. Oh that made me feel better. So I showed her every piece of paperwork that I had and she went through every paper. This took another 30 mins.
She finally let me go through and we were good to go. They started boarding the plan within mins.
This flight was rough. It was 8.5 hours and Tariku did not want to be held. He struggled and we were so tired and were mentally exhausted.
We landed in Detroit, and we had only 2.5 hour layover. We had to go through Immigration and Customs. The lines were long, and we finally made it to a officer. It took a long time, and then they told us we had to go to the foreign visitor line and go to line 35 the blue line for adoptions. We had less then a hour til our flight left. We were in trouble. We started to stress out again. Tariku was starting to get fussy again too.
We had to wait for 2 families and we waited for a LONG time. God sent a angel to us and we would have missed our flight if it was not for her. I started to pray that God would delay the plane so we would make our flight. We told a Delta flight attendant about our situation. She went and found our luggage and got it on a cart. She said she would wait in line in the customs line for us with our stuff. It was 3:00pm. Once we got through the blue line. We ran to her, and she was right in the front of the line, the customs officer asked us no questions and he said the only thing I have to say, is "Thank you". So nice. We then had to go through security again. It was a long line again, she went in from of the line pushed the people back and said, "get your stuff up here, take off your shoes, hurry." We were so flustered and she pushed us right through. She said I will take care of your luggage, just run. So we ran through the whole Detroit Airport. Praying that we would make our flight. Well we got to the gate, and it was 3:15pm and the flight attendant and the pilot were late and they did not even start boarding the flight!
Praise GOD!!! So we changed Tariku's diaper with the last diaper and wipe and made him a bottle with the last of the formula. We got on the plane after time for us to fee him and for us to go the bathroom. We got in our seat and he pooped again. I was out of diapers. So I asked the flight attendant, "do you by chance have a diaper on board?" I had asked very plane we were on any NO one had any. We were on a little puddle jumper and she said,"Yes I do." I went in the bathroom to change him and the diaper also had a wipe in it. Another Miracle.
We were late to arrive in GR but it made no difference we were so thankful to be on it.
When we landed in GR we had many family and friends waiting for us. It was very exciting and we were so glad to be home.
He is our precious boy, and we are so grateful to have him in our family. We love him so much.
Gavin and Whitney were all over him, and it was a fun time. How I missed them.
Ethiopia was a life changing experience and it was so amazing!!

We got a new flight!

Praise God!! We got a flight!!
We emailed our travel agent and she pulled some major strings for us and she got us a flight tonight.
We are on Lufthansa airlines and we go to Germany, Detroit and then to GR. We arrive at 4:15pm. on Saturday.
Thank you for your prayers. Words can't express how grateful we are. We feel so stranded here, without our Bethany Staff escorting us- Bethany has been AWESOME. In fact, Abel is picking us up here from the Hotel- another answer to prayer!
We now get to fly on the same flight as another adoption family from Bethany!
Praise God!

Yeah!

A answer to prayer, he pooped!

I do not know how he can't go, b/c his poop is runny. In fact, I changed him, and then he pooped again. Since it is runny it went on his clothes. We are thankful, for now he is good.

He is very happy right now, the devil was trying to get to us thats for sure.

We are waiting to hear when we can go to the airport again.

Flights Delayed-Major problems

We are frusterated. Went to check in and then they said the flight was delayed b/c of a sick Pilot. uhhh
We were suppose to fly out today at 2:20pm now we are scheduled to fly out to Nairobi, Kenya at 10pm. B/c of this we will miss everyone of our connecting flights.

They put us up in a hotel, but it was a pain to get here and Tariku is having problems pooping. So he has been crying. He finally fell asleep, but please pray that he poops so our travel goes well.

We need your prayers. We contacted our travel agent to see if she could find us some connecting flights, we hope and pray that we find flights so we can get back on Saturday.

Sounds like we might have to stay at another hotel in Kenya- b/c the next flight out of Kenya is Saturday morning. We will see what we can find.

Ethiopian Airport had NO flights going out in the afternoon. Its so weird- either early afternoon or late night. There is not a single flight til tonight.

Not to complain as this email I am sure sounds like it, but my left shoulder and back area is hurting. I brought icy hot, so I am applying that like crazy, but it feel like maybe a pinched nerve, or a huge knot in my shoulder blade. It has been hurting for 3 days now. With this stess we have now, it is not fun.

Please pray that we get connecting flights, and Tariku poops and for us to feel well.

We will keep you posted as internet is available.

Travels

Well today was busy. Its amazing how busy it is. I said to Aaron today, "my dad would love this. He likes to see a lot and be busy when he travels". We left this morning at 8:30am and we went to see Yesalem Minch Orphanage. I told you about Birktukan earlier this week, but she started this orphanage b/c God gave her the ability to love kids, and the be a visionary for the children of Ethiopia. She started it 9 years ago. They have different locations and there offices are very near to our guest house. They have houses all over Addis and surrounding cities with moms who care for children. 720 kids right now. It is such a huge mission. I know we did not stay here by accident. She said, "God gave me the vision, and I choose to follow him and he continues to show me more ways to support the ministry. She started a feeding program, makes jewelry to raise money, (I bought some) makes tea and coffee, spices and sell them, has this guest house and 30 % of her money she makes goes to Yasalem Minch. If fact she takes no salary at the orphanage it is all volunteer, and her husband and her run it.
Amazing- God wanted us to see this i know.
Then we went to Mt. Entoto and looked at the overlook. It is 3200 meters above sea level. Addis Ababa is 6,000 feet about sea level. Such a beautiful country.
We then went up higher and saw the first church in Addis and went through the museum.
We picked up the other families, we went everywhere with 6 families all through Bethany. We all adopted boys. Can you believe that? Ranging in age from 4 months - 3 years old.
Went to the Bethany office and picked up all the paper work, and visas to take our children home to the USA.
We went to Lunch after that. It is hard to travel and eat at restaurants with this many people. It always takes us many hours. It was late and everyone is tired and all the kids were fussy and many of the families we traveled with are sick. Praise God we are good. Please pray for us as we travel home for safety, for Tariku to do good, and for us to continue to feel good.
We then dropped off the other families and went to the guest house. It was 4:30pm by the time we got home. A long day and Tariku had only short naps. He struggles on these days. We are ready to come home. The ground is all tile and he wants to play and he only has limited space. Also when you change diapers, no changing tables, on the floor in the bathrooms. (They are not always very clean ). He also struggles b/c he is not used to being held all day. He I am sure, was on the floor or in his crib often and we have to hold all day when we are gone. He really need to be on the floor playing throughout the day. This is a hard fact to understand for us.
Tariku is such a happy baby, but he is having a hard time pooping. We don't know his schedule how often they feed him, or with what they fed him. So he is on Enfamil the formula I brought and seems to have a hard time pooping. So he was a little fuzzy. I rubbed his tummy and he calmed down. Hard to watch and we just want to be home with him. So much easier. He has only drank from a cup so bottles took some getting used to. They told us to only feel him with a cup, but this is not ideal as we are in a van on bumpy roads that are not always paved. Hard to feed out of a cup. He has transitioned well. Pray for his tummy please.
This morning he was dress and we were heading down to breakfast, and he had a blow out all the way up his back. So in the tub he went. It was in his hair and everywhere. Burtikan has a lady she pays to do some laundry if we need it, so I asked if she could get his clothes clean. So we don't bring poopy clothes home.
Packed tonight and will leave at 8:30am tomorrow and so we can shop and then go to the airport.
We are excited to come home, it was a awesome trip but ready to come home.
Pray for us as we travel and as of now our plane will land in GR at 1:40 pm. on Saturday.
Will keep you posted if anything changes.
Thank you and God bless you all

Tariku's Birth Mom

Well today was amazing!! We left this morning at 6:30am. We drove out of Addis and got to the countryside. So it was not what I was expecting. Southern Ethiopia is mountainess and lush and beautiful. We saw so many huts, rivers, children, awesome trees that you only see in movies (the ones that are flat on top, Like a bonzi tree), mountains and it is beautiful. I was expecting dry, desolate and a barren land. I was told northern Ethiopia is like this.
We drove 270 KM and we got into Mussie Orphanage in Hosanna. Mussie has 8 different locations in Ethiopia. I was confused for so long when they said the moved him to Mussie when we was already at Mussie. It all makes sense once you get here. Once we arrived at the orphanage we got out went to the bathroom in a hole, and sat down and waited for Tariku's birth mom. She arrived within a minute and we hugged her. She hugged us, and the tradition is hug and kiss one cheek, kiss other cheek, kiss other cheek, kiss other cheek. Of course we had a language barrier and it was more than we thought. She is from so far south that she speaks another language then Amharic. She came up from Durame which is 270 miles south of Hosanna. We were thankful b./c we are already back- the same day!!!
We did not want to be gone from Tariku for very long. We sat down and we talked for a long time. We asked a question and Blen our social worker here in Ethiopia came and she translated in Amharic to another person who translated to her in her language. (I have her language written down but I dont remember it)
It was a lot of translating before we got any answers. I had tears in my eyes the whole time. She is a beautiful young girl. She is 14, and comes from a very poor area and couldn't care for him. We asked many questions and we video taped the whole thing. She was so happy to met us, and she was so honored and joyed that we wanted to meet her. She was happy to hear that we are keeping his name. It was a very emotional day, I cried as we talked b/c Tariku will have pictures of his mom, video of his mom and know she loved him so much that she gave him to a orphanage knowing she could not care for him. What a gift for us and for him as he gets older. It was amazing time. Words can't express how neat and touching it was.
We got a assessment with pics when we got to Ethiopia and we gave her the pictures for her to keep. She held those papers so tight with a smile on her face. She was so happy to see how healthy he was, as he was very malnurished when she brought him in. We also had our guest house host- Burtikan get us a bible and we gave her that. She was so happy. She held the things tight that we gave her.
She also is a christian and so joyed to see that Tariku was in a christian home. She asked if we would tell him about her, and we said,"yes, absolutely."
Aaron prayed over her and we put our hands on her. Before she left, she hugged us, and kissed us, and kissed our hands. I can't even say how we felt. I had to keep it together, but I could have cried the whole time. She was very quiet and I held it together, but still had many tears.
We also got to tour the orphanage and see what room he was in at this orphanage. We gave gifts to the orphanage. It was such a amazing experience.
We had lunch and headed back. We loved having Blen as our translator and traveling all day with her.
Tonight we are going to a traditional dinner, I think its watching them dance too. We will see- sounds like fun!!
Thank you for your prayers- today was one of the best things we have done so far, except for getting Tariku of course.