Ethiopia Trip Two: Packing Up & Saying Good-Bye

Friday was our last day in Ethiopia. We woke up with a sense of relief- soon we would be out of a hotel room and in our home! Will & I tried to pack in the morning, but it seemed like a daunting task! How did we make such a mess?

The big event for the day was going back to Hannah's Hope to get Israel's passport and citizenship paperwork that had been processed at the embassy. I think in the past, families had an option to return to HH or just get the paperwork delivered, but we weren't given an option. I had a big fear that all of the progress we had made with Israel would be nullified when he was back inside the HH gates and with his special mothers. I was dreading returning there, honestly.

But we had no choice, so we went back to Hannah's Hope with the Ruark family (Katy, her mom and Y) and met with Almaz. At first I held Israel in the Ergo, with the thought that I wouldn't take him out at all. But then when we were there, I felt such empathy for the women who have cared for my boy for the last 5 + months - I wanted them to get to say good-bye to him, so I took him out. It was clear how well he was loved and cared for, and all of the special mothers and other staff came out to say good bye and kiss him one more time. Hearing them say "Ba Ba Biruk" over and over made us smile- the way they say his name is more like "Bih-roo-kay".

Our meeting with Almaz went really well. We were able to discuss our embassy interviews but also recap our son's story and even gleaned a few more details about him. Any information we can get- be it small details or large- is priceless to us.

The Ruark family had an additional meeting, so we went upstairs to the baby rooms where Israel's former roommates were having nap time. His special mothers loved holding him again and we were glad for the chance to take pictures of the other kids for the families waiting in the USA. We saw a lot of new faces of babies that had come after our early March trip, and some of the kiddos looked like they had grown so much! It made me think- in 6 months this place will look completely different, all new kids! Hannah's "HOPE" is a perfect name for the place- what a joy it is to think of all of those kids finding homes and more kids coming after that to have forever homes. Sigh.


Makenzie and Chris came in to spend time with their daughter, and we may or may not have agreed to arrange a marriage :). We had fun watching them with their beautiful little girl!

Finally, it was time to head back to the Riviera. I wasn't prepared for the emotion of leaving Hannah's Hope. It suddenly hit me that this orphanage was ALL my son knows. These women have poured themselves out on him and they know all about him and how to care for him. As amazing as it is to have him home, that day marked another huge loss for him. He won't be back. So as we left the gates of Hannah's Hope for the last time of our trip, I was sobbing and thought "man, I can't leave this place without tears!" but this time, it was on behalf of my son and the women at Hannah's Hope.

We came back to the hotel and finished packing our room. We headed downstairs and spent the afternoon with the Ruarks and Bratchers, recapping our trip and talking of the hope of having our kiddos in our homes soon. I am so thankful we traveled with these families!

At 6, we headed to the airport... we were going HOME!