Life with 4 Boys

Obsi has been home for 9 days already. Tamirat, three months. As of right now, this is my take on it:

Two boys were easy. When Tamirat came, it was still easy. He fit in really well and the change to our culture was easy for him. It may be that the orphanage he was at did an excellent job of training him for the change. The only hard thing for him was our food. He still continues to eat mostly Ethiopian. We love Ethiopian cuisine so it is no big deal for me to make it.

Bringing Obsi home was completely different. Obsi was in a large orphanage with 150 boys! As he told me about life there, it sounded like a military boarding school. They were in a very remote area. Showers were taken in the river. Food was not abundant and Obsi said he was very often hungry. He did eat well while at the Transition House. The cook there is very good at what she does. I am trying to feed Obsi often. He is at that age, 13 going on 14, that I know he needs fuel in his body because it is changing and growing.

Obsi doesn't know how anything works. Doors, appliances, toys, pitchers, .... everything is new to him. We love explaining what things are and how they work. He is always amazed.

Obsi is also an introvert. He loves to sit back and observe everything. Tamirat is very sociable, Obsi is very unsociable. He gets very fidgity around large groups of people. He loves to sit on his bed and do math. He loves the computer and all the friends he has reconnected with on Facebook. He loves Ethiopian Christian music.

Obsi eats just about anything we ask him to. He loves tacos, kiwi, mangos, pork steaks, french fries, pizza, scrambled eggs, pancakes. He doesn't like green beans so far. He learned the hard way not to drink more than one can of Mountain Dew after 6pm. He was up until 4am and the next night in bed at 6:30. I asked if he knew Mountain Dew was loaded with caffeine and he did not know that! I explained to him that I don't allow MD after dinner. He was at a youth group event and I missed the MD.

Four boys makes life very busy and hectic. It could be I had catching up to do when we got home. I had Obsi to settle in. He lived out of his duffle bag for 2 days and lived and slept in the same clothes for 5 days. Once we took him shopping, got him his own drawers to keep his clothes in, and showed him my huge front loading washer/dryer, he seems to be doing better wearing clean clothes and sleeping in clean clothes.

Once I got all the laundry caught up, it isn't so bad. My kitchen is in order. I did a major grocery shopping trip. Things are good but still hectic. I can see I am going to have to start planning meals better. The boys need to help me more often. Obsi has a long way to go before he is comfortable here. I can see it is all so different and really hard for him.

We have a doctor appointment in 1.5 weeks. We have the hurdle of him being exposed to TB to get over. We didn't come back with a chest xray, like the CDC expected us to. We are required to report it to the Center of Disease Control so I am going to count on the clinic to take care of all that for us and provide us with the "expected" chest xray. Obsi was exposed but the xray he had in Ethiopia showed him to be clear and inactive. If it was active, he wouldn't have been able to come home. As part of the adoption process, we are all required to be tested for communicable diseases.

Life is good and I feel very blessed to have these boys here. They have enriched our lives so much! We finally have communication lines open with Tamirat. Obsi does a great job translating. What a joy it is to always hear Ethiopian music and the Amharic language flying. We are so blessed!!!

Embassy

We were on pins and needles heading to embassy. Obsi had been deemed 18 by a wrist and elbow xray. We weren't sure what was going to happen.

As we arrived and sat on the benches, Sue told Deanne Gillock and Bill & I that embassy didn't accept our paperwork or our payment for a visa. She indicated it didn't look good. Our CCI embassy group put our heads together and prayed. If anything was going to be done, only the God of our Universe was going to do it.

We went in and waited. The Niedermeyer family got called up first. Ms. Rupp, the embassy agent in window #4, told us she had just gotten the embassy doctor's medical report that morning and Obsi was deemed 18. Sue was with us and argued with her. Sue told her that Obsi was not 18! We were asked to wait. Gillocks got called up later. Embassy decided to interview the 2 boys. Sisay felt good about the interview. Then Obsi went in and came out clearly upset. He told us the man said he was 17. Obsi knew what year he was born. He know the Ethiopian Calendar year and the American Calendar year, 1996. The man spoke angrily to him. He was asked all about his brothers and sisters. Obsi told him everything he knew.

Ms Rupp told Sisay's family that he would get his visa the next day. She then went on to explain that Obsi was 17 because Obsi said his 18yr old brother was married and had 4 kids and that can't be. His brother must be about 22 so therefore, Obsi must be 17. Sisay's mom had suggested they bring up Pastor Tedessa from Debrezeit. Pr. T had been there when they started Kamashi. They had only taken in boys between the ages of 7 & 10. They wanted Ms Rupp to talk to Pastor.

Ms Rupp told us embassy was open 8-11:30 and we should come back with Pastor. Dereje, CCI's in-country lawyer, called Pastor and left for Debrezeit to spend the night and travel early morning to be at embassy at 8am.

We met Dereje, Pastor, Gillocks and Sue at embassy bright and early. It was a beautiful warm sunny morning! Ms. Rupp spent quite a while talking to Pastor. When Kamashi Orphanage was started, they went out and gathered up boys who were orphans and had no one to care for them. They had an American dentist with them that could guess at the ages. The boys over 10 got sent back. Pastor remembered Obsi. Obsi was 7 or 8 and was taken in. His mom had just died. His dad had died when he was very young. This was 5 years ago that they gathered these boys.

Ms. Rupp believed that Obsi was 13. Because they created a birthdate of August 26th, the day he would turn 14, she was satisfied. She claimed that as birthparents, we deserved to know the truth about the case. Not sure is she meant our agency wasn't telling us the truth but Sue knew the truth and was willing to stand by it. Sue was given the go ahead to pay for Obsi's visa. Ms Rupp said there was never a doubt! (that she would issue a visa). grrrrr........ I wish I would've known that from the start! We were all emotionally drained.

Friday evening, Dereje walked into the guest house with our visa. There was a lot of whooping!!!! Huge hugs for Dereje!

Our homestudy was approved for boys ages 10-14. If Obsi was deemed 15, we would have had to do an update. Through the fax machine, we would have been able to pull it off while we were in-country. Angela, at CCI, had figured out a way to get it all done, by-passing all the states the homestudy needs to go through in a normal process. The homestudy gets sent to TX, and then to Maryland, and then to Addis. Our wonderful agency was prepared! We had also had our Congressman's office on stand-by in case they needed to step in and get us that visa.

It all fell together and we praise the Lord for that! Satan shot every dart he could. The Lord provided the shield.

Ephesions 6:13-18
Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.

We are standing firm!

Trip #2 to get Obsi

This time around we flew Turkish Air. Chicago to Istanbul to Ethiopia. Much less traveling time than the first trip. We arrived in Addis early morning, around 2am. When we got to New Flower Guest House, our dear friend Yonaton said he had a surprise for us up in our room. Hmmmmm, I couldn't even begin to imagine. It turns out that Obsi had spent the day with Laurie and Tariku at the Lion Zoo. They all decided that because we paid for the room anyway, Obsi should just spend the night. Obsi was sleeping up in our room and he woke up and got up to greet us. How wonderful is that! I don't have any pictures because by camera was packed away and it being such a surprise, I just wasn't prepared.

This is Bill, Yonaton, Nicky, Obsi, and Tariku. Tariku also came from Kamashi. Kamashi is in western Ethiopia, along the Sudan border.
Obsi and Tariku.


We just hung out all day (Wednesday). Tomorrow, embassy.

Soddo

When we were in Ethiopia, we took a trip down south. Down to Soddo. 7 hours away. This is a post from Sophie who we went to visit and she did a good job so I won't need to take the time to tell you what we did, she did a great job!

MaryKay and I have been corresponding for a few months now. We read each others’ blogs and facebook status updates. We email every now and then. It’s been a fun way for me to keep in touch with life in America. This week, MaryKay, her daughter, and her husband are in Ethiopia picking up the newest addition to their family. And they came all the way down to Soddo to visit me! How cool is that? We had a fun 20 or so hours together. They arrived yesterday afternoon at the hospital. I met them there, and was very pleased with their wonderful midwestern accents At the hospital, Ruth gave them a tour and gratefully accepted the huge quantities of baby blankets and stuffed animals that they brought as donations. From there, we headed into town to eat at the rooftop restaurant that has the most forenge-like food. They got to experience the meatloaf-like cheeseburgers, and were interested in the surroundings. I was happy that they got out of the polluted air of the city (Addis) and could experience the beauty of the countryside. After the very long dinner (that involved lots of clarification of orders and requests for the bill), MaryKay jumped on the back of my bike and everyone else piled into their rented van for the trip up to my house. They brought out the wonderful things that they had brought for me and for clinic–chocolate chips, cheese, prenatal vitamins, and clothes! They brought 6 bags full of donations, and carried their personal things in their carry-on bags. Amazing. They managed to stay awake and chat for awhile before succumbing to sleep. My bed, the guest bed, the couch, and some couch cushions in the other bedroom were all full! It’s so fun to have company!

This morning, we rolled out of bed and trekked through the rain to the church just across the road from my compound. Unfortunately for the 2 Ethiopians in our midst (Obsi, their son; and Alazar, their driver), the service was pretty much all in Wolaitta. I understood more than they did! I didn’t understand a whole lot, but it was still kinda fun to have a very basic idea of what was going on, when some Ethiopians were clueless. After church, we had soup and garlic bread before they went on their way back to Addis.

Have I told you lately that I love company? So when are you coming?

ps–and now I think I’ll go make some chocolate chip cookies with one of the 3 HUGE bags of chocolate chips that they so sweetly brought for me!

Thank you Sophie!

Door County

This week we have been in Door County. We are here from Monday to Monday. It is a tradition...for all except Tamirat. For Tamirat, it is all new. He is having fun! Everywhere we go, he says, "Bike?!" He loves biking.

Earlier this week we biked into Fish Creek. Because it is a total tourist town, to the wealthy Chicagoans, there are many, many shops. Our faves are the Door County Confectionary and The Fudge House. Tamirat has no interest in fudge. At the candy store, he picked out Starburst. At another store, that sells imports from around the world, he got a slingshot. We were all amazed at his slingshot capabilities! He can hit a target, no problem. He hit a lamp post with a stone.

A few pics of our adventures:

There are miles and miles of biking here and it is all so beautiful!!

A favorite is our nightly run to "Not Licked Yet". Tamirat does not like their vanilla custard so he gets his nightly french fries.

We climbed to the top of Eagle Tower. Tamirat was a little apprehensive at first, being to high up.

We had lunch at Wilson's in Ephraim.

We've been to Julie's Park Cafe twice for breakfast already.

Then there was the "MOO" place that serves shaved ice. Tamirat said it was Okay, nothing great.

Our Challenges

I am going to try and explain where we are at and what is happening.

One of the preliminary tests done before embassy is a report done by the embassy doctor. When she saw Obsi and examined him, she determined he was 16 and ordered a bone scan. This is new for the embassy doctor to be doing this. After reading the bone scan, the embassy doctor said he was 18. The US only allows children under 16 to be adopted.

I spent time on the phone with our agency director, Sue, yesterday. Sue explained to me how Obsi cannot be 18. Five years ago, Mr. Strawn from MI, was starting up an orphanage in K, which is in western Ethiopia, and went about looking for boys that were 7-8 years old that needed a place to live. He took all these boys to the K orphanage. Now, five years later, Sue is trying to find them a family to call their own. 7/8 plus 5 equals 12/13. If he is 18, he was brought into the orphanage at the age of 13. I doubt Mr. Strawn confused a 13 yr old for a 7/8 yr old!

Obsi is tall and lanky with no muscle definition. If he were 18, he would have muscle definition.

So, yesterday, our paperwork was all submitted to embassy. Paperwork can only be submitted two weeks before a potential embassy date. Our agency's adoptive parents are seen on Thursdays, at 3:30 every other week. This month those dates are July 1st, 15th, and 30th. Our date is July 15th.

In that pack of paperwork are various documents that include things like the birth certificate which shows him to be 13, the court document of the adoption, our I600 (petition to classify orphan as immediate relative) and DS 230 (application for visa). Before the embassy gets these papers, they don't know anything about us. They sift through all the paperwork and either give us an appointment or deny us an appointment, OR, we may be able to rectify what is missing or inaccurate. For instance, if our homestudy shows we are approved for a child between the ages of 10 and 14, and Obsi's birth certificate shows he is 15, then we need to get an addendum for our homestudy.

Our paperwork is in their hands. We are praying for the Lord's favor on us! Because of the holiday, the embassy has a half day today, Friday, and is closed on Monday. They may have looked at our paperwork yesterday or maybe Friday morning. If not, it won't get looked at until Tuesday.

I will be watching my emails very closely! My hope is that I do not hear from Sue. Sue thinks we will slide through with no problems. There is another boy and another family in this same situation. This is all beyond human intervention at this point. We serve a huge God!

We have also been working with our Congressman's office. I am still not clear on their role in this but Sue says they have an ability to help us if we get into a pickle. Linda, at Congressman Petri's office is doing much work to investigate adoptions and the US embassy's job. They were very reluctant to call our agency so Sue called them. Sue has done this before in other countries when there were problems. Linda, knows nothing about what they can do, thus all her work trying to figure it out.

God's role:

11 months ago, when I booked our campsite, for our annual trek to Door County's Peninsula State Park, there happened to be a site open in Weborg. We always looked at Weborg and had a huge desire to camp there but it was never available. I tried for a few days to get an electric site, but to no avail. Finally, one day, all that was open was a site in Weborg. I booked it.

With all this adoption stuff going on, and it being 2/3 weeks away from our trip to Ethiopia, I had to bring my computer to stay connected. I need cell phone coverage. All the years we have camped at this park, we have always had a site in another area of the park, Tennison Bay. There is no cell phone coverage and definitely no free/public wi-fi. So, on Tuesday night, when we got here, I opened up my computer, and to my surprise, there was wi-fi available from the local marina in town. And, there was cell phone coverage! That is not just coincidence!!! Weborg is a camping are that is closest to the park entrance and closest to town. The Lord knew just where we needed to be.

My cell phone is only ringing when the Congressman's office calls. It just amazes me!!!

Our trust is in the Lord at this point. We all understand this. Our whole family is lifting it up to the Lord. My boys continue to ask if we will get Obsi. Even though we have never met him in person, he is part of our family. We love him as our son.