Our adoption journey to Ethiopia really started after I took a missions trip to Ethiopia in August 2007.  I spent ten days visiting orphanages and seeing first hand so many children who have been orphaned by AIDs.  The numbers were staggering but the children and their faces would haunt me for the next 10 months.  I spent many sleepless nights sifting and processing what I had seen.  Our family talked for hours about our responsibility to help others and what kind of response God was asking from us.  My husband and I both agreed that after seeing the desperate needs first hand we could not look the other way.  And so began our journey to bring our son home.

 

It was a ten month journey from start to finish which is a very short time for an International adoption.  We initially started out with the hopes of adopting two teenagers that had been brought to our attention and were on a waiting children’s list.  The door closed to adopt these children and we were very disappointed.  But we know God had already picked the child he had for our family.  Days after hearing we could not move forward with the adoption of the two children, we received a call from our agency asking us to consider a little boy named Tamerat.  Of course we were struck by how very cute he was but what really caught our attention was what was written on the little blue sweatshirt he was wearing.  The word was “Virginia!”  We could not believe that a little boy in Ethiopia who we were being asked to consider for adoption would be wearing a sweatshirt with the very state we live in!  Wow!  What a sign.

 

Adoption is a step of faith and we really knew very little about Tam.  After many prayers, paperwork, waiting and more waiting we had a successful court date on 7/24/2008 and left for Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia on 8/23/2008.  We traveled 16 hours with our eight year old daughter Madeline.  We felt strongly that we wanted her to have an understanding of life outside her neighborhood gates.  We also wanted her to develop a tenderness of heart for where her new brother would be coming from and what life for him might have been like.

 

It was an amazing experience on so many levels!  Meeting our new son and having the pleasure of watching him experience so many firsts was a joy!  Swimming, ice cream, riding a horse and riding in an elevator are just a few.  We also had the privilege of visiting many of the same orphanages I had visited a year prior.  Seeing the faces of these children again was very gratifying.  Thanks to many of our neighbors, we were stocked with donations for each of the places we visited.  They spent time collecting donations and doing a lemonade stands to raise money.  We visited Hanna’s House where Hanna cares for over 160 orphans on a daily basis.  She survives purely by donations so all of the supplies meant so much to her and the children.  We were able to spend the day with the children playing soccer, face painting, giving pedicures to the older girls and visiting the little shacks they live in and are so proud of.  Thanks to so many friends and neighbors that donated andmade a difference in the lives of these precious children.

 

We arrived back in the USA on 9/3/2008 and were greeted by so many friends and family!  After a grueling flight it was a highlight to see so many friendly faces.  Tam is now enrolled in the first grade and is adjusting so well to life with his new family.  Our journey has not been without challenge but we consider it pure joy to parent this young man and are thankful for the gift God has given us in Tam.

 

The adoption arena can be overwhelming but there are so many good resources out there.  We have met over 12 families in just the Loudoun County area that have either adopted or are in process of brining children home.  We have formed a support group where we learn and encourage each other.   Our children are building friendships with other Ethiopian children and families.

 

My husband and I are just ordinary people who felt called to make a difference.  My hope is that our story will spur others to consider the wonderful gift of adoption as a possibility.