But now, we’ll skip that and move on because…we got “the call”!!
Our kids were playing with some friends down the street so that I could get a little work done on a sewing project I agreed to do for my neighbor. No sooner had I started in on the project than our phone started ringing. Like every 4 minutes. I don’t even remember all the calls…random things: something I ordered was ready to be picked up at the store, telemarketer, charitable organization. I was totally annoyed because I had to keep coming upstairs to check the phone (I was just sure that it was the neighbor saying that someone had fallen in the mud or had a potty accident and a new set of clothes was required). So, on about the fifth trip up the stairs, I was intrigued to see the name of our adoption agency on the caller ID screen. They don’t usually call. Our communication is done primarily via email. So, I picked up.
When she said that she had our referral, I couldn’t have
been more surprised. I actually argued
with her a little. “But I thought we
were like number 10 in the queue,” I said.
“Aren’t any of those families in front of us waiting for this little
one?” She assured me that this one was
ours and then asked if she should conference Ryan in to the call so she could
share the news with both of us (the miracles of technology, what will they
think of next??). So, after her failed
attempt to reach Ryan by phone, and my more-incessant and adamant attempt to
reach Ryan by phone, and 7 minutes of anxious waiting (on my part) as Ryan
managed to ease his way out of a meeting, we were all on the line and ready for
the news.
“She’s about 5 ½ months-old,” said our coordinator. “She’s been in the orphanage since she was
just a few weeks old. She’s
beautiful. She’s in a region about 4
hours south of Addis.” We were busy
taking in all the details. Simultaneously
giddy and wrecked with finally coming to know our girl. We spent the next several minutes of the call
talking over details, logistics, and next steps. When we were finished, the adoption
coordinator said she would email the information, along with a couple photos.
The email arrived, and she IS beautiful. She looks healthy and bright-eyed. We are not at liberty to post her photos or
share them digitally. But, we’ll have
some hard copies made. And if you are
someone who lives nearby and crosses paths with us, we promise to be in
possession of a photo the next time we run into you.
Back to real-time. I
wanted to call people. I wanted to show
her off. It was raining a little, but I
dashed, barefoot, over to a neighbor’s house to share our news. After I made a few calls, I walked down to
pick up the kids and tell them the big news. They were really excited and took time to
study the photo carefully and ask one-hundred questions.
We celebrated last night with dinner at our local Ethiopian
restaurant. It was the first time our
kids had eaten Ethiopian food. That will
require its own post.
For now know that we’re celebrating God’s faithfulness.
