Our Weapon Is Love: More about our trip and time spent with the kids at the transition home...

We've been home for a month now and I feel bad that I am just now sitting down again to blog more about our trip! Thought I would start by sharing a bit about the transition home and the time we spent there. Most days on our court trip we were able to visit the TH in the morning and the afternoon. There is a covered porch area with couches that were the perfect place for we families to sit and spend time with our children. We got to know so many other wonderful families on our trip. Many of whom we had already started getting to know over Facebook. Such a blessing to meet them in person and spend time together in Ethiopia. Many of the other families we met have just recently returned to get their kids to bring them home and have been so kind to send us pics and messages to keep us updated on Nara as we wait to clear Embassy. I have to say that I was so impressed with the TH. The nannies there are wonderful and so loving towards the kids. There is a teacher there who works with the kids, teaching and helping them learn some english. Ryan and I had the opportunity to sit in on Nara's class one day. Most of them were around 3-5 years old. The kids each took turns introducing themselves and then sang songs for us. Some of them we recognized so we sang along. So cute! We loved it! Once a week there is a man who has a big van that comes and picks up the kids and takes them for a short ride around town. When he pulled into the compound the kids began yelling and screaming with delight. Nara started crying because she thought she was going to be left out so the nannies motioned for Ryan and I to hop in. So the next thing you know here we are piling into a van with 3 nannies and about 15 toddlers and go bouncing along the bumpy streets of Ethiopia lol. Our time at the TH was such a blessing. The kids there are so delightful and beyond precious. My sister Anna got to know many of the older girls while we were there. Most of the older kids spoke really good english. By the middle of the week when we would pull into the compound the girls would yell out Anna's name. We joked saying that she was like a rockstar for the week. She is so good with kids and they were just drawn to her I think. Many of them sobbed the day that we left because they didn't want to say goodbye. The girls taught Anna, Mom, myself and even Ryan some of their fun little dances and hand shakes. My favorite was Do Do Dessy. They also fought over braiding our hair. It was so funny the first time they tried to do cornrows and after they'd get to the end of the braid they would attempt to rough up the ends hoping it would stay. Of course after trying several times they realized our hair doesn't quite work that way and they all began to giggle. The children there who had already been matched with families were so proud to tell us about them and ask if we knew them. They would show us pictures and letters that their new families had sent in care packages. One little girl is being adopted from a family in Florida and is so excited to get to see the beach this Summer for the first time. Another girl showed us on the map where she will be living soon. The girls continued to go on and on sharing about their new families. Anna noticed that one little girl in particular just stood there listening not saying anything and seemed like something was bothering her. Anna pointed her out later that day and Ryan and I recognized her as one of the girls on the waiting child's list. This broke Anna's heart once she realized that this sweet girl didn't yet have a family. Reality began to set in at this point once we started thinking about the kids there who haven't been placed with a family. The ones who aren't getting care packages sent to them and are still waiting. Once we spent time laughing and playing with the kids it became more real. These children have names, stories, hopes and dreams. They long to be loved and belong in a family. Maybe this is why it has been hard for me to write about our trip. So many mixed emotions that I am still trying to sort through from all that we saw and experienced. The overall trip was wonderful don't get me wrong but there were bits and pieces of it that really opened my eyes to the reality for some of these children. What kind of stories or circumstances have led them to be without a family. Praying that God will continue to open my eyes and break my heart for the things that break His. Praying that He will show us ways that we can help to prevent these children from becoming orphans in the first place. And for the ones that already are may He open our hearts to make room for them because every heart deserves a home.