We all safely made it back home, and are very thankful.  It was not without event getting everyone home, as we had a few snags.

So much has happened in the last week since my last post, and the family is still besieged by the Flu.  Turns out it is still Flu season in Africa and the kids caught it, after returning home.

Half the family is on antibotics including the family dog, who was lethargic and not eating when we returned home.

All that said we are still filled with Joy at having our complete family home in the Good old USA.

It would be hard to describe all the events as they unfolded, but i'll try to give a brief glimpse of some highlights.  I'll also reference a blog from our case worker which gives some information (this is about us)

http://www.homebyanotherway-ethiopia.blogspot.com/

We had some event packed days.  We ate local fare and watched local dancers from the various tribes.  Visited the zoo, and various other highlights.

We touring a village of the tribe of our daughter's birth mother.  Our car broke down with a flat tire, and we walked through the muddy streets to where the school facility is being built for the local children by Buckner Bright Hope.  We are surrounded by children and some adults, as the funny foreigners who don't like walking in the mud.  It actaully was great fun...

Children laughed, and people tried to help.  Some wanted their picture taken, so they could see it on the display on our camera's.  We saw a very brief glimpse of how the locals live, looking in there huts.

We even attended Church on Sunday.  We left after 3 hours, just before the sermon was to start.  Services in the states are barely a blip on the watch compared to Ethiopia services.

However sunday night our sweet baby, started to pull on her ears, and then threw up several times.  We thought she might have an ear infection, and were also concerned for her up coming air plane trip.  I found our case worker in the hotel business center, and was asking if any way we could get here to a doctor before departure. 

Then God stepped in and provided.  Another women overheard me, and said her husband was a doctor and he'd be glad to help.  Told us there room number, and told us to visit him.  They were from N. Carolina and also there to adopt.

We were relieved to get medical care, and get her started on antiobotics.  She perked up quickly and then turned out to be a real good traveler on the return trip.

However, the same family from N. Carolina told us their friends had traveled back via London as we planned to and they had to get a transit visa to do so from the UK.

So we started the next morn, the day before our flight to try to get one.  This turned out to be many phone calls, that confirmed (so it seemed) we needed one, and would have to visit the local UK office with entire family to get one.  We arrived there and begged and pleaded to get our visa for the flight the next day.  They gave us a 24 page form, asked for photo of baby, and money, then told us after taking everything after a long wait in queue, we'd have to wait 3 days to get it.  All this and we aren't even leaving the airport in the UK, and will only have 3 hour layover....

I continued to talk to UK staff, and beg and plead to get us home the next day.  Then finally assuming there was no more could be done, called our travel agent.  Travel agent confirmed my fears (having had trouble getting tickets in the 1st place on the return trip).  No available seats out of Ethiopia for some time (over a week).

Then God provided yet again.  We talked to another staff to get our application in, and prepare to send part of the family home, and one of us stay with baby for the remaining time till we could get a flight out.  Then UK finally after calling embassy and several more people, says you dont' need the visa.  This was then also confirmed by agency staff, that since we are not leaving airport we dont' even need the visa.  I'd already told the staff this numerous times in my pleadings, but apparently the rules aren't clear to everyone.

Then i asked do we need some letter or proof, it's ok and we don't need the visa.  I'm told "no, just tell them the embassy said your are ok to travel, if they question you"!!  Amazaing, then at the airport, no one even asked on the way back.....

We are so blessed and glad to be home, and most are on the mend.

I think the beatles were close, it should have been...

Back in the US,

Back in the US,

Back in the USA...

You don't know how lucky you are...

Bill

We had our embassey appointment.  After a wait, we passed.  We should get our daughters visa, passport, birth certificate tomorrow.

We also had our first full day and night with her in our care.  She has done really well and taken to everyone.  We are so blessed.

Being here also reminds us of all we take for granted in the USA.  Life is certainly harder for most here, and even the poor back home may have more than many here.

We had a party at the orphanage to send Meskie off, sort of a farewell party for her.  We also had full day of shopping and bartering with the local fare.  We'd have paid much much more without the Orphanage Director along helping us get a decent price.

Some of our party has had some mild health issues, but everyone is still in good spirits.

Time is still flying by here where the year is 2000, there are 13 months in a year,  and it rains daily.  Traffic is like playing chicken, as lines and traffic lights frequently are absent, and you beep your horn and try to get around the others when you can.

People are friendly, but you can see poverty everywhere you turn.  There are worse things than being poor, but it does certainly make life hard here.   Our agency is certainly making an impact here though physically and spiritually.

We've had loads of fun at the orphanage and taking Meskerem (Muskie,  as they call her) out on the town to visit the ministries.

All the kids loved the things we brought, and it seems so little after unpacking.

The kids are all special, and you can really tell the care givers treat them well.  Kids are the same the world over...

It will be hard to leave them.  We do know the parents for two of them, so that is comforting, and to know that the agency will do all it can to find them good homes.

This is Ethiopia's rainy season (winter to them).  So mornings and evening are cold.  We've been wearing a jacket.  Problaby about 45 to 50 degree's or so at times, then maybe 65 or 70 at the hottest times.  So very pleasant compared to 100+ back home.

It's amazing the work God is doing through Buckner Bright Hope in Ethiopia.  We toured a youth center where they teach foster care kids computer skills.  They have almost 500 kids in foster care in Addis, a seminary in Addis, scools, and 6 churches in Addis alone.  They have over 500 churches in country and numerous other efforts underway.  God is doing some good work here. They had 35 graduate from seminary this year.

The people are very gracious and friendly.

Our embassy date has slipped till tomorrow, and the days are going quickly.  We ate dinner at Rodeo Addis which was full of cowboys hats, and western wear  (LOL).  We also keep bumping into people from the Dallas area in both Ethiopia and the UK (small world).

More pics in the gallery of our beauty.

Travel was much harder from the UK to Ethiopia. We found out we only got 20kg's per person, and had to pay a large fee to bring all our bags. Our check-in process took quite some time, and the flight was shorter but seemed much longer from the UK to Jordon to Ethiopia.  We also had a delay as an elderly women who did not speak english refused to buckle her seat belt and family members and crew had to finally force her to wear it.   WE then waited to get visa's and bags, but our Case worker did meet us, and we were so excited to finally have arrived.

After getting to the hotel at about 3:00am local time after starting at 10am London time the day before, we crashed till noon the next day.

We were prepared for Meskerem (Sarah) to be shy and hesistant to come to us or be held, from what we were told, but we were in for a great surprise. We were told she wouldn't come to strangers, and was shy as that was the experience of our case worker; however, She let us hold and cuddle her, and play together and have a lot of fun. The kids played games (jump rope, soccer, duck-duck-goose, red-light-green-light..) with the other kids at the orphange and were not ready to leave after an afternoon visit. It was such a great day. What a joy to have made it here finally, and to hold Sarah. We'd sent her a picture book back in April, and it almost seemed as if she did know us. What a blessing.  Our hearst litterally lept for joy.

Internet is really slow here, so pictures have all been shrunk and posting or blogging does take some time. Everyone is is better spirits now, but still tired and adjusting to timezones.

We have our embassy appointment on Tuesday, and are slowly transistioning Meskerem to being with us. We'll bring her to the hotel after our appoint Tuesday, if we can wait one more day till then :)

What a grand adventour we had in traveling to the U.K. and seeing the sites in our one day of touring while there. We were able to see a friend who lives in Exeter and is a missionary there, at Heathrow.  He was kind enough to change his plans to be able to have a brief visit with him, before he was off to a youth camp he's putting on.

We took in the sights and relaxed for our time before heading to Ethiopia.  Took a bus tour, saw the changing of the guards, boat trip down the Thames.....  It was grand.

The highlight though was catching the Evening Choral Services at Westminster Abbey.  It was beautiful and moving as the New Zealand Choir sang.

We are not traveling light, as we've brought several bags for the orphanage.  I stuffed 15 bags in a small elevator with the two kids to the top, and race down the stairs to unload it for our van that took us to heathrow from the hotel.