The Week in Ethiopia: A Preview

Washington DC and the surrounding area have been closed down for the past four days, as many of you know. So we never actually received word from our agency that they received word from the Embassy in Ethiopia saying they have enough time to process our paperwork because America World's office has been closed all week and the staff is working from home!

We will be flying out of O'Hare and into Dulles Airport in Washington DC. We then have a four and a half hour layover (can you say time to write lots of thank you cards!) before boarding our plane on Ethiopian Air and embarking on a 15 hour flight across the Atlantic, with a 45 minute stop to refuel in Rome, before landing in Addis Ababa, 22 hours after leaving Chicago!! And the return flight is the same thing in reverse with a five hour layover in DC.

Here's a rough outline of what our week will look like:

DAY 1 - Welcome to Ethiopia!

Arrive in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital and where America World's Transition House - and our boys - are. America World will send a representative to meet us at the airport.

DAY 2 - Paperwork Party and Meet Our Children Day!

All traveling families meet with America World staff in the morning at the Hilton Hotel to fill out and sign more paperwork and have lunch. Then we are off to the Transition House, where families will be called, by last name (and no, we are not last!). And the moment we have prayed about and dreamed about for five years and three months - meeting the children God has always had planned for our family - will become a reality! Families take pictures and video for each other so all of "Metcha Day" memories and moments will be captured on film. We are able to spend about three hours with the boys, playing and getting used to each other. We plan to bring two footballs, bubbles, sidewalk chalk, picture books, and maybe crayons and coloring books to play with with the boys before telling them we will be back tomorrow for them. We will also be able to talk with the boys' nannies and doctor on this day. Then it's off to the Spa with the ladies and back to the guest house for the gents. Mike actually hopes to begin painting a mural of a beach scene on one of the Transition House's walls, at America World's request - we are honored. That evening we will gather at an Ethiopian Restaurant for an authentic dinner and dance presentation.

Day 3 - Shopping and "Gotcha Day!"

We will be able to spend time shopping for presents for the boys (we are planning to buy a little gift for each of their birthdays until they turn 18 as well as wedding gifts), authentic Ethiopia dress for the boys, various child and adult sizes, as well as us, and some presents to bring back to friends and family. Lunch will be at the Guest House and then it is back to the Transition House. We will be able to take pictures of where the boys have lived since August 31st and leave our donations for the Transition House: 10 packages of wet wipes (AW requirement), paper towels (suggestion by AW), small space heater (urgent need), 2 buckets of plastic animals (suggestion from Transition House Child Developmental Psychologist), clothes for older boys, bubbles, sidewalk chalk, and children's medicine (thank you Karen and parents at CDW@Play!). We will also have the honor and privilege to deliver care packages to the children of families who are waiting to pass court or for paperwork issues to be resolved before traveling themselves to bring their children home. And then, we will be entrusted with two "good and perfect gifts" forever! The boys will leave the Transition House with us in the afternoon and stay with us at the Guest House.

Day 4 - Embassy Appointment

America World will bring all traveling families, with their children, to the Embassy for our Consulate appointments. This really long morning consists of sitting in a tiny room with no windows and waiting for our name to be called. An America World representative will go to the window with us when our name is called and assist us. This is the time we apply for the boys' visas which they need to enter the United States. If there is going to be any kind of glitch, which of course there is not!, this would be when it happens. We go for lunch after the Embassy and then more shopping before heading back to the Guest House.

Day 5 - Orphanage Visit

The morning will be free for us as we only want to visit the orphanage the boys came from, Kingdom Vision Orphanage, and that isn't planned until the afternoon. So Mike plans to finish painting the mural in the morning while Amy spends some play time at the Guest House with the boys!

Day 6 - Visas Picked Up/Last Day

We will be met by an America World staff member in the morning to pick up our children's visas. Then all traveling families will tour a coffee factory, as Ethiopia is fabled to be the birth place of coffee and it remains their largest export. We are hoping to plan an activity such as the Lion Zoo before heading to the Guest House for a scheduled group picture and a time of prayer. Then maybe time for one more activity, hopefully swimming at the Hilton, and it will be on to the airport where after approximately 24 hours of travel, we will be walking through our front door as a family of 4!

WOW!!