The Caldwell Connection - Adventures In Adoption and Parenting

Our Time in Addis- Sunday   We arrived in Addis early Sunday morning after our flight from Washington was about three hours later than expected. The reason? It was the first ever flight from Washington of an Ethiopian Airlines 777, and it was a very big deal! They had a ceremony in the airport in DC, gave out free food, cake, etc. You get the idea. Once we boarded, we found that our seats were occupied by someone else- apparently a computer glitch :) Thankfully they found our seats, but we waited another hour before we actually took off. The only thing that mattered to me was that we landed safely in Addis. We then waited about two hours for our visa. By the time we had claimed our luggage, found a taxi and made it to our hotel, it was about 2am, and we had been awake about 36 hours. So, we had no trouble sleeping :)   We woke around 8am or so, had breakfast and went to the International Evangelical Church. Zack and I had visited this church during our first trip to Ethiopia. It was a great service and very encouraging to me, especially, as after lunch I would be going to see Nigus. I did not know how he would react to me after I was gone for such a long time, and I admit, I was worried.To add to this, during the flight I began to lose my voice, and also developed quite a sore throat. I was not feeling well.  But during the praise and worship time, I just lifted up my concerns to the Lord, and by the end of the service, God had refreshed me and renewed my strength.   After lunch we went to Layla House. Nigus was in his class, and as soon as I saw him, he smiled at me, which relieved all my fears! He had not smiled more than a couple times our entire first visit. He seemed very eager to see me and as we went outside the class, he seemed like a different child then the one we left months earlier. He was interacting very well with the other children, speaking and laughing. I am so thankful! God is so faithful!   We spent a few more hours with Noah on Sunday, then we visited AHOPE, an orphanage for children with HIV. There is a very special boy there that I was given the privilege of delivering a care package to. Hopefully he will be at home with his family soon. While we were there, the children, dressed in their traditional Ethiopian outfits sang, "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands". It was beautiful!   After that we ate dinner (pizza, yum!) then retired early to catch up on some sleep. Our first day went really well, and I am very thankful! I will find some time to write about today's events soon!     Referral Received for our second son from Ethiopia! Waiting to bring him home..... Home with our son, Caleb Samuel, from Ethiopia www.faceoflove.blogspot.com Adoption is a GOoD thing :)