But...to make the long story short...we are now the parents of this sweet little miracle!!
and because the journey is what makes the story...here is the long of it :]
We left on Saturday August 9th to travel to Ghana West Africa to meet our beautiful Chirstabel!
Neither of us have ever traveled outside the US, so this was going to be an adventure for sure, because not only have be never been outside of the US, but we have never been to a "third world" country. Our flights went well, we managed to make all of our connecting flights [one just in the nick of time] and we landed in Accra, Ghana just after 7 pm on Sunday night. We had been briefed on the airport process, so we filled out all the immigration & customs forms and waited in the line, we got through with no problems.
We picked up our luggage and we walked out to find our driver.
Here is were things went south in a hurry.
It was dark, it was loud, we had just traveled for 19 hours, we were exhausted...and after a search of the line of drivers holding up signs we discovered there was NO ONE there to pick us up! We searched the line again, and then a bit of panic set in. We are in a foreign country & our phones do not work here! What are we going to do?!? At this point a well dressed gentlemen came and asked if we needed help. Cam explained the situation, and he offered to find us a cab. We figured we needed to give it some time for our driver & agency representative to show up, so we said we were OK. [I am certain that I did not look like I believed I was "OK"] He then offered to call our social worker for us. So I dug out the number and we called her up. She said our driver should be there, she would call him and tell him we were inside. By this time taxi drivers were surrounding us, all wanting to bring us to our hotel, I was in tears, and then the well dressed gentlemen [who we assumed worked at the airport...naive Americans] demanded money for the call we just made. You see this well dressed gentlemen was not an airport employee, he was the taxi "pimp" and he saw us coming a mile away! Thank God I was given some small cedis when we exchanged money in the airport or that phone call would have cost us dearly.
We decided to go wait outside, which was a bit more chaotic than inside but within moments we finally saw the sign we were looking for, held by our agency rep...and finally we were on our way to our hotel. The 10 minute drive was filled with sights and sounds that our weary brains could not even process. We turned down a dark, narrow alley [and I admit for a moment thinking this may be the end *again weary brain*] then a left and a right and we were at our guest lodge. It was inside a wall with a large gate and a security guard. We had been told it was a "very nice place", but truthfully it seemed a little sketch! But...at this point we were tired and just wanted to sleep. So we checked in, moved in to our room, locked the door...sat on the bed and then realized this might not be a place we would really want to be staying! A look behind the curtains reveled windows that did not really close...they were actually louvers and not all of the louvers had panes of glass. there were screens on all the windows and bars outside of the screens. there were sounds coming from outside the wall, music & people & animals...and my sleep deprived brain was not able to handle any of it...then the power went out...and I was on the edge...then the power came on. I was exhausted. I needed several hours of sleep...but I found it VERY hard to sleep.
Monday morning. Our first day in Africa. The day we would meet our sweet little girl. Our driver picked us up at 10 am to bring us out to the Bethany office to meet the team that has been working hard on our case. We went over the plan for our week...and after a quick stop for lunch we finally pulled up in front of HOMe!! We were greeted at the gate by Pastor William and then into the house and there she was! Sitting in her wheelchair in the middle of the room. She was so quiet and shy and it took her a little while to warm up to us, but once she did she was the smiley, outgoing, active child we had heard about and seen videos of :] All the other children were napping, so we had her all to ourselves! We colored, blew bubbles, looked at pictures of her sisters, her new house and room [her favorite was her room, she kept going back to that one]. We just enjoyed FINALLY getting our hands on her!! We got a tour of HOMe. Inside and out. Christabel LOVES going outside. [this girl is going to be in shock coming home to winter in Michigan]. It was very hard to leave her, but around dinner time we headed back to our hotel.
Daylight, and our day in Ghana had opened our eyes to the fact that our hotel was indeed a very nice place to stay. The staff is AMAZING, and aside from the need for a fresh coat of paint the place is clean and safe. We were more than ready for bed, and excited about day 2 in Ghana!
Tuesday we were again scheduled to be picked up at 10 am. This is the day we learned a lesson in "Africa time". Because on Monday 10 am meant 9:50 am...but as we sat out on the stoop waiting for our driver and 10 am came and went...as did 10:15 & 10:30...we realized that 10 am meant something different this day :]
At 10:38 am we were on our way to HOMe. When we arrived Christabel squealed with delight as we walked through the door. She hopped right over to Cam [be still my heart]! All the other kids were up and about today. And we were delighted to get to meet Debbie, one of the directors of HOMe. There was a friend visiting who was working with the kids on colors and numbers. They were drawing fish, and coloring them. It was extremely fun to hear Christabel's voice...and to watch her determination! She does not realize that she has a disability. She is going to do EVERYTHING the other kiddos do!
We hung out until lunch time, and then we said goodbye. We did not want Christabel to miss her nap two days in a row...and we had some visitors coming to spend the night with us!!
I think most of you know that our oldest daughter, Tatelynn had traveled to Ghana on July 6th, with her cousin Tiarra, to volunteer at City of Refuge Ministries for 5 weeks. They were scheduled to fly out on Wednesday August 13th. We never imagined that we would get to be in Ghana with them...but God LOVES to bless us with unexpected surprises! So...they were able to come to Accra a day early and spend the night with us! We arrived back at our hotel around 3 pm, grabbed some beverages and headed up to the terrace to wait for them to arrive!
It was a beautiful day, and it was nice to just sit and enjoy the sights and sounds of East Legon. Around 5 pm a vehicle pulled up to the gate and we immediately knew it was them [the white people kind of gave it away!!] I bolted down the stairs and out the door and hugged my oldest daughter for the first time in 5 weeks. It was amazing! In Ghana...with my oldest daughter! Never in my wildest dreams!! We got them settled. There reaction to our accommodations was a stark contrast to our reaction just 2 days earlier. It is amazing what a difference 5 weeks in Ghana brings to a persons perspective :] After a hot shower [their first in 5 weeks] they were ready for a dinner other than rice. We hung out up on the terrace and listened to many amazing stories of their 5 weeks in Ghana! It was surreal. It was heart warming. I could not help but smile!! It was a nice feeling to climb in bed that night and know that Tate & Tiarra were just one room away! Heart = FULL!!
Wednesday morning we woke to T & T giggles coming from the room next door...it was a beautiful sound!! We took breakfast out on the terrace. Our driver was scheduled to pick us up at 11 am. Tate & Tiarra wanted to bring us to the Art Market, and then to KFC for some "American" food for lunch. They were really looking for a burger...but a chicken sandwich and fries would do!
The Art Market was nice. We looked at a LOT of different lovely things, and wished we could purchase one of just about everything. We made mental notes of all the things that we will be purchasing when we go back to pick up our sweet girl. We did make a few purchases, Quinn & Haidyn had made requests and i found a necklace I liked. I was glad to have Tate along as she had become an expert at price negotiation. All the vendors were pleasant, and not as pushy as I had imagined they would be. I even had one suggest I trade my shoes for an item of my choice [because they were not actually my shoes, I had to decline that offer]. Once we had seen it all...and made our necessary purchases, we headed to the mall for lunch. Grilled chicken and fries were just what the Dr ordered. [we had ordered grilled chicken at our hotel restaurant...no offence to our Ghanaian chef...but it was a bit cremated so some good juicy chicken breast really hit the spot!] While at the mall we grabbed some coffee...Ghanaian's must not be big coffee drinkers cuz it is hard to find, so that was a treat!
Due to the fact that we were already squeezing 6 people into a 5 person vehicle [along with our driver we also had a social worker with us each day] so the 4 of us were sharing the back seat of our Land Rover, we dropped T & T off at the hotel before we headed out the HOMe to pick up Christabel. We were excited [and a little nervous] to get to have her overnight with us on Wednesday. We arrived after lunch, but before nap time...so the place was a bit chaotic! Again Christabel was excited to see us :] They got her all dressed up and packed for her overnighter...and we climbed into the Land Rover, buckled her in...and headed back to East Legon. It was really fun to watch her reaction to all the sights she was seeing. Some of them were firsts I am sure. Another heart full moment when we arrived at the hotel and I had 2 of my four daughters together! Amazing! We played for awhile. Showed her the new pj's we got for her, and her new outfit for court. We blew bubbles, made puzzles, colored. She LOVEs to open and close doors. We took dinner out on the terrace. We discovered that Christabel is a healthy eater...and she loves french fries :]
After dinner we gave Christabel a bath. She was SUPER excited to get into her new pjs :]
Then we hauled all of T & T's luggage down and waited for their cab to arrive to bring them to the airport. I thought sending them off to Africa was hard...but sending them back home from Africa was equally as hard!!
We did not know how well bedtime was going to go with Christabel. Being in a different place and a different bed. But...we turned out the lights and told her it was bed time and she climbed up on the bed and laid right down and went to sleep...and slept all night! [I however, did not...I was worried she would fall off the bed, or be scared...it's called I am a mother :]
Our Thursday began bright and early [actually so early that it was not bright at all]. 5 am wake up call. We got all dressed up for our day in court. Our driver arrived at 5:45 am and we were off to the court house.
Although court does not start until 8 am we needed to beat the traffic into downtown...traffic can be a big issue...so we were glad to make it in before it got too crazy. We arrived plenty early at 6:30 am. Christabel was quiet and snugly which was nice. Once the judge arrived we headed into the court room for what we thought would be a quick "hearing". We had been briefed on how this day should go.
- arrive early
- wait for judge to arrive [around 8am]
- adoption cases are seen first and are in chambers
- we will just sit while the lawyer, DSW worker & judge talk
- Christabel will be pronounced as a VanKoevering
- we should be out of there before 9:30am
- out of court by 930am
- "family" picture outside of the court house
- stop for breakfast on the way back to HOMe
- hang out at HOMe for awhile
- meet Brian & Debbie for lunch at 1pm
- back to the hotel to shower & pack for home
- stop for a quick dinner
- get to the airport @ 6pm
- fly out @ 9pm
- arrive early [6:30 am]
- judge arrives [8 am]
- go to court room
- judge starts to see cases in open court
- Christabel gets sick of sitting [9 am]
- Christabel eats one bag of animal crackers & drinks cup of water [10 am]
- Christabel is soaked right through her pull up :[
- 1030 am out to the car to change her
- back in the court room, Christabel starts second bag of animal crackers
- Christabel begins to melt down [11 am]
- Cam takes her out of the court room
- She falls asleep in the arms of our driver [bless his soul]
- awake and back into the court room around 1:30 pm
- open court closes 1:45 pm
- 2 pm we are called into chambers
- 2:30 pm we walk out a family of 6 :]
- we are too tired and frustrated to even remember taking a picture :[
We arrived at the airport at 6 pm...it took an hour to get through the check in process...another hour or so in the terminal waiting area...and we found ourselves back on a plane headed for home [via Frankfurt & Chicago] now the parents of 4 beautiful girls!!
It was a LONG day of travel...with a 7.5 hour layover in Frankfurt...and a 3 hour layover in Chicago.
But 26 hours & one lost suitcase later we arrived back in Grand Rapids...happy to be home...but with part of our hearts still in Africa!!
It has taken a week and a half to wrap my head around the journey there and back again. I can't wait to go back to Ghana now that I have been given "Africa eyes" and I know what to expect. I look forward to enjoying the time I spend in Ghana next time because I won't have my crazy fearful brain mucking up the show for me. I can't wait to have my daughter back in my arms. I hope I get to meet her first family. I hope I get to meet the man who rescued her and brought her to HOMe. I can't wait to bring her to Michigan to meet her family. I can't wait for her to be reunited with my niece Ama [who also came from HOMe]...and I hope that somewhere in her brain she makes the connection and remembers her!
For now...we wait. Once her birth certificate is issued, they will apply for her passport. Once her passport is issued, we can apply for her Visa. Once her Visa is issued...we can head back to Ghana and bring her HOME!!! How long will this process take?? That is the question of the hour. We have been told 2 to 4 months. We are hoping for October...but only God knows the timeline so we will trust in his perfect timing!
In the meantime we are waiting on word from some more grant organizations, and we are planning our final fundraiser. Check back for details :] We are feeling the financial "pinch". We have covered all of our agency & country costs...but we need to raise the funds to cover the trip we just took...as well as the trip that is yet to come. We have been blessed beyond measure when it comes to grants, donations and support of our fundraising efforts, and we know that God will provide!
Please join is as we pray for birth certificate, passport & visa.
for our sweet girl who has a lot of changes coming in the next few months.
for our girls at home as they too have a lot of changes coming in the next few months.
for Cam & I as we prepare to parent this beautiful little child who has seen more hurt and pain in her short 5 years than I have seen in my entire life.
& for our grant applications & the fundraiser we have planned.
>"being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus" ~Philippians 1:6
No comments:
Post a Comment