Ok, so many of you are probably wondering how we suddenly went from a 2 week trip to 6 to 8 weeks. I'm sort of wondering that myself! haha.
I have been feeling for a while that I wished we could just stay with Bereket after passing court. I knew it would be so hard to get on a plane without him. BUT, we really felt like, financially, it was just unreasonable for us all to stay, and I didn't want to stay by myself, either with all three kids (yikes!) or just with Bereket, as I thought that would be tough on the other kids. So, we planned the two trips. And that's just how it was going to be.
Until! When we found out yesterday morning that we were booked for court on the 14th, I knew we had to book flights right away. The travel agency wasn't open until 9 am, which felt like forever. This agency had been recommended to me by two other adoptive families. Anyway, I finally got a hold of "Bobby" and he opened with, "Well, getting you there is no problem. It will be getting you home." I said we were "flexible" with our dates, meaning 2-3 days. He replied, "great, let's do September 5th".
Um. No. haha. I explained that we had to return to Ethiopia to bring Bereket home, likely at the end of September. So coming back to Edmonton on the 5th and then turning around a going back 2-3 weeks later just made no sense at all! I persistently asked about other flights, less direct routes, what if it was only 2 of us, etc. But there was just nothing.
So, I called another travel agency. This one also deals with adoptive families and humanitarian projects and claim to have special access to last minute fares. Again, she could get us there, but no flights home until after the September long weekend!
At this point, I was sort of freaking out. I text Dave and told him we might have to do the long stay. He replied, "I can't afford the long stay". I was so confused... Time? Money? Did he have any suggestions? lol. It turns out I had typed "We might have to do the king stay," and he had replied, "I can't afford the king stay" (meaning fancy). We talked on the phone and decided we really didn't have a choice and that the savings on two fewer flights helped to offset the lost income. Especially since if we came home September 5th, he'd only have a few weeks to work before leaving again.
So, I called Bobby back and booked the flights. We actually got pretty good fares, I think. We have one free change, so I booked the flights for the end of October, and once Bereket's visa comes in, we will call and change them to the next available flight. Coming home in September won't be a big deal at all; apparently the issue now is all the people from North America visiting family in Europe and Africa for the summer who all want to be home when school starts!
Planning and preparing for a 6 week trip is a little different than a 2 week trip! I am hopeful that we aren't forgetting anything crucial and we can shop there if needed. The biggest difference is that we now need to bring Bereket's stuff this trip, too! I had planned to measure him, trace his feet, etc this trip and then be prepared with shoes that fit, etc. So, now we have to wing it! :)
We will be leaving here Thursday at 10 pm, and arriving in Addis Saturday at 7 am. We fly through London. I found out today we will be meeting Bereket on Sunday morning. So that will be a nice start to our time in Ethiopia! We are going to stay at Afroland Lodge for the first week and then the plan is to go on our little trip of Northern Ethiopia. We will take custody of Bereket once we get back.
God has been so gracious to us through this whole journey! He has amazed us with his timing and his provision over and over again... And we're trusting him to do it again!
So, that is the story of how two trips became one LONG trip! :) Thanks for reading along.
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