Here is the list of what we were able to buy...
Oil 15 kg 735 birr
Macaroni 25 kg 450 birr
Wheat Flour 50 kg 600 birr
Rice 25 kg 450 birr
Marmeland 8 440 birr
Vegetable Ghee 3 267 birr
Netel (?) 25 kg 750 birr
Toilet paper 48 rolls 420 birr
Soap 50 bars 450 birr
Lango (?) 4 492 birr
Parafine 12 248 birr
Vasiline 12 70 birr
Hair Oil 12 284 birr
Sepagat (?) 1 cart 350 birr
Tea 1 pack 110 birr
Endomine (?) 250 birr
Thanks so much to everyone who contributed cash and other donations! They were so appreciative!!!
Once we were inside, we weren't allowed to take any other pictures, other than the one of the donations that I put above.
When we got inside, we unloaded the donations first. Everything was cataloged and signed for. They were very appreciative. We heard that KVI has been struggling lately as there have been so few adoptions. I was glad to be able to help out in a small way.
The children were at church, so we just sort of waited for them to come back. There were some older boys playing basketball when we got there, but they disappeared quickly. After about 1/2 an hour, kids started trickling in the gate. It took me a minute to realize the children were coming back, and by the time I thought to look for Bereket, he was already in the courtyard. I picked him out pretty easily, thanks to a small scar he has on his cheek. He is teeny tiny and oh so handsome! He was wearing a soccer tshirt and some tiny jeans. He has no bum at all! haha His hair was shorter again than the last update picture two weeks ago, so they must cut it often.
Once there were a dozen or so children in the court yard, we got out the Canada stickers we had brought. We handed them out to the children, who had fun sticking them on, mostly on their faces. It was fascinating to see how different children reacted to the stickers. Some stuck them on with abandon, others were very thoughtful about where they should go. Some ran off to put them in their rooms.
As we were giving out the stickers, one of the nannies came back from church with a few of the younger children. She was so curious as to who we were, and then so excited to tell Bereket! So much for visiting incognito! So we were all introduced, and he gave us each a hug and a big smile. A fascinating shift occurred with the stickers. They were no longer "ours" to give out, but Bereket's and he took great pride in stickering the rest of his friends. If he decided they had too many, that was it! They were cut off. haha. After everyone had a couple stickers, he ran off with the remainder (I'm guessing he hid them in his bed?). It was funny to watch how the group dynamics shifted once the children all realized we were "his" family, not just some random "ferengi visitors".
Shortly after, it was lunch time, and the children all went into the main building and pulled out tables and chairs and prepared to eat. They had injera and lentils. Bereket was at a little table with three friends, and I wasn't sure if I was supposed to/allowed to go over and be with him while he was eating. Eventually, I wandered over, and he fed me a bite of his lunch. And of course all three of his little friends followed suit! It was very tasty but unfortunately the last bite went down the wrong pipe and I kind of coughed and choked a bit. I'm hope they don't think I didn't like it! :)
After lunch we went back in the courtyard to "play". Unfortunately, we had been told not to bring anything along, and so we didn't really have much to do. I asked Germatchew, and he asked one of the older boys to go get a ball. So they came back with a ball and we started playing. At first, we basically made a circle and passed the ball from person to person, but it gradually shifted to a sort of "keep away". Thomas and Bereket were an awesome team and laughed and played together for over an hour at least. Faith was in there too, but she tires of ball a lot faster than they do. ;)
During this time, we also played with the smaller children, giving high-fives and skipping around. Dave got out his notebook to play tic-tac-toe with Faith when she needed a break from the balls, and he soon had a little circle around him. So, he traced their hands and they seemed to like that.
There were several international volunteers at the orphanage, and one of them was letting the older kids use her phone to video tape the kids playing ball. She got some good footage of Bereket and Thomas, and I asked her if she could email it to me. Hopefully that works out... I would love to have some footage of our first day with him.
After a LONG time of playing ball, it was naptime and all the other children were called away. We got 15 minutes or so alone with Bereket, shooting baskets and just smiling at each other. My cheeks hurt from so much smiling! haha. Then he was told to give us each a hug and go for his nap. So we said goodbye and had one last hug and kiss for the day.
It was hard to leave... Faith especially didn't want to leave without him. Wednesday we have court, and then we will be able to go back for another visit. I think we will try to leave by the end of this week for our little "trip" and then take custody of him when we get back. Seeing the boys play together made me realize we DEFINITELY need somewhere with a courtyard to play in. So we will try to go see some other options this week.
We got back to the guesthouse around 2:30, having entirely missed lunch. We made some easy-mac and now the kids are playing while I write this up. Now we will watch a movie, and then have pizza for supper. I'm going to try to keep the kids awake until 7 with no nap so they will go to bed then. Yesterday, they took a long nap and then were up until midnight! Hopefully we will be over the jetlag soon!
Thanks again for your prayers and supportive emails and comments! It means so much to us!
Heather
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