“She’s Yours!” and lots of pictures! First trip update 12/9/2010

What a great day…
those magical words… “She is yours!”  Today was our day to go before an Ethiopian judge to tell her that we wanted to adopt Hermela.   When the judge asked, in her VERY quiet voice, “Have you seen Hermela?” my eyes started to fill with tears.  Then she continued, “You know that this adoption is irreversible.” As we answered”yes.” At this point, the tears could not be held back.  She then concluded with the most awesome words. SHE’S YOURS!”
We were the only family in our group to have our court date today.  Wass took us on a “back roads” tour of some of the sights of Addis on our way to the court building.  It was nice to have time to really talk with Wass and hear his heart for God’s direction in his life.  He wants to be used by God as he continually learns more of God’s character and His will for his life!  He told us how honored he feels to be working with Almaz and how much he learns daily from her.
This is the coffee plant where all Ethiopian coffee is processed. The lower right picture is a man behind the fence standing on bags of coffee beans!

Other sites seen on the trip to court (some taken by other families).  We were having such good conversation with Wass which made it hard to continually snap photos.  I’m so thankful for what other families captured so that this journal could be more complete.

We arrived at this peach colored building (not the “court house” you’d expect) and waited in a crowded room for our name to be called. The time before the judge was very brief but certainly filled with so many emotions!

The ride back to Hannah’s Hope was a special moment for Dick and I as NEW PARENTS to Hermela.  We experienced some of those same emotions you have after the birth of a child…incredible joy, relief that there’s some finality to the “process”, extreme pride and honor to be parents again, thankfulness…
The drive back through Addis also afforded us more opportunity to take in the city and it’s people.

Men and boys shining shoes everywhere! (As Sienfeld would say- “It’s only a scratch.”)   OK a little comic relief on such an emotional day! :)
Upon our return to HH, we were greeted by Hermela. It was a special moment to know that God had given us this beautiful, sweet child as ours! We played a bit, went back to our hotel for some lunch with the other families and then back to HH. Hermela was at her school down the street so Wass took us there to meet her teacher and to capture some pictures for Hermela to have some day.
This is the road in front of Hannah’s Hope on the way to the school.

Hermela’s teacher.

Waiting back outside for the students to be dismissed.  Wass is talking to the school director. She shared with us that the children from HH come to the school but are not required to wear uniforms.  The time they have at the school helps them to learn some of the English language.

This is the playground.  The little shed is the restroom.

Even the donkey walks the children home from school!

Once we got back to HH we spent time with Hermela going over her photo album.  It was so fun to hear her saying family names!
Here’s a video of daddy and Hermela practicing the family names and a few more pictures of our very full day in ET! (Also realized that those of you who get the blog updates in your inbox need to go to the actual blog site if you want to view the video.)

Dick and I really enjoyed playing with ALL the kids!  We brought crafts and toys for each day we spent at HH.  The children always appreciated what we had.

When we were done with the play doh, Hermela came around the corner to find this little Down Syndrome girl  chewing on our backpacks strap.  Hermela went right over to her and gave her a big kiss and hug!  This was so special to see.

So thankful for this great day!  So many wonderful memories today and the day that Hermela officially became a Bennett!