July 24

Solomon picked me up at 10:00 am and drove me to the orphanage where Denver spent the first month of his life. I was a little bit nervous as I didn’t know what to expect and I was totally on my own. Solomon talked to the director of the orphanage who agreed to arrange a ride home for me back to the Weygoss at the end of my visit. Unfortunately the director was unable to stay with me because he had to be at court all day. I was hoping he could translate for me if and when I met Denver's birthmother because he spoke English really well. He introduced me to the head caregiver, the lady in charge, who was so kind to me. She was ecstatic to see Baheran (Denver) and took him right out of my arms to hug and kiss him. She told me that he was a gift from God and I agreed with her. She was so happy to find out that I too believed in God and that Baheran would be living in a Christian home. She was very open and shared some more information with me about when Denver first came into their care. She gave me a tour of the entire orphanage which was beautiful. I could tell she was really proud of the place. Every time we came across another caregiver, I would hear an excited, “Baheran!!!” and she would proceed to take him from me. They were all so happy to see him and I could tell that he was very loved in the short time he spent there. I got to see every single room in the orphanage – the newborn room, the baby rooms, the toddler rooms, the older kids rooms, the office, the nurse’s room, the kitchen, etc. They were very open to letting me take photos of everything. The caregivers loved to have their picture taken with Denver and kept saying, “take another one”. And then they wanted to see the back of my digital camera to see the picture. The older kids also loved to see themselves on my camera. They were all working hard on their schoolwork so I ended up being a distraction. Oops.

At some point on my tour I met an American couple that was adopting twins from the orphanage. It was really neat to talk with them about the process and just about adoption in general. They also have another child at home that they adopted from Ethiopia a few years ago.

I spent the most time in the toddler room. The kids in there were hilarious and they loved all the attention I was giving them. I had some pockets with zippers on my pants and they loved zipping them up and down. One little girl kept walking right through my legs as though it were a tunnel. It went on forever and she thought it was the greatest thing ever. Another little girl got into my bag when I wasn’t looking and I caught her just in time – she was just about to put Denver’s bottle into her mouth!

(I wish I could insert so many pictures at this point. The kids and the caregivers were all so beautiful and I have so many amazing photos but I want to protect their privacy and therefore won't post them).

Here's one of me at the orphanage with Denver. One of the caregivers was so eager to try out my camera!

I still didn’t know at this point if I was going to be able to meet Denver's birthmother but I kept watching out the window to see if I could see her arrive. At one point I saw the man at the gate let a woman in and wondered if it was her.

After playing with the kids for a while longer, Denver had fallen asleep in my arms. At this point, the head caregiver came and told me that the birthmother was ready to see me. I went into the main lobby and there she was. We were both very emotional. The head caregiver acted as our translator. I asked her if she wanted to hold Baheran and she nodded. The first thing she did was put a bracelet on his arm. What an awesome keepsake for him. She was wearing a matching one. I was able to ask her some questions and she asked me some. She let me take a lot of pictures of her alone, of her with Denver and of the three of us. I’m so glad I had this opportunity and I’m happy for Denver that he will have this extra information about the beginning of his life. His birthmother held him for a long time and when he finally woke up he just stared at her and studied her face. She fed him his bottle and eventually got him to smile when she was talking to him. We spent a lot of time together and I will always cherish it.

At that point I got a phone call and it was the director. He was just calling to see how things were going and if he could call me a cab yet. I said yes and before I knew it, the car was there to pick me up. I walked out to the courtyard with Denver’s birthmother and we hugged as we said goodbye. She left and Denver and I got into the cab. Just as I was settling in, a few of the caregivers came out and told me I couldn’t leave without having a coffee ceremony. They told the cabdriver to leave and I went back in for some coffee. It was so nice of them to do this for me and I’m glad I had the time to stay. More pictures were taken and I chatted with the head caregiver’s son, aged 11, and another girl that spoke really good English. They asked me all about my stay in Addis and we also talked about Canada. They were really interested in all the pictures on my camera and the boy even took a picture of himself.

Finally it was time for me to go. I said my goodbyes and thank you, although thank you didn’t seem quite like enough. I got the director's contact information so that we can send updates and they will pass them on to Denver’s birthmother. My driver was ready and I headed back to the Weygoss.

When I got back, we went out with another couple and their kids to go get ice cream. Apparently the New York Café on Bole Road has the best ice cream so we wanted to check it out. When we got there, they were all sold out. We went into a few shops around there and I bought a shirt for myself. We decided to go the Cloud Nine Restaurant and have ice cream there. It was beautiful weather so we sat outside on the rooftop. Took some great shots of the city of Addis.

(This is where I'll end this post. The next will be about my journey home).