Yewobdar: Part 1

Yewobdar.

 

I guess it's time for some more transparency. It's funny how God takes some things and turns them whichever way He pleases, even when we have specific requests. Now, I believe that God's will remains the same – for good and not for evil – however, sometimes he uses a back door that we could have never imagined.

 

During my last 3 months here in Ethiopia and away from home, 81 days to be exact, we got so many emails from people we didn't even really know. There was a season that I was taken to visit so many new projects here (while trying to also keep up with all current partnerships and projects). It's hard to put into words the weight of responsibility that is thrown onto us (those in holistic orphan care) as Americans. We are a rich people, with that comes responsibility. But one of the things that God was teaching me is that every burden, every cause is not for One Child Campaign to pick up. We are about strategic partnerships, within our current means. Not just financially, but with our time and emotions. We want to be passionate in all we do. 

 

I say all the above to set this story up for you. In addition to the ministry emails, phone calls and site inspections, we were getting about 10-15 emails per day (sometimes more) about the status of adoption here in Ethiopia and very specific requests. To say that it was overwhelming is an understatement. Our heart's desire was to respond and act on every one, but in the meanwhile, we were dealing with our own family's adoption crisis. We did our best to do as much as we could, but unless someone lives here for an extended period of time, it's hard to understand how much energy it takes to do anything at all – much less the emotionally charged (and for very good reason) situations of adoption and orphan care as a lifestyle.

 

One of the requests that we finally were able to say "yes" to was a simple request…well, as simple as things can be in Africa J Please deliver food to a couple of orphanages and a "read and feed" center. Thankfully, we had a few team members still here and while we had Huxley for the first couple days, they went with our staff here in Ethiopia and made arrangements for hundreds of kilos of food. Now, let me preface this by mentioning that this was one of those things that initially I didn't really "feel" like doing. It's hard to truly explain how tired one becomes when dealing with all that we had to go through and prep and host teams and start dealing with a new little one in the family.

 

The food was purchased and delivered to Miskaye Children's Welfare Association and Selamta Love. You can check out their Facebook pages for more information and pictures. They were very, very grateful and we were happy to have One Child be a small part in that delivery as many people back home gave to get food to these kids. We were happy and I thought that was the end. But, through a series of emails and phone calls, I was re-connected with the Ethiopian director of Miskaye – her name is Tenaye and she really wanted me to come see the project and where our team members had delivered the food. To be honest, I just wanted to pass embassy, get tickets and come home. I'm kinda done right now. But something nagging me inside told me to push through the exhaustion and try to make it happen.

This past Tuesday morning, Sakari decided to go with me to meet Tenaye and see the projects. It was all going fine and we really liked the director and the vision of the projects. Sakari played with some of the kids, but also asked some great questions – we are trying to get her involved as much as possible in what we do so that someday she will be able to do way more than we could have ever dreamed. She even threw in a comment, "Don't give them any money, Daddy!" She has heard many stories of some corrupt orphanage directors and wanted to make sure we weren't going to get ripped off, LOL! But I was able to use the opportunity to explain the difference and let her know that there are reasons for asking questions and having accountability set up. Tenaye took it all in stride and answered all our questions. During that time and walking through the "read and feed" location, she showed me how much food was left before the delivery was made. There was a small bucket that had about an inch of lentils left in it. I had not until this moment realized the severity of their situation – what if I had just said "no"? Now, we became the grateful ones. Tiny decisions of obedience to God's leading, opens doors and continues to soften our hearts.

 

As we drove through crazy traffic to drop Tenaye off on our way home, I recognized the name of the area we were in and started asking some questions. There is a lot of industry in this area and many people come from all over the countryside to find jobs there. If they cannot find factory jobs, then most women start working in small, local bars making practically nothing and very often times are forced to become commercial sex workers – prostitutes. This is an economic problem, not a moral issue. The reason for my interest was because though I had a chance to meet Huxley's birth mother earlier in this trip but after all these years, we still had not met Sakari's birth mother.

 

We brought our old adoption paperwork with us and knew very little about her, but knew she moved around a lot trying to find work. Our agency made a call or two and said they were not having any luck finding her. So, we put this desire on the shelf until I prayed under my breath riding in the taxi. Miskaye works with and trains  women who desire to get out of that lifestyle and it made me wonder that much more what Yewobdar had been through. I tentatively asked Tenaye if she knew much else about the area and then she offered to try and find her for us. What??! The kindness of strangers and hospitality of the Ethiopian people always moves me.

 

Later that evening, I text messaged her all the information that I thought was pertinent. She didn't promise anything but to do her best and offered us a glimpse of hope – well, because it turns out that Tenaye is from the same woreda or village as Sakari's birth mother! We went to sleep with hope that maybe by the time I came back to Ethiopia in a couple months with a team, that she would have been located.

 

Yesterday, we were driving to our dear friends' home to have our last dinner all together before we left with our American support system here in Ethiopia – the Gross and Ward families. On the ring road around the city, suddenly my phone rang…it was Tenaye. Her words caused a reaction that made Fikadu, our trusty taxi driver of 2 months turn and look sharply at me to make sure things were ok. With my mouth hanging open, I turned slowly around to tell Becca that Tenaye had just been standing next to Yewobdar and she wanted to meet the next day!!! WHAAAATT??!!! She had been found in less than 24 hours!

 

We sat there in shock and awe and shed a few tears thinking about what had just transpired. We were finally all going to get to meet Sakari's tummy mommy in the morning…