Chad and I waited all week to meet the kids we sponsor.
Joshua had chosen our sponsor daughter, Serawit, on the week of our Jemo project launch. Once he saw her - her knew. She was THE one we were to sponsor. I had sent her a couple of short notes, but I had not been the stellar sponsor that I now vow to become. Seeing how much the kids value the sponsor relationship has changed EVERYTHING for me.
Just a few weeks before the trip, we added a little boy to our family. His original sponsor had changed their mind, and we snatched him right up. Ayelu is roughly Joshua's age and his deep, shy, sad eyes stole my heart in a glance. Because our sponsorship started so close to when we traveled, I had never introduced our family to him at all.
These next two photos are a great example of how crazy things were when we were with the kids. Seeing hundreds of new faces was FUN! It was also overwhelming. It was hard to focus on the individual child, when there were just so many children to focus on!
Both of the above photos were taken the day we arrived. In both photos, Ayelu - our sponsor son, is within four kids of me. I had NO idea! After we left that day I commented that I may have caught a glimpse of our little guy, but I was not sure.
In truth, I had been playing near him the whole time!
One thing that was different about the kids at Jemo than the kids at BCC is that the younger kids were not attention seeking. At BCC, the littlest kids are often the first to ask you to play or do "tricks" so you will notice them. This was NOT the case at Jemo. The littlest kids were very shy and tentative. It was the school-age kids that LOVED our attention.
After being at Jemo on Saturday,Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, and STILL not finding our sponsor kids, we were very excited for Wednesday! Because on Wednesday all the kids would have nametags, making them easy to spot!
I was the one to put the nametags on the children as they entered the church on Wednesday, so I knew right away that our kids were there. It was not possible to introduce myself at that time, it was just too busy. So I spent the morning spying on the kids. I was trying no to creep them out as I "stalked" them. I can tell from the photos taken that day that Chad was doing the same thing!
Late in the afternoon the time finally came to introduce ourselves when we were called up to give our kids their gifts.
Ayelu was first.
(Poor little guy! I think we overwhelmed him! Receiving his first gift AND meeting three smiling Americans all at the same time had to feel over the top!)
Chad and Sam (translator extraordinaire) are showing Ayelu our photo, trying to explain that it is us!
Look at those sweet, sad eyes checking me out.
And here he is - trying to follow all the instructions being thrown at him.
Hold the photo on your tummy.
Look at the camera.
Smile! (sakoo in Amharic)
I bet he was SO relieved to be able to rejoin the other kids!
Serawit was much more comfortable with us.
I think/hope she had seen our photo before. However, since I did not pick her out of the crowd based on the photo I had received of her, I would not be surprised if she was unable to recognize us as well.
Irregardless, she was older.
She also had more time to watch the process than Ayelu did.
Both things made our introduction less overwhelming for her than it was for our boy.
(Funny thing - I bought Jamison the same shirt as she is wearing. He is wearing it today!)
Serawit told us that she is 8 years old.
She was quiet but not scared, responsive and interested but not attention seeking.
I think she was genuinely intrigued with meeting us.
I caught her peaking at me with curiosity off and on.
(I love that she is sitting next to my bro, Desaleng.)
Ayelu did the same.
He just seemed so sweet and fragile.
I wanted to scoop him up on my lap and hold him close.
I snapped his photo and smiled instead.
I am sure he is glad that was my choice!
Over the next day and a half (the remaining time we had at Jemo), both of our kids warmed up to us. They looked for us , seeking us with their eyes often. When we smiled and waved in return, they responded with little smiles - the secret kind. The kind that says, I know I am special to you.
Ayelu brought Chad the picture he colored, seeking his approval.
He smiled broadly when Chad told him it was "KONJO!" and patted him warmly on the back.
He smiled broadly when Chad told him it was "KONJO!" and patted him warmly on the back.
Serawit did the same.
She is not an "in your face" kind of girl, much like my Brenna.
She appreciated when we noticed her.
She had her eyes on us often and gave us big, shy smiles when we caught her eye.
She seemed to like it when I chose to sit by her.
(Though she looks terrified here. She did not seem that way, I promise!)
Meeting our kids was not the instant connection that we had had with Desaleng. And that is OK! Meeting our kids felt more like the beginning of a relationship - tentative, testing, polite, curious.
Meeting our kids made them real.
Really, really real.
I wonder what Serawit loves. Her names means army. I wonder what battles she has already won in her life. I wonder what battles she has lost. I wonder what makes her giggle.
I wonder if she loves school. I wonder which compound she lives in.
I wonder how many people share her bed.
I wonder if/how often she goes to bed hungry.
I sent her a photo of us all together this week.
I hope it makes her smile.
It made me smile!
And sweet Ayelu -
Oh, how I wished I had a new outfit for him.
His clothes were in terrible condition, which made me wonder if the reason his eyes are so sad is that his life is very hard? Does he have enough food? Does he get enough rest? Does he ever giggle?
I sent him a photo of us all together too.
I told him that every time I see it, I pray for him.
And I do.
So sponsors, as you may have guessed, the interactions we had with our sponsored sons and daughters was just as varied as the children are. I highly encourage you to travel with a team someday and meet your children. I highly encourage you to have few expectations for that meeting! Some relationships will be instantly deep and personal. Other relationships will be more tentative. No matter what, seeing your children will change how you think about them, pray for them, and interact with them once you return home.
Sometimes it is hard to remember that the photo you have tucked into some spot in your home is not just a photo, but a living, breathing child. It is hard to believe that those kids are truly benefiting from that $34 that is automatically withdrawn from your account each month. Rest assured, the children are real. They are beautiful. They are benefiting from your sponsorship immensely. They, along with their parent,s are grateful and hopeful because of this program. God is using you. He is being glorified in this.
(Many of you have been asking when the next trip will be. We may have those dates as soon as next week!)
Tomorrow I will share about our final day at Jemo.
And then I am going back. . . I wish!
I had hoped to leave Ethiopia feeling closure. I had hoped that being there would end my longing to be there, at least for a time. Traveling there is costly. It is exhausting. It is inconvenient - leaving 5 kids and 2 jobs to go is nearly impossible. So, I had hoped that when I returned I would feel called to stay home for many years, supporting this project and others stateside.
My wish was not granted.
I loved being in Ethiopia more this time than last, for so many reasons. In all honesty, I was scheming about how and when I would return even before the jet lag was gone.
So the cycle continues!
My heart remains in two places - here and there.
And I continue to seek God's plan for if and when He will send me back to Ethiopia again.
