February 23, 2013

SOCCER CAMP

One of our sons favorite activities while he was here was a soccer camp that a local coach & his wife arranged with their 11 year old boy's soccer team.  It was a beautiful day and all 5 of the Ethiopian boys here, met the American boys to play.  Coach did some drills teaching the Ethiopian boys some skills and then it was time to play!!  The Ethiopian boys are naturals and all of them are used to playing back at the different orphanages where they live.  Our son had a GREAT time and is a very good soccer player.  He was thrilled to wear his new soccer shoes for the game. 

You never would have known that these bunch of boys playing were from 2 different continents.  They all played so well together & somehow managed to get their points across to each other!!  It was fun to watch them interact, and there were lots of smiles to go around. 

February 20, 2013

BONDING WITH WHOLE FAMILY

One of the amazing things about our experience was how our whole family bonded with our "son".  He took to everyone immediately and seemed very comfortable.  He blended right in like he's always belonged with us all.  He particularly like the idea that there are 9 grandchildren in the family.  From my youngest grandson who is 3 to the oldest who is 13.  My oldest grandson was fondly referred to as "big boy" by him.  Corbett is a football player who plays the line & looks the part, hence the title "big boy".  Actually he was graduated to "big ox" one day when we were all having a picnic together & all the boys were ganging up on Corbett trying to get the football away.  He had 3 boys on his back, knocked to the ground, but wouldn't give up that ball.  From that point on he was then known effectionately as "big ox" by T.  (decided we'll use his initial).  He spent quite a bit of time at my daughter Tracy's house, since she lives the closest, hanging out with her 2 boys, Owen 11 & "big ox"!!!!  He really enjoyed being there, and wasn't the least bit shy. 

We also had a few sleep overs here with my 3 oldest grandsons.  My grandson Johnathan enjoyed being with him & T enjoyed him equally as well.  It was such a blessing to see him interact with all my grandchildren.  Many times he would say to me, "good family, very good family"!!

CHRISTMAS THROUGH DIFFERENT EYES!!

One of the highlights of our visit was the Christmas holidays.  We have many traditions that we hold to each year in our family, and one of them is going to the county park here, for their annual "festival of lights".  We meet in the parking lot of the county offices and everyone piles in to the back of my husband's pick up truck for the very short ride down to the entrance.  There were 5 adults and 10 children.  It was one of those cold nights in Charleston, so we were all bundled up with quilts and blankets.  When we arrived for the drive through to see the lights, our "son" was amazed and very excited.  He was joking, laughing and singing along with all 9 of my grandchildren.  We got out of the truck in the area where you can walk around, roast marshmellows & take a train ride through the woods.  All of the kids had fun yelling "Merry Christmas" to everyone, plus one voice with a very strong Ethiopian accent.  On the way out of the park all the kids were yelling out greetings, good-byes and a few other words in Amharic that our "son" had taught them.  It was truly a wonderful experience for all of us to see a 14 year old boy experience something he never dreamed exsisted.
Christmas Eve is always spent at my daughter Tracy's home.  Our tradition is to eat heavy appetizer in the afternoon, then off to church, and then back again for dessert.  All of the decorations, Christmas trees, the church decorated was something this young man had never seen.  Another Christmas eve tradition is for Nonnie to give each grandchild a Christmas ornament.  This included one for our "son".  A snowman inside a snowglobe.  He loved it. 
Christmas morning was a busy time.  We did gifts at our home first and oh my goodness what looks of delight on a boy's face who never received a Christmas present in his life.  He particularly liked the soccer shin pads he got and the soccer shoes.  He loved having his picture taken with each gift.  We always go to my daughter Tracy's house to exchange gifts with them and have Christmas breakfast.  That was another fun time of "firsts" for our "son".  He enjoyed watching my grandson's open there gifts and then having a turn to open his gifts from my daughter & her family.  He was most thrilled with the watch he received.  After that a ride to my other daughter's house, more gift exchanges.  Dinner was at my son's and we arrived earlier than the rest to exchange more gifts!!We all spent the early evening  having dinner and enjoying all the family being together. 
 

February 17, 2013

MORE STORIES

One of the most memorable conversations I had with our "son" was when he was only here two days, and he was looking at all the pictures of my grandchildren that I have on my refrigerator.  He especially focused in on the picture that is there of my two grandchildren from Ethiopia.  He had met them all at the airport, but seemed particularly interested in that one photo.  He asked, "they go back Ethiopia airplane".  I explained briefly to him that "no, go back to Ethiopia, they stay in America with new Mom and Dad".  He looked at their picture again, touched it and said to me, "good, very good, American very good".   It was obvious that he was glad that these two children had found a home and family in America.  Many times while he was here, he would tell us, "America good, very good".  We take so much of our lives here in this country for granted.  We forget how blessed we are.  It took a boy from a third world country to help us focus on our blessings. 

Visit Stories Contine

Each day of our visit was such a special memory.  Each morning when our "son" woke up, he would make his bed immediately, then quietly open my door & say "good morning, mom".  I knew it was time to get my day going.  That usually happened around 7 a.m. each day.  (Little earlier than this retired lady was used to getting up!)  He would either take a shower first before coming downstairs for breakfast, or if it wasn't a shower day (had a habit of showering every other morning), then he wouldn't eat breakfast until he went upstairs, washed up, brushed his teeth & dressed.  One interesting thing is that he really enjoyed our warm/hot showers.  Seems the showers they took in the orphanage were mostly with cold water.  (Not my idea of a good way to start the day, but we are spoiled, aren't we?)


One activity he enjoyed most days was riding "his" bike.  He would get on that bike and ride as fast as he could with a smile so big I could see it all the way down the street.  We would go for bike rides together, and it wasn't as easy to keep up with him as it had been when I was raising my children.  Age does catch up with you.  One day I had walked the dog first with him, then we went for a bike ride.  We had gone a decent distance & my thighs began to burn big time.  I just kept praying, "let me go just alittle further!  With God's grace I made it back home, but trailing behind.  Little trouble walking when I got off the bike that day. 
More stories to come

February 14, 2014

OUR STORY CONTINUES


It didn't take long for us to realize what a special boy we had staying with us.  About the third day he was here, he and I had just finished breakfast and I told him I was going to go take a shower and get dressed.  I began to clean up the kitchen, and he came over and gentlely pushed me and said, "go,  I do".  I explained that it was OK I would finish up.  He said, "no, I do".  I went upstairs and when I came back down he had my entire kitchen cleaned, floor swept (found broom on his own), counter tops wiped clean.  I tried to remember if his older "brother" ever did that at 14 without being asked.  I'm pretty sure the answer is no!! :) 


Our first trip to the beach was very memorable.  If you live in this area, you know the IOP bridge gives you a wonderful view at the very top.  When you reach that point, the whole ocean is spread out in front of you.  When he saw that, he was amazed.  As we walked out on the beach and met some of the other host boys it was magical watching them look at the ocean for the first time in their lives.  They played soccer, ran around, played in the very cold surf, dug in the sand  and just marveled at what we take for granted....one of God's amazing gifts to us!
More to come on our wonderful visit. 

February 14, 2013

OUR HOSTING STORY

Our first night as a hosting family was a sweet one.  Our "son" was delighted to see our Christmas tree (first one ever) and even more excited when I took him upstairs to show him his room.  We knew he liked soccer so we made some minor changes to our guest room to accomadate a soccer fan.  His biggest thrill was when he saw a large framed poster on the wall of Drobga (one of his favorite players)! I must tell you my husband nor I know much about soccer, had no clue who his favorite players were, but when I looked to order a poster online, God knew his favorite players! His smile showed his delight more than words could.  Jet lag began to set in and shortly after a snack & by 7pm he was curled up in a ball sound asleep on our sofa.  I was barely able to wake him and actually guided him up the stairs.  He kept wanting to sit down about ever other step!  Finally we made it to his bed and he literally fell into the bed. 

Will share more of our story tomorrow.

First encounter

  Our story begins back in September, 2012, when I saw a post on facebook about "Welcoming Angels".  It's a program to bring Ethiopian orphans to the U.S. for one month.  The purpose is for them to experience our culture and for the host families to advocate for their adoption.  Children that are sent are considered "unadoptable" due to their ages.  Most families want infants or very young children.  Five amazing boys arrived in Charleston on December 15, 2012. Let me say that day began with a beautiful rainbow over Charleston.  We knew then, that God sent us that rainbow as a reminder of how much He was a part of this experience.  As we waited anxiously at the airport with balloons, signs, & American & Ethiopian flags, our excitment grew.  Finally, their flight arrived and we saw one handsome 14 year old boy walk towards us, and our lives changed forever.  Our retirement plans went out the window. 

Come back to read more about how our visit went and how God is working!