Journey to L and H: First moments

Our travels to Liberia began well. We stopped in the capital city and had 6 hours to go out and shop for the girls and for things to take to the orphanage. We bought balls and Frisbees and backpacks and coloring books and pencils and a few other random items. We had brought a folded up duffel and were able to stick all those items directly into the duffel when we arrived back at the airport. All of that went very smoothly and we were excited about our purchases.

Our first flight was with Ethiopian Airlines to Addis Ababa. However we needed to make a fuel stop in Bangkok Thailand. Our first leg to Thailand was about 3 hours. And we had misunderstood the guy at check-in and thought that the leg from Bangkok to Addis Ababa was only 5 hours. It wasn't until we arrive in Bangkok and were waiting on the plane that we realized that it was actually 8 hours. Deep breaths. Many of you know that I have flying anxiety. And typically I feel much better when I am sitting by a window and look out. But we were unable to request that on check in as all the window seats were taken. So I endured 8 hours sitting in the middle seat. It was night time anyway, so there was not much to see out the window. But you better believe I was still nervously glancing out the window whenever any turbulence hit. If I could see a star I felt better. If I could see lights from the land below, I felt even better. If that sounds strange to you, then you don't have flying anxiety ;) Typically, all logic goes out the window. 

Thankfully we didn't die on our way to Addis Ababa, despite annoying constant turbulence. We had officially arrived in mainland Africa, somewhere we had never been before!

Our next flight was another 5 hours to Accra, Ghana, crossing over from East Africa to West Africa.  5 more hours NOT next to a window. And the lady next to the window had the audacity to close the shade the entire time. Talk about rude. So I had to just watch the screen's animated route and assume the airplane really was in the air and not plummeting down towards earth. Like I said....no logic. 

Last, we arrived safely in Ghana. What surprised us about this place was the amount of smog or pollution in the air. It was worse than Jakarta and visibility upon landing was quite low. So much so that I had to look it up. And I read that at this time of the year sub-Saharan dust makes its way down to this region and causes really bad air pollution (just Google: Harmattan haze) . Because of the dust and other fumes and pollution, Accra is actually considered one of the most polluted places in the entire world. 

After about 4 hours in Ghana, we boarded our last 2 hr flight on Asky Airlines which is an associate of Ethiopian. This was probably our smoothest flight of the whole trip.

We have a couple of connections in Liberia including some friends who used to live in our country of service. They volunteered to come pick us up from the airport. So they met us there in their truck. They told us that there was a demo happening on the normal route back to the hotel and the police had completely blocked off the road. So our only option to get back was a long way around taking us through a giant rubber plantation and through some more sketchy areas of Liberia. We talked the entire way, asking tons of questions about their experience here and they gave some valuable insight. We also took in the landscape and it definitely was what I expected whenever I used to think about Africa. Red clay roads and dry arid climate. Women walking along the side of the road with big baskets on their head. 

Night settled in and we were still en route. We ended up having to pass through a busy, well known market called Red Light. Infamous for being a place that you would typically avoid, especially at night. The traffic was blocked at one point and we had to navigate around stopped cars, turn around and try another route. People were everywhere, some trying to walk, some trying to sell their wares. Thankfully we made it through and as we bumped along further down the road, I realized that our suitcases in the back of the truck might be in danger of bumping OUT of the truck. When I glanced back to see them, they weren't bouncing as bad as I thought, however....one was missing. To my horror I realized that very likely someone at Red Light had snatched one of our duffels straight out of the back. And when we thought about it more, we realized that it was the duffel that we had stuffed ALL of our brand new supplies for the orphanage in.  It was honestly very heartbreaking to know that those supplies would not end up in the hands of the orphanage kids. Now we just pray that they end up into someone who actually needs them.

So while this first introduction to Liberia was not exactly what we had expected, we still were in awe that we had finally made it here. We got safely checked into our hotel, said goodbye to our friends, and crashed for the evening.

We slept most of the night and woke up refreshed in the morning. It was the day we were going to finally meet our girls.

I don't have words to describe the emotions and the unusual feelings that I was going through as we were getting ready to go. Surreal, excited, terrified, nervous, slightly nauseous. What do we bring? Will they be shy? What do we say to them? Will I be a blubbering mess? 

I CAN say that God was clearly going before us. We have missionary friends living here who connected us with some of their friends. These friends have lived here for 10 years and endured a long domestic adoption here in Liberia and have dealt with a lot of the ins and outs of what we're going to be going through with the embassy. Somehow God laid it on their heart to help us while we are here and he (I will call him J) offered to take the day off and drive us to the orphanage. Sometimes these strangers who quickly become friends are clearly God appointed. He was so helpful to explain some of the Liberian culture and insight into what we are dealing with. 

He also was able to take a very special video of us when we arrived of us meeting the girls. I couldn't stop the tears when we saw them. I immediately picked out L in the crowd and after giving her a big hug, I heard "Hi mom" and looked over to see H reaching for me. We took a moment just the 4 of us, tons of kids gathering around. That moment will always be ingrained in my mind. We had been waiting so long for this moment, and it felt so good to finally see them in real life rather than through pictures. 

And then I thought, "Ok what do I say now?" :) Literally at a complete loss for words. The girls were immediately insistant on being close to us. They held our hands and took us over to a covered gazebo where lots of colorful chairs lined the outer edges. We took a seat and were immediately swarmed by children. They all were reaching for our hands and touching us, desperate for attention. The sweetest little faces. 

We took the girls out to lunch with the director of the home and J. It was a fairly simple but welcoming restaurant called Musu's. We got our first taste of Liberian cuisine: palm butter! Nothing like what it sounds. Though it is a curry type stew that is made with the palm nut. It was rich and delicious over rice. 

Part way through the meal J said something about how they'd probably never eaten out before. And it took a minute for me to process what he was saying. They were behaving as if they had and so I didn't think much of it. But it was definitely an eye opening reality to think about what was going on in their mind. They seemed to enjoy their meal though and towards the end were even sharing food with Sam and I and each other. Maybe this is cultural, I'm not sure. 

I can't possibly explain the things that happened yesterday. I can say that the following few hours were in many ways not what I expected. I can say that our girls are desperate to leave and be with us. I was thankful that L showed a lot of emotion but it also took me by surprise. I am thankful for the ability we have to communicate right away, though Liberian English is taking a while for us to understand and I know our American English is hard for them to understand. We are fast talkers apparently :)

When we got back to the home after lunch, the girls were more somber. They knew they couldn't go with us back to the hotel and that reality was hitting them. We walked through the home and saw the place where they sleep and shower and eat. We talked with them some more and promised to come back and visit the next day. No amount of reassuring could cheer them up. It broke my heart. But I also know that God is able to comfort them when we cannot. And we have to trust that He will be with them during this tough process of waiting. I loved the moments where we made them smile and laugh. I love that H seems to love all things sports and games. And L seems to love music and hair and fashion. I love that I now know these things and have begun the process of learning about them. We are in this for the long haul. And we have many tough days ahead. But yesterday, although hard, was deeply reassuring that we are meant to be a family. I can't wait to see God work all of this out for good. 

H took this picture. Like any child, they LOVED our phones the most. Oh boy.