She cracked!

Monday night Della finally cracked.  I brought a laminated photo of our family, which she also had while in her foster home and all of the sudden she smiled!  She started to jabber as she pointed to our faces on the photo.  I tried to give her a book with a monkey on the front, she yelled and threw it.  She is sharing a little bit at a time :).  We'll have to be patient with her.  

We've prayed all along for God to plant our love in Della's heart.  We know He has already done this.  What an amazing God!

Her fever came back last night and even though she's eating and drinking, she's sleeping a lot and not wanting to play.  The plans are to meet the foster mom today and possibly visit the market. 

Hardest nut to crack!

Some say the macadamia nut is the hardest to crack, others say the Brazil nut.  I say I just found it here in Africa!  The name of this peculiar specimen is Della Price, commonly called Della.  Her allusive shell will. not. crack.  She refuses to share her inner "meat" with us.   She still hasn't smiled, cried, talked, crawled, or uttered hardly a single sound.  She does reach for us and likes to be held, but if she has any opinions she keeps them to herself.  We were told today that she really likes milk, and will sometimes not eat, just drink milk all day.  We had hoped to meet the foster mom today but nothing around here is certain.

She's feeling better today, fever is mostly gone and she's eating & drinking more.  She's looooves milk!

 

Do you see Doug in the background looking like a caged animal?

We went to immigration today to start the process of getting the exit docs.  Ety (our adoption agency staff) took us, and before we walked into the office he said that many do not like or understand adoption.  He keeps saying "be strong".  The office was crowded and dingy.  They didn't try to hide that they didn't like us.  There was arguing in french between Ety and the immigration ladies.  After it was over Ety told us what was said.  The ladies asked to have the parents say the child's name on the passport without looking at it first to make sure we memorized it and actually knew it.  They argued about do we know how to take care of children, why do we want this orphan and is he sure we are married?  Also, why don't these people have their babies covered, it is a cool day outside, and why couldn't we speak french.  We were told to stand, move, sit, and stand again.  But, a man did give his chair up for Sarah as we waited in the hall.  Ety said it went well and we'll hear back from DGM in about four days.  We still have no idea how long this process will take.  We ordered pizza along with our new friends next door who are also adopting a little girl.  It was delicious!  Doug said the man who delivered it was using a cart that he pushed along the road.

(These are the friends we met next door and shared pizza with, their little girl is 9 months old.)

We aren't allowed to take photos in public, but I'll try to describe to you some of the things we saw.  There are hundreds of people everywhere, in the street on the sidewalks.  Some of them carry heavy loads on top of their heads, we saw ladies skillfully balancing more than 50 oranges in bowls as they walk.  The women's clothing is beautiful.  Every color you can imagine with beautiful bold prints, the more professional dresses look like taffeta and sound like it as they walk past.  The bodice on their dresses are fitted with a flair at the waist and a fitted skirt gathered in elegant waves reaching down to the their ankles.  Their heads are wrapped mostly in matching fabric.  A lot of the men are very well dressed, nice slacks with a button down shirt & fancy shoes.  When the traffic signals turn green everyone goes at once, it's very stressful to be a passenger.  

Here is our hotel...

  

Labor pains of a different kind

This morning we were told Della would come after 10.  So we nervously waited, listening for the sound of a vehicle horn "asking" for the gates to the hotel compound to be opened from the inside.  I got my camera ready...we heard the horn....we peered through the window and waited to see if it was Della.  A man who worked for the hotel walked from the car and came to our door asking "Price?".  This was it, the time to meet her finally.  We walked to the car anxiously and looked in.  She was wearing one of Josey's old jackets and was asleep.  As I took her in my arms she looked at me and held onto my arm.  She didn't make a peep, just looked.  

After 2 more minutes we were alone with her, so beautiful.  We checked out her beautiful long, curly eyelashes, her puff balls of hair, her dark chocolate skin.

  

As I write this I pause to hold her hand while she tries to sleep, reassurance that this mama will NEVER leave her.

She had a fever today since the time we got her, was only awake for 2 of the first 10 hours.  She ate and drank little.  We learned later on while the doctor came to see her that Della's housemate had a fever also and they believe it is the flu.  Doug insisted that I not pack my otoscope (yes, I have one.... I have 4 kids and no time to waste going to the doctor for no reason).  Guess who needed it?  The doctor!  He was impressed, calling me "mama doctor".  We were not impressed that he didn't carry doctor's tools!  Della's fever has come down but she's still sleeping. 

We also learned she has been getting physical therapy 3 times a week for her legs since we took on her referral last August.   

As I held her today, it engulfs me like a flood, I have a glimpse of how God looks at me.  He has adopted me into His family.  He loves me no matter where I've come from, unconditionally.  His love is so unbelievably deep.  

Well, we are to possibly go to immigration tomorrow morning for our exit document appt.  We also plan to meet Della's foster mom "Mama Josee"!  Thanks for your prayers!

Surreal

(above: waiting to flight to Kinshasa a Brussels Airport in Belgium)

Surreal, that is the best description of this experience.  We flew into Kinshasa in the dark and after 2 hours left the hotel with our luggage in tow.  The smells are of people (because most congolese don't where deodorant), and fumes (because most cars are old and well-used).

There are thousands of people everywhere, walking down the middle of a 6 lane road, or on the side, or hanging onto the back of vehicles or out the side doors of vans.  Our agency staff member informs us the buses are called "Spirit of Death" because they cause so many accidents.  I found out what vehicle horns were made for, the DRC.  If you want to go somewhere the driver just honks and goes.  It's like playing chicken the whole journey, no traffic rules.  

We arrive at the hotel we were hoping to stay at, but were told there was only 1 room, the problem was there was another couple with us.  So after some arguing among the DRC men we both got separate rooms.  By this time is was 9:30pm and we were so tired.  We can't believe we are finally here, blocks away for our little Della.  Not much sleeping tonight, too many butterflies in my stomach :).

Brussels, Belgium

On our flight to Brussels, we were served dinner at 8pm (eastern time), they turned the lights out for three hours, and served breakfast at midnight (eastern time), and the sun was up!

There are many beautiful things in Brussels like the Gothic buildings at Grand Place 

and the delicious food at the cafes along the street (their version of hamburger and fries),

and the cobble stone roads and side walks.

There are also many interesting things like street musicians

 

and belgian pigeons (haha)

and interesting choices in clothing such as men's capris with long socks, 

 and a store where they sell shoes and postcards?.

  Brussels is 6 hours ahead so we've only had 2 hours of sleep in the last two days.   On to the next leg...hopefully after some better sleep :).

 

The hard truth

Look at your child's face, or if don't have a child, look at one's face who is close to your heart.....and think about this...

If you can bare to imagine, envision that child living in a place where no one is coming back to take them home.  They have no one to tuck them in at night.  

No one to cuddle and kiss her soft cheek, no one to tickle her and tell her "I love you".  

Imagine your child has no blanket to comfort her or even a mattress to sleep on, just hard wooden slats.  

Can you hear the flies buzzing around where she sleeps and lives? ...And a smell worse than any barnyard we have experienced here in America? 

She wears shared, tattered, clothes that she cannot call her own, and are two sizes too big or small.  

Her belly is hungry... I don't mean the kind where she whines a little, but the kind of hunger felt for days, and months, so intense she has no energy left to complain about it.  She is so malnourished she weighs half as much as a healthy girl her age. 

Imagine your baby girl crying and crying and no one coming to comfort her.  Deprived of attention for so many months she finally gives up her cry... laying listless, staring.  

Imagine this girl has no hope, no education.  If she lives to the be too old to live at the orphanage, she'll most likely resort to making a living through prostitution or crime.

Now imagine that you look into that child's eyes, face-to-face, and tell her it costs too much, you'll have to give up too much, it will take too long, you're not strong enough to bring her back home.  Nonsense, right?  You are strong enough, all you have to do is be willing, say "yes".

Wouldn't you do anything to get to that child, to bring them home?  

I know, I'm pulling at your heart's strings.  You say what I said before,  "That's for someone else to take on, someone more "special" than me".  But you see, that's exactly what the "special" people think right before they become "special". There's nothing special about saying "yes".  However, there is a challenge and a commitment and certainly a sacrifice.  

Here we come to bring you home, Della!!!

The finish line in sight!

In February, due to an adoption agency in another country not following our daughter's birth country adoption law, all cases were put through an additional 3-6 month investigation period at the US Embassy.  This investigation originally took 2-3 weeks and we were heart broken.  In February we were at the point where we were expecting to travel in less than six weeks to bring Della home.

Just this last week I resigned to the thought of not traveling to bring her home until after August.  There was no movement at all in the US Embassy's investigations.  We even had our congressman get involved.  And finally, yesterday, after almost exactly 3 months from the time our investigation started, we received an email saying it was cleared, completed!  I still can't believe it!  I have written another post on how I realize this process is fluid, but I still am not used to being jolted from one side of the raging river all the way to the other side before I've realized it's even happened.

We must consider it a great joy, friends, whenever we experience various trials, knowing that the testing of our faith produces endurance.  But endurance must do its complete work, so that we may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.  (Adapted from the Bible, James 1:2-4)

We now wait for Della's visa to be approved next week.  We will then leave to get her anywhere  from 3-6 weeks after that to bring her home!  Finally, the finish line is in sight!