Our First Day Together - Posted Tuesday, March 9th

Yesterday was pure bliss. We spent the day in our room just getting to know each other and it was so much fun. Annie really opened up and smiled and laughed and clapped her hands all evening. Matt went to exchange money, check on our flight, and get a pizza last night and was gone for a couple of hours so Annie and I had some special bonding time. Matt has been so great. He gets up and makes her bottle for me and does a thousand little things to help- he is just so taken with her. It is wonderful to watch.

She sleeps so well (so far:) She took a 2.5 hour nap yesterday and I put her down at 9 last night. She slept until midnight and I fed her, she slept until 4:30 and I fed her, and then she slept until 7:30 and I had to wake her so we wouldn't be late for our paperwork appointment. Mommy and Daddy, however, did not sleep at all. Dogs bark all night long in Addis; there are so many stray dogs. Then, the Orthodox church blasts their morning music/prayers at 4:30. Hopefully we will be so exhuasted tonight that we won't even notice.

Today was interesting. Our paperwork appointment went smoothly so we should be set for our embassy appointment on Thursday. Our agency director asked me to check on a young woman here in Addis before we left and today we were able to meet her. She is 16 and was raped by three men in her villiage, which is in the Oromo regoin and quite a distance from Addis. She ran away from home in humiliation and got a job at our orphanage. She passed out last week in labor (she hadn't told anyone she was pregnant) and had a little boy. We went to her home this afternoon and it was heartwrenching. I have never seen such poverty. Her house was the size of a walk-in closet. She had a mat on the floor and nothing else. The tiny baby was wrapped in blankets. She was so sad. We had a translator with us and we were able to talk to her and share the gospel with her. We told her about the hope there is in Christ. I will never forget it. We prayed for her and then went to the market to buy her bedding, food, and formula with money that our church raised for our trip. Please pray for T. She is so young and all alone. I'm pretty sure she was asking our translator if we would take her baby. She doesn't want to keep him because of the circumstances surrounding his birth and the pain that he reminds her of.

When we went to the market the men insisted that I stay in the car with Annie. Obviously I was really uncomfortable then. They said it would be dangerous for me to get out. Beggars came knocking on the windows and men came up and would smile and make gestures. Pretty scary. Matt is going to drive around the city tomorrow with our driver, Melke, and he doesn't want Annie and I to come because it doesn't feel safe.

Well, the little peanut is waking up so I better go. Can't wait for everyone to meet her.