A little piece of Ethiopia

We had the opportunity to gather with several other CHI families on Sunday evening because Abdissa, who runs the CHI transition home and was also our attorney in Ethiopia, came to visit.  He is traveling around the U.S. and visiting families who have adopted children through CHI.  Some of these children were at the transition home for a very long period of time, while Sena was there for just under 3 months.  It was especially neat to see Abdissa greet the children who are old enough to remember him.  Sena had no clue, but she let him hold her and kiss her anyway!

So many of the Ethiopian people that we have met are very gracious and warm and Abdissa is no exception. He is kind and has a heart of gold.  After he had greeted everyone, he spoke for a short time and thanked us for taking care of the children that have been placed in our families.  Later, he also encouraged us to stay connected so that our children can spend time together.  I told him that was no problem - we are already doing that.  I am so thankful for the community of families here in our area that have adopted.  Some of us have been friends for years, while others are new friends, but we have all been forever changed by our adoption experiences and there is a camaraderie that goes along with that.

Eight of these children have been adopted through CHI

The boys practiced saying, "Hello, how are you?" in Amharic, but then chickened out.  They did manage to say, "Selam," though.

Abdissa shared with us his desire to help provide impoverished families in Addis with food, clothing, and educational materials.  In order to do that, CHI is compiling a cookbook that will be available later this fall.  If you have any interest in purchasing a cookbook (the proceeds go toward this project) please email me jejohns95 at yahoo.com.