When I departed for Ethiopia to pick up Tedi, I had no clue what lie ahead of me. Due to work obligations, my wife Natalie could not travel with me. I had been warned by our blog friend, Amy Post, to “be prepared for poverty on a scale you cannot imagine.” Well, Amy was 100% right. The things I saw while in Addis Ababa would fill your heart with despair and your eyes with tears.
Our second day in Ethiopia (a Monday) was the most exhilarating day of my life. It was the day when I met Tedi and got to wrap him in my arms. Besides all the emotion that accompanied that event, Monday left another, almost as inedible mark on my life.
After being at KVI Orphanage for a few hours, the nannies told us it was the kids’ nap time. Not wanting to mess with their routines, we agreed that the adults would leave and do some shopping while the little ones slept. When we arrived at the market, we were definitely on an emotional high. I needed to get some shopping done without the responsibility of watching a three year old, however, I was counting down the minutes until we could go back and get Tedi. We had waited so long to get him (8 months of the adoption process and 15 months of infertility before that).
Boy, was I wrong.
We ended up back at the same shops a few days later. As I was walking around, I heard a voice from the crowd that had gathered. “Friend. Friend. My friend!” I looked up and it was Selam (still wearing the WKU shirt) and his friends. I went out to where he was and brought Ayele, our driver, so he could interpret for us. As we were talking, I noticed that one of Selam’s friends had hit what must have been the jackpot for these poor children. He had stumbled upon some half eaten food that had been thrown in the trash at a restaurant. The sight of this broke my heart in two. To see the joy in this boy’s face at finding trash was indescribable. I took a quick inventory of my life and all the blessings I have been given and how I do not appreciate so many of them. As our time to depart was growing near, I told Selam we must be leaving. He told me, through Ayele that he had something he wanted to give me. He reached underneath his shirt and pulled the cross out and started to take it off his neck. I stopped him. I politely told Ayele to convey to him there was no way I was taking that cross with me. He told Ayele that we were friends and this is what friends do. He told me to keep it as a memento from Ethiopia.
In the car on the way back to the orphanage, I was an emotional wreck. What was God trying to tell me? At the time, I questioned why God had put so much emotional baggage on my plate at one time.
After some separation, I now know what God was telling me when He introduced Selam and I. He was telling me not to forget what I had seen. Orphan care is not only about the children like Tedi who are fortunate enough to be adopted. Orphan care does not end when we step off the plane in the US with our children. Orphan care DOES NOT END. Orphan care is about kids like Selam. Kids who have not been shown the earthly love they deserve. Thankfully, Selam has been redeemed by his Heavenly Father. I cannot forget Selam. I must not forget Selam. We must not forget Selam. We must never forget all of them.
