We arrived a the transition home mid morning and he was immediately brought out to us. It seemed like he remembered us from yesterday which was great. We got to play with him for awhile and let him experience his last playtime at the transition home on all of his favorite playground equipment. A few of the nannies came by to say goodbye to him and give him kisses. Once again, there is no doubt that he has been well loved on since he arrived there. We got to talk to the doctor one more time about his health history. She really is the most amazing woman. She loves the Lord and has such a great perspective on who is the ultimate healer. My favorite quote of hers today is that "we all live in a transitional home..... this is just our temporary home here on earth". God has used the transitional home in Jeremiah's life these past 7 months and now he will be coming to his "permanent" home. We pray the Lord will use our home to prepare him to go to his eternal permanent home.
It was time to leave so we loaded up in the van. The wonderful gift of this week is that there is a family from Oklahoma who arrived today. They are adopting a little girl, about 3 1/2, and they were with us this morning to pick up their little girl So, as we piled in the van, Jeremiah had a little buddy in the van with him. He seemed curious but not anxious. A familiar face goes a long way! The other good news is that they are on our flight this Thursday night so he will have his traveling buddy for the long flight.
We went to lunch and was able to witness Jeremiah's appetite and love of food for the first time. He had just finished a little carton of goldfish as we arrived to the restaurant so I'm thinking he wouldn't be too hungry. Well, I was wrong! I really think that had we not cut him off, he would have eaten until he got sick. My favorite thing that he does is use bread as though it is injera. He pulls off a small bite of it and scoops up the sauce on the plate and eats it as though he were eating an authentic Ethiopian meal instead of a pasta dish like he was today.
After lunch we went straight to the US embassy. Security was about what I thought it would be.... no cell phones or cameras allowed and they screen your bags. We made everything official by signing one piece of paper and then on Thursday his VISA will be ready to pick up. Just like that!
He fell asleep in my arms and woke up about 45 minutes later. My guess is that he was tired, grumpy and probably a little confused/scared/ upset after he woke up. He had short period of being upset but then recovered pretty quickly. I really can't imagine what is going on in his head. All of this has to be so confusing.
He is asleep right now and I pray that he sleeps all night. Waking up in a strange place with people you barely know is not the best way to wake up in the middle of the night.
We are grateful for a wonderful first day. The Lord has given us strength and gave Jeremiah the peace that we asked so many of you to pray for. What an answer to prayer....
