So, Sisay who was the one who trained us at Bethany and was with us at court got married about three weeks ago and was having a prolonged reception. We went to that and got to pray and pray with Ethiopians. It was very cool to see the ceremony while my mind is racing about what may happen in less than an hour. We see a goat and find out that he has to kill it and they will eat it for dinner. The goat kept making sounds during the ceremony - famous last words. Kind of funny - not for the goat. So, as we leave I ask where we will meet her. Well, she's not here yet............seriously, our time and Ethiopian time are not the same. So, we sit down to eat dinner at our hotel for that night in Awassa. I ordered but didn't think I could eat. Mahi, then comes up to us and says, "She is downstairs." Oh my gosh. What do to? I feel so unprepared. How can you feel prepared for this. We were asked if we would like to eat and then meet her. We opted for meeting her first if that was okay with her. She agreed. We walk downstairs of the restaurant and there she was. THERE SHE WAS! The woman that gave birth to my son and gave us this precious miracle was right in front of us. What do you say? I hugged her and we were escorted to a room to "interview" her. She was very shy and timid. We asked if she would mind if we could record our questions to her so that Hagirsa could see them later. She said that was fine. We asked lots of things (most I won't put on due to Hagirsa being the one that can tell people if he wants in the future) but there were two answers that so warmed our hearts. We always have wanted "Hagirsa" to be his name unless it meant something negative. We asked her what it meant and she said she had him in peace and so that's why she named him "Hagirsa" which means peace in Sidayamo. Yep, cried. We got some information about her family and her life. She is twenty right now and is remarried. She smiled and even laughed in the interview even though I could tell she was very nervous, as were we. The last thing she added (which was not on tape) was that she prayed and prayed for her child to go to a christian family and now she is so blessed. That's all she wanted for him. We showed her the photo album we brought and the videos we had taken of Hagirsa walking the day before. She thought it was the cutest thing. She was smiling and laughing and holding her chest to laugh. Kreg then prayed with all of together. We got our pictures taken with her and two by herself for Hagirsa to have. She was beautiful and so petite and about 4'10". We all hugged, gave an Ethiopian handshake and said our goodbyes. So hard to talk when we got back up to the group. We made everyone cry with the story about his name. We made sure she knew how much WE are blessed to have HIM. Finished what I could of dinner and then just layed on the bed. I couldn't fall asleep. My mind was racing about what I didn't ask her, etc. She really wants him to come back someday when he gets older so I will make sure that happens. :)
The second picture was where we first saw his birth mom. She was sitting in the back left table.
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Stacey Sills
Health and Prevention Consultant
Ottawa Area Intermediate School District
13565 Port Sheldon St.
Holland, MI 49424
1-877-702-8600 ext. 4111
ssills@oaisd.org
He who has health, has hope. And he who has hope, has everything. ~ Proverb quote
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