Blog: Today was our birth mother meeting

SATURDAY, JUNE 20, 2009

Ethiopia-Day Three

Today was our birth mother meeting. I didn't get nervous about it till about an hour before our meeting. I think ours was at 11 am. We walked to HH, just the three of us.

On our way to HH we saw two women sitting around the corner, right at the top of the hill. Biruktawit had been holding Brandon's hand, and when she saw the two women she got a big smile and took my hand too. I knew she knew who they were. It ended up being her mom and her aunt.

A few minutes after we walked in the gate at HH, her birthmom knocked at the gate. The gaurd let them and and we all introduced ourselves. Biruktawit was crying. She gave her mom the album we had brought for her with pictures of the two of them and also a couple pictures of Biruktawits Room.

Biruktawit couldn't stop crying, so one of her special mothers took her to get some water and we waited for Almaz.

A few minutes later Almaz took us all into her office. She asked us if we had any questions for Tarikwa. We were all crying and it was very difficult.

We asked her about her favorite memories and what kind of things Biruktawit liked, and what she wanted Biruktawit to remember.

She said, "We love her, she's so lovable. Every moment we had her was a struggle because of our health. She is the joy of our life, out of our love we let her go".

She said that Biruktawit didn't have any favorite things, that she only had one outfit. She said she liked rice with shiro and that they made it with water and salt and served it with injera.

She said that the necklace she wears is a sign of being a Christian. She said that when they have the children baptised that they are given the necklace at church.

She said that she wanted Biruktawit to grow up knowing her heritage. She said that her grandmother loved her very much, but she had been to upset to come to the meeting.

After the meeting we went outside and had some pictures. Biruktawit was still crying. Her mom kept telling her it would be okay. We all hugged and then it was over.

We stayed at HH for a little while, then went back to our hotel. We went to our room and Biruktawit sat on my lap and fell asleep after a few minutes. We had to go back to HH so Almaz could go over the instructions of what to do with the paperwork we had got back from the Embassy and to pick up Biruktawit's passport and visa.

I decided to go alone since Biruktawit was asleep. I walked over with one of the other families. When we got there, there was a family leaving their baby. We saw them having the referral photo's taken, then the parents left, and the baby was crying so hard. It was so sad! Three weeks later, I can still hear the baby crying and it still makes me cry.

We all sat around a table and went over everything. It was all pretty simple. Then Almaz talked a little bit about everything that was going on, and how adoption can't be of God. She didn't say it like adoption was wrong, it's the poverty and sickness that just rips these families apart. Then she had to walk away for a few minutes because she was also crying. It was a very emotional day.

After that meeting I walked back to the hotel by myself. Then we all went down for dinner and tried to find things to keep Biruktawit busy so she wouldn't be upset.