Congo Part 2 (Thursday, the Big day!)

Thursday-We were supposed to leave for the orphanage at 11am, but in DRC local standard time, that means 1pm. While we waited, we were able to visit with our translator/liaison and learn more about Congolese culture. It’s been fun to talk about Congolese, Indian, and American cultural differences with her.

When our kiddo’s social worker arrived, he and our liaison took us first to the orphanage’s office. Driving through Kinshasa was very interesting. It’s a city of about 10 million, but unlike Indian cities where it feels like everyone is living on top of each other, Kinshasa feels a lot more spread out. It also has a feel of high security. Lots of government buildings, embassies, and housing communities hide behind tall walls with barbed wire and broken glass at the top.

Most people are walking for transportation and those that aren’t, are cramming into 3 row vans with the doors wide open and stragglers hanging off the side and back. These vans are the main local transportation and what our translater takes everyday to come to the Convent where we were staying. She's amazing! 

We were so impressed with all of the orphanage's staff. The director, social workers, and even the "mama's" at the orphanage were all so sweet and obviously passionate about caring for the children and finding loving families for them. While at the office, in the midst of our overflowing excitement, we got a vivid look at the flip side of adoption. There was one young and obviously extremely poor and grieved mother there with her young child, waiting to be counseled. There was a small group of about 5 very young and very scared siblings who had been abandoned and were waiting to go to the orphanage. Adoption is beautiful, but it doesn't necessarily start out that way. It's labored in pain, fear, grief, hunger, and desperation. But as my heart breaks for those 5 and for our 2, and the other 70+ kids we met that day...I find great comfort in knowing that God loves the orphan. He sets the lonely in families. He can make beautiful things out of dust. And I pray He does that for this group of precious children of almost 80. 

When we arrived at the orphanage (about 1 hour away), they were eating lunch so we waited in a small office at the front of the compound. We got to admire the pictures of families who had already come to bring their children home and looked forward to our family pic adorning that wall soon. 

When we walked into the main room, the kids were all lined up in chairs and singing a lively Lingala song. Several of the girls rose to dance, hands on hips, rocking back and forth. It was so precious! I wish I could show you a video of it. They went on to sing "Here I am to Worship" in English (ironically the same English song that is favored by some kids at an orphanage here whom we visit) and then ended with another Lingala song that basically says "Don't cry ____ you are going to America!" over and over again :) We didn't have the heart to say "actually you're going to India!" We'll cross that bridge when we get there :)

Our kiddos "J" and "F" (I'll share names after the court hearing) were right up front and we recognized them immediately! They were both being very shy and sweetly trying to hold each other's hand while the other pushed it away. They have very similar nervous mannerisms. They both kept looking down, fiddling their hands together at the hem of their shirt. When they would look up, they'd give a big smile with their tongue rolled between the sides of their teeth. 

We got a grand tour of the orphanage and had some time alone with our kiddos in the office to give them a few gifts and show them pictures of their new family. We found out they speak a different Congolese language than Lingala so even our translator could only communicate a little with them. They will learn quickly and probably be fluet by the time we pick them up and begin teaching them English. They'll be tri-lingual in their first few years of life!

It's amazing how you can love someone so instantaneously. It's like holding your newborn for the first time. You just see them and know in your heart they are yours and are just in awe of them. That God made this beautiful child and is entrusting us (in all our weakness) to not only meet their physical needs but to lavish love on them in a way that points them to God. It's such an awesome responsibility and an incomparable feeling. While J and F are coming into our family by a different means, we are just as much in awe and in love with them. I know bonding and attachment take a while on their part, but for me, it is love at first sight and I am all in! Just seeing the need in their eyes for parents to cherish and care for them, makes me so eager to rise to the task. No matter how challenging it will be. 

We left just as the new group of 5 siblings showed up, looking very frightened. Seeing them helped me to imagine how our children might have been when they arrived, only two months ago. So much for someone so little to go through. While we were encouraged to see where they live and who is caring for them, we pray the months are few before they can come home and we can lavish love and attention on them.

Having the blessing of visiting with two families who were there to pick up their kids, showed us what just a couple weeks can do for a child. Their personality comes out with the security of needs being consistently met; attention, encouragement, and affection constantly given. I can't wait to devote that time and attention to J and F and see their full personalities come out and to see them truly thriving, not merely surviving. And to see their brothers embrace them and welcome them into our family. They pray for J and F at every meal and before bed every night. And they even pray for families for all the other children at that orphanage who desperately need loving families. 

Since we can't show off pictures yet online of how amazingly beautiful J and F are (I might give sneak peeks to those who are really interested and send me an email), you'll have to settle for our cheesy pictures of giant avocado infatuation and mosquito tent beds.

Mosquitos are BAD in Congo. And since we didn't have time to get on anti-malaria drugs before this trip, we were so grateful for this baby! I'm loving it and seriously going to hunt for one for our bed at home. Dengue fever is the big one here and it's impossible to put screens on our windows. 

OH Man! I was so excited to see these babies! I miss avocados and Guacamole Dinner's (hola Cindy Ortiz!) so much! This baby made 3 sandwiches and would have made a fourth if I could have handled another one.

My handsome hubs chowing his avocado sandwich. That's right, that's how we roll in Congo- where the food prices are INSANE! We ate a lot of PB&J and bananas too. 

Congo Trip Part 1 (Written on Wednesday)

We left our city just after 6pm Monday evening to embark on the 4 hour trip to Mumbai airport. Praise God, there wasn’t any major traffic along that highway which is known for them at night. It was a good thing we got there early, because checking our bags and going through immigration was not a quick process. We were fortunate enough to ignorantly get into the Business Class/Diplomatic section of immigration which sped the process up by a whole 2 minutes and put us in line with a big Bollywood celebrity, Anil Kapoor (Who wants to be a Millionaire? guy from Slum Dog Millionaire). I think of everyone there, I was the most unashamedly star struck! I fought back wanting to ask all the posh people around me “do you know who that is?” You would think that would have clued us in that we were in the wrong line, but no, it didn’t. Maybe it’s the American in me that thinks I belong everywhere.  It also explains why the immigration official gave me several dirty looks, which I thought were totally undeserved, until he gave Kit a few rude remarks as well. If any of you have traveled in India (Delhi doesn’t count), you’ll understand why it’s hilarious that any official would think it is obvious which ‘line’ we should get into. No signs, no lines--unless you count slowly pushing and shoving your way to the front a ‘line’.  Just utter chaos and masses of people. Ah…I digress…

 

We had a great trip from Mumbai to Nairobi and then Nairobi to Kinshasa. It’s amazing how easy traveling seems when your kiddos aren’t with you. We would have had a totally different experience if the whole Klein crew came. It was tough to leave them for so long, but we’re grateful for the time we are having with each other and that we’ll have with our soon-to-be newest Klein crew members. Just from the airport, Kenya looks beautiful!! We would love to come back for a real visit sometime. Clear beautiful skies, dew on the fresh morning grass, cool air…it reminded me of a spring morning in central Texas (where I grew up).

 

The flight to Kinshasa was only 3 hours and we napped and got our second breakfast on. The Congo is huge geographically and Kinshasa is on the far west side, bordering Rep. of Congo and Anogola.  It’s not far from the Atlantic Ocean. In this part of the Congo, it’s like rolling grasslands (with palm trees scattered) with the great Congo River snaking along the border. It’s beautiful!! And I’m sure the rainforest areas are even more amazing. I was pretty nervous about the airport experience in Kinshasa from what I’ve read. But really, it was fine. It was a lot like Indian airports, but with lines J I know leaving is a bit more complicated but we’ll be hiring a protocol to help us through that process. We had some miscommunication with our agency, so no one was there to pick us up. But it ended up being totally fine. We didn’t panic, we had an address for where we were going and bought a local SIM card at the airport. All we had to navigate was bartering with a taxi to take us where we needed to go for a reasonable amount of money. Thankfully we are used to negotiating (albeit not in French as we know nothing!) and a really sweet man agreed to take us for $30 rather than the $100 the first guy was shooting for (and holding our luggage ransom in his truck in the meantime).

 

There is not any public transit in The Congo, and even the taxis are basically individual guys with run down cars and a plastic taxi sign they put up and take down before they drive. It’s hard to describe what it’s like here. Driving from the airport to downtown reminded us of Bolivia. It’s very underdeveloped. (Comparable to smaller cities in India). The number one transportation are your two feet, so people seem to be everywhere. Men, pushing and pulling heavy loads, women carrying impressive loads on their head. The people are all dressed nicely, are lively, and very friendly. Ironically that has been the biggest culture shock we’ve had, coming from India. Everyone greets you, even in passing on the street, with a “Bonjour!” Living conditions seem very modest. There is hardly a middle class to speak of here. And it seems that the people are not only subject to poor wages but insanely inflated prices. I would love for an economist to explain to me the dichotomy here. DRC is the richest country in the world in terms of natural resources. But by living standards and GDP, it is one of the poorest. We are staying at a Catholic Mission in the downtown, right across the street from the US Embassy. There is a super market just around the corner as well, where we can get anything we would want or need (kind of a Walmart-type store but a little fancier). But it’s only where tourists/diplomats/foreigners shop. A bag of chips is $7. A box of granola bars is $12. And on it goes…I should have brought more snacks with us. Lesson learned for next time. Even the local produce is high compared to India, but we managed to buy some bananas, bread, and massive avocados for reasonable prices. Our translator said that even eating out local style is too expensive for most people. Even the meals at the mission are $15 per adult. So, we’re getting creative and enjoying lots of PB&J’s and avocado sandwiches (which are a huge treat for us!).

 

The whole reason for coming is to meet our kiddos. Unfortunately, today was a holiday so it wasn’t possible to travel out to the orphanage. It’s a 1.5 hour trip each way. So after our 13 hour sleep last night, we ventured off to walk around downtown this morning. It’s not safe or culturally appropriate to take pictures here. But we’ll be able to at the orphanage tomorrow. We can’t wait to meet them! We’ve been trying to just relax and enjoy some R&R today. We’ve enjoyed getting to know two other families who are here picking up their kids. They’ve been a wealth of information for us. We were also able to meet the social worker who brought our children into the orphanage and that was pretty awesome! He’s a great guy and gave us a lot more info about our kids, their background, and their personalities. It was pretty priceless. We’re praying our kiddos will understand that we love them and that we are coming back for them. Parents usually come only to pick up their kids and it could be 6-12 months before we are able to come back and bring them home for good. So please pray with us for understanding for our kids and for a speedier process than is currently projected. We get to go meet them tomorrow!!! It’s the best early Mother’s Day gift ever!

 

Big Big Adoption News!!!

I sure hope you can read those signs despite my botched job. But yes, you read correctly my friends... we have accepted a referral for a beautiful sibling pair! 2 year old little boy and 1 year old little girl! 

We could not be more thrilled, nor feel more at peace about pursuing the adoption of these precious two into our family forever! 

We have a long road ahead until they can come home, but hubs and I are making our way on Tuesday to the Congo to meet them! That's right, THIS COMING TUESDAY!!! 

The Lord has been so good to us and through so many small and big ways, He has been showing us that He has got this all under control! We are seeing lived out that He is "able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think" (Eph. 3:20) And we can't stop praising Him for all His goodness and faithfulness! Thank you for praying with us and please, praise with us now!

Hudson's Big Day!

Hudson's kind of getting the shaft this year on his birthday. Thankfully, he does not read calendars and only knows his birthday to be the day that we say it is...so no harm done right? His daddy is out of town and had to extend his trip another day, so we'll be celebrating Friday with some fun outings, good food (CHILI'S!), and of course, Chocolate Cake (which is the love of his life...second to mommy of course). But he did get the most awesome gift, of a new baby cousin, Evan, last night!

I can't believe our 'baby' is 3 today! (April 24th) Man how time flies. He is such a joy to our family and we can't imagine life without him. He is a Mamma's boy through and through! He gives me about 30 kisses and hugs a day and tells me he loves me just as many times (esp. when he's been naughty). He is simultaneously running for president of the 'Picky Eater's Club' and the 'Chocoholics And Proud of It' Club. He LOVES to run, hunt for rocks, play with trains, fly on planes, and be tickled. When asked what he wants to be when he grows up, he always answers "um...a fire truck! or...an airplane!" He is in a hurry to grow up and 'go to college' like Steve from Blue's Clues. He is a tv junky and iphone snitcher for getting his preschool games on.

Happy birthday to our precious, one of kind guy, Hudson Joseph!

Learning to hold up 3 fingers. We need to practice.

Turning 3 but keeps telling everyone he's 6!

Not sure what this expression means..gas?

Confused why mommy isn't kissing back

crazy eyed fish kiss

I love his many faces

Handsome Hudson

This boy LOVES rocks

Looking really thrilled to be my model