Trip 1 - Day 2

We were so excited to get to Hannah's Hope to see R again and spend as much time as possible with her.  We started out our day with a meeting with the director of Hannah's Hope to fill some paperwork and then we were scheduled to spend time with our little ones until 1pm, which I was so sad about having so little time there.  But as we started to figure out quickly, schedules are not in concrete in Ethiopia.  We were able to spend most of the afternoon with R.  We got her feed her solids, which I found out was a mixture of rice cereal, carrots, sweet potatoes, and flax seed.  We also got to give her a bath.  She loves baths!  She splashed and splashed...so fun!  She even would tip her head back when I would pour water over her - so smart!!!  I also got to feed her a bottle...so sweet!! It seemed like she was used to holding her own bottle, but I think she really enjoyed me holding it for her and singing to her.  She really studies our mouths when we talk and often tries to mimic the sounds we make.  She also loves to grab our noses and play with my hair.  We love her so much already.  I refuse to let my mind think about the fact that we will have to leave in a few days.

After our time at HH, we were then able to visit Bethzatha, an orphanage that R and many other children that come to HH have spent some time at.  There were so many beautiful children there. We came right before their supper time, so the older children (probably ages 2 - 9yrs) were all in this cramped little room, with the younger ones sitting around a long table and the older ones sitting along the wall and a couple other small tables.  They were so excited to see us.  They all longed to be held and loved.  If we could have brought them all home, we would have.  Bill and I spent a lot of time just loving on those little ones, not wanting to have to leave them, praying that each one of them will find their forever family soon...knowing in that moment, we would need to do more...be their voice.  Before we left, we were able to run up and peek into the infant room...precious little ones.
The next thing we had planned for the day was our cultural dinner. What a great experience!  We were able to experience Ethiopian food, music, and dancing.  A lot of the food is spicy so I was not able to eat a lot of it, but there were several things that I was able to eat.  It was a great day with many memories that I will some day be able to share with R.