Our family spent Spring Break 2014 in Lubbock and Brownwood,
Texas. That’s right - very popular
spring break destinations. It was a
major deviation from our normal beach filled, relaxing Spring Breaks of year's past. Thankfully we were able to fight
off the college students and find rooms.
All kidding aside it was an incredible experience – one we will never
forget.
 |
| Gideon, Sofani, Jackson, Atsede, Anna, Avery and Deborah |
We flew into DFW, rented a mini-van and traversed west Texas
on a journey through wind farms, Dairy Queens and oil fields to Lubbock. Lubbock
is the temporary home to Sofani’s cousin Atsede and her family. Atsede’s husband, Girmay, is getting his PhD
at Texas Tech. Their children, Deborah
and Gideon, were excited to see Sofani for the first time in 2 years and meet
the rest of the Buck family face-to-face.
The word hospitality is often used but rarely experienced on
the level that we did during our time in Lubbock. We were welcomed with a traditional Ethiopian
coffee ceremony and spent the next three days in fellowship and stuffing our
bellies with more Ethiopian food than any of us were ready to handle (Sofani
included). When Atsede wasn’t cooking,
she was teaching Staci how to make injera, braiding Avery and Anna’s hair and
washing Staci’s feet. Yeah, that’s
right. How biblical is that? I can’t say that I was surprised at all. This is the same woman that gave up every bed
in her house to accommodate three strange American men in Mekelle, Ethiopia
over two years ago. I attribute so many
changes in my life – from meeting and adopting Sofani to changes in me as a
husband, father and as a Christian – to Atsede’s incredible hospitality and her
willingness to serve others as Jesus instructed.
 |
| Atsede's Coffee Ceremony |
After our stay in Lubbock, we hit the road with Girmay,
Atsede and their children on the next leg of our journey to Brownwood,
Texas. Brownwood is a small town in
central Texas that is the home to the Hull family.
The Hull family played an important part in our adoption of
Sofani. When we were navigating the
adoption process and planning our trip to court in Addis Ababa, the judge that
was working Sofani’s case brought it to a halt when she learned that Sofani had
a younger sister that was adopted by a family in the US just one year
earlier. At the time we knew that Sofani’s
sister was in the US but didn’t have much hope that we would ever find her with
all of the confidentiality that exists in the adoption process. The judge insisted that Liya’s parents were
given the opportunity to adopt Sofani in an effort to keep the two of them
together. As much as we understood this
it was still heartbreaking. Sofani
essentially checked himself into an orphanage for 5 months in order to meet the
country’s adoption requirements. Our
flight was booked. Our house was
prepared. Our hearts were ready for
Sofani to become part of our family and one judge had the ability to change all
of that. We prayed that this family would
allow us to adopt Sofani. They did and,
as much as it was a nerve-racking few days, it enabled us to find Liya and the
Hull family. We knew that when the time
was right we would reunite Sofani and Liya on American soil.
The reunion was a culmination of so many things that God
orchestrated to have all of us standing in the same room. Liya, Sofani, Atsede, Girmay, Deborah,
Gideon, the Hull’s and the Buck’s were all together. Only God could have orchestrated such a
meeting. As Sofani and Liya hugged and
the tears filled their eyes my heart was full of joy. There was a sense of accomplishment that all
of us collectively allowed God to work through us to allow a brother and sister
to be reunited. I thought of the angels
rejoicing as I considered the celebration taking place in heaven between their
birth parents.
 |
| Sofani and Liya and their biological parents |
The time in Brownwood was brief but filled with fellowship. It was filled with answers. It was a new starting point for Sofani and
Liya along with the rest of us.
Girmay put together so many pieces for all of us. He and Atsede connected so many dots for us
related to the history of these two kids and their family members back in
Ethiopia.
As Americans, we get caught up in genealogy and allow that
to define family. Through this process I
have learned to define family in a different way. While all of the members of my biological
family will always be important and unique, I have learned that “family”
shouldn’t be limited to a family tree.
We are all God’s children that are a part of a much larger plan when we
allow Him to work through us and weave it together.
 |
| Liya, Avery, Anna, Jackson, Sofani and Finn |
For those of you following the progress of the Bible
Training Center that we’re working on in Mekelle, Ethiopia, please check out www.harvestinethiopia.com for more
information. We’re making huge progress
with the formation of a temporary training facility and fundraising for a
permanent location. The website was launched last week and will keep you
up-to-date on all the happenings with this initiative.
