On December 11th I was leaving Mikelle,
Ethiopia on a plane to Addis Ababa. I had
been away from Staci, the kids and my job for over a week. I was as centered, joyful and humbled as I
have ever been in my life. It’s hard to
imagine feeling that way half a world away from the people I love so much. I kept a journal the entire time I was in
Ethiopia – I wanted to remember every moment.
Going back and reading the journal from time to time
reminds me of one of the best weeks of my life.
One particular entry that I read over and over was on December 8th. It was the day I met Sofani at Girmay and
Atsad’s house in Mikelle. I talked about
my instant connection with Sofani. I
wrote about my feelings for him and how much he reminded me of our kids at
home. I remember distinctly the conversation
with Deborah (Girmay and Atsad’s daughter that spoke excellent English) the day
after I met Sofani. Deborah told Mark,
Todd and I his story. How his
parents both died when he was a little boy – his dad when he was 5 and his mom
when he was 6. How his grandmother took
him in only to lose her two years ago. I
remember the sadness that we all felt.
None of us knew what to say. I
remember Todd breaking the silence with his prophetic words, “Sofani Buck.” At that point I began to feel the burden on
my heart for this little boy with the big smile. I knew it.
I remember saying goodbye to Sofani on December 11th. I remember hugging him and fighting back
tears. I was unsure what this meant. How could I feel so attached to a boy that I
knew for 4 days? The last entry in my
journal on the plane leaving Mikelle said that I planned to return to Ethiopia. I didn’t know exactly why or when at the time
but things began to unfold from that point forward.
I remember calling Staci from the airport in DC when
we arrived in the US on December 12th. The first thing I said to her was “I met this
boy in Mikelle.” At that point she knew. She knew this was out of character for me and
she was dizzy with excitement.
On December 19th I was sitting in a hotel
room in Louisville. I was back at work
one week and knew what I had to do. I
called Staci and told her I was going to fire off an email to Girmay and ask
him to approach Sofani about becoming a part of our family. The next day I woke up to Girmay’s response
letting us know that he was on board with helping us and agreed that this was a
“divine connection.” He spoke with
Sofani and said that he was as excited as we were. At that point the adoption process
began. Staci and I worked feverishly to
make connections with a local and international agency to help us navigate
through the process.
On May 22nd I introduced Sofani to his
new mother – my incredible wife that has been on board since the first
conversation we had about adopting Sofani over the phone.
On Friday, May 25th Staci and I left
Sofani at the airport after spending three days with him. This time leaving him was even harder. He was officially ours but had to leave him
in Addis while the paperwork process continued.
Sofani, who had been smiling for the last 3 days cried and Staci and I
were a mess. We sobbed the entire way
through check-in and onto the plane.
Next week Sofani will meet his new brother and
sister on his turf in Addis Ababa. This
is going to be an amazing introduction – one I will never forget. And on Saturday July 22nd we’ll be
making another trip to the airport to return to the US. This time Sofani Jason Buck will be on the
plane with us. We’ll leave Ethiopia as a
family.
I know my entries from this point on will be all
about our new family but I felt like I needed to take time to acknowledge several
people that have been an incredible help to us through the adoption process. We have had very few delays and we owe so
many thanks to so many people. Thank you to Jennifer Morrissey with
Adoptions of Indiana; Sally Mouw and Alemu with Adoptions Associates; Girmay
and Atsad; Sofani’s Aunt Mihret for making two trips to Addis on Sofani’s
behalf; Dan Benson for helping Mark, Todd and I get to Ethiopia; our church, family
and friends for their encouragement. And
most importantly God. God’s hand has
been in this process the entire time. I
remember praying to God last August asking Him to do something with my life
that got me out of my comfort zone. I
told God I promised to say “yes.” My life
has been filled with joy ever since.
Little did I know the impact that prayer would have on my life and my
family. Wow. It’s unbelievable.
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| A picture of Sofani's birth parents |
God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown Him as you have helped His people and continue to help them. Hebrews 6:10
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