The Day We Got Our Boy!

Joy....bounding, overflowing, flawless, pure, heavenly, joy!

On 1/10/10 Mark & I were awake at 1am. I'm not sure if it was the time change, the hyenas howling in the field outside our room or the excitement of meeting Micah Shewit. But, there wasn't anything we could do to go back to sleep. Finally, the sun came up and we got to meet Almaz, the head of the orphanage. I knew we had an amazing blessing coming when she spotted us across the room & quickly came to give me a huge hug! "Oh, Shewit (Sha-weet)'s mommy! He is so excited! I have prayed & prayed for special parents for him." At first I was thinking, oh she said the word "special", but the more she told us about him the more the urgency grew in us to be with him.

Micah's Ethiopian name is Shewit which means "he comes when dinner is ready.' He is a miracle from the Northern region (Tigray) of Ethiopia. The orphanage had never received a child from that area. Nobody knew his language. His uncle told them it was a miracle he found an orphanage. He had just started walking and was "led" to them. I could see there was a special bond Almaz had with Micah-Shewit and someday I will tell his story. It blows me away that he has the sweet spirit that he does.

Driving up to the gate, I pulled out my video to shoot the arrival. The kids scattered as we pulled in & parked. I could hear someone yelling, "Shewit, Shewit" then from around the corner I saw a little boy running towards us..and I saw that beautiful smile & those sparkling eyes. I'm not sure if I was breathing at that point or not. He scanned the faces in the van as everyone was going on about the beautiful boy outside. Then he saw us. We couldn't get out of the van fast enough. All I could say is, "that's my boy, that's my boy!" It was wonderful to be face to face with him, to hug him & just smell him. He is lovable & smiles on a constant basis. His voice is gruff & you just want to pick him up & squeeze the daylights out of him. Mark knelt down & told him in Amharic - "I am your daddy." He smiled and nodded. "This is your mommy." He looked at me & just grinned!

Then Micah's two friends came out & sat right beside him, Kathleen & David's boys! I just started giggling with joy for them. The moment was priceless & the little one bonded almost instantly. Micah saw my camera and decided he would be the photographer for the day. He took over 380 pictures over the next hour...of everything...right down to the inside of the toilets! (They were clean by the way!)

Matthew & McKenzie came up to Micah and they were giggling as much as we were. Matthew was dancing...which we have never seen before. McKenzie ran over & gave him a hug then a kiss - it was priceless! McKenzie said, "Mom, I could just kiss him forever.' Matthew said "I could only think of Micah the whole time." They then played soccer with him & the older kids at the orphanage. All the children followed us everywhere. They were so happy for the kids that had a forever family. I realized how many times Micah was one of those children. For almost a year, he would watch families come in and pick up their children wondering when his family would be there. Babies come & go so quickly but the older children wait & wait. It's hard to place children over 4 years old & you sense that they know this. They are the ones who need us most because if they aren't placed by a certain time, the government requires the orphanages to release them to be on their own. In Ethiopia, there are not a lot of opportunities for a 14 year old orphan.

The day reminded me of the day I will forever see my Heavenly Father come for me. We wait with anticipation to see the one who adopted us into His kingdom. He is our hope & our salvation. Just within the first day of having Micah-Shewit, the people of Ethiopia have come up & thanked us for helping their abandoned & fatherless children. They are asking why we want to help when they are so poor & can never repay. The only reply I can give is that it is OUR blessing to help & our calling. We want to please the Father & the closer we draw to him, the more we want His ways above ours!

My mind continues to race back to looking over & seeing Matthew & McKenzie surrounded by orphans, loving them with all they had. I have never seen my children so happy, so filled with purpose. Today they are going back to the orphanage to play with the children most of the day. They are so excited!

Our life is changed & we are eternally grateful because of a little boy names Shewit! Our Micah!

Playing Nintendo with Daddy

Matthew and Micah on his bed at the orphanage

Estes fam and McKenzie with little brother Micah

Missy and Almaz

Emirates Airlines Flight Attendant

Stopover in Dubai