This morning at around 10:30am we met D's birth mother.
D's birth mother came to the guesthouse to meet with us. She had to leave her home town very early this morning to take the bus into Addis Ababa. Her Social Worker who had handled her case from the beginning traveled along with her to act as a translator. The translation made the experience all the more surreal. D's birth mom only speaks her dialect, the social worker only speaks Amharic and the birth mom's dialect, Solomon from our guesthouse speaks Amharic and English. We would ask Solomon who would translate to the social worker who would then translate to D's birth mom. D's birth mom would then answer the social worker who would tell Solomon who would translate back to us. The expression lost in translation took on a whole new meaning. This being said the meeting was more then we could ever expect.
A couple of highlights:
We were able to share pictures of Amarech's grave. As this mother had never been into Addis Ababa before she has and probably will never be given the opportunity to visit the site.
She sang a traditional spiritual song for D in her language which we recorded to share with D when she is older.
We asked D's birth mom if there was anything she wished to say to D. With D sitting on her lap she told her:
"Be a good girl and my prayers is that you will grow up in the House of the Lord"
That is our prayer too.
D's birth mother came to the guesthouse to meet with us. She had to leave her home town very early this morning to take the bus into Addis Ababa. Her Social Worker who had handled her case from the beginning traveled along with her to act as a translator. The translation made the experience all the more surreal. D's birth mom only speaks her dialect, the social worker only speaks Amharic and the birth mom's dialect, Solomon from our guesthouse speaks Amharic and English. We would ask Solomon who would translate to the social worker who would then translate to D's birth mom. D's birth mom would then answer the social worker who would tell Solomon who would translate back to us. The expression lost in translation took on a whole new meaning. This being said the meeting was more then we could ever expect.
A couple of highlights:
We were able to share pictures of Amarech's grave. As this mother had never been into Addis Ababa before she has and probably will never be given the opportunity to visit the site.
She sang a traditional spiritual song for D in her language which we recorded to share with D when she is older.
We asked D's birth mom if there was anything she wished to say to D. With D sitting on her lap she told her:
"Be a good girl and my prayers is that you will grow up in the House of the Lord"
That is our prayer too.
Oh wow, from laughter when I read your bottle experiences to tears rolling down my cheeks when I read today's post I'm sure it's been a roller coaster ride for you all. D's birth mom sounds like a loving, wonderful woman who chose the very best for her little girl. I will keep her in my prayers, as well as you, Adam and little D as you make the exciting transition home.
ReplyDeleteMeeting our boys' birth mother was one of the most incredibly emotional experiences of our lives. It is also one of the most important - I love the richness of the story that we have for our boys that includes photos of and with her along with words for them straight from her heart. What a treasured moment for your family. A
ReplyDeleteWhat a humbling experience. Great memories for D to have of her Birth Mom.
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