Received court decree today!

We received a copy of our official, approved court decree today. Big answer to prayer!! Thanks everyone! Tomorrow Yared will be visiting MOWA to try to obtain the birth certificate. Now we can finally post pictures of our little L!!!! Someday soon we will announce his official name ;)

please continue to pray...

We'll feel a lot better when we have the official court decree and birth certificate in hand, but we've been told that MOWA has said they will approve the adoption cases that have passed court. Otherwise the suspension still stands.  Obviously, we would love prayers for L's case, specifically that we would receive the court decree and birth certificate this week.

But on a larger scale, we ask for prayers for adoptive families who are literally stuck because of this adoption suspension. Our hearts are breaking for them. We know families who are matched with a child but waiting for MOWA's positive comment and we also know families who have been on the wait list for years and still have not received a referral for a child. Please pray for God's hope, comfort and guidance for these families.

Here is the copy of the official notice on the U.S. State Department's website:

Adoption Alert—Suspension of Adoptions from Ethiopia

On April 21, an official from Ethiopia’s Ministry of Women and Children (MOWA) informed U.S. Embassy Addis Ababa that it is suspending its processing of intercountry adoption cases, effective immediately. The U.S. Department of State does not yet know how long this suspension will last. The Office of Children’s Issues and the Embassy are working with MOWA to seek more information on the terms of the suspension. We will urge MOWA to complete processing of cases that were in progress prior to this suspension.

If you have questions about your pending case, please contact your Adoption Service Provider. You may also write to ConsAdoptionAddis@state.gov if you have questions about an adoption-related visa application or immigrant petition. You may copy the Office of Children’s Issues at Adoption@state.gov on your email to the Embassy if you wish. 

Please continue to monitor adoption.state.gov for updated information on intercountry adoption in Ethiopia. 

Photos

Once we have the court decree, I'll finally be able to post pictures of L but not yet. For now I will share some other pictures from our trip.

{The journey begins}

{You have to learn to sleep anywhere when your trip is 30 hours long!}

{Our first traditional Ethiopian meal: injera and meat sauce. We loved it.}

{Ethiopian mountains}

{On our way to meet L for the first time!!}

{The Courtyard at L's orphanage, Edget}

{L's crib and bedroom}

{More pictures of Edget}

{All smiles after passing court}

{View of Addis from the top of our hotel}

{While we were in Ethiopia, Ben was having a grand old time in Colorado!}

{authentic Ethiopian coffee}

{Africans don't seem to worry about safety like Americans do. The "fire evacuation plan" in our hotel room should have been entitled "How to fight the fire yourself instead of evacuating". The water heater plugged into the wall INSIDE the shower. And Dave's favorite: bamboo scaffolding!}




{Nannie, Papa and Benaiah. Our airport greeting committee. Ben is crying because he didn't want to go back in his stroller}

Another (hopefully minor) hiccup

We're asking for more prayers. We received an e-mail from our agency today with another unexpected twist.

They explained that the Minister for Ethiopian Adoptions has halted the Federal MOWA office from issuing anymore approvals indefinitely. Apparently they've had some concerns about adoption cases in other regions in Ethiopia (not the region that L is from). They said they are not going to issue any approvals until they've completed an investigation of these cases.

Unfortunately this does affect us greatly. We need one last MOWA approval in order to get L's birth certificate and be able to bring him to the U.S. Please pray that maybe they will make an exception for us and the other two families who have recently passed court and are just waiting to be able to bring our children home.

In case you're wondering what happens next, here are the steps that have to happen before we will be allowed to return to Ethiopia and bring L home:

Our agency will receive our official Adoption Decree from the court. (We've been told that they expect us to have our decree by tomorrow.)

Our agency will receive L's Birth Certificate (after MOWA approval).

Our agency's in-country staff will apply for L's Passport. The passport application cannot be initiated without the birth certificate.

L will be seen for his Embassy Physical with a doctor. L has to have a passport in order to complete this doctor's visit.

We will fill out L's Visa Application online.

Our agency's in-country staff will submit L's entire file and visa application to the U.S. Embassy for review.

We will receive an e-mail from the U.S. Embassy once the case is reviewed and they will schedule our interview date.

We will fly back to Ethiopia for our interview at the U.S. Embassy and bring L home to the U.S.A.!!

Two babies on two different continents

After more than 30 hours of travel, we made it home to Denver yesterday afternoon. Dave and I enjoyed our Ethiopian adventure together, but it also feels so nice to be home! We were greeted at the airport by my parents and Ben in his stroller holding a sign welcoming mommy and daddy home. What a wonderful feeling to hold that chubby boy and kiss his fluffy cheeks!!

Someday soon our two boys won't be separated by half the globe. That will be a happy day!

Thank you for the many prayers sent heavenward on our behalf. We are humbled by the support we've received by family and friends and even people we've never met. We're also grateful that Ben was so well-loved while we were gone. He had the A-team with Auntie Mary, Grandma, and Papa and Nanny. 

We will continue to keep you posted. Sometime in the next few weeks, we will receive an e-mail from the U.S. Embassy notifying us that it's time to return to Addis. Until then, please keep praying for L. For his care and protection and health. For preparation in his little heart to move far from his home country and become a member of our family.

Our last day in Addis (for now)

April 12, 2017

We had a leisurely morning at our hotel. This was the first time during this trip that I've felt tired during the day. After one last Ethiopian hotel breakfast, I went back to bed to rest while Dave had coffee with Yared. Not sure why I was so tired. Maybe because I was thinking about the fact that I won't have a bed to lay in for like 48 hours!

Eventually I got over my laziness and showered and packed up. I had a delicious cafe mocha made by the friendly girls at the hotel's coffee shop. Dave and I sat on the porch and read our Bibles for a little bit enjoying the sights, sounds and smells of Addis. 

For lunch Teddy joined us at the hotel. I decided I was a little tired of Ethiopian flavors and chose the cheeseburger and fries. It wasn't bad!

Since checkout was at noon, we left our luggage at the front desk and headed out the door to go visit L lugging along a suitcase of stuff for the orphanage-- baby blankets, kids' vitamins, snacks etc. 

We left around 1:00 and didn't make it to Edget until after 3:00. If nothing else, this culture definitely teaches you patience and flexibility. Hahaha. We got sidetracked on the other side of town because Teddy got a call from another adoptive parent needing a ride. It was fine though... we had time to kill. Our flight out of Addis wasn't until 10 pm. However we did want to maximize our time with L!

The traffic today was especially congested. Easter is Ethiopia's biggest holiday. They fast from meat, dairy and eggs for TWO MONTHS leading up to it! Since the holiday weekend is almost here, they said the roads would be extra crazy.

We probably had about 2 hours at the orphanage in the afternoon. It warmed my heart to see L carrying around his new family photo album when we first arrived. L started crying the minute he saw us. I feel so badly for him. I don't think he likes the extra attention at all. The nannies are well-intentioned and I can tell they just want him to be comfortable with us. But when they try to force him on us, it really upsets him. My guess is that he's going to need time to warm up. And we'll let him set the pace. 

And in all reality, I think he's a little scared of us. I can't imagine being in his shoes. He's been living in the same orphanage for over a year with the same nannies caring for him. Then out of the blue, without warning, these two strangers waltz in whose skin is a weird color and whose language he can't understand. They're called "mommy" and "daddy" and for some reason everyone gets excited when they arrive. 

Just like the other two days, he followed us intently as we walked to our car. He waved and gave us sweet smiles while holding onto his beloved bucket of toys. It was hard to say goodbye to him, but we know he is in good hands at Edget and this brings a lot of peace. And we also know that it shouldn't be too much longer before we can travel back to pick him up. Probably 4-6 weeks.

The whole thing still feels surreal. Legally, he is our son. Our firstborn. And we love him so much already. And yet, practically-speaking, we hardly know each other. I am so excited to start building a strong bond with this little boy. I know it's going to be very challenging at times. This is uncharted territory for us. There will be a lot of trial and error, but by God's grace we will learn together as a family. I'm thankful for my husband who is willing to do this crazy journey with me. Everything is better with him around.

a post from Dave

April 11, 2017 (again!)

We had a very good day. Woke up and scarfed down some Ethiopian breakfast (interesting stuff, not half bad) and left our hotel by 7:10 to get to Federal Court. We have a wonderful driver named Teddy Zuma....27 years old, super nice guy. We love him. 

Court was a whole 3 minute interview. Judge was nice, gave us approval, and that was that. Crazy, 3 minutes!!!! 

Teddy then drove us to the orphanage and we spent 3 hours with L and his nannies. He was very shy again at first, took him about 1 hour to warm up to us. lots of tears and very scared.....then, he got over it and we had a great time. It was fun to see him playing, laughing, running, and interacting with us. He has quite a little personality....very cautious and calculated but once you get him past that he smiles and laughs with the best of them. He is going to be much more shy than Ben, and we will need to be careful not to overwhelm him quickly when he is in the States....we can see he will just need to be eased into things for a while. He is very protective of his belongings (the matchbox cars we brought him which is about all he owns). He hides the cars in the couch cushions for later. He then put them in a bucket and wouldn't put them down. He also likes Iphones, same as Ben, and played with one for quite a while. We also gave him the picture book Rachel made, and he looked at it carefully with the nanny and went through each picture very slowly. He is much more developed than we expected, understands quite a bit of Amharic, and is intelligent according to the orphanage director.  The nannies completely impressed us again. They love the kids, and the kids love them. The care they get at this orphanage is top notch, lots to be thankful for. There was an older nanny L is close too, and she was super helpful getting him comfortable with us and gently pushing him to sit with us and play. She spoke broken English, so we were able to chat with her and find out more details about L that were helpful now, and will be in the future.

We are pretty worn out after a long day, but thankful for the experiences. The Lord has been very good to us and worked things out so far better than we could have asked for or imagined. Thankful for our God who cares about these little ones in Africa and others parts of the world 

Sobering fact: The orphanage L was at for the first 10 months of his life is pretty rough. They currently have approx. 2 kids die each day. L was under 10 LB's when he arrived at Edget orphanage (where he is now), completely malnourished, at 1 year old. It's somewhat amazing that he lived to this point.

Great quote: The older Nanny told us after looking at photos of you all that she is "so happy that L is going from no family to a large family!"

Court day (part 2)

Sorry these entries are out of order. When our internet was spotty in Addis, it messed up the order of our blog posts.

April 11, 2017 (continued...)

There were still a few tears from L today. He was laying on a chair by himself and when Dave went to check on him, he just started balling while curled up in the fetal position. This seems to be his coping mechanism for fear-- he just freezes up and cries. When the nannies tried to make him sit on my lap, he resisted and cried then too. But he warmed up again after a little while. 

He surprises us over and over again with how much he soaks in...

I brought a little photo album with pictures of his new family. I really didn't think he would care or understand what these photos meant. But the instant he received the album he held on tightly and intently stared at the pictures. He sat with the nannies and looked at each and every picture as they translated to him who each person was. Absolutely precious!

I had brought a few articles of clothing from home to leave at the orphanage with L. It was so cute... I held them up to him to check for size and handed them to one of the nannies and he immediately fussed to the nanny and pulled on his shirt insisting that she take it off and put on one of his new ones. He was so proud! (It was so fun to see him wearing a shirt that used to be Cohen Kent's!)

Today we saw a lot more smiles from little L. And even a few belly laughs. Dave was playing hide 'n seek with L and a few of the kids. They were laughing so hard. They'd run outside to find Dave and then run back inside screaming after they saw him. L called him "Dad" while they were playing!

We met the orphanage director, "Sister" and we gave her huge hugs. She speaks a little bit of English. She told us that L is shy but very smart. She gave us baby pictures that she had of him. 

There was one older nanny there today who spoke a tiny bit of English too. It was so nice to be able to ask a few questions about L. I asked what he likes to eat. She said soup, stew, bread and milk. She said his appetite is not very good which helps explain why he's pretty skinny. She said he sleeps well at night and takes a nap everyday after lunch. He sleeps in a crib. He seemed very attached to her. She called him her little friend. It was apparent that she is genuinely happy that he has a family now. 

When we were saying our goodbyes the nannies asked him to give us kisses and we were surprised he so willingly complied! We both got kisses on the cheek. And just like the day before he followed us to the gate. The goodbyes are definitely getting harder!

When we made it back to the hotel we actually had wifi! It was so nice to be able to write a couple emails and blog posts. We even got to check in with my family and Ben by phone! Sounds like Ben is doing great and we're so thankful for that!!

I was completely exhausted by this point but in true-to-form African fashion, through a comedy of errors, multiple phone calls and messages getting lost in translation, we ended up going to a restaurant with Teddy for an authentic Ethiopian buffet complete with traditional music and dancing. It was quite the show and definitely worth going out for even if we were ready for bed hours earlier. I'm glad we went!

We made it!

April 9, 2017

Oh, Africa…

We flew through the night Friday into Saturday to Washington Dulles Aiport. During our 5 and a 1/2 hour lay over, we found some benches to sleep on. It’s amazing how comfortable a standard airport chair can feel after being awake all night! 

The flight from D.C. to Addis with Ethiopian Airlines was about 13 hours. It felt like a standard international flight with lots of airplane food. A few times my mind would start thinking, “Wait, I have to do this THREE MORE TIMES in the next month?!??” But then I would refocus and tell myself I just need to get through this flight for now.

When we arrived it was about 8:00 am Sunday morning local time. As we were landing looking out at the city of Addis, I was thinking, “This just doesn’t seem real. I cannot believe we’re actually here.” We stood in line to purchase our visas, then went to get our luggage. 

We exited the airport and went down the ramp as instructed. Our adoption coordinator had told us to look for a driver from our hotel who was holding up a sign with our names. He was supposed to be there at 8:30. By now it was 9:00 and said driver was nowhere to be found. It was a little awkward. We were trekking around several suitcases going up and down the ramp. All through the parking lot. Still no one with a “Fritzler” sign. Meanwhile, everyone was staring at us. We stand out like sore thumbs, that’s for sure. And we were probably asked about 3 dozen times if we needed a ride. Our cell phones don’t work here and they wouldn’t allow us back in the airport to make a phone call. So Dave asked one of the taxi drivers if he could borrow his phone to make a quick call. The man didn’t jump at the idea but he did tell him he would sell him a SIM card. Thankfully Dave is no dummy. He said he would try the SIM card in his phone and if it worked, he’d buy it. It didn’t work. Shocker. Thankfully the man let him use his phone in the end and Dave was able to reach our hotel to tell them we need a ride. Apparently the driver had come at 7:00 am and left after we didn’t show up. Schedules and timing are not Africans’ strong suit. ;)  By the time we left the airport it was about 10 a.m.

Driving through Addis to our hotel we definitely felt like we were in Nigeria again. It looks SO similar. People EVERYWHERE. Dangerously crossing in front of traffic. A few nice buildings scattered amidst small metal-roof shanties. Insane traffic with rules and right-of-ways we will never understand. 

Our hotel is pretty nice for African standards. Electricity. Hot water. Clean room. But their Wifi was down. They said they were hoping to have it fixed the next day. We were really looking forward to checking in with our families and mostly I wanted to know how Ben was doing. I admit— at this point, I felt overwhelmed. Yes, I’ve been to third world countries before. And yes, I should be used to things not going as expected. But every time I have to adjust. So many things we take for granted at home. Our phones work. Our internet works. We can contact help when we need it. We can always find clean water to drink. Everyone speaks English. All of the sudden I was feeling very uncomfortable. Not knowing how we were going to get to our hotel rattled me. And now I can’t check in on Ben?! And I’m so tired. I think we had slept no more than 3 or 4 hours in a 48-hour time span. It was time for a nap.

While I napped, Dave found a driver to take him to an internet cafe and at least send an e-mail so our families didn’t have to worry about our safety.

After the nap, my mental state was better. I’m out of my comfort zone, but I knew that would be the case. Yes, there are still a lot of unknowns but God is still in control. He has orchestrated this whole process from the beginning and will continue to. And we’re going to meet our son TOMORROW! These were the comforting thoughts I went to bed with that night. And boy, did we sleep well!

Court day!

April 11, 2017

Woke up to our alarm at 6:00 am. Court day today! Woohoo! Put on our Sunday best. Scarfed down a hotel breakfast buffet Ethiopian style. Injera and veggies. Not sure how these people survive on an all-starch diet!

We're amazed how good we feel. We've had no jet lag at all and we've slept so well. Must be all the prayers going up on our behalf! 

We left the hotel a little after 7:00 and picked up another adoptive parent, Corey, on our way. Teddy got us to court in plenty of time. Doors open at 9:00 am and we were there around 8. Yared met us there as well as another couple from Atlanta who is adopting through our agency-- Molly and Alex. We hung out in front of the courthouse for an hour watching the hubbub around us. Teams of school children in their uniforms heading to class. Vans filled with more people than is humanly possible. Donkeys, horses roaming around. Inmates in orange uniforms escorted by armed guards to the court. The smells of exhaust and pollution and the sounds of African traffic. Nonstop horn usage. 

The other adoptive parents said they were nervous. But we were filled with peace. No nerves. We were confident it would go well!

Inside we waited in a hallway filled with other adoptive families there for the same reason as us. They were from all over. Italy. Spain. Texas. I think we were called into the judge's room around 11:00. 

The room was kind of dark and very quiet. Yared and Mengistu (another employee of our adoption agency) were at one side of the long table and they directed us to sit on the other side next to the judge who was at the head. Young guy. Late 20's. Dressed well. Dave broke the silence by marching up to the judge, "Hey, how ya doing?!" he said like he was an old friend. Leave it to Dave. I was laughing inside, hoping the judge wouldn't take offense to his casual manner. 

He asked for our passports and then asked us a few questions, taking written notes of our answers. 

Do you have children at home?

How old is he?

Do you live in a city or town?

Is it diverse?

Have you met your child?

What did you think of him?

So you want to adopt him?

You realize that once this court order is decreed it cannot be revoked?

He signed a couple documents and said the court would finish their paperwork and issue the decree. And that was it. This whole trip for a three-minute interview. You have to laugh when you think of it that way!

When the group of us left the courthouse, Yared was hysterically laughing. He pats Dave's shoulder and says, "This guy! He's too funny. Everyone walks into that court room timidly and quietly. Even me. I know the judge, I have coffee with him sometimes. And even I am a little scared and quiet when I go into that room. But not this guy. He walks in and shakes his hand and says loudly, 'Heeeey, how ya doing?!' " We were all cracking up. Meanwhile my husband says, "What? I was just being friendly." I love him. 

And now we're off to see our son. He is officially our son today. What a good day!!

The day we've been dreaming of

April 10, 2017

This day will go down in history.

At least in Fritzler family history.

I woke up at 5 am bright-eyed and bushy tailed (where does that saying come from anyway?). I tried to convince myself to sleep more but I just couldn’t. Too much excitement.

During breakfast in our hotel, Yared came to meet us. He is a staff member of our adoption agency’s in-country team. It seems like he single handedly runs the operation really. An amazing man. It’s apparent that he loves adoption and he wants to help as many orphans as he can. He’s Ethiopian but we learned he lived in Denver for 13 years. And he still owns an Ethiopian restaurant on Colfax. We will definitely have to dine there when we are back in CO!

He arranged for transportation for us to the Care Center to meet with him and two other adoptive families who are scheduled for court tomorrow as well. Our time with him was enlightening. He explained a lot of the complexities of Ethiopian adoption. It all makes a little more sense when you’re in country. More on that later.

Teddy (nickname “Zuma”), our driver, then brought us to Edget orphanage where L lives. It took about an hour to get there I think. Our coordinator had said no matter where you’re going in Addis, it seems like everything is an hour away. In our brief two days here, we have already learned why she says that.

When we first arrived, there was some misunderstanding with those at the gate. We asked if L lived here and they said “no.” But after a minute, one of the nannies said “yes” and ran off to get him. (The language barrier can make things a little confusing!) 

I caught a glimpse of him through a window. The nannies were getting him ready. They dressed him in cute plaid shorts and a white collared shirt. When Dave and I walked into the nursery, everyone made a big fuss. There were a few nannies and another set of adoptive parents from Turkey. They were telling him, “This is your mommy. Go to your mommy!” They handed him to me and he just balled! The poor kid. Too much attention. I think everyone was worried that we’d feel badly if he didn’t respond well to us. But I wasn’t worried at all. I kept saying, ‘It’s ok, it's ok.” He needs some warm-up time to get to know us. 

The nannies seemed amazing. We didn't really get to communicate with them-- our Amharic is pretty limited ;) Even with the language barrier, it was easy to see their good hearts. These kids are well loved and cared for. No question. We were so happy to see that first hand. You could tell that L was attached to them. If he was worried or scared, he would go to a nanny to be held and comforted. There was also an adoptive mom there from Turkey who he was very comfortable with. He snuggled in her arms and would come up to her and hug her leg. This was encouraging to me. I know sometimes adoptive children have a hard time with bonding and attachment but seeing these behaviors makes me think he'll be quick to bond and attach with his new mommy, daddy and brother. 

We brought a few match box cars. L liked to hold one on each hand. He wouldn't let them go. When we were playing soccer with him, he made sure each car was safe in his pockets. After some playing with matchbox cars and soccer balls, the nannies directed us to the courtyard. It was beautiful! Lusciously green. Full of flowers in an array of color.

For a little while he sat next to a three-year-old girl (the one who is being adopted by the Turkish couple) and watched the iPad with her. We just hung out next to him for a while and he seemed to really warm up at this time. He played with a xylophone and let Dave put his hat on his head. I rubbed his legs and arms and we took pictures together. It was so cute-- he sat there with his arm around the little girl for quite some time. I think he's going to be a little charmer! 

Less than two hours later, our driver returned to bring us back to the hotel. When we were saying goodbye, L reached both arms up to Dave gesturing for him to pick him up. So sweet! He walked us to the gate with one of the nannies and watched our every move with his big, observant eyes waving timidly until we weren't in sight anymore. 

We got back to our hotel around 3:00 and ate a mushroom pizza from the "Addis View Pizzeria". Not an authentic pizza by any means but it didn't matter. We had so much fun talking about meeting our first born son!

We both decided he was exactly how we imagined he would be. The few precious photos we had received totally captured his personality. Calculated. Observant. Quiet. Smart. Kind hearted and gentle. He and Ben couldn't be more opposite but they will balance each other perfectly! We can't wait to bring Ben's older brother home. 

WE'RE HEADING TO ETHIOPIA IN TWO DAYS!!!

Flights are booked! We leave on Friday! AHHH!!!! 

It's amazing how things change by the minute around here. Apparently, the missing police document was a misunderstanding. There is no missing police document. As of this morning, April 11th has been confirmed as our court date by the judge!

Our flight to Addis leaves late Friday night. Our heads are spinning. Lots to do! But we are SO THANKFUL to have arrived at this day!!

Thanks for all the continued prayers! 

The roller coaster ride continues...

Well, apparently our MOWA approval was conditional. They are asking for an updated police letter in regard to the search for L's birth mother. And the judge has not yet approved our court date of April 11th. It's unclear why. Maybe it's related to MOWA's request for a police letter? We are waiting for clarity from our adoption agency. This morning they told us that 4/11 is not a possibility for court anymore, but then we received an e-mail saying 4/11 is not completely out. Keep praying!