We had a very moving day as we traveled four hours south to the region where our children were born. In the town of Hosanna, all the families who have relinquished kids through CHSFS (our agency) gather to meet us (the adoptive parents). One by one, we are ushered into private rooms with an interpreter to talk with the family member who comes.
We were so honored to meet in person Daniel, the oldest brother of Godebo and Bereket. Daniel was the one who made the hard decision to give G and B up for adoption when he realized he could not longer feed them and their four other siblings. There is so much I could tell you about this time, but there were two things that especially stood out. When we asked Daniel what we want G and B to remember about their birth family, he said he wants them to know that all their brothers and their sister are "uneducated" (his word) and his greatest wish for them is that they would have a chance to be educated and become productive and good people. He really sees no hope for the others to break out of their situation. (He is now 18 and supporting two of the siblings plus a grandmother -- mostly by doing odd jobs and farming a very small piece of land.) We were very touched by his maturity and selflessness. He seems like an intelligent and kind person, and we are so sorry we cannot help him in any other way. (Legally not possible)
The other wonderful thing we found out is that Daniel became the spiritual leader of his family after their parents were gone -- he even painted a cross and Bible verses on the walls of their hut -- and he was so moved to know we are Christian, as their family is. We made sure Daniel knew that we would raise the children to know Jesus Christ, that we would pray for Daniel and the rest of the family, and that we would someday meet again in heaven. He seemed relieved by this and even said he sees us as his "parents."
After all the families had met with the birth families, we had a very lovely ceremony where the birth families prayed, lit a candle and passed it to the adoptive parents. Then we said a prayer for them and had a chance to say goodbye. It was very emotional for everyone, and difficult for some. But I believe it was an important rite of passage that will transition all of us into this new chapter of our lives.