Friday, August 6th

THE NEW PRESIDENT OF COLOMBIA IS BEING INAUGURATED TODAY!!!

Ive no idea how long I will have to type at this moment but want to fill you in a bit. Right now Im typing on a Spanish keyboard. Ive no idea where some of the buttons are and have no time to figure it out so forgive my errors. This will also be brief...I know. Bummer!

Yesterday (in Bogota at Hotel Paris) we woke with all the other families and had breakfast in the dining area. We were able to choose from a menu and eat as much as we pleased. The kids and I had french toast with fruit. It was so delicious! We had a meeting at 1230 with Jaime and his wife, Sylvia. They are our assistants while in Bogota...very sweet couple. Its wonderful to be with the other families, see their babies, their progress, the love given and the spirit of adoption that is very present!

Abi and I left at 130, with Jaime and Sylvia, to go to her doctors appointment. It was just a well check to prove to the US Embassy that shes healthy enough to enter the country. Kelly also came along with us because after our dr. appointment we went by the embassey to pick up her visa. She left today (Sat.) for HOME!!!

So we get to the dr. office and after a 15 minute wait, he was ready for us. This Dr. was just precious. He was probably in his late 60s...had a plaid shirt on with a navy blue sweater over it, along with grey pants. He wore glasses and had thick Colombian hair that was salt and pepper colored. He was quiet at first and asked simple questions about our Abi. Im unsure of the questions, after having slept (so little) and sweat (this much)...mercy Jesus! We began talking about adoption, how long weve been in Colombia, how much we loved Medellin, etc. During our visit, the dr. is also looking through her medical files, checking her shot records to find that shes up to date, etc. At one point, Abi started to quickly walk around the room and talk but with a yell in her voice. Shes soooo loud sometimes! I, too, was a bit keyed up.

So...here we are with this beautiful Colombian doctor, speaking in English and learning about our girl! I was taking pictures left and right and that made the dr. laugh. I told him he was a significant part of Abis journey and will be in her book. He smiled. Abi got louder and louder with excitement and the dr. said...like daughter, like mother!!! I asked him what in the world he meant by that and he laughed...we all laughed. Kelly was in the room with us. She said that was such a fun meeting to the doctor!! Hers was more professional (which is what he prefers, Im sure).

It was time for the physical exam. Abi was taken to the table-bed, clothes were removed and there she stood...naked and chubby. He saw her birthmark on her bahooka (rear), Kelly and I asked if it was the outline of Colombia and he laughed some more. Its pretty big. He then pointed out more marks on her body and said that I have them too...because Im from Colombia. Hmmm...Ill have to look into that later...never knew I had a birthmark. The doctor observed that Abi is healthy and weighs a whopping 19.8 lbs. I thought she weighed more than that but the scales showed otherwise. :)

At one point during the visit, I mentioned that I was adopted from Villavicencio after having been birthed in Bogota. He asked when that was and I told him 1967. I also told him I was left at the Church of Carmen at the corner of 5th and 8th Streets in Bogota.

He stopped looking at his computer, looked up at me, above his glasses and very seriously said, let me tell you about the history at that time...

I was an intern in 1967 and we received many malnourished babies from that specific area...a block over is the Presidential Palace...some girls who got pregnant and knew they couldnt care for their baby KNEW to leave their baby at The Church of Carmen or near the Presidential Palace. This was NOT an unusual act as many were doing it...abandoning their babies in that area. I was shocked as he spoke. I was completely taken aback as I didnt expect any of this information. I listened with great intent and asked Kelly to help me remember all that he was saying. He said, if youve ever wondered if you were loved, you were. This was the place to leave your baby if you loved them and knew they would be found. He smiled at me and got back to work.

I wanted to embrace this older man and sob. I wanted to express my deepest gratitude for his heart to speak into my life. I thanked him and told him Id never forget our time with him. I was blessed by this man and pray the Lord shows him just how much he changed my life today.

On my way out, he pointed to a photo and said...this is my daughter...she is adopted! We were in a mad rush to get to the embassy for Kelly to receive her visa. We had gone over our time in staying at the drs office so Sylvia was at the door, loudly speaking in Spanish and saying to hurry, hurry!!! I said to the dr....now youre telling me that you have an adopted daughter?!!! I just may have to make another appointment just to visit with you...he laughed and laughed. I feel as though we were all blessed during Abi's well check today.

Jesus bless this precious man who has played a huge role in my beginning and Abis too!

(Saturday morning the above was typed. I lost internet connection in Villavicencio....I'm now completing this on Monday, Aug. 9th)

We made it to the embassy, Kelly received her visa...she was ecstatic! By the time we got back to Hotel Paris, it was early evening. We had no idea we would be gone that much of the day. In the meantime, Andrew (Stringer from Medellin) was on his way to Bogota. He was waiting for us at the bus stop to accompany us to Villavicencio. After much discussion about taking the bus vs. a taxi, we decided on a taxi. The buses stop often, are FULL of people and you're not allowed to open your windows. We packed into a taxi, along with three other men. The driver, Josh and Bruce sat in the front. Abi, Bella and I, along with another man...let's call him Juan...sat in the middle section. Andrew and two other men sat in the far back. Juan (pretend name) was next to me. I was in the middle with Abi in my lap and Bella to my right. The traffic was unbelievable...stop and go...to get out of Bogota. Our driver, who was crazy, kept trying to take different routes to get us around the traffic. Thank God all of us (but Bruce) took our motion sickness medicine! Thanks Kelly!!) It took over an hour just to get out of Bogota. We finally made it to the mountains of Bogota and were well on our way to Villavicencio. There are two tunnels you must go through to get Villavicencio. I believe, Andrew said that from the first tunnel to the last it's 2.5 hours. One of the tunnels is 4 miles long. They created the tunnels and so that when the massive amounts of rain came, the road would withstand the mudslide. As a side note, the main road from Bogota to Villavicencio is often damaged due to the mudslides. Years and years ago, one of the mudslides was so grand that many lost their lives, homes, etc.. It was horrible.

By the time we got out of Bogota, the sun was down and Abi was getting fidgety. Juan, sat next to me very quietly. He didn't look our direction much or speak. Of course, friendly Andrew was chatting up a storm with his new friends in the far back. :)) He cracks me up! At one point, Abi was DONE with this journey to Villavicencio. She couldn't get comfortable and wouldn't allow herself to fall asleep. She wasn't scream crying..thank God...but she was upset. Bella had long fallen asleep and was leaning on my right side. My legs had been in the same position for well over an hour, my right side was numb and now Abi was settling in on my left. She was leaning back on my left arm and it quickly grew tired and sore. When I moved her, she began to whimper.

JUAN TO THE RESCUE!!! Who knew Juan had it in him to help?! This sweet, sweet man (nicely dressed in corderoys, a long sleeved shirt and a jacket, mid 30's?) offered for Abi to put her legs across his right leg. So she layed flat across my legs with her feet on his right leg. This worked! I was so thankful. Everyone was falling asleep as the night had grown later and later. Abi would twist and turn and each time, Juan would help get her situated. Finally, she was set. We all put our heads back against the chairs and fell asleep. I just drifted off as I wasn't about to go to "sleep" in this taxi with a numb body and two girls laying all over me. However, I was wakened by a strange feeling under my left hand. It was Juan's corderoy pants!!! Ahhhhh!!!! My hand was on Juan's leg. What in the world?! Why wasn't Bruce back here with me? Why was this so hard? So hot in the taxi? So long to get to Villavicencio? Would my legs ever walk again after this much pressure and no movement?! I couldn't wait to get to bed in Villavicencio and for this part of the journey to END! I was so tired and frustrated at this point.

We arrived to Villavicencio after 11pm. Irma had prepared dinner for us. She and her husband, Jose, run the Christian school that is on the land near the location of the orphanage. They are also Andrew's in laws...Joanna's parents! They met us at the door with great embraces. None of us thought we could eat because we were so tired and hot. But...we did and it was very enjoyable. If it was prepared and they were waiting...you ate! She brought out spaghetti and it was delicious! After we talked for a while and finished our dinner (or should I say midnight snack?), we were taken by Andrew and Irma to our rooms.

When you enter Infant Paradise (I still call it Infant Paradise because it's where the orphanage used to be located and where I'm from), there is a main gate. Jose and Irma's house is approximately 50 yards from the entrance gate. From their house to the orphanage facility it's about 150 yards. So after dinner, we walked down a dark dirt road to get to our rooms. We were all so tired that we thought we didn't care what it may look like, so as to have a place to sleep. However, after walking this distance with our one piece of luggage and another bag in hand, we entered PI (Paradisio Infantil/Infant Paradise) in the heat, ready to settle in for the night! The first room we entered, by screen door, was the dining room. It has a very large wood table with benches on both sides, where the younger children ate while at the orphanage. Then we walked into a large room with two florescent lights on each side of the room. Down the center of this large room were white, wooden, "closets" for the children that lived in this room. Three years ago, when Bruce and I visited PI, this room had little bunk beds that lined the walls of this room. They had been removed. We walked through this room and at the end of the room were two bedrooms. They were for us! Bella, Abi and I stayed in the full size bed on the right. There was also a small, white chest of drawers in our room with curtains over the windows! We chose this room because there was a fan in this room. The boys room, next door, had two twin size beds, no curtains, windows open and was very hot! Both rooms were very hot!!! The humidity in Villavicencio is always high!! And it's also very hot! We had become accustomed to the coolness in Bogota.

By this time, it's midnight or later. The idea of laying down, wet with sweat, in a hot room, with dirty floors and bugs flying around was not what we had in mind. We were frustrated. We were beyond tired. We were on edge with each other and now this?! Surely, tomorrow will be better, right?!