JUST GET ME THERE!

I don't know if any of you have ever been to a third world country but if it's your first time like it was ours it started off rough and terrifying! We had been traveling for 20+ hours we were exhausted. When we left our KY home the temperature was in the low 30's so we had on our light winter clothes because we knew it would be warm when we landed in Ghana. Warm was an under statement. The plane landed and they let down the stairs so we could walk from the parking spot into the airport. We got close to the plane door the heat and humidity took our breath away and we were instantly sticky. We were the some of the first ones off the plane so we followed the crowd of people into the airport. Thank God they had air conditioners. When walking up the first thing you see is a couple a men in uniforms with Ak47 on their shoulders. We definitely aren't in the US any more Toto! I expected it I had 8+ months to read and research what to expect, my husband however did not was taken off guard. As you walk up to customs to have your Visas checked more men with guns. I was on my best behavior, still not bothered. When we walked out of the airport thousands of people were standing waiting for their families and friends. Totally different than a US airport, very overwhelming. When the workers saw we were white everyone wanted to help us. They assumed we had money, and tried taking our bags. VERY SCARY! Our POA not to be found.

So we finally found our POA and made it to our room, we discussed the plan for the next day. 
1.) Go to embassy file i600
2.) Get up early go to Royal Seed meet our friends kids and give them the gifts from their gifts
3.) Get lunch
4.) Go to Kumasi 6+ hours away get room sleep call family
5.) Wake up early meet our son for the first time

So after our POA left Tony had a panic attack and tried to convince me we didn't belong there for us to get back on the plane and go home. He was in total culture shock. One thing we consistently agreed on was that we felt like we were going on this trip for more than our son. I am more aware of my conscience than Tony is and I felt very heavy from the time we left our home. I was certain we were going for more than our sweet boy. 

NEXT DAY: We got up early and went to the embassy and filed our i-600. It was a huge mess. No wonder things take so long to get things done. No one seemed to know what they where doing. After we finally got to where we were supposed to be, we waited for about an hour. As soon as it was our turn, we went in the little room the power went out. AWESOME! Thank God it came back on quickly and we handed the lady our documents and we went on our way. Hours of waiting for 5 mins....

2) On our way to Royal Seed. Lets just get this out there Ghana traffic is nuts! People walking in and out of cars up to your window. No stoplights no, lines on the road, you beep the horn and go. The driving was an experience in it's self. So we arrived at the Orphanage. Instantly you swallow your heart. As we walked in all these little brown faces chanted and us and waved. They were so happy to see us, Oh my heart! They all appeared to be very well taken care of. They had there school clothes on and all had their hair fixed i was impressed. So we went and set in this little room (the office) and waited for us to bring their sons to us. We were not allowed out of that room, and we were watched closely. 

They brought the oldest boy in first Judah. He was tall, very dark and handsome. Soft spoken. I gave him a shirt, some pictures of his new family and we talked. This boy melted my heart. You can tell he was very well trained. He stood at attention and looked straight forward. Anytime we told him to relax he looked at the lady who was in charge. I finally got him to ease up. I told him all about his mommy how much she talked about him all the time and how much she already loved him. So we asked him do you have any questions? He said yes and turned and look at tony and said are you my daddy? Tony's eyes filled with tears and he found his voice under the gigantic lump in his throat and said no buddy, but i wish i was your daddy is very lucky. He gave us butterflies and we cried all the way to meet our sweet boy over him. He definitely stole our heart.

While we were talking to Judah and gathering as much information as we could to bring back to his parents they bring out Kojo. Little, quiet, tiny Kojo. When he walked in that room and saw he us, I believe he thought he was looking at a ghost. I'm pretty sure he hadn't seen white people before. The poor little guy wouldn't say a word and just stared at us. It's safe to say he had a deer in the headlights look. We couldn't stop laughing at his facial expressions. He was so darn cute! He wasn't interested in getting near us until he saw we had toys and clothes for him. Then he sat in my lap. Of course i had to get a smile, so i tickled him :-) He didn't say a word but i got pictures and an estimated size, and that's what his momma wanted. Our meeting was extremely short, because we were clearly not welcome to stay there very long. I was very frustrated with that, but overall we were satisfied and excited. If we got butterflies and a unimaginable bond with a child that's not ours (Judah) what was it going to feel like when we meet Isaiah. Oh I couldn't wait and i was going to get to see him in a few short hours.

So after we left the orphanage we wanted to eat. We had never been in this country before wasn't exactly sure about our guide, who happen to be our POA. We were at his mercy. After all we didn't to make the only person we knew in this country mad less than 24 hours into our trip. We waited patiently as we drove in circles as he tried to decide if he wanted to take VIP bus or a taxi to Kumasi. So we asked to stop and eat, and we asked, and we asked, so after 4 hours wasted we finally we demanded stop and get us food and get us to where are son is. We had wasted enough time driving in circles. At this point our trust was lowering and we were getting nervous. We hadn't been able to talk to our family yet, it was a nightmare. Finally we got food and headed to the bus station, that was CRAZY & TERRIFYING!

Well, after fighting through the ridiculous chaotic traffic to get to the VIP bus our POA had changed his mind again! He didn't want to take the bus he wanted to take a taxi. Are you following me?!!!? We have now wasted an entire day driving in a circle that i could be with my sweet boy that I traveled 22 hours to meet. It's now dark, i was hungry, and i wanted to talk to our family. Finally after all day we got on the road actually to Kumasi. We traveled 6 hours on a dirt road in a Geo metro with speed bumps as tall as me, in pitch black darkness, the only light around was our head lights, with the radio extremely loud in Ghanaian music and about every 30-45 secs a DJ on the radio and said 89.5. Oh yeah and we got stopped at a road block. In the middle of no where. Men in uniforms surround our car, our driver and POA get out of the car and start yelling at the men who are around our car who all are holding AK47. Then everything gets quiet and we see our POA run into the trees. Are you serious?!?! Where is he going?!?! The diver gets back in the car, no POA.. finally after what seemed to be 20 mins he came out out the woods. Oh, don't worry, everything was ok. Just friendly conversation at a routine roadblock and our POA just had to pee...It was a LONG..LONG..LONG six hours. 

Everything was ok, everything was ok, everything was ok, i had to keep telling myself that. We still felt like we were there for more than our son. We just couldn't explain it but we both agreed. After our LONG day I was assured that i would get to meet my sweet boy first thing in the morning. For 6 hours i prayed Jesus i don't know what you are doing but i trust you. If  I'm honest i was trying to convince myself of this as I was praying. At that point i realized God was the only person who was going to keep me safe and get me to my sweet boy. Finally close to midnight we got to our hotel and got to speak with our family. We didn't waste any time we went to bed, we just knew our sweet boy would be there first thing in the morning.

Galatians 6:9
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.