Last day in Ethiopia and I didn't want to leave.
We were suppose to have three more days.
But, I knew we were doing the right thing.
We needed Miles to get well and it just wasn't happening there.
Since we weren't able to meet any of Miles' birth family that morning, we had the caregiver come early so we could do a little souvenir shopping before we had to meet Travis at Kolfe, the boys government orphanage, and for a tour and to get Miles' passport and visa.
To our surprise, Miles' Special Mother came with her.
After shopping for a couple of hours, we headed to Kolfe.I honestly didn't know what to expect.
We were greeted by a dozen or more boys.
Sweet boys with big smiles on their faces.
Since I can't post any pictures of the boys, I thought I'd just post a few of the orphanage.
Outside by the kitchen.
The kitchen.
One of the dorms.
Garden.
Soccer field.
After we toured the facilities, Alex played soccer with a bunch of the kids while Keith and I talked to this young man.
He is 18 years old and has lived in the orphanage since he was a young boy. He is in school and told us that he has about 3 years left. The more he told us, the more our hearts broke for him. See, they are allowed to live there past 18 as long as they stay in school and stay out of trouble. He is studying to be a tour guide, but told us that he know that when he gets done with school, he won't be able to get a job because jobs are so hard to come by. He doesn't know what he will do. He told us that he practices his people skills by talking to people that come to visit and he hopes that will help him get a job when he get out of school.It was like looking at Miles 18 years from now.
The whole time I was there, I kept thinking this could have been him.
He could have very easily ended up in a place very similar to this.
It was a hard afternoon.
After a couple of hours, we left and headed back to the guest home to finish packing.
Before leaving for the airport, Miles' Special Mother came by for one last goodbye. She came in and just held him for a while.
After all our bags were loaded up and we were ready to leave, she walked with us to the car, carrying Miles in her arms. Before handing him to me, she just stared at him, kissed him all over his face, hugged him, said something to him in Amharic.After she and the caregiver finished saying their goodbyes, we hugged them both, told them thank you one last time and headed to the airport.
It was time to take Miles home.
