Day 4 of our Adventure

So the problem with writing about your adventures 3 weeks after you get home is there is a lot that you forget to write and you aren't really sure when it happened. So I am going to start out Day 4 with just some other stuff that happened on our trip.

I think we were pretty hungry after Day 3 and just wanted to eat food we knew we would like (comfort food). So we had our facilitator take us to Papa John's Pizza to pick up some pizza to go. Our driver and our facilitator both ended up ordering pizza to take home also. I don't normally care for Papa John's Pizza but I think this was the best pizza I had ever tasted. We took it back to our hotel and were going to eat in our room except they were cleaning it and putting in new mattresses.

Now, funny story about the mattresses. The first night we were there Steve complained that they were lumpy and he could feel the springs. I am on an adoption FB group and several people have joked that they feel spied on while in country. One couple spoke of being very thirsty and wondering if the water in the mini bar was the free water they were allowed to drink. While having the conversation there was a knock at the door and there stood someone with the free water for them. So when we came up to our room with our pizza and saw them replaces the mattresses with new ones it was a little unnerving at first. Then we went to a lobby area to eat and noticed they were replacing all of the mattresses. Guess it was just time to get new mattresses.

The next day was our last visit with Natasha. We asked when we got there if there was anyway we could just spy on her for a few minutes to see how she interacts with her group and her caregivers. They said that would be fine. We were still trying to figure out if her behavior from the day before was her normal behavior or if it was just from all the excitement of being the center of attention by 5 adults when you don't normally get any attention.

So we stepped outside to have a peek. But the minute we walked outside we could hear her calling for us and running towards us. So much for spying on her. What a wonderful feeling though. She knew we were there for her. We were her people and she had claimed us. There were 4 adults that came out that door but I was the one she ran to and I was the one who's hand she took to go out on the playground. Talk about melting a momma's heart.

At first they tried to get her to go back with her group but she was having none of that. We had come two days in a row to play with her and that was what she was going to do. So her caregiver gave her a ball to take over with us and we went to a separate play area. She took her ball to a little basketball hoop. We had to laugh as she had a sunhat on but underneath was the HUGE blue bow.

Next she decided that she was going to try going on the slide. But she made it seem like she had never done so before so we had to help her up the stairs and she would not come down unless we were there to catch her at the bottom.

And having a dad to help you climb up the stairs was even better. She had us played well. All the time making us believe she had never climbed up those stairs before and acting like she couldn't do it unless we were there to help her.

She played with us for about 20 minutes and then decided she wanted to go back over and be with her group. But what was interesting is that she motioned to us what she was doing. Almost like asking permission. We nodded our heads and said Da (yes). So off she went. We still had not seen her with her group or caregivers so we wanted to just watch and observe for a few minutes. As soon as she was back her caregiver told her she had forgot the ball over by us. So here she came running back to to get it. We noticed that she does not bend her knees when she runs. But she did exactly like she was asked and went to play some group ball games. They did that for about 10 minutes and then the children were back to just playing again. That's when we noticed our little monkey went right up the stairs of the other slide and hung on the bar like she had been doing it her whole life. Apparently she only needs help with that activity if we are around :)

A few minutes later she "asked" her caregiver if she could come back over by us. (By asked I mean she motioned to us). The caregiver said yes and over she came. We took out the crackers again and asked her if she wanted some. At first she would take them and then go walk back to the group. She did this several times. We weren't sure if she was thinking about sharing but we think we finally figured out she was making sure it was okay to eat them. She started to get a little hyper again so we decided to put them away. We weren't sure if that would be the end of our "friendship" or not. But she decided to stay and hang out with us even though we wouldn't give her anymore crackers. 

Next she decided she wanted to color. She also liked pulling out all the stuff in the backpack and then putting it all back in the backpack. She probably played that game for about 20 minutes. She would examine everything as she took it out and then would carefully place everything back in. And she would "ask" for help with getting the crayons back in the box. 

I love the look that Natasha and Steve are giving each other in this picture.

After the rearranging game I tried sitting her on my lap to do the sticker book again. I wasn't sure how she would do but she seemed to love it. We would look at the different objects with her pointing to which one she wanted and "asking" me what it was. At one point I leaned over and kissed her cheek. She then turned and kissed mine and played with my hair until my earrings caught her attention and almost got ripped out.

She decided to hop down and look at more books. She chose a different one and then climbed back up on my lap and made herself very comfortable. Like I said before, she knew we were her people. There was a little boy in her group who's parents come every weekend to get him or to visit him. She knows that some children have people. She knows that some of them get extra love and attention.

For almost 7 years this little one has had no one to call her people. She haa been moved several times and has never had visitors. No one to hold her on their lap and do sticker books with. No one to ask her if she wants to color or play ball. But when given the chance she wants her own people. She wants to be loved and cared for and to feel special.

Oh how it broke my heart to leave her that day.

When are time was up the director asked her to hug us goodbye. She ran to Steve and gave him a big ole hug and then ran off. Then the director must have told her to come back and hug me. So she did and then she turned and kissed my cheek. The director made sure to tell me that she did not tell her to do that. That she learned from sitting on my lap. In just a few short hours of visiting that is what she learned. That we were her people.

As we left, her and another little girl waved and blew kisses. We did not spend much time with the other children as it was discouraged. It would have broken my heart because just the time we spent leaving with them tugging on us and asking us questions made me feel so sad that so many of them will never know what it is like to have their own people. Many of them will never have anyone come and visit them and take them away to live in families.

My husband knows me and he knows my heart. As we were leaving he leaned over and said "Remember, just one. We can't save them all".

And he is right. We can't bring them all home. But I can yell for them. I can help raise money for those who wish to travel on this adventure like us.

God has changed my heart and I will never again be the same when I hear the word "orphan".