She kissed my feet......

There are good reasons why we choose to go to Mekele first, but the biggest reason of all was the opportunity to meet the mom of my three girls Kidan,Gerima,and Mizan. She lives by Adwa on a steep hill near a beautiful mountainous valley which centers around a man-made lake. I couldn't help but think of the movie Heidi,
as we were trudging up the steep bank to their house. We were given the most wonderful gift of meeting their mom, which in itself is an answer to prayer. The dad had died from a mosquito-borne illness far from home where he had gone to find work, and they buried him there. I believe none of his family were present as it was too far away and expensive to travel there. The mom was left with 5 daughters to feed and care for, so she decided to keep the oldest and youngest daughters and adopt out the middle 3.
The grandfather and grandmother, the aunts and cousins, along with the mom and daughters treated us with the up most respect and kindness. As we came to the top of the hill, the grandfather greeted us, who unbeknownst to me is a priest,he carried a cross and waved the sign of the crucifix in front of us. We then did the traditional kissing-which is cheek to cheek, saying something I can't understand. We then proceeded on toward the stone/mud house, walking through a trellis where big thorns graced the sides of the path. I wondered if flowers bloomed there in the summer, looking at the thorns I thought of the crown my Lord wore, and the bittersweet love of the cross. We then walked through an arched door that was hand made with rocks, which entered into several dwelling places. The mother came running up to us and fell down at our feet kissing them; I was so taken back by her extravagant humility and love that I began to cry, I wanted to kiss her feet and I wished so badly that I would have.
As I hugged the older sister, I could feel deep sorrow, and my heart broke for her. The grandmother kept smiling at me, with a twinkle in her eye. They had covered a table, set with food along with the traditional coffee ceremony,
I slowly began to realize that they had planned this special event just for us. The grandmother gave me a basket she had made and grandfather gave Jeff an obelisk statuette from Axum.

I gave a picture album of her 3 daughters,pictures that I had from the orphanage and some pictures of our family; she was very happy to have gotten them. I told her about my sister and how she had placed a baby for adoption. I gave her something that was my sister's and the father of their adopted baby as a remembrance of the two adoptions -- hers and my sisters. She said she would never take it off and always remember us by it. I felt it was like a covenant that I was making with her, that I understood just a "little bit" of what she felt only because of my sister's experience.
She began to cry as she told me that she had prayed for her daughters every night, and she was so happy that we are their new family. This was such a confirmation to me, because God spoke that to my heart as I was seeking His will concerning this adoption. I just knew she was praying and I was answering her prayers by my obedience to God. Kidan's name means promise, Gerima's name means Bible and Mizan means fair. What glorious names they have been given!!! What a glorious God I serve!!!