Wednesday in Addis Ababa...today we met Zipporah's birth mom. It was a difficult day for all. Our meeting was set up for 10:40 a.m. Zipporah's mom, aunt, brother (10 yrs old) and sister (17 yrs old) showed up in Almaz's office. Her mom told us, thru translation, that she wasn't planning on getting pregnant, was sick (HIV) and didn't know what to do. She gave Zipporah up out of sheer desperation. She also said that her oldest daughter doesn't know that she is sick. Zipporah sat on her mom and sister's lap during the meeting but never smiled. She had a very confused look on her face the whole time - and who could blame her. I asked why she named her Kenean? The reason brought us all to tears. She said it was because,in the Bible, when Moses was taking the Israelites to the land of Canaan, it was known as the land of healing - of milk and honey. She was hoping by naming her Kenean (Canaan in English), it would bring her healing from HIV. So, why the tears? We named her Zipporah because in the Bible, she is Moses's wife. Is this child meant to be our's or what? If you are not convinced yet...her brother is deaf!
The aunt and sister hugged us with tears after our meeting..her birth mom could not control her sobbing and could not approach us anymore. My heart broke for her.
So, after an emotional afternoon for all, our group went to a traditional Ethiopian restaurant for dinner and took along the kids. There was wonderful dancing, singing, music and food - injera and shiro of course. It was a late night but a wonderful experience.
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