Our Trio of Boys

OK -- sorry, Richard (and everybody else!!!). Thought you'd follow along our journey, but until recently it has been impossible to find internet!! Or power... or running water... or much to be honest!

Except that I've got our boys! And what a rollercoaster ride!

Our greeting at the orphanage was overwhelming. Epic in proportion, fine poets could scribe, musicians would sing and the world would be overwhelmed right along with us.

But let me start from the beginning:

Our flights on BA were absolutely awesome. So awesome, in fact, that Finn decided to show up in London with less than two hours of sleep under his eyelids. I did not fair much better, nor did my Mom. But by the time we hit the ground in London, we were getting so excited that we needed little more than adrenalin to get us through the layover which was a little less than four hours. No comments re: the worst customs herding I've ever seen -- brutal ques with airport employees shouting, literally shouting at us to keep QUEING!!! Alrightie...

So with a quick visit in Heathrow's departure lounge, we were off to Accra.

Yet another awesome flight. Finn and I were absolutely slack jawed at our hours flying over the Sahara. The interior of the plane grew noticeably hotter, and the red of the desert floor was absolutely awe inspiring. Mom took a walk around the plane to grab the view as well. We ll agreed, whilst wiping the beading sweat off of our brow, that the Sahara is definitely something to be seen, at least from 30,000 feet above!

We all took a brief cat nap, and landed in Accra 3/4 of the way cured from jetlag to Jennifer's huge smile and welcome hug. For all of the drama around our departure, we'd made it at last!
Hilarious bits of 'dashing' (a form of tipping) for the gaggle of guys fighting to assist us with our luggage. How many guys does it take to load 6 bags into the back of a land cruiser? Apparently at least 6, all looking for a few euros! Fortunately, Jen lives very close to the airport, and we arrived in short order to a huge comfy bed, and some sound sleep.

Finn was up and hugging with Viggo and Freja by 6 a.m., and good times ensued. Mom and I slept slightly longer, but not much as excitement was creeping in at every angle. About two hours into our day, I realized that we were nowhere near 3/4 of the way over jetlag!! So the decision to stay in Accra and get acclimatized was made. I headed out to the bank, and to purchase a cell phone. We were now wired for communication, and spent the rest of the day fighting off anticipation and playing with the kids (it seems there are thousands of them around Jennifer's house!! They roam in packs from house to house, happy to stay wherever their is a friend, or at least a parent!).

I did not sleep a wink that night. At close to 4 a.m, I called up Michael, who was out with Julie & Christophe at the oyester bar in Gibsons. We chatted about how anxious I was about the next day, whispering so that I wouldn't wake the rest of the house. I sent a few emails, and found sleep at about 5 a.m. Jen couldn't believe it when I was still asleep at 8 a.m. when she took her kids to school. By the time she was back, we were all ready to hit the road and get out to the orphanage.

But first, we had to get through Accra traffic.

Unless you have seen this, you have NEVER seen traffic like this before. It's like Piccadilly Circus on speed. Hong Kong on caffeine pills. It is the craziest, zaniest, most terrifying rally car race on the planet.

2 hours of that, and we saw a glimpse of the orphanage from a pot holed, red dirt road. The road directly to the orphanage is so pot holed that it is impassable save for the most insane of driver's. We took the longer route, which was torture because the walls of the orphanage were in our eyesight for the full extra four minutes it took to circle the wagon around to the back road.

Naomi greeted us at her gate, babe wrapped to her back, and we could see all of the school aged children sitting waiting for us on their chairs underneath the only tree in the garden. With a HUGE hello in English and Twi, they call came running. I wasn't sure where my Mom was as she was quickly swallowed by about twelve children, but then there she was, left barely standing holding the hands of about six toddlers who were trying to climb her legs and get into her arms for a snuggle from Grandma. Naomi is Mother to all of these children. Grandma's are rare. Rare and an almost extinct concept for these children. It made me think of why Stephen Lewis' Grandmother's for Grandmother's program is ever more important as AIDS continues to savage most of sub saharan Africa.

But onto some happiness! With Finn, overwhelmed, and glued to my arms, Naomi hugged us all of the way to the baby napping room. And there our boys were, and without a second to even hear "catch", I had three boys in my arms, all jockeying for the most comfortable position.

A blessing. Happiness does not cut it, but in it's truest most powerful sense, joy and happiness was overflowing. With the backdrop of this being the orphanage, with so many there, and so much need, I have to admit that it was somewhat confusing, but for more intimate details, you'll all have to wait until I have more time to write (and post some photos!) later tonight.