In the USA!

Juddah is finally in the USA! We arrived safely into PDX on Friday afternoon after a non-eventful 20 hour plane flight. The second leg of the trip Juddah was able to sleep for part of the trip in the on-board bassinet.  He was a little charmer, and stole the hearts of the flight attendants who all wanted to know his story. God sure is using this little guy for His glory. 

Getting thru customs in ET was a breeze, and no one even asked about his traveling papers. In Amsterdam, I was questioned for about 20 minutes concerning Juddah... was this an adoption? why is he going to the USA? when did I purchase my ticket? How much did I purchase the ticket for? Who is funding the surgery? Then finally they asked if I had papers for Juddah. When I pulled them out, and they saw they were in Amharic, they just said "OK" and sent us on our way. When we came thru immigration in the US, I thought for sure we would be there for a while. As we approached the desk, the man looked at Juddah's passport, and then told us to wait here. I thought for sure as he walked away, he would be coming back to tell me we had to go to the little room where they questioned people. But when he returned, he smiled and said, "we've been expecting you, glad you finally made it!" And with that,  Juddah received his official USA passport stamp and a homeland security card.  As we walked to the carousel to claim our totes, a sweet young employee asked if I needed help, and as we waited for the blue totes to show up, she asked about Juddah, and I shared his blog address. She was a great help to me as I had Juddah in the baby Bjorn, a backpack on my back and was pulling the carry-on. I had no idea how I was going to get those totes from the international carousel the domestic pick up area. She was a huge help. 

On flight home I had an overwhelming sense of gratitude for what the Lord has done for this little guy, and waves of anticipation and uncertainty for what He is going to do in the coming months. I have no idea what the future holds, but what I do know is that God is faithful, and that He holds Juddah's life in the palm of His hand. No one could love him more than his his Heavenly Father, and in that I must rest. 

We will be leaving for Virginia on Thursday headed for Carilion Childrens Hospital, and on Friday, Juddah will begin his pre-surgery tests. 

For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; 

   his faithfulness continues through all generations

Psalm 100:5

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