Priceless

By Ruth

Sunday evening Doug and his older brother Blake left for Ghana.   Suddenly our adoption journey feels like it’s coming to life.   We are out of the paperwork phase and now we are into the action part.

The first step is a trip to Ghana, to “bond” with Frederick.  We must do this, or we will not be granted a court date.

After 24 hours of travel, Doug & Blake found themselves in the capital city of Accra Monday evening.  They spent the night in the city, and then next day caught a flight to Kumasi, an hour outside of Offinso, where the Offin Children’s Center is.

Communication is difficult.  A time difference and sketchy internet connections in Ghana make it hard.

Yesterday afternoon (Tuesday, May 21) we got a phone call from Doug.  So good to hear his voice!  He and Blake were playing cards with Frederick and Andrea Edmunds, Evan – her bio son, and her two adoptive boys Joseph and Askia.  From what I understand Joseph and Frederick are good friends – and roommates at the orphanage.

And each of us got to talk to Frederick for a minute - to hear his voice for the first time.  I am not sure I will ever forget the look on Brianne’s face as she talked to her younger brother for the first time – it was – PRICELESS.

And then I have to wonder what it was like when Doug & Frederick met each other for the first time Tuesday afternoon.  Were there hugs?  Was there a "Hi Dad" or a "good to meet you son"?  Were there tears of joy?  Or did they just look at each other in wonder?  What is it like for an orphan boy to look into the eyes of a complete stranger and call him "dad"?