I’m back to posting! I’m finally able to spend sometime writing. As you can probably guess... I’m in Ethiopia. We’ve arrived safely (last night) and we’re staying at the Ethiopian Addis Kidan Baptist Church Guest House. Obviously there’s plenty to catch-up on. I’ll do my best to post some of the notes I took, while offline and… I’m hoping I can do all of it today, so… bear with me if I can’t remember it all. In addition, I will put some pictures out there.

Since I’m somewhat settled now, every night I’ll try to post something. Throughout the day things will be somewhat busy. One of the things I’m really happy about, though, I don’t have to go out and look for internet cafes to get an internet connection :-). We have one right here at the guest house. It’s a dial-up connection… and I’m happy!!! (Never thought I'd be this happy with a dial-up connection).
The post below was written (offline) before I got on the Ethiopian plane. I'll work on the pictures next.

02/17/2007 – 6:45PM
Before I start this post, I would like to introduce (for those who don’t know them) to you a couple, which is also traveling to Ethiopia to bring two children into their family. Mark and Sheri Daubenmire attend the same Church (Linworth Baptist Church) that Kara and I do, and their adoption journey has been just as exciting for them as our adoption journey has been for us. Kara and I thank God for them and their friendship. It’s been great to know them and share with them as we experience many of the same emotions. Both their kids (Fitsum and Kassahun… yes… one of their kids has the same name as ours) are currently in the same foster home and we assume that they know each other. Just like them… I can’t wait to get there.

We’re currently in the Dulles, Washington airport. We arrived here at about 4:00PM and have been patiently waiting for our boarding time, which is scheduled for 7:45PM. If you noticed at the top of this post (and you may also find it in future ones) there’s a date and time header. This is so because I can’t find an internet connection anywhere in this airport. Without a connection I can’t post anything… so I must rely on offline blogging.
Therefore, here’s my first. I’m hoping that things we’ll be somewhat different once I get there and look around to see what my options are. So… we are here at the airport, and with plenty of time to spare. We decide to go get something to eat. We found a place much like Max & Erma’s called Moe’s. Both the atmosphere and the food were good. However, I think there’s room for improvement on the Philly steak sandwich I ordered. The onion rings were really good, though. It’s been a while since I’ve been out and got some of those. Before I ordered them, though, I think Mark wondered if I was making the right decision. He asked me if I really wanted to do that before a 15 hour flight. I thought about for a few seconds and… well… I just couldn’t resist… they looked too good to pass!!!

Well, I think I need to wrap this up. It’s about 7:15PM and we’ll be boarding in about 30 minutes. God willing… the next time I write, I’ll be in Ethiopia.