Inside My Thoughts

We were on our way to the orphanage to meet Ayantu for the first time ever. Our driver, Sami, stopped at the orphanage's main office off campus so that we could first meet Ayantu's Birth Mom, Rahel. When we got to the office, Rahel wasn't there yet so we all sat down. We allowed the two gals travelling with us to sit in on the meeting. Within a few minutes the door to the office opened and in walked this beautiful young woman with a chartreuse, velvet dress on. She would only look down at her shoes and I knew in an instant that it was her. Through the translators we were introduced and given the opportunity to ask her questions. I began to get nervous but sat down right beside her and then clutched Brian's hand. We started by thanking her for the hard privilege she was giving us in raising her beautiful daughter. And then we asked why she chose her name. Rahel commented that the name was actually chosen for her. She went into labor with Ayantu in the village she was cleaning. The people that helped deliver Ayantu picked her name and Rahel stuck with it. It means "a gift from God" in the Oromo dialect of Amharic.