Miles was a bit reserved when we saw him for the first time. He cried for several long minutes searching around for the comforting arms of the nun, well, any nun, who would take him. The sister who brought him to us quietly disappeared into a garden area so he would have no choice but to get used to us.
About a half hour earlier, we drove in two cars down a bumpy dirt road to get to the orphanage. Andrea and Maddie were with Peter, our guide here, in the lead car. Joe and I followed with a driver Peter hired. We looked and looked for those special blue gates. Problem is, ALL the gates are blue. We passed a school with hundreds of screaming kids playing games. This sits next to a house for street kids, a safe place where they can get nourished spiritually and physically, and find rest. More winding turns. More hills. More blue gates. Then I saw it. The sign. THE sign. I gasped a little. And the tears began.
I used to have a photo of this sign with this particular blue gate as a screen saver. It's hard to believe we're seeing it for ourselves. A couple honks of the horn and the gates opened up. In we drove.
While the sister went to get him, Peter waited with us in a small room adorned with a huge photo of Mother Theresa. We were antsy. We were nervous. Crying. Smiling. I had to get up. We couldn't just sit there. Outside the little room, there are flower gardens and a covered parking area. We waited. I paced.
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| Inside the blue gate at the Home of Hope |
Andrea waited with the video camera ready. Any minute now. Peter was busy talking to a gentleman who works at the orphanage. They were in a spot where they could see farther down the hill. After a few more minutes, Peter turned and smiled. He's coming.
Up the steps from below, first we could see the sister appear, then we could see she was walking slowly, holding someone's hand. Then, what seemed like slow motion, we saw his face and then his cute little body walking carefully with the sister. They made it to the top of the stairs and across the driveway toward us.
The sister spoke quietly to him, telling him we were his mama and papa. He wasn't too sure about that. Clutching his little toy phone, he waited in safe proximity to the sister. He was reserved. We knelt down and talked quietly for a few moments. Then it was time. Maddie held her boy. There were tears. He cried. She cried. Different reasons. The rest of us wiped tears, enjoying this moment for all that it meant for the two of them.
Miles is a strong little boy. He did everything he could to get away. Maddie and I took turns holding him. After a few minutes, he reached for Andrea, who had the good fortune of wearing white. Andrea's white sweater made Miles think she was a nun. She took him, but he quickly figured out he'd been tricked. And the crying, which stopped for a moment, continued. From there it was Joe's turn. After a few more moments, at last, there was quiet. Joe IS the child whisperer. They walked out a few steps and looked at a truck that was parked in the driveway. Joe spoke quietly to him. Miles just looked around quietly clutching his toy phone.
From then on, while he wasn't thrilled with the idea of being with us, he was quiet. Very quiet. Looking around, still unsure, clutching the phone. We learned later that he's normally chatty. We can't wait to see that side of him.
Over the next hour or so, we just held him and talked to him. He offered his phone to Maddie. A nice rainstorm passed over and we went under the covered parking spot and then into the small waiting room again. Inside we visited.
I held him in the doorway of the small room, looking out into the flower garden. I just hummed and whispered to him about the rain and the thunder and all the pretty things we were seeing. I thought of my dad and found myself doing the same things he used to do. Miles quietly rested his head against mine and I could feel little butterfly kisses on my cheek. Thank you Jesus.
We ended the visit a short time later with some "see you tomorrows". The sister came and held him. As they walked away, he waved and cried a little. It was a big day for a little guy.
(P.S. We'll show you "the moment" when we are allowed to after we clear court.)
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