Emmaline's One Year Home Video

https://animoto.com/play/iNJvJ796F4u0p0R4WlhaPQ

Reflections on the Flight Home

About a year after we came home, my niece was playing with Emmaline and asking me questions about our time in Sofia. I was telling her all about street pizza and flower shops. The trolley and cobbled streets. Then she asked, “how long did it take you to get home?” 28 hours. She was silent for a moment, thoughtfully watching Emmaline. Then, “how did you do that? I can’t imagine doing that.” “I’ll tell you how. Jesus sat next to me.” She looked at me as if I was joking. But, that is pretty close to the truth. We rose at o’dark thirty to get to the Sofia airport for a 6:30 am departure to Vienna. We flew during the pandemic, requiring Covid testing to fly home. We had successful brain swabs (negative tests); however, the printed test results had our names misspelled and our birthdates wrong. An auspicious beginning. Our agency helped us get it sorted and by 3:00 a.m., when we headed to the airport, we had corrected results in hand. Emmaline was still only eating Bulgarian yogurt at the time. Occasionally I could sneak in mashed bananas or graham cracker crumbs. We bought baby food, emptied the jars, cleaned them, and then filled them with yogurt. An insulated Lidl bag kept them cool. Thankfully, security did not check to see if the jars will still sealed and we got through to the gates. The actual flights to Vienna and then across the Atlantic were uneventful. On time. Sparse airports (thanks to Covid.) The biggest issue was Emmaline did not sleep at all. Not a wink. As we boarded for the long flight from Vienna to Washington D.C., I was fatigued. The long two weeks of the pickup trip weighed on my shoulders. Emmaline’s obvious distress and trauma grieved my heart. I missed my children at home. Surely we would nap on this flight and the world would be brighter after some sleep. A few hours into the flight, exhaustion set in. The little airplane on the screen in front of me seemed to be barely crawling across the ocean. Immigration loomed ahead in D.C. Then another flight to Atlanta, a bus ride to our van, and a battle with traffic to get home. I needed help. I whispered an exhausted prayer. God is so faithful. Just when I am at the end of myself, He fills me, and He did not fail me during our trip home. His Spirit ministered to me during that long flight, through the line to immigration, through another security check, and onto our final flight. He didn’t give me sleep. But He gave me His presence, an almost palpable presence that not only got me through, but got us all through the trip with kindness, grace, and never-ending patience that was most definitely Him, not me. I am constantly thankful and humbled that the same God who put the planets and stars in their places, cares deeply enough about His children to meet them in their need and answer their cries for help. He asks us to follow Him into hard things, to be His hands and feet in this world, but He never leaves us to do it alone. He is with us, sitting next to us, walking beside us, lifting exhausted spirits. And, so, we made it home. 28 hours after we left Bulgaria, we drove into our driveway and saw the faces we had been missing so much. Our life as a family of 9 began.

Flowers, Medical Appointment, and Coffee (Monday April 19)

 On every street we wandered, there were these darling flower shops. Gorgeous, colorful blooms spilling out onto the street and lovely little vases and trinkets in the windows. I love them. I must have taken half a dozen photos of different flower shops we passed. In addition to the flower shops, there were also flower road side stands. Right next to the newspaper stand were buckets of tulips. After a few days, I began to wonder, how on earth do all these flower shops stay in business? Some of the little shops were in pretty prime real estate. Who is buying all these flowers? So, when our guide, Simon, came to pick us up for Emmaline's medical appointment on Monday, we asked. 

"How do all the flower shops stay in business?" He looked at us with such a confused expression on his face. "We buy the flowers," he replied. Robert was equally confused, "How often?" "Everyday...we buy the flowers and take them home and have flowers on our tables. How often do you bring flowers home?" Robert looked a little sheepish when he replied, "Maybe once a year." Simon was shocked. "You should do better my friend. Your life needs more romance." Maybe he's right. Maybe we need more fresh flowers in our life. They certainly were beautiful. 

Monday brought Emmaline's medical appointment. She had to get a blood draw for her TB test in order to gain entry to the United States. She also saw a doctor who looked her over and translated her vaccination card for us. It was a long morning, full of tears. The reward at the end was Starbucks for everyone. We had a Starbucks just about a block and a half away from our hotel and were pleasantly surprised to see the inside cafe allowed us to sit and enjoy our treats. Even Emmaline got an overpriced milkshake (minus the coffee, of course.) 

New Friends (Saturday April 17 and Sunday April 18)

 My parents' church hosts a "Missions Week" every year and my parents always love it. Usually missionaries come to visit and talk about their work and my parents delight in hosting them in their home during their stay. This year, because of Covid and the inability for most to travel, Missions Week was virtual, with many online videos and updates. Missions Week was a few months before we traveled to Bulgaria. My mom called me one day during the week to tell me she "met" someone I just had to meet. She had watched a video update of the mission team in Bulgaria and heard about a family there who she thought would be so great for us to get to know. 

We were thrilled to get the opportunity to meet the Buerger family on Saturday. Their family adopted a little girl from Bulgaria and then felt called to serve in Sofia as full time missionaries. We were privileged to be invited to share coffee and treats in their lovely home. There is something beautiful about people coming together who already have a shared faith and shared passions. Although we had never spoken before, the afternoon flew by with sweet conversation and laughter as their daughter and Emmaline played happily and we chatted about a million different things. 

As we walked back to our room that evening, we started praying for how we might be of service in Bulgaria. My deepest prayer, now even weeks later, is that we would have an open ear to God's voice and brave hearts to say yes to whatever He asks of us. 

For more information on The Buerger family's ministry: https://www.mtw.org/missionaries/details/buerger-john-ellen

Homesick and Its Cure (Thursday April 15 and Friday April 16)

Have you ever reflected on how different the Gospel of John reads in comparison to the first three gospels? It's my favorite. I have so many favorite passages in John that many of my pages are worn out from use. His gospel reads in a more reflective tone. There is theology mixed with the retelling of events. So many times he adds, "it was because of ... that this happened" or "He said this because..." John was writing late in life, years after he walked side by side with Jesus. I assume the passage of time made Him understand events even more. 

I did a terrible job blogging while I was in Sofia. I don't know what it was...but I did not pick up the computer very often. I fell in love with Bulgaria and my daughter, but I didn't capture those events here. I was blogging for Emmaline. I kept my journal this way for both Laura and Howie and then printed it for them to read later in life if they are curious what their crazy mama was thinking during their adoption process...and to allow them to see the marvelous ways the Lord worked to bring them into our family. I want the same things for Emmaline, and so I'm going to play catch up. But, now we are home, and she is so different than she was...her blog will read so much differently than the in the moment thoughts of her sister and brother. Who knows, maybe this one will end up being my favorite. I will never be John and my words certainly don't even have a fragment of the importance of His...but maybe the passage of time will deepen this little journal I'm making for my girl. 

Thursday April 15 brought deep homesickness for both Robert and me. We grieved for our children and did not love Sofia enough to want to stay another 10 days. Emmaline was improving but it was still hard and we just missed home and our kids so much we could hardly speak of anything else. We tried to get an earlier flight out, we tried to rearrange appointments, all in vain. In the end, our wonderful adoption agency rescued us. I mentioned when they checked in that I thought we should get out of the city and they helped us find a driver to get us to Rila Monastery the next day. 

The next morning we drove for about 2 hours up into the mountains to Rila Monastery, a UNESCO World Heritage site. It was exactly what our souls needed. Our driver, Dimitriv, was jovial and friendly. Robert sat in the front with him chatting about cars, family, church, and Dimitriv's dream to drive across the United States. He told us the history of things we passed and drove us up these gorgeous narrow mountain roads. I stared out the window admiring the country, wondering about the people in the villages we passed. 

We wandered around and through the monastery for another couple of hours. The monasteries preserved and protected Christians and the Christian faith during times of Muslim (during the Ottoman reign) and Communist persecution and suppression. The monastery and surrounding mountainside is absolutely gorgeous. The restaurant was closed and we were all hungry. Dimitriv took us to a local hole in the wall type restaurant that was the best food we had the entire trip. Robert tried Bulgaria's famous Rakia. (Robert said it made him feel "tingly all over" and Dimitriv replied to never drink homemade Rakia, because "it will kill you.") I passed on that experience. 

Something about the time in the country, and the conversation during the day, revived us for the rest of our trip. Although we liked Sofia and Bulgaria up to that point, I mark the day we visited Rila as the day we started falling in love. The next day (Saturday), we started talking about coming back forever. That was the turning point. The Lord said...look at all I have made, open your eyes to the people who need Me here. And, we looked, we saw. He changed our homesick hearts and made us know home is wherever He puts us. 

Walking Sofia (Wednesday April 13)

 Sofia is a beautiful city. Wednesday we set out to wander the city and take in all the amazing architecture and lovely city parks. We bundled Emmaline up in her new stroller after breakfast and walked a few miles, visiting many of the city's old churches. 

After our long walk, Emmaline let us know that she was ready for more yogurt! We stopped at a grocery store on the way home for essentials: yogurt, yogurt, yogurt, and bottled water. Emmaline picked out some graham crackers as well. 

We had lunch and naps in our room, followed by a laid back afternoon of playing together and walking down Vitosha Street for take-out dinner. 

Emmaline is blossoming more everyday we are with her. It's such fun getting to know our newest daughter. 

Passport Photos (Tuesday April 13)

 Tuesday morning Emmaline was hungry and we were so thankful to see her eat! She ate Bulgarian yogurt and orange juice for breakfast. We walked over to our neighborhood grocery store after breakfast and stocked up on Bulgarian yogurt, since it is the only thing we had been able to get her to eat. 

Tuesday afternoon we walked to the police station to get Emmaline's passport photo. The appointment was quick and easy. 

After walking back with Emmaline on our hip the entire walk, we quickly decided we HAD to find a stroller. This is a walking city, and walking with a toddler on your hip all day is not ideal. Many of the shops were still closed due to Covid and the only place we had seen strollers was a little boutique shop down by Sofia Mall. We did not buy one on Sunday because they were so expensive. But, after a day of carrying Emmaline around everywhere, we decided it was worth the price. We walked the mile to the store and bought their display model (so we didn't have to put it together!) and then happily walked back to the hotel, with Emmaline riding in her brand new, super expensive, Swiss stroller.