We started the day early this morning (a first for us). Up at 6:30am and dressed to eat breakfast by 7:15am. Ella chose pho this morning as we ate with the Red China Sea behind and the sun shining.
We were ready to leave by 7:45am with Thomas and our driver picking us up. We headed to a governmental building where the children and teenagers would meet us to receive their scholarships from Dillon International Adoption Agency...my adoption agency. This agency continues to change lives! There were children from 2 districts and 10 children from the same orphanage that Ella lived. Here is Ella with some of the students as they arrived.
Both Ella and I sat at the front (sort of a head table) and listened as the children sang, did Simon Says (we think) heard the speakers share. Of course it was all in Vietnamese, so we're not sure what all was said. Then they brought 10-15 students up at a time and passed out the envelopes to each one. Thomas passed out the first ones, but eventually, I was called on to help out as well.
Even Ella got to come up on stage with us. Then Thomas shared his encouragement with the children. And then I got to share a little encouragement.
Everyone headed out on their motorcycles afterwards! It was an amazing experience for both Ella and I and just want to say to everyone...watch out...we're going to be looking for donations for the scholarships!
I must admit, I am overwhelmed with the beauty of this province. I don't think I got to really experience the beauty when I adopted Ella as she was so heartbroken, I stayed in with her most of the time.
Just look at those mountains behind Ella! We then loaded in the car and headed to the social center (orphanage). It looked different as their were many new buildings, but it looked familiar as well. We first went and set down with the Assistant Director and some of the other employees. They were all new employees and no one really remembered Ella except for the nurse who remembered her well. We sat and talked for a few minutes and I could tell, they were a little discouraged with us that Ella could not speak Vietnamese. That didn't surprise me, and I still think Ella will learn some at some point in time.
And then we headed up the steps....
And down came the tears...those steps...the anticipation of meeting my daughter for the first time...all those emotions came rushing back. We got to the top of the stairs 10 years ago and they handed me Ella and she cried and cried. And here we were again, but this time, it's different. I'm the proud mother of beautiful Phuong-Thao (which is what they called Ella the whole time we were there :)
We walked into the baby room and there were only 2!!! Only 2 babies...amazing. And of course, I feel in love with one of them.
Look at that smile!
Below are the caregivers who were there and the other baby who cried every time we tried to pick him up. He is a special needs baby and they are working on his paperwork and hoping he will be adopted. There are more adoptions going on in Vietnam these days and the US only can adopt special needs children. There are 3 agencies approved to do those adoptions and yes, Dillon is one of them!
Then some of the younger children arrived back from school. We enjoyed getting to play with them as well.
And here is Thomas with Ella!
Thomas left and Ella and I walked around the orphanage and I got some video of what she was feeling. I think the overwhelming thought was that all children deserve a family! YES they do!
The next pictures are for my Dillon Ninh Thuan friends.
We then loaded back in the car and headed back to the resort to change clothes and grab a snack for lunch. We then headed downtown to the market. We were looking for a few things, but didn't find what we were looking for, but we did find some adidas pants that Ella loved and they were too long. So the lady took them, measured her length and cut them off and re-sewed them while were looking around. We also found something Hannah wanted for more than 1/2 the cost...can't say what it is :) The people stopped us left and right wanting to know if Ella was Vietnamese and if I was her mother. I think Ella got tired of it after a while and again, they wanted to speak to her in Vietnamese. Fun shopping with out a translator. Many times, they didn't understand what we wanted, but sometimes, the phone helped!!! Here are some shots from the market:
Our driver picked us up about 2 hours later and we headed back to enjoy the resort one last time. It's nothing fancy, but it is beautiful. We walked on the beach, checked out the pool, played a little foosball, and went swinging. The weather was perfect!
We then headed to the outdoor restaurant for a little dinner before returning to our room. Ella's keeping a journal and reading a book about Vietnam, plus trying to keep up with her homework while she is gone. So she got to work on that while I re-packed and started blogging. We head out at 8am to head back to Ho Chi Minh City. We hope to make it back in time to get back to the Ben Thanh market before we fly out to Myanmar on Wednesday morning. Thanks for your prayers! I think Ella will process this trip for quite a while, but she enjoyed seeing her birth town so much and knows how important family is! I do too! My beautiful daughter -
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