Meeting our "son", face to face

We made it to the orphanage Sunday morning right around ten o’clock. We called before we left, so Julian anxiously waited for us. What incredible emotion overcame me as we drove down the street he lived on, the same streets I saw in someone else’s adoption video online, streets I assumed I’d never have the chance to see. The taxi driver dropped us off in front of the house at the specific address Julian gave me.

He said he’d wait outside, but the boy sitting outside didn’t look like him, so we proceeded to the door. I feared not recognizing him even after seeing his pictures. Several boys his age stood gathered around as we walked in the door. It didn’t take long for my eyes to meet with Julian’s. I recognized those eyes in an instant. Without saying a word, I reached my arms around his neck and hugged him.

The rest of those first few moments remain a blur. I know he met Mike and David, and we introduced him to our new friend, Clarita, who divinely accompanied us. Julian introduced us to the director and one of his house parents, and then he disappeared to go get the key.

“It’s so good for Julian to finally get to know you in person. You already obviously know each other well, but I know how much it means to him to finally meet you.” The director and I talked while I waited for Julian to come back, and I saw for myself how dearly she cared for him.

Julian returned after a few minutes, and then he gave us a quick tour of his house. It felt like one of those out-of-body experiences, so unfortunately, I didn’t take it all in like I wanted to. Emotion overwhelmed me. Thankfully, Mike snapped picture after picture.

I do remember seeing the bedroom Julian shared with five other boys, the specific bunk he slept on in the corner of the room and another little room with the only computer in the house—the exact place where he spent hour upon hour in the evenings “talking” to me via a keyboard over the last year and a half. He also introduced us to the one boy in the house he considered a friend, and then we started to leave.

“We can give you a tour of the entire orphanage when you come back on Tuesday for our meeting. I can show you the house where Viviana lived.” The director’s comment made me realize they respected the relationship I built with Viviana. She didn’t mention Juan David, but Julian already warned me we couldn’t see him because it would be too difficult for him emotionally. I understood and did not want to cause any problems with his new family in the process of adopting him. Still, I wondered what he thought about us finally being there, only this time to meet his brother. I promised him I’d come, and God let me fulfill my promise, though for different reasons now.

As we walked out the door, Clarita said her goodbyes, as well, and the director mentioned seeing her again in two days for our meeting. A different missionary we contacted planned to accompany us to our meeting, so I explained that Clarita would not return with us on Tuesday. The director hesitated for a moment and then offered to give us all a tour of the orphanage right then. She gave Julian permission to take us through all of the homes, so we followed him into each of the six houses. We saw both of the homes where Viviana lived and grew up, and we met her house parents and likely her friends.

Our tour ended with Juan David’s home. He spent the weekend with his new family, but we met all of his friends and housemates and saw where he ate, played, and slept. It felt strange to know he still lived there, and we actually stood in his home.

My gaze locked immediately on the phone hanging on the wall right outside the kitchen where he told me it had been. I stared at that phone, suddenly reliving so many of our conversations. I could still hear all the noise, the pots and pans clanging, and all the voices of the ladies in the kitchen as we spoke. Now, I stood precisely in the same spot he did for all of those conversations.

Mike and David stayed in the front room talking to some of the boys in their broken, limited Spanish, and Clarita met some girls there who taught English or something. I stood by the kitchen with Julian, so overwhelmed, trying to take it all in. Words can’t describe it.

I turned to Julian and hugged his neck. “I can’t believe we’re really here.”

We hadn’t even been in Colombia for twenty-four hours yet.

When we finally left Juan David’s house, David expressed feeling as overwhelmed as I did. We all felt the same. We walked across the busy street to catch a bus to take back to the apartment together. As we stepped away from the orphanage, our time as a family of four began.

Julian seemed incredibly nervous, but as we talked during the bus ride, he relaxed. He’d just left the orphanage to spend time with a family for the first time ever, never having experienced anything like this even once in his life before. He’d lived in this orphanage since the age of ten. His turn finally came to join a family, now as a young adult.