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.
