Woo-hoo!!! We finally made it all the way to Rwanda!!!! We are EXHAUSTED!


We arrived at the airport, checked into our hotel, and had 10 minutes before we pulled back out to head the orphanage to meet our kids. We gathered in a courtyard area inside the orphanage walls and waited. My hands were shaking with excitement / nerves. One by one, names were called for different families who's children were coming up the ramp to meet them. We were video taping for people and taking pictures, and then we heard "Smith!"

We looked up to see two incredible children being walked up the ramp by a nun. Erin knelt down to talk with Ellie and I picked up Elijah, who promptly laid his head on my shoulder and clung to me. For the next 2 hours, we kept swapping kids, hugging them, playing with them and getting to know them. All I can say is that our kids are nothing short of incredible. And they're even cuter than the pictures we'd seen.

Ellie was rambling off all kinds of stuff in Kinyarwandan in her very cute little voice. She LOVES sitting on laps and looking at books, and seems generally curious about everything...especially the video camera. We got some pretty interesting videos that she shot. Haven't watched them yet, but they should be quite entertaining! She had several colorful hair clips in, and looked quite beautiful! Got her to smile a few times, which was definitely a goal of ours. Elijah was sick - you could feel it in his chest every time he breathed. He didn't utter a noise or take much interest in anything other than snuggling, which was fine by us! He's just stinkin' cute. The whole thing was one of the most incredible things we've ever experienced. And we got to do it with 5 amazing families. What a sight! Tomorrow afternoon, we get to go back to the orphanage to spend a few more hours with the kids!

We're not allowed to put pics or videos up, so sorry. I know I promised I'd try, but they just won't let us yet. We'll do our best to keep you posted! Please keep us and all the families here in your prayers...to say we are exhausted would be a huge understatement!

We love you all!

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