Day 3 – Monday

We started the day early, heading over to the orphanage that Makenna spent much of her time while in care. It was a small orphanage with about 43 kids, but it was very well kept and the staff was awesome. We got a great tour with the Asst. Director and were able to see the room where Makenna was kept and met her nannies. It was a really fun visit as well as we got to play with the kids, kick the soccer bal around and pass out these little bracelets that when not on your wrist made the shape of letters and animals, but then stretched to be a bracelet – a big hit with the kids.

After the orphanage we stopped by our agency office to complete some final paperwork for our embassy visit which is scheduled for Thursday. With no surprises we headed over to the care center to pick up Makenna and bring her back with us to our guest home.

Our original plan was to keep Makenna at the care center until Tuesday or Wednesday but we changed our mind once we laid eyes on her. My heart was beating a thousand beats per second as I anticipated this day for so long and it was now here. Our stop at the care center was brief, said our thank you’s and final goodbye to the nannies that took care of her and then headed back to the guest home. Later in the afternoon we visited the boys of Kolfe. My thoughts in anticipation of meeting them were many, I only wish I had the right words about how I feel about seeing them. We have talked about them, seen pictures, videos, and heard so many stories but to actually see the compound and to meet the boys in person is a different story. I knew we would be wrecked for life once we step foot at the orphanage and I thought I was ready for it. It was an amazing visit, but way to short.