A Special Visit

It's been over two weeks now since Lorinda and I drove to Pretoria to hand Thabo over to his adoptive parents.  The placement went really well, and now their new family of three has had the past two weeks to see the sights of South Africa and get to know each other better.

Yesterday morning one of the social workers from the adoption agency brought them to Rustenburg to visit Lighthouse so that Thabo's parents could see where he's been living for the past several months.  Unfortunately, the adoption agency recently changed the way they do this visit and no longer allow anyone to see or interact with the adopted child.  Instead each parent comes in separately while the other stays in the vehicle with the baby.  I was glad to see Thabo's parents again, but would have liked to see Thabo as well.

Thabo's new mom came in first, and since I was the one who actually handed Thabo over to them, Janis asked me if I would show her around and explain everything to her.  I first took her into the baby room where Thabo lived when he first arrived as an 8-month-old back in February.  She took lots of pictures of the babies and the cribs, and I told her about a typical day in the baby room.

Then we walked over to the toddler room, and I was able to show her Thabo's bed where he had slept for a couple months before being adopted.   Several of the kids ran up to her wanting to play or to be held, and I think she thought it was neat to meet Thabo's friends and playmates.  After taking lots of pictures and looking around for a while, she thanked me and walked back out to the car.

Next Thabo's dad came into the office ready for his tour.  He talked to Janis, Nomhle, and me for a little while about how the adjustment is going and about how Thabo has been making his preferences known.  He was so good-natured when he lived at Lighthouse, but I think he is realizing that if, for example, he refuses to eat what he is given that something else will be placed in front of him.  What a clever little guy!

I showed Thabo's dad around the baby room and the toddler room, and we also peeked into the kitchen and said "hello" to Mama Margaret while she was fixing the kids' morning snack.  He even got to hear the kids pray before eating their snack, which is always really cute.  

Before heading back out to the car, he gave a small box with a bow on top to Janis, Nomhle, Sophie, Lorinda, and me.  He told me it was a gift to say thank you and also as a keepsake from Thabo's new family.  I opened it later and found a beautiful necklace and two beaded bracelets inside.  

After visiting Lighthouse, the social worker was going to drive them past the place in Rustenburg where Thabo was abandoned.  I'm sure that was difficult for them to see, knowing that their son was left there by his mother and later picked up by the police.

Please keep Thabo's family in your prayers as they travel back to Denmark at the end of this week and also as they continue to adjust and get to know one another.