Day 22: Saturday, 6/11

It was a very exciting but long day. We were scheduled to got to Laura Beach with Emi, Destiny and Bertha around 11 or 1... Claudia would check the weather and then call us to let us know when. However, while we were at breakfast we received a text from the Wilsons that they were going home at 2:00!

They'd met with Andrew at the DHL office where he received and signed their papers and they booked their seats on the 2:00 flight. Heather wasn't really sure where the flight went after Hawaii but they were getting on it nonetheless. She asked if we would have time to drive down to the RRE to pick up a walker to give to Stacy. Sure thing – and to see them one more time before they left. It's a good thing because they'd misplaced our contact information in the hustle and bustle of packing. We finished up our meal and checked in with Stacy to see if she wanted to go with us so the 5 of us drove over to say our goodbyes.

The Wilsons had planned to see their birth mom around noon, however, the shuttle from the hotel was leaving at the same time. Wyatt went in search of the birth family and was only able to find the kids (a girl and boy) – the family didn't know where the mom had gone. So he brought them back to the bungalow where we hung out for a while and Heather packed. Well, packed some stuff and gave away the rest of it. We have a few more things we can add to the future family kit including a boppy pillow. I got a dozen or so size-2 diapers out of the deal just in case Grace continues growing like she has... I swear she has to be 15 pounds by now!

We still weren't sure what time we were going to Laura so we called Claudia to let her know that the Wilsons were leaving and that we were at the RRE. She was okay with this and suggested leaving at Noon. We also asked for her help to try and locate the Wilson's birth mom so she started making some calls. The Wilsons had actually only met Claudia once while they were here as Maddy (the facilitator who usually works with the birth moms and adoptive families during their stay) was still on island.

Interesting side story regarding Maddy – she went off-island to attend her daughters HS graduation in Hawaii and arrived back on-island early Monday morning. However, no one has been able to reach her since. That's one of the reasons our visits with Emi had been delayed/dropped... Maddy was supposed to take over for Claudia when she returned but even Claudia can't get a hold of her. The Simmons' birth mom tried to call Maddy but also could not reach her. What we don't fully understand is who she actually works with or is paid by... according to Claudia, she doesn't work for the CAA but for Gordon. I'm not sure if Gordon pays her or if the agencies (JOH and LSS) pay her through Gordon or possibly directly. Regardless, it's causing lots of additional (and unexpected) work for Claudia so we're trying to be understanding of the bind she's in.

Anyway, while we were at the RRE, we suggested to Stacy that she call her birth mom to see if she wanted to go to Laura with us. She just lives a bit farther past the RRE in the neighborhood called Rita. She called her and she did want to join us so we waited for her to get a ride to the RRE. In the meantime, Wyatt and Jeff drove a load of groceries and other supplies over to the Wilson's birth mom's house along with her two kids. After they returned, the kids also came back with their mom in tow so she would get to say goodbye after all. We left them to finish getting ready and went back to the MIR.

Claudia had asked if we'd mind driving the beach group as far as the airport where she'd meet us and we could split up the cars. We were fine doing that – it's amazing what you get used to after a few short weeks – 5 adults, 2 babies, and two small children in a small sedan... sure. However, she couldn't locate Emi by phone and ended up driving up to look for her. We all met at the MIR around 1:00 and were off to the beach!

It's a long ride out to Laura – about an hour or so. I went in Claudia's car with Grace so Emi and the girls would have more time with her and so we could communicate a bit better with Claudia to translate. The girls and Emi all grabbed on to Grace right away with lots of hugs and kisses. We rode and chatted for a bit until we approached Long Island. All of a sudden Jeff pulled into the Payless parking lot. We followed them into the lot to see Stacy pop out of the car and run into the store... seems she forgot to bring diapers! Then were were on our way... until we drove near the airport and Jeff pulled over again. He thought Claudia might want to give the Wilson's an official send off. So we parked again but only our car went inside to say goodbye. That done, we were off to Laura, again.

When we finally arrived at the beach we were hard pressed to find space to set up. There are a small number of picnic-like tables in the area and they were all taken. We spotted a couple of women at a rather long table and asked if we could share their area. They happily agreed so Jeff got the grill going and I pulled out the rest of the food. We offered to share with them but they were finishing up their game and were going to look for shells.

After a short while, Claudia said she was going to find a bathroom which apparently involved driving to a nearby relatives house. She, her cousin (who'd come with us) and the Simmons' birth mom all jumped into the car and off they went. We expected they'd return shortly but I think they paused to have lunch at the relative's house. We, on the other hand, had cooked the hot dogs and baked beans, and laid out the rest of the spread... we were ready to eat. The only people in our party who were still there were the Americans, Emi and her girls. We indicated that the food was ready and everyone should dig in but Emi was cautious to do so. I wondered if there was some cultural aspect we were missing... maybe we were supposed to eat first or we were supposed to serve them... I wasn't sure.

About that time, one of the women who'd been in the area before returned and Jeff asked if she new Marshallese. She did! So we asked her to let Emi and the girls know they were welcome to help themselves. We again invited her to join us and this time she did. She's originally from Utah and had come to the RMI doing missionary work. Eventually she became a techer at the Cooperative School. Her sister (the other woman there) lives in Washington D.C. and was here for a visit. When she returned from the beach she also joined us. For a while, this was the only way we could communicate with Emi and the girls beyond charades – we were lucky to have run across them.

Eventually Claudia and her carload returned and joined us as well. She asked how we did communicating with Emi – which I thought was an odd question – so we answered that we were glad to have run across the two Americans. We spent a little more time at the beach and the girls (Destiny and Bertha) and I went out to find shells. The tide had gone out so we ventured onto the sand that was formerly under water. I hadn't brought them out there with me but Destiny follows me everywhere and I think Bertha is finally getting brave enough to interact with me. She was all smiles while we were walking along the water.

After packing up, we offered to drive everyone back downtown so that Claudia and her cousin didn't need to add an extra 1-2 hours to their drive. On the way there Claudia pointed out her home and it was a lot farther from downtown than I'd realized! She jumped on the offer so we were piled into the cars and off we went. An hour later we arrived downtown and the other birth mom gave us directions to Emi's house. I would not recommend driving down that road again! We poured out of the car and Emi immediately started pointing to various people and indicating “brother” or “sister” to identify them as family. The house was a simple concrete block structure with no apparent water or electricity. I was surprised by this as her mom said they have a laptop and email access. We didn't go inside but maybe they do have these things... or maybe they just charge up the battery elsewhere. I'm a bit apprehensive but looking forward to our visit with their entire family on Tuesday afternoon.

We then drove the other birth mom home to Rita – again, I was wishing for our Jeep to navigate the enormous potholes. Stacy had visited their home before so she got out only briefly and then we were free to return to the hotel. Arriving home at the end of a very long day we were all exhausted and ready for a shower and bed. Tomorrow Jeff, Grace and I are headed back out to Enemanot (the Cramer's island) while Stacy and Oliver relax at the hotel. I'm glad I don't have to work on Monday because I'm going to be one tired puppy!