Silent Night

I have experienced a lot of different kinds of silence.  The beautiful kind with deep friends or family where you do not have to talk to be comfortable together.  The awkward kind where people aren't responding to your phone calls or emails and you wonder what you might have done or said wrong.  The angry silence between husband and wife or parent and child, where one is trying to punish the other.
Tonight, I have the anxious kind. 
At around 9 pm our time the guys should be receiving Ellie.  There will be procedures and paperwork and who knows what, such that they may not get back to the hotel room to communicate with me until midnight or later.  I have told them to wake me up though!

Please pray for all three of them. 
It is likely that Ellie has never seen a man before.  I'd bet money that she has not seen a bearded Italian looking guy!!
It is not unheard of for the children to cry for hours after being given to their parents.  Sometimes even days (I may have left that little piece of information out of my notes for Serge and James...).  The alternative reaction is for them to "shut down" - they sit and stare and won't interact with anyone.  It is kind of spooky (there is a video about it on this forum I am on).  Either way the next day or two is likely to be hard.

I have been praying that the Lord will give her a vision of her father and her brother (and the rest of us, but mostly them).  He did that in the Bible.  I see no reason why He would not for her.  May her dreams right now be that they are safe and warm people that she can trust!  May they have strength and patience and communicate in the universal language of love to her:  
"You are wanted, Ellie."