<p>The children of the Ditchen family, the Anderson family and the Hurty family pose for a group shot Tuesday at the Ditchen's home outside of Stanfield.</p>

Less than three weeks ago, five-year-old Gabriel Anderson got on a plane and flew more than 8,500 miles, leaving behind the Ethiopian orphanage where he was raised to start a new life in America.

One can only guess what he was thinking his age and sparse English make heart-to-heart conversations difficult. But he may have been surprised to find three fellow Ethiopian children waiting for him on the other side of his journey.

Josie Ditchen, 2, was adopted from Ethiopia more than a year ago. Sisay and Habtamu, biological brothers ages 9 and 11, came to the Hurty family around the same time. And if all goes well for two other families, more adoptees from Ethiopia will soon join the growing community in the Hermiston-Stanfield area.

Its a community of Ethiopian children, but also of families who adopted from Ethiopia. The Ditchens and Andersons are longtime friends, and they were introduced to the Hurtys by a caseworker.

Were very intertwined, Darrin Ditchen said.

A child across the world

Darrin and his wife Angela were the first to take the plunge. They had already adopted two boys domestically and wanted to try international adoption. The process took two years and two trips to Ethiopia. The months between the first trip, when Josie became the Ditchens legal child, and the second trip, after the United States cleared Josies visa, were not easy.

If I didnt have the boys here I would have stayed (in Ethiopia) because she was ours, legally, in Ethiopia we just couldnt take her back to the United States, Angela said. It was excruciating.

When the Andersons went to pick up Gabriel earlier this month, they relied on insights from the Ditchens for the trip. But even then, Cameron Anderson said dealing with the emotions that came along with the trip was harder than he thought. His wife, Katie, said hearing about poverty in a third world country and actually seeing it are two very different experiences.

Im not going to say it was easy, she said. It was emotional. But it was also really good.

Maria Hurty had a similar reaction when she and her husband visited Ethiopia and saw dirty, gaunt young boys, their ribs sticking out from their sides, digging through garbage for food.

It broke my heart, she said. I thought, why were my two sons chosen to be able to escape that?

The Hurtys were able to take their three biological children along, and Maria said she was glad that they could see where their adopted siblings were from.

I wanted us to be there, to say Were in it together, so when the hard days would come and they have then they would know why were doing this, she said.

The hard days did come, as they often do for children who are Sisay and Habtamus age when they leave their home country, in the form of meltdowns and acting out.

They were mad and they were sad because theyd lost just about everything they knew, John Hurty said.

The transition was smoother for baby Josie and has been so far for five-year-old Gabriel.

Hes adjusted great, Cameron said. The only issues weve had so far have been normal kid issues.

Adoption adaptation

Gabriel only knows a few words in English but the Andersons said they have an app for the Amharic language on their phones where they can type in a word in English and a voice will say it in Gabriels native language. They said its amazing how much new families can communicate with just gestures and facial expressions, a sentiment the Ditchens and Hurtys shared.

Josie, Sisay and Habtamu also started out life hearing Amharic spoken. The Hurtys said their boys picked up English amazingly fast and seem to be losing their Amharic just as quickly, though they still speak it with the staff at the Ethiopian restaurants they visit when the family takes trips to Portland.

All three families say they want to preserve their childrens heritage, though their children are fast becoming Americans. The Andersons plan on watching Ethiopian soccer with Gabriel. The Hurtys take their children to Ethiopian restaurants. And the Ditchens plan on taking Josie and their two boys on charity missions to Ethiopia in the future.

The people there are so beautiful, inside and out,?Angela said. Its just a country that needs a little help. But we definitely want (Josie) to have pride in where she comes from.

Some day having a community of fellow Ethiopians might mean more to the young adoptees, but for now the age difference between the children means when their families are together, theyre often more interested in hanging out with each others siblings.

They dont have a special interest in hanging out with Ethiopian kids right now, Maria said of her boys. Kids are kids in their eyes, I think.

Contact Jade McDowell at jmcdowell@eastoregonian.com or 541-564-4536.