Problems in USCIS - Prayers Needed!

Monday we received some very disturbing news regarding our adoption.  But first, the good news.

Our crèche representative believes he will have Wisly's corrected birth certificate back to USCIS on Friday.  If he is able to do so, that little hiccup lasted one month and three days.  I will be excited to hear when he gets it resubmitted.

On to the unpleasant news.  We received an email Monday morning from USCIS that stated, in reviewing our documents, they are unsatisfied with the information they have from the crèche regarding the circumstances that caused Wisly to come into their care and are calling the crèche representative to come before them for a follow-up interview.  They have to be fully satisfied before they will give us I-600 approval, the permission for Wisly to get a visa appointment to come home.

Ugh!! :(

I know about THIS!  I have another adoptive friend who just went through this, along with three other families from her crèche.  Our immigration situations are very similar.  With them,  USCIS demanded old documents be redone, new documents acquired, "got into it" with IBESR, and dragged their heels and added many weeks (for a couple families, six months!) before everything was resolved.

Lawyers were hired, Senators were called and USCIS finally just gave in without so much as a, "You were right, we were wrong.  Sorry we made you hire lawyers, pay extra money, and had your kids wait extra months to come home."

This is the bureaucratic mindset we are dealing with.  In too many offices that process international adoptions, children are a number on a manila file, not real human beings longing for hope.  Adoptive parents are merely strangers far away that keep bugging us with emails and phone calls.  And the ol' devil LOVES it all.  He's having a hey-day, disrupting and delaying kiddos coming home to their Forever Families where they will get love, care, health, security...healing.

The meeting was set for Wednesday morning (today).

Then yesterday afternoon I get a short email from USCIS saying they are canceling the meeting and pushing it off two more weeks...and no reason given.  Just "Sorry for the inconvenience."

What a punch in the gut!!

We have had such a large number of frustrating delays in this whole process, it is almost comical.  But, it isn't.  In May, we just KNEW we would be picking Wisly up by the end of May or early June.  Now it's the end of July.  I'm not guessing at his homecoming any more.

Praise God for His love and "peace that passeth understanding".  He is truly our Rock and Fortress.

At the advice of our crèche rep and our agency rep (both praying people, yay for that!), they said to send a firm but polite email requesting a sooner appointment than the August 9th.  Yesterday afternoon, I sent them an appeal. 

As of this writing, I have had no reply from USCIS.  So we wait and see...

I also have had about a dozen recommendation from various individuals-- call your senators, hire a lawyer, raise some <<bleep>>.  Eric and I are praying about our options and seeking wisdom.  We are also still praying for favor with USCIS and a softening of the hearts and compassion for our son.

I don't know what tomorrow holds, but it's in God's very capable hands.  Whatever the outcome, The Story God is writing will be beautiful and He receives all the glory!!

Thank you for your continued prayers! xo

The Evangelical Church Talks About Race

I want to share with my readers the link to an important conversationthat took place this past Sunday in Atlanta at North Point Church.  {Link below}  It is a candid discussion about race and racism in America.

How we can begin to understand one another, walk in someone else's shoes?  How can we start to see each other though God's eyes?  How can The Church be the impetus for true healing in our nation?

Praise God for the willingness and transparency of these two young men and Christian leaders (Sam Collier and Joseph Sojourner) to share their perspectives with Pastor Andy Stanley.

The discussion was followed by their Worship Team leading a heartfelt rendition of the song, "Lord, I Need You".

Oh how I wept!

God, I want to be Your hands and feet!  Change my heart and use me to bring healing and unity!

My friends, what a beautiful conversation...a great START to what God can and will do if we humbly seek His solutions. Christians, let's sincerely ask God to reveal His truth to our hearts, keep the conversation going, and then follow it with ACTION.

Please do yourself a huge favor and listen...then SHARE!!!

http://northpointonline.tv/messages/071016-message

A Poem about Recent Events in Our Nation

The recent tragic events in our country have been weighing heavily on my heart and keeping me up at night.  As the white mother to two Asian girls, and soon to our black son from Haiti, I try to pay attention to societal attitudes and current events.  I want to be armed with information so I can prepare and equip them for life in this world.

This week, however, I found I was experiencing information overload.  Thoughts, emotions and questions were spinning in my head at such a rapid pace that I literally felt ill.  All around me there were too many voices, too many opinions, a whole lot of anger and not many solutions. "Worldly Wisdom" had stepped in and pointed her finger.

In the midst of the confusion, God spoke to me.  He revealed that I had allowed the cacophony of social media and the news media to distract me.

I had to step back. I had to get quiet and Listen. 

This is what God whispered to my heart.

Prayer for the Heavy Heart
A Poem

God wrote these words on my heart on July 9, 2016. 
I merely transcribed them.
Jennifer Johnson, Chattanooga, TN

My heart is heavy, yet somehow, light
God is not distant; He sees our plight
A world in chaos all around
Yet God’s love is power, deep and strong

People dying left and right
Hate is real and brings a fight
But we have a Word that came to dwell
In our hearts to make souls well

The battle is real, our enemy fights hard
Yet Christ has the victory and it is Large!

He cleanses sin
He sets the captive free
His love brings life, joy and unity!

Our streets run with blood and tears flow freely
We stand divided, weak and needy
Why do we see others through eyes of hate
When our Savior came to take sin’s place?

Satan seeks to steal, kill, and destroy
He fills our minds with damaging noise
Stirring up division and hate is his main goal
Sowing fear is his focused role

Yet Christ came to earth to give us life
The way to end all darkness and strife
His death tore the curtain of distance from God
And opened our hearts that once were so flawed

So let us turn our souls now to Him
Let us surrender all our sin
Peace can be ours and a royal crown
As children of God with spotless gowns

Lord, we lay before the cross
All our pain and all our loss
We choose praises instead of fear
Thank you, God, for being so near

Now let us remember:
All people on this earth were made with love
In the image of our Father above
Let us ask for the mind of Christ
That we may see others through His eyes.

Please Hold Up Our Arms!

I posted this update on my personal facebook page this morning:

OUR ADOPTION... From the information I'm gathering from various sources, it's probably gonna be another 2 weeks, perhaps more, before Wisly's birth certificate issue is resolved, then back to US Immigration in Haiti for them to continue reviewing our adoption file. July 19 marks 3 1/2 years since God told us this particular was our son.

My heart is weary. My spiritual arms are tired. Remember in God's word: "Moses' arms soon became so tired he could no longer hold them up. So Aaron and Hur found a stone for him to sit on. Then they stood on each side of Moses, holding up his hands. So his hands held steady until sunset." (See Exodus 17:8-16) 

Eric and I need our Christian brothers and sisters to hold up our arms when we cannot.  Who will stand By us, who will stand With us...until we have the VICTORY, until Wisly is Home?  Pray, friends, PRAY!!!  Satan, the enemy of Adoption and the great enemy of our souls, is fighting hard against Wisly coming to his new home!!! 

We TRUST in Jesus our Conquering Savior AND we put on our spiritual armor to FIGHT the battle.  Please fight with us!!! God has Big Plans for this little boy...plans to further the Kingdom of God through his life!!

#PrayWithoutCeasing #OurGodWillFightForUs #PutOnTheFullArmorOfGod #DefeatTheDevil #TheLordIsMyBanner 

Amen & Amen

A Humbled Prayer for Faith

Dear Heavenly Father,

I am humbled tonight.  Your sweet Holy Spirit made me aware of something important this evening.  I thank you for showing me the hearts of my girls during this long journey to their brother.   I have too often questioned over the years, Why is this so hard?  Why is it so painful?  Why is it taking SO long?, yet not once have I heard my children complain in their prayers.  

Every morning, every night and sometimes in between, our now 9 and 5 year old daughters pray for Wisly—that he would “come home soon”, that You would fix the paperwork problems, that You would heal Wisly when he’s been sick, that You would encourage him and the other children at the creche, and so forth.  And they thank You for each miracle along the way.  They frequently tell You how much they love and miss their brother (our youngest hasn’t even met him).  Yet not once have I heard them say, Why, God, is this taking so long?  Their prayers are simple, to the point and expecting, without anxiety, that their requests will be answered.

The heart of a child is a heart that naturally trusts Jesus.

 

My children know their every need  will be provided.  They have an earthly father and mother that cherish them.  They know this and don’t question it.  Therefore, our girls trust that their Heavenly Father cares about them and their brother, and He is working everything out just as it should be. 

Oh Lord, give me a faith like that!

Help me to remember and believe at the very core of my being that You cherish me and You cherish Wisly.  Help me to be confident in Your Omnipotence.  Help me to rest in the knowledge that You GOT this.

Lord, stir up my childlike faith in You.

Amen.

Noah Clermond from Chances for Children Visits Our Church (VIDEO!)

This past Sunday, we were immensely blessed to have Noah Clermond, the Creche Director of Chances for Children in Kenscoff, Haiti, come and speak and sing at our church.  Noah has been our friend since we traveled for our Socialization Trip to meet Wisly in February/March 2015.  Through several successive trips to Haiti and many facebook conversations, Noah has also become our brother.  It was an amazing, God-filled service and Noah's presentation touched many hearts.

Group photo after the service - sorry it is so blurry!

Sunday was our "God and Country" Service in honor of Independence Day, so we had a great crowd and extra (and super fun) activities for Noah to participate in and get to know members of our church. Btw, this explains the American flags and patriotic decorations on the platform that you will see in the videos.

Tonya, our church accompanist, played with Noah and his guitar as he sang his solo.

Church game night...and Noah beat everyone first time playing this game!

Mini tour of Chattanooga and the Riverfront:

Noah got to experience his first fireworks display.  It was awesome by my standards, 

but he particularly enjoyed the experience and got some good video.

Eric and I were blessed personally to be able to host Noah in our home Saturday through Monday.  We enjoyed our more intimate conversations and being able to share from our hearts about Wisly.  Pappi Noe, as our friend is called at the creche, loves our son (and all the children) very much.  It is comforting and reassuring to have this man looking out for our boy when he is so far away from us.

It was also a blast showing Noah around our beautiful city.  He loved our small (smaller than in Kenscoff) mountains and vibrant Riverfront.  We even had the opportunity to spend an hour or two with friends who met Noah on a recent mission trip.  He played guitar and we all sang worship songs together.  The beautiful time of fellowship ended in a time of prayer.  God's presence was sweetly felt!

It was a wonderful weekend...but much too short.  It was difficult saying goodbye, but Noah promised to return and bring his wife the next time.  We look forward to it!  Besides, it shouldn't be too much longer before Eric and I are back in Haiti ourselves,,,to pick up our son!!

AUDIO ONLY (better sound quality):  Click here to listen to Eric's interview with Noah.

VIDEO part 1 (interview):

VIDEO part 2 (Noah sings):

P.S. Noah took lots of photos and videos of his trip but most especially our home, inside and out, including Wisly's room which is about 2/3 complete.  I was so happy when he said he would bring Wisly into his office this week to show him the videos and share with him about our visit together.  I hope it makes our boy feel loved, hopeful and excited about his future!