An Eventful Week with Our Guy - Haiti Visit #3

In this post, I'll give you some of the highlights of my 3rd trip to Haiti and show a few pics. In upcoming posts, I will add more details...and more photos.

So here's the start: With this third trip to Haiti, I was blessed to travel with two other adoptive families. One mom (J) came to see the two girls her family is adopting, and, God willing, they are only a few short months away from having them both home. Another mom (T) whose family is adopting a little girl (and only a short ways behind J in their adoption process) came with her hubby and young daughter. I have been friends on Facebook with both of these ladies for a couple of years but this was our first IN PERSON meeting. Let me tell you--WHAT an amazing blessing to be with these gals and sisters-in-Christ! It was great to have T's husband and daughter along, as well. Honestly, I have tears in my eyes writing this, because our time together was absolutely PRECIOUS.  Our evenings were filled with uplifting conversation, singing praise song and Christmas carols (and some silly dancing from the kids), playing games, a movie night with popcorn, and just good 'ole fellowship. Adopting from the same creche brought us together online, but sharing the ups and downs of our journey, opening our hearts and praying for each other has turned into sweet friendship that will last a lifetime.

The whole visit was so relaxing! I feel like the grownups and kids just melded together so well and we were all able to be ourselves. Those few days together were a sweet gift from God right before Christmastime. I have memories I will carry with me and cherish always.

Day 1 (Tuesday) - Our small tarvel group met in the Miami airport and boarded our plane together.  After a brief flight, we arrived at the Port-Au-Prince international airport early afternoon, gathered our luggage and met our C4C driver.

I had a pretty good view out the window on this flight into Haiti.  Haiti is on the western part of the beautiful island of Hispaniola.

Love the blue water of the Caribbean!

A view of  Tabarre, a commune of Port-Au-Prince

We jammed into the van and headed southeast towards the Chaine La Selle mountain range.

Chaine La Selle mountains - Photo by George Hanna

About 40 minutes into our trip, we purchased food for lunches and snacks at The Giant, a Western style grocery store in Petionville. 

 We continued onward and upward and about 30 minutes later we dropped off our luggage and food purchases at the guesthouse in Fermathe (elevation 3000 ft).  Then back onto the van to see our kids!

C4C Guesthouse (photo from the C4C blog)

During the 10 minute drive even further up the mountain to the creche in Kenscoff (elevation 5000 ft), the realization that I was moments away from holding our boy made me giddy with excitement.  It had been about 5 months since we were last together--much too long.

We arrived at the new creche...

...and searched every room only to discover that they were across the road at the old creche having their daily afternoon English class.

Each afternoon, the school aged children meet with their English teach to work on their reading, writing and conversational skills.  The teacher also supervises the kids as they do their school homework.

I ran into the old creche calling, "W----!  Where Are Yoooooo?"
As soon as we spotted each other in the foyer, W was ALL smiles and I swooped him up into my arms and planted kisses all over his grinning face! <3

Giving some loves to my sweet boy - he giggled and let me hug him and plant lots of kisses on his soft cheeks --- ahhhhh!

After all of us grown ups greeted the C4C staff and visited with them briefly, we loaded up back into the van to head to the guesthouse for the night.  Each family retired briefly to our rooms for some private time with our kiddos and to settle in before a delicious Haitian meal provided by Veronica.

Christmas devotions and story time in my friend J's room.  The kids were very happy to be together, and W enjoyed being the only boy surrounded by pretty girls, lol!

Day 2 (Wednesday) - We woke and fed the kids their breakfast and packed snacks for their school day.  I must say, it was very a very good feeling to serve our son by preparing a meal for him and packing up snacks for him and his school friends.  It felt like such a regular mom-thing.  It was a blessing to be able to perform this simple act of love for W each day. :)

After our kids were safely off to school in the C4C van, we grownups showered (when the water was warm..) and got ready for the day.  Julienne, a sweet woman who works for C4C in a variety of capacities, cooked a large, delicious breakfast with lots of fresh local fruits.  She did this every morning except for our last day in Haiti.  Between Veronica's dinners (Haitian style and American style meals) and Julienne's breakfasts, our tummies were kept pleasantly full all week!

After we were picked up and delivered to the creche, we started a painting project at the old building.  As of now, the plan is to turn the old creche into the new guest house.  The current guest house is a rental and the lease expires at the end of February 2016!  During the week, we gave one of the rooms a new coat of paint from top to bottom.  Mission teams traveling to Kenscoff in the coming weeks will paint other rooms as well as add some Western style bathrooms.  I am told that Haitian locals will be adding a Western style kitchen sometime soon as well.  Will you pray with us that the work can be completed in time?  It is extremely important for the many teams that come to minister each year have a place to sleep and eat during their stay.  Thank you!  (p.s. I'll post any significant updates as they occur.)

After painting for a couple of hours and stopping to eat our lunches, we received the okay to "pick up" our kids from school, which translates to waiting outside the school gate (literally next door to the old creche) for our kids to be dismissed for the day.  They are generally done with school around 1:30 pm ish.  Just remember, time in Haiti is always "ish" ;-)

W was surprised and happy to see me.  He grabbed my hand and literally
dragged me around the school, showing me everything.

This is W's teacher.  She was caught off guard by my sudden appearance to her classroom, but she recovered well.  W says she is nice and a good teacher.  That was one of those times I really wished I knew more than a handful of words in Creole.  It would have been wonderful to have been able to ask her personally how he is doing in school and to thank her for her work.

Back at the creche, the kids fell into their normal routines.  W and the other boys his age marched through very quick showers (? or maybe a "sponge bath" ?) and dressed in play clothes for the remainder of the day.  While waiting for the children's afternoon meal (lunch / dinner) around 3:00 pm ish, the other adults and I played with the toddlers and older kids both inside the main foyer area and outside on the concrete area.

Sadly, the children have very few toys/games and little to occupy them in their free time.  This is extremely common in orphanages.  Shoes, clothing, books, toys, etc. are communal property and because of this, items are frequently lost, stolen or broken.  You don't typically see kids sitting down in groups to play card games, assemble puzzles or build with blocks, unless a visiting mission team brings activities to do with the kids.  They do have a couple soccer balls to kick around outside, however, the new creche has no playground equipment or soccer field.  A future goal is to build a grass play area on the hill above the creche.

After the kids finished their meal, the preschoolers and older kids headed across the way to their late afternoon English class. The grownups played a bit more with the toddlers until class was over, then headed back to guest house for dinner and an evening at "home".  Our kiddos were feeling particularly silly this night.  They swayed and bounced around the van seats, giggling like crazy.  It was nice to seem them so happy and relaxed.

Day 3 (Thursday) - Pretty much the same as Day 2.

Day 4 (Friday) - Basically the same schedule as previous days, however we finished our painting project--yay!  After our kids returned from school, we hung out and played, the kids ate, then we decided to walk up the mountain to Duette Orphanage since there is no English class on Fridays. Duette houses kids who typically aren't available for adoption.  Many of them have living family members who don't want to place their kids for adoption yet are unable to care for them.  So they get placed in an "orphanage", as apposed to a "creche" which cares for kids who are being adopted.

The Duette property was starkly different from the C4C creche.  It looked old and very run down.  Everything had a generally faded and broken and sad look.  It was a difficult reality to swallow.  Kids live here, eat here, play here.  This is their life--for some, it is all they ever know.

T delivered some clothing donations sent from Kathi, the stateside director of C4C, to three of the teenage boys.  They were so very appreciative to have the new clothes.  Then the children performed a song for us, with the old boys using the walls, desks and filing cabinet as percussion.  It was very sweet.  Their faces melted our hearts.  Lord Jesus, cover these precious children with your loving protection and give them Your peace!  Provide for their every need!

After our visit at Duette, J and T's girls wanted to go visit the wife of the orphanage director at their private home.  Led by our kiddos, we walked a  1/2 mile (?) to a more rural area to visit to her.  The walk was fast and felt treacherous - I was sure I would break my neck walking up and down those steep, narrow and rocky pathways!  I was somewhat relieved when W let go of my hand to rush ahead to keep up with the teen girls.

The older kids climbed onto the roof and wanted me to take multiple photos.
Their modeling cracked me up.  They looked very "Western" as they struck various poses.  

Note:  The director and his wife have a large home and there were workers 
there constructing an addition to the home, a slow process, as all the materials 
have to be carried in by hand and the work is mostly performed by hand.

After our visit, we headed back to the creche.  We had had a full day and everyone was tired.  I felt especially pensive reflecting on our little field trip.  I felt sooo very thankful that our son and the other C4C kids were being lovingly cared for in such a wonderful place, yet my heart hurt for the kids at Duette who seemed to have little hope.  What does their future hold?  Only our Heavenly Father knows...

Later that night, we baked cookies and brownies, told stories, laughed, sang together around the kitchen table...and our kids...our kids...they acted like regular, happy kids...like kids with families...being incredibly silly, dancing, laughing, being relaxed, being themselves.  This is the way it's supposed to be---kids.in.families....loved.safe.happy.secure.

My heart was so full it was breaking.
I was so happy, I could hardly stand it.
I was so sad, I could hardly stand it.

Lord, we need You...

Day 5 (Saturday) - We chose to not go visit the creche but spend the day primarily at the guesthouse, focusing on bonding and creating special memories with our own kids.  Yay!!  After breakfast, T took the kids outside for a photo treasure hunt and a little exploring.  I joined them a bit later on.  It was nice to be outside on such a beautiful day in the mountains of Haiti.

For lunch, we decided to walk to the Baptist Haiti Mission.  They serve hamburgers, fries and the like in their cafe.  It was W's first visit and was a big hit with him.  He was so excited about ice cream for dessert and specifically asked if he could have "Coca-COLA!" with his meal.  He ate every last morsel and was a very satisfied little boy.

After eating, we three families spent some time gazing at the spectacular views of the mountain--the cafe was perched on a great lookout--and shooting fabulous family photos!

Video of the mountains I took from inside the Mission.

They also have a nice gift shop filled with local items and crafts.  W picked out a wall hanging for his room and took pics with my phone of every item he would like us to purchase someday...;-)

After shopping inside, we browsed the vendors along the street outside the Mission.  Talk about high pressure sales!  The shop keepers depend on tourists to make a living and my heart goes out to them, but after 30 minutes or so, I was stressed out by having to say "no thank you" to a dozen men in a dozen ways.  I do feel for these people.  This is their living.  They are so dependent on tourism.  It's tough, and if I had the money, I would have purchased art from several vendors.  Maybe some day...

That afternoon, we basically chilled at the guest house.  We parents were all pretty worn out, so we kinda spread out around the house to rest or read while the kiddos curled up nearby with tablets or cell phones to watch videos or play games. 

One particularly meaningful event happened later that afternoon.  W had a breakdown and cried like his little heart was breaking.  I thought my heart would break as I witnessed his sorrow!  I'm not entirely sure what triggered his crying, but I truly believe God used this time for us to deepen our emotional connection and to further reinforce in his heart that I am his mom, for real, forever.

{In a future post, I will talk more about the ways we are working to connect with W before he comes home.  I hope that by sharing our experiences, those of you in the adoption process will be encouraged as you work to create bonds with your new children.  This is so important for the long term emotional health, security and stability of your child.} 

Then it was time for another yummy dinner!

I must stop here to interject--the meals were AWESOME.  Julienne provided a full, yummy breakfast each morning and every evening Veronica spoiled us rotten with Haitian and American cuisine (side note--she has taken cooking classes and would love to have her own restaurant one day).  W is a great eater.  He is so thin and is active all day.  So I was glad to see him take seconds and sometimes even thirds at our dinners.  I had one week to put some meat on our lil guy's bones, so I encouraged plenty of snacks, too.

We wrapped up the evening relaxing and chatting while playing games around the kitchen table.  It was a tiring day, but a very good day.  What a privilege to have my boy close for a whole entire day!

Day 6 (Sunday) - Church time!  We all got dressed in our Sunday best -- oh, the kids looked sooo cute! -- and got a ride in the van to the creche.  When we arrived an hour late -- no worries, we were there for the last 3 hours (yes!) of the worship service -- the congregation was singing enthusiastically.  I LOVE the way Haitians sing praises to the Lord!  We Americans could learn a thing or two about focusing totally on God and worshiping Him with abandon!

Later in the service, T's hubby greeted congregation on our behalf and "Pappi Noe" (we call him Noah) spontaneously invited me to the microphone to sing a solo.  Feeling quite surprised and unprepared, I persuaded the other grown ups to join me.  Except for forgetting some of the words to the song "10,000 Reasons", we did pretty well.  I did look back at the kids at one point during the song and saw W determinedly digging through my backpack.  Hmmm... I found out later that he used my phone to video record part of our song!  That lil stinker, lol

Noah translated the sermon for us through our wireless headphones and then the service closed with the taking of communion.  We broke the break and were served full shot glasses of wine.  Woah.  This girl is used to Welch's grape juice! ;-)  After church, we shared hugs and "God bless you!"'s with members of the congregation and walked back to the creche for lunch and playtime.

We had something VERY special planned for our last evening with our children.  We had spoken with a member of the C4C medical clinic staff and learned about a unique restaurant and lodge called  The Rustik in Furcy, Haiti (elevation 5500+ ft).  It is built from entirely recycled and re-purposed materials.  The drive was somewhat lengthy and quite bumpy, but the high mountain locale makes the setting absolutely breathtaking.  The kids were somewhat in awe of their surroundings, but soon settled into a good meal followed by playtime on the lovely grounds.  What a fun and memorable evening!

I WISH I had a camera that could do justice to the AMAZING scenery.  These mountains are INCREDIBLE!

 

The kids played a little soccer - basket ball before the trip home

The journey back down the mountain was much quieter than the trip up.  The scenery was especially beautiful in the glow of the setting sun.  Soon it is dark and the kids are quiet as we bump our way back to the creche.  I observe my silent son as he gazes out the window and try to deny that our goodbyes are close.  The time with W has been, in one word:  Amazing.  I feel like we experienced a real turning point in our relationship.  My previous visit in July was marked by "distractions" (more about that in another post) and I came home feeling somewhat disappointed, wishing we had connected better.  On THIS trip, it was like night and day.  God provided me with wisdom and a better plan for how I would interact with my son.  And God blessed!  We were so relaxed together.  We played, we acted silly, we laughed, we cuddled, we sang, and more.  I had many opportunities to be His Mom, not just a caring visitor to the creche, but really His Mom.

All too soon we were back in Kenscoff and pulled up to the creche.  We quietly climbed from the van and began hugging our kids.  Tears began to fall.  Someone had the idea for us to pray together.  We formed a circle in the glow of the van's headlights and held hands.  Each of us parents prayed blessings over our kids and thanked God for our time together.  It was incredibly sweet and meaningful.

I tried to keep my crying to a bare minimum so as not to upset W even more, but I failed miserably.  Through tears, we said our final "See you later's" and the four children walked through the gate and were gone.  We loaded back into the van and made our way back to the guest house.  The ride "home" was subdued.  We eventually started up some normal conversation to get our minds off our sadness.

This trip had been incredible and we were all grateful.  None of us knew when we would see our kids next, but we knew -- we know, without a shadow of a doubt -- God is in charge.  He will complete the work He started!

Day 7 (Monday) - We were all up by 5am and got picked up shortly after 6am for our trip in the van to the Port-Au-Prince airport.  We had some time at the airport to visit and even had seats close to one another on the plane!  We arrive at Miami International after a short flight.  After a fairly easy journey through customs, then baggage claims, then re-checking our bags and going through security one last time,,,it's time for the grownups to say goodbye.  WHAT an amazing trip this has been!!  I feel SO blessed to have spent the week with these 2 families who are now even dearer than they were these past couple of years chatting online.  God blessed us with wonderful fellowship and wonderful memories.  I am privileged to pray for these friends and walk the road of adoption with them.  Thank you, Lord!

UPCOMING POST:  Things I've Learned About Our Son

HOPE in Kenscoff, Haiti and beyond

This video was produced this fall to be presented at Chances for Children's annual Night of Hope in October.  Somehow I missed it...until tonight!

Oh.my.goodness.  My heart breaks and smiles all at once.  Please view this short video so you can see the great needs of the children and families in Haiti, and what one ministry is doing to help.

God bless you, C4C!!!

**This video is best viewed full size on a computer screen. (p.s. yes, our boy, W, is in the video! you'll have to try and guess which cutie he is ;-))

WE EXITED IBESR!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, after 735 days in the Haitian Social Services (IBESR) phase of our adoption, we received the most amazing news---WE HAVE EXITED!  Praise God from Whom ALL Blessings Flow!!!!!!!  (Merry Christmas to the Johnson Family!)

First thing this morning I opened a facebook message from the director of W's creche saying we had received our Authorization of Adoption from Haitian Social Services (IBESR) and exited!

This was immediately followed by my happy sobs, one of our girls coming to see what was wrong, me saying "Go Get Daddy!!, screams, hugs, jumping, shouts of "Thank you, Jesus!", etc., and repeat.

I'm walking as if in a dream today.

Part of that could be the exhaustion, an under-the-weather feeling and the general funk that follows a trip to Haiti, BUT I know that a good part of that dream-feeling is finally, FINALLY, having reached the point of our adoption where we are ON THE DOWNHILL SLOPE!!!

We have 4 major steps to complete before we bring W home.  Here is kinda how I explained the remainder of the process to him just the other day:

1) Our adoption file goes to Parquet / Court where the judge rules that W is our son, he gets our last name and we receive our Adoption Decree.
2) Our adoption file goes to MOI (Ministry of the Interior) where ALL of the adoption documents are reviewed in great detail for accuracy and completeness and given final approval to complete the adoption process.
3) Our adoption file goes to Haiti Immigration for W's passport to be printed.
4) Our adoption file goes to US Immigration (USCIS in Haiti) to receive W's visa so he can come home to Tennessee!

Do be aware that these steps are greatly simplified.  There are many mini-steps within each major step.

I can hear you asking, What is the timeline to homecoming?

Best Case Scenario?  6 months,,,maybe.  BEST case scenario.
It could still take 12 months, but I guarantee, the Johnson's are praying for a summer homecoming!!

The Kenscoff Court and Office of Civil Status building.
I have no idea if the court proceedings for our adoption
will happen here (most likely in a court in Port-au-Prince),
but it is a pretty new building. :)

Haiti Visit #3

(oops, I just realized that I never posted details about Haiti Visit #2 back in July when I traveled with a mission team!  hmmm, I'll add that to my "to do" list)

I just got home from an absolutely amazing visit with our son!!  

I was there for 1 week and was joined by Jane, an adoptive mom from the same creche, and Tina and her family, also adopting from the same creche.  We've been friends online for a couple of years and we finally got to meet each other IN PERSON!!  SUCH a blessing.  We were fortunate to be able to stay in the C4C guest house and had our kids with us overnights.  W, who is all boy, was surrounded by 4 girls during the week, but he enjoyed himself immensely. ;-)

I have wonderful stories and experiences to share that I hope will be an encouragement to those of you adopting, particularly for parents adopting older children of a different culture and race.  I also was able to capture some breathtaking scenery...with my smart phone, not a "real" camera, but hopefully it will be a taste of the beauty to be found in Haiti.

In the coming days I will post stories and photos, but right now I am so completely exhausted, both physically and emotionally.  I do give all praise to God for providing this wonderful opportunity to bond with our son and connect with my friends!

~TTFN

Go HERE to read the full details of trip #3!

November Update

November Update from the creche:

W, the great soccer player and singer, he would like to become a great teacher. He always talks about his adoptive family and his sisters. He imagines how he will be when he will be in the US, kind and helpful to his family. He thinks he’ll buy a lot of stuff to play with.  He is one of the nicest boys at the crèche, but he doesn't like to comb his hair.  

lol!  That's our boy!

Haiti Adoption: Simple vs Plenary

Diana Boni, who works with the creche, God's Littlest Angels (GLA), has done a very good job explaining the details surrounding the plenary vs simple wording on the adoption decrees.  Check out her blog posts from October. Also check out this post from Dixie Bickel from GLA.  I think these will give a greater perspective on the challenges in Haiti adoption at this time.

Fyi, GLA is also in Kenscoff, only about 15 minutes away from our son's creche.  I'd love to visit someday.  They've been existence for 20 years or so, maybe more, and have done much for the children and families in the area.

Huge Homecoming Delays for Haiti's Adopted Children

Families adopting through Haiti's International Adoption Program are once again mired in confusion and significant delays.  But this time it's serious.

This latest delay affects approximately 100 families (that I know of) and their legally adopted Haitian children.  After an adoption case goes through the multi-tiered legal phase where the child is given their decree of adoption with their new last name (of the adoptive parents), the case proceeds to Haitian Immigration to obtain a new passport for the child.  The final step of adoption is US Immigration, where the child's visa is issued, and then he goes HOME!

The distressing situation families are facing now is that their legally adopted children are not being allowed to fly home to the US because US Immigration is not issuing visas...due to an issue of wording on the adoption decrees coming out of the Haitian court system.

Our agency explains it this way:

In November 2013, Haiti voted to actually follow their own new adoption laws, which had been "pending" for several years. Some adoption cases completed after Nov 2013 were processed under the old system; the adoptions were done in what is called a simple adoption .  Under the new laws, they needed to be completed as a plenary or full adoption. Adoption agencies were unfamiliar with this terminology and this wording could not be found in any of the documents issued, but apparently it is there (somewhere). 

Earlier this fall, the US was issuing visa's to cases that were classified as "simple adoptions" and were not insisting on the "plenary" language.

Now, suddenly, US Immigration is cracking down without so much as a, "Hey, guess what?  Get ready, because soon we will be making some changes in how we process visa cases..."

Bottom line, what does this mean?
It means that a hundred families and their legally adopted children who were about to come home, are now being forced to backtrack several stages and RE-DO steps of the adoption that had already been completed!  We are talking adding months to an already insanely long process .  I also suspect that additional money that families had not been prepared to pay will be required for the lawyers needed to complete the process the "correct" way.

This decision has created ripples throughout the process.  Cases that were 95% complete have now been thrown back to IBESR,  Yes, all the way back to the social services stage!  The confused staff at IBESR has been scrambling to make corrections in all these cases.  Everyone at every stage is wondering what really needs to be done to fix this complex problem.  Adoptive parents are calling their senators.  Adoption agencies and adoption and orphan advocates are contacting the US State Department.  Our agency says that these groups are asking "the US government [to] please step in and make some concessions and approve these adoptions."  Yes PLEASE!

So as you can see, friends, once again Haiti adoptions and the precious children need all of our prayers.  Delays, delays, delays.  Eric and I wonder if this situation is affecting our case.  Fortunately our case hadn't gotten far enough along (thank you, Lord, for your protection!) to be dealing with this "simple" vs "plenary" issue, but I do wonder if the added burden on IBESR is delaying our case (and others) from exiting...

Lord Jesus, hear our cries for help on behalf of all of Haiti's children!

W's New Birth Certificate Extract Received!!

Praise the Lord!!  We thought that getting this missing document could take many weeks or even months, but it didn't!!  God moved!!

Yesterday morning, our agency emailed us our September Update from the creche.  Here is part of that update:

Update from Noe:
W is a big singer and loves to dance.  He thinks of himself as a big boy and doesn’t like to play with the younger kids.  He used to be somewhat aggressive but now he is getting more and more kind.  He obeys the nannies and teachers better now, even better than the younger kids. W still excels as a soccer player and has a very good appetite.  (We've been told that after Eric and I spent those 15 days with him in Haiti several months ago, his attitude and behavior has improved a great deal.  Knowing you finally have a mommy and daddy who love you makes a huge difference in a kid's life...even across the miles!)

Legal:
This past Monday, we were finally able to get W’s birth certificate extract from National Archives and deliver it to IBESR so that they can issue the exit letter.  We anticipate this happening soon now that we have completed this hurdle.  (HALLELUJAH to The Mover of Mountains!)

Eric and I are praying to get that IBESR Exit letter This Week.  That is our heart's cry to the Lord.

Immigration Approval Extended

Remember our appointment at the US Embassy in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti in early March?  We filed our 1-600 application, which requests that our earlier approval be directed to a specific child, W.  This will allow us to bring W home to the US at the end of the adoption process. 

This is one of the few easy parts of the Haitian adoption process.  All we have to do is email the US Embassy every 3 months to request an extension of our I-600.  That's it.

Well quess who forgot to put that date in my phone calendar back in March?  Uhm, yeah, I completely forgot,,,until 2 weeks past the deadline!  One night last week, God interrupted my sleep and reminded me.  Truly!  So I zipped off an email with all the pertinent information. 

I was fearful we would have to literally start all over with the immigration process, including the fees and the waiting.  But I prayed the officials would be gracious and extend our approval.

I received this email today.  Praise the Lord and thank you, Jesus!!!

P.S. My calendar is now filled with reminders at every three months for the next year.  But let's hope and pray all those reminders won't be needed... ;-)

Big UPDATE and a Big Prayer Need

For those of you who are friends of mine on facebook, you get regular updates from me about our adoption.  For those who only know me from the blog, I apologize for my neglect of our adoption story.  We are still waiting to exit IBESR so we can move on to the court phase of the adoption -- the part where W legally becomes our son.  However...

Currently we are facing a potentially large and maddening delay in our already lengthy process.   And YET, it is another opportunity to bring caring people together in prayer and to see God MOVE on behalf of our son.

Here's a quick summary to get ya'll up to date:

Eric and I traveled to Haiti for our 15 day bonding trip to meet W at the end of February / early March.  We had an amazing time with our son, who stayed at the guest house with us the whole time.  In spite of the language barrier, we connected very well in 2 weeks.  He is an amazing boy!

Miraculously, God resolved a tricky situation with some delayed immigration approval documents (the I-171H approval form).  This approval documentation was needed for our required filing of the I-600 at the US Embassy in Port-Au-Prince.  With the help of an awesome neighbor back home and a couple of individuals here in the US with connections, God got the issue resolved.  Our immigration appointment took place near the end of our trip!

We also had a successful interview with the IBESR social worker.  She was austere but kind woman who spoke no English.  Papi Noe (one of the adoption coordinators at the creche and a favorite staff member of W's) translated the conversation, and she smiled at W a lot.  Whew!  It was such a relief to have both of those appointments taken care of and for both to go so well.

Fast forward to July...  I joined a 6 day mission trip to the creche to spend some much needed bonding time with W.  I split my time between playing with him and his buddies and working in the new creche garden.  I was thrilled that he got to stay with me at the guest house for 4 nights!  But I can tell you that leaving him was pure torture.  The two of us sobbed off and on for about an hour on the last day.  The tears started with him and this mama soon joined in.  I rocked him on my lap, sang hymns and worship choruses, kissed his cheeks and spoke words of blessing over his life.  He fell asleep at one point, but woke up, only to cry some more. 

My heart broke into a thousand pieces when I left him behind...and some of those pieces are still in Haiti.  His sweet face, deep voice and silly laugh is with me every day.  A prayer for his peace, joy, safety and hope are always on my spirit.

And we arrive at September 2015.

We are more than 6 months past our bonding trip.  Two families adopting from W's creche have already exited IBESR and moved forward to the court phase.  One of those families traveled after us.  I am so happy for these friends of mine and their precious children, but my heart has been so confused and discouraged to watch many other families pass us by as well.  (Being part of the large Haiti adoption facebook group can be a blessing and a curse.)  The average timeframe from socialization trip to exiting IBESR seems to be 3-5 months.  Some recent families have exited after only 1 1/2 to 2 months.  Wow!

"What is up with our case?  Why aren't we moving forward?" has been a constant echo in my mind.

Well, this past weekend we finally got some answers.

Our adoption agency coordinator and the director of W's creche had been discussing our case.  We received an email from our agency.  It turns out that we were not as close to exiting IBESR as we had thought.  "Any day now" turned into-- an important document is missing in W's file.

What?!?

What happened was that W's birth certificate generated by the local court was supposed to be registered in a big book at court (I'm kinda fuzzy on this point) and registered at Haiti's National Archives.  The lawyer hired by the creche is supposed to take care of these details.  Well...his birth certificate never got registered and therefore was missing from his adoption file at IBESR.  No one at the creche even knew about this until last week.

At this point, it looked to us like the original nightmare process of getting his official birth certificate the first time might have to be re-done!  This could take months!  One family on the big facebook group had a similar situation happen to them and it took 16 MONTHS to resolve.  16 MONTHS, people!!

Eric and I took the weekend to reflect and pray (and I took time to freak out and cry).  We also asked many, many people to pray for this issue in our adoption process.  Then yesterday we sent our agency and email with more questions and a desire to learn how much of a delay we were looking at. 

Our agency rep was swift to respond...with positive news!!  Praise God!!

To resolve the birth certificate situation, here is what is needed (well, this is my best understanding; it may not be 100% accurate but it is close, I think...):

A new "judgement" is needed from the court that issued W's birth certificate.
This judgement generates official documentation that goes to National Archives to be registered.
Then an "extract" (an official copy) of W's birth certificate can be obtained.
The extract goes into W's file in IBESR, which will complete our adoption file.
We get a final signature on our file and we exit IBESR.

The PRAISE is that the adoption rep from the creche started working to resolve this issue when it was discovered last week and already has the new judgement from the court!!  He also thinks he will have everything he needs this week to take to IBESR!!

So this is wonderful news, but we don't stop praying here.  This could still be a lengthy delay.  Eric and I are praying for favor over our case, for favor for the creche adoption representative, and for a swift and correct resolution to the problem followed by swift exit from IBESR.

You have joined us in prayer many times before...will you join us again?

God be praised for what He has already done, what He is doing, and what he WILL do!!!