An Update....Finally!

I have to admit, I am a terrible blogger!  It has been some time since our last post, but I feel the need to get this in writing today.  Back in February our dossier was delivered to our attorney in Haiti and in March we went to "court" to declare our intention to adopt along with the Cunninghams and the Coxes.  It was interesting to say the least, but cleared a necessary hurdle.

In March, Harrison was able to meet his sister for the first time when he went on a mission trip with the youth of Grace Baptist Church.  It was an instant bond between brother and sister!

In June, Sara, Harrison and I returned to Haiti and spent a week with Onise while serving with the Clarity Group and Hope Alliance.  Several other families who are adopting had their court dates during this trip.  The big thing for us is that our dossier finally entered IBESR after several months of activities had to be completed for Onise's Haitian file.  She had to have a medical exam, psychological test, a social history interview with her birth parents and have and ID card made.  We are now praying for a swift review and exit from IBESR with the hope that we might not have to have a Presidential Dispensation.

President Martelly has declared his intention for Haiti to become Hague compliant and is pushing to put an end to independent adoptions and our prayer is that this will not interefere with our process which is underway.

I am returning to Haiti at the end of August for an I-600 appointment at the US Embassy with several other families to begin the immigration paperwork that will be requried to get Onise a US passport once the Haitian adoption is final.  Please pray for safety and success during this trip.

Mommy Journal Entry # 1 - Visit to meet my daughter - October 28 - 31, 2010

 It does not seem like I am back to reality just yet…..so pray for me as the transition continues. My life has forever changed since my journey to Haiti. God is so, so loving because He is giving me joy in my heart right now when all I want to do is to cry…… allowing me to recall all the amazing moments I had with my daughter.  "Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths; guide me in your truths and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long." Psalm 25:4-5 (NIV)

            My morning began with overwhelming anticipation for the days ahead. I am in awe and I can’t believe I am going to meet my daughter! I left for this journey on Thursday, October 28, 2010. I prayed that morning that God would continue to provide clear confirmations to me for this journey. As my flight was in route from Miami to Port Au Prince, we encountered a few storms and there were some amazing cloud formations. We flew above the storms and I began to daydream about seeing my daughter for the first time. As I looked out the window, I saw the clouds in the formation of a huge cross. I knew right then that God was carrying me, providing those precious confirmations of His plan and calming all my fears and anxiety.

            As I landed at the airport in Port Au Prince and arrived at the baggage claim area, none of the chaos around me seemed to matter. All I wanted was to see was my husband’s face, who was meeting me there, so he could take me to our daughter. After we were through customs, it was only a short walk to the van where Onise was waiting. Oh, Father how majestic you are as I saw her for the first time! I believe that whatever bags I had at that time, I dropped as I frantically tried to get the van door open…… so I could jump inside to give her a BIG hug and kiss. Our bond was instant and as she looked at me with her precious, dark eyes I knew from that instant that God has just created a miracle in my life. During the entire van ride to Tabarre, she held my hand and her poppy’s hand. She touched my hair over and over and we exchanged lots of hugs, kisses and SMILES. Onise was sporting her UT shirt that poppy had brought to her the previous day when he had arrived. She also had her mP3 player of music that Poppy had given her and she wanted to share with me so I could listen. One of her favorite songs on the mP3 is  Everything Glorious by David Crowder Band(please listen to this song if you have never heard the lyrics). I struggled through many tears and huge lumps in my throat as we sang this song together.

            The first evening we stayed together in Tabarre at the mission house. We had our first meal together which Mona had so graciously fixed and it was absolutely delicious dinner. The menu was chicken, rice, Haitian slaw, fried sweet potatoes and plantains. Stacy and I let Onise open most all of her gifts from family, friends and from us that evening and she was all SMILES the entire time. Later that evening we shared several (4 to be exact) 5 gallon buckets of water to take a bath. She loved it when I would pick up the entire bucket and pour it over her like a shower. I so can’t wait until my baby girl can take a shower here with warm water. She really liked the pink loofah scrub, the scented body wash and cocoa butter lotion I brought for her! She is truly my baby girl because she likes to bath and lather on plenty of the body lotion. J We also gave her a new toothbrush as well because of the cholera outbreak. We ended the evening the three of us snuggling up in bed together while we had three floor fans blowing on our bed to stay cool. Stacy and I just watched Onise as she slept and in the silence of the night we just SMILED because we could not believe that God had ordained this beautiful journey for us!

            On Friday morning, October 29, I woke up very early while the sun was just rising. Stacy & Onise were still sleeping and I heard what I thought was singing – Praise music. I got up and grabbed my video camera and sure enough as I looked out the windows at the end of the house, I could see the tent cities and I could clearly heard people singing Praise and Worship music to the King. After just being in Haiti for one day I have truly seen the Lord and His presence. Seeing all the devastation and how people live in these terrible conditions but they are still Praising the Lord! So humbling.

            Onise enjoyed waking up with her Mommy & Poppy by her side and she ate lots for breakfast. We had a delicious breakfast that was fixed by Mona which consisted of scrambled eggs, oatmeal and fresh grapefruit juice. I have never had oatmeal so fresh and so tasty (I believe Mona’s secret ingredients has to be lots of brown sugar J ) Stacy and I had brought some Starbucks instant coffee and we managed to get the microwave to work and heated up some bottled water for a cup of Java! I took some video of Poppy and Onise that morning as they were playing around and loving on each other. I just wish we could take her home with us now and I am already dreading Sunday when we have to leave her.

Onise & Mommy!

ADOPTION UPDATE

I am happy to report that the paperwork part of our adoption process is nearly over!  We are well into our home study and hope to have all of our dossier douments ready to go to Haiti in few weeks!  Thanks to all who have been praying for us and who have helped us get this far so quickly!  God is surely blessing this and we are grateful to so many!

Thursday, August 26, 2010 was intended to be a relaxing day after a week of serving the church at Savan Pistache, in Port Au Prince, with our team from Grace Baptist Church.  Today, we would be traveling into the mountains of Haiti to visit an orphanage and to see another part of the country. Our team would spend the afternoon with the fifteen girls that live there.  The trip to Camatin was an adventure of its own as our bus winded its way up the mountain through small villages and narrow roads. When we arrived the girls came out meet us, some shy at first but they quickly warmed up to this new group of faces.  It was hard to believe that these precious girls survived a terrible earthquake just eight month ago which destroyed their previous home and took the life of a four year old, Atanie, who lived there.

I had prepared a bag full of suckers and "silly band" bracelets earlier in the week. I found a spot on the porch to sit down and hand them out to the girls.  They all were excited to receive these gifts. After a while I opened up a pack of the bracelets that were in the shapes of alphabet letters. One little girl in particular came to my side and took interest in what I was doing.  We began to spell out the words, FAITH, HOPE, LOVE and PRAYER on the floor.  It wasn't long before she crawled into my lap and I showed her some photos and games on my Iphone.  She spelled out her name, ONISE, on my phone so I would be able to pronounce it correctly and gave me a big smile when I got it right. 

When the group decided to take the ten minute walk up the hillside to see where the girls go to church and school, I told Onise that I would be back soon.  It was a short but steep walk up to the church site and the view from there was spectacular.  After a little bit, I was surprised when a hand grabbed mine and I looked down and there was Onise!  She and another girl had walked all they up there to join us.  She held my hand the rest of the time there and we walked back to the orphanage together.

Not long after that we gathered up our things and prepared to leave, I noticed that Onise wasn't smiling any longer. I had a team member, Brian Lloyd, tell her in Creole that I, "Would come back to see her very soon!" Hearing this, the smile returned to her face. On the road back to Port Au Prince, a feeling came over me that I can only describe as having left something of great value back at the orphanage.  I prayed about this feeling and at that moment God changed my life and the life of my family forever.  For it was at that moment that God revealed to me that Onise belonged with my family. As we continued to wind down the mountain, I had a vision in my mind of her sitting at our dining room table in Knoxville. From that point forward, I knew I had no choice but to return to Camatin and bring her home.