Jenifer's Baptism

Last year in June, we had the opportunity to see Jenifer and several other children from the orphanage partipate in baptism. Cheryl had been talking with the children about Jesus. Jenifer and several others trusted in Jesus as their Lord and dedicated their lives to follow His teachings. Interesting for us is that God had not placed on our hearts to adopt Jenifer. He loves us so much that He made sure that we were there to share in the most special day of the little girl that would become our daughter.

Mealtime in Haiti

Mealtime in Haiti

It was wonderful to be able to spend time with Jenifer in January. She was by mine and Bob's side every chance she got. She is a very sweet girl and is very respectful toward Bob and I. We have decided to home school her for a few years. Holly who lives down the street and homeschools 5 children has volunteered to help me set up whatever I need to do. This is totally new for me so I seek out those Christians that I know have their children's best interest in mind. I think Jenifer will catch on real quick. She is a young Christian who loves to sing and praise the Lord.

I did hear from Barbara in Haiti today and she needs a few more documents. We have them all ready and will mail them tomorrow. Maybe when this is all finished, I will write a book on this experience. I might even be smarter than a 5th grader.

FedEx

More great news! The dossier arrived safely in Haiti. It is now at the FedEx office waiting to be picked up. I talked with our agent, Barbara, via email and she is aware that it has arrived. Found out from Barb's daughter that Ms. Barb who works day and night in PAP with the children and women's ministry just returned from Burma after helping with the disaster relief. This lady is 63 years old and has a large, comfortable home in NY state and chooses to dedicate her life to God's people who are suffering.

Market day in nearby Cabaret, Haiti

Dossier to Haiti

Finally the documents are on their way to Haiti. Bob and I went to Lake City yesterday to have copies made and to FedEx dossier to Haiti. What a job! Don't think the lady at the business where we had the copies made had ever done a project so big. By the time she finished copying, everything was completely out of order. Bob and I started sorting, stacking and assembling. After two hours of standing and become extremely frustrated, I suggested that we bring the papers home and I could sit down and make sure everything was in order. I felt like we had come to far to let something this simple add more time to this process. Who knows what will happen when the officials in Haiti start going through this mass of paperwork?

Bob took the 500 page dossier to FedEx today and it is on the way to Haiti. We were told it will arrive in Port-au-Prince on Tuesday.

I received today an email from Cheryl, Director of the Baptist Orphanage, in Bercy. She reported that all is well with Jenifer. We have some friends in Jacksonville that will be going to the Orphanage in June and they have volunteered to take some things to Jenifer for us. So, we are excited that we can write to her and send pictures and she will know that we are working hard on bringing her to America. For those of you that have been to Haiti, you know this is a big deal for someone to do this for you. Liz and Buddy are great friends.

Daddy's baby girl

Let's Celebrate

Today, Bob and I received our approved documents from the General Consulate for Haiti in Chicago. Everything was stamped and in order. This was a very emotional time for me. The Lord spoke to my heart "Only Trust Me". Honestly, I never thought we would have come this far in just a few months. Next step is to FedEx all completed documents with translations and many additional copies to our agent in Haiti. By the way Ms. Barb, is an aggressive advocate for the children of Haiti. She has assembled all the documents that go into Jenifer's dossier. She works very closely with an attorney to make sure everything is handled properly. We have never met her and we know we love her. Hopefully, we will get to see her when we travel to Haiti to bring Jenifer to her new home in America. When she receives our dossier (some time next week), she will start meeting the Haitian Government. As mentioned before, this could take up to six months. We are so excited to know that Jenifer may be with us before the end of the year. Please pray for God's will to be done in this child's life.

My Children

Happy Mother's Day! Where did all those years go? Kevin is now 41 and Kim is 37. It feels just last yesterday they were babies. Kevin loved his first grade teacher. I was homeroom chairman planning all the parties. Kim was an active toddler and would go to all the school events with me. My babies were both sweet and loving children. God gave me two wonderful blessings. My mom lived only a few minutes away and would visit several times a week. My sister, Ginger, was a teenager still living at home.

Love and cherish those in your life as often as you possibly can. The years change our lives for ever.
Now Mom, Dad and Ginger have gone on to be with the Lord. If only we could have the wisdom when we are young to really appreciate those who are important to us.

Jenifer and her room mate pose for a picture.

Jenifer (right) and her room mate live at the Baptist Orphanage in Haiti.

Documents

Hooray! We have received the French translations. Today, the documents were federal expressed to the Haitian Consulate in Chicago. After they are approved in the U.S., they will be sent to our agent in Haiti. Then, we wait. We have heard that the paperwork can sit on a government official's desk for up to 6 months and others say even longer than that. You know.....this is all in God's hands and He can make happen whatever He desires. This entire process has shown Bob and I miracles all along the way. The Lord has put people in our paths that we would have never known.

We prayed and prayed for a Psychologist. Not so easy to come by when you are looking for specifics. Even made contacts in Jacksonville and Gainesville. It seemed like this step took forever. Then at the right time, we were given the name of a Christian psychologist who practises in Dowling Park (20 miles away). Not only was this man, very willing to help us....first visit found out that we both went to high school together in Fernandina Beach. He graduated the year before. We had two visits with him and took the written psychological tests and he charged us $150.00 total. It was more than worth the money to find out that we are only half crazy (just joking). This could have easily cost $1000.

God found us the perfect French translator (not surprising). Her name is Nikki and she lives in Indiana. A wonderful Christian lady, daughter of a Pastor, who has worked with our agent in Haiti many times. She knew exactly what was important. Her cost was one-half of what the other two translators were going to charge. Also, gave much needed advise on what Consulate to send documents to.

I am going to attempt to post some pictures. So far, I am not too good at the picture thing.

God Bless.