Email from Herby

Herby is a translator who works for the Baptist Orphanage in Haiti. When mission trips go to Bercy, Herby is hired to stay with the group throughout their visit. He is a delightful young Haitian man who many of us have become quite attached to.

Herby has a facebook site, but no computer. When a mission group comes to Bercy, there is always someone with a laptop. This allows Herby to connect with the outside world. We received an email from him today and Jenifer was by his side sending us a message. It was very sweet to hear from our beautiful daughter. She sent her love and wanted to know when we were coming to Haiti.

It was a great blessing for us to actually hear from her. It is so rare that we are able to communicate with her as there are no phones and no address to send mail. The internet can be a wonderful tool if used properly.

No news regarding the adoption process. I have been in touch with another family that are adopting from the orphanage and their paperwork is in the last stage. Looks like their child could be coming to America soon. We will certainly rejoice with them.

Christmas in Haiti

HELLO FROM HAITI

We arrived safely in Haiti yesterday. The children are doing well. Jenifer is as sweet and beautiful as ever. Yesterday was a great day. We devoted our entire day to weighing, measuring and assessing each of the children living at the Bercy Baptist Children's Home for any medical issues. We have been blessed to have a new baby in our care. He is in need of much prayer. He is severely malnourished, lethargic and has skin issues. Pam (mostly Pam) and I have become his daytime moma's. We can tell after 2 days of feeding and loving, he is doing better. PTL. We get so excited every time he shows a little progress. Today, he is smiling and sitting up. By the way, he is approx. 2 years old.

Keep us in your prayers.

Haiti Mission Trip

Just a short note to let everyone know that our trip to Haiti is scheduled for December 8-15. A small group of six will travel to Bercy. Our mission is primarily to work with the children at the orphanage in preparing them to present a Nativity Program for the church and to have a Happy Birthday Jesus party for the community children. There is also a plan to do some ministry work at a nearby prison. We visited the prison in January and witnessed God working in lives of many of the prisoners. In one cell, 12 men prayed for Jesus to come into their lives and live as their Savior. It will be good to return and visit these children of the King.

No positive developments on the adoption. We are excited to be able to see Jenifer and spend some time with her. The arrival is so exciting and the departure is very sad. In January, Jenifer sobbed and sobbed which broke our hearts. It is hard to understand why it is so difficult to bring a child out of a poverty stricken nation.

Will post pictures when we return from Haiti.

News from Haiti

We have heard from our agent in Haiti. She has instructed us to file the required paperwork with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. This form is titled "Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition". This form will give Bob and I approval from the U.S. government to adopt a child from another country. We were told not to file this form until all the paperwork in Haiti had been submitted to different agencies and had reached the official government office. It is my understanding that all forms had to go through several offices before reaching the government office that makes the final determination. I have not been told that it is in this office. However, I was told to file the Orphan Petition. To Bob and I this a positive step. We also have been instructed to file the required form with the Haitian Immigration Services when we are in Haiti in December.

God is in control. His timing is perfect.

Haiti in December

Bob and I have been praying and seeking God's will as to when we should return to Haiti. There is a very good chance that we will be going in December with a mission group. An opportunity has come our way and we feel this is what the Lord wants us to do.

I have contacted our adoption agent who lives in Port-au-Prince to see if there is anything that we could do while there to help with this process. We are waiting for her response.

When I do get discouraged, I go to Tara and Troy Livesays blog which gives a long list of bloggers who have adopted Haitian children and start reading their updates. There have been many successful stories with some taking as long as three years to finalize the adoption.

It really breaks my heart to know there are so many needy children in Haiti and it hard to understand why it takes so long. Yes, I know there are needy children in the U.S. and all over the world. However, God has called us to adopt this little 11 year old girl from Haiti.

Please continue to pray for Jenifer and the other children in Haiti.

Prayers for Haiti

The people of Haiti have suffered greatly this hurricane season. Many have died and many are homeless. The Bercy children's home came through the storms with very little damage. All of the children are safe. However, the number of children has more than doubled. More than 50 children and 4 adults from another home that was destroyed in the last storm have been relocated to the Bercy home. Your prayers will be appreciated.

There is no news on the adoption. Right now the main focus in Haiti is survival. Please pray.