November marks the one-year anniversary of the school collapse (from my blog: Part I and Part II) that happened in Petionville. A memory, for me, that I will never forget. I continue to see buildings that look like they will be the next ones to fall down. It often reminds me of the graces and kindness of God that we simply pass by without notice.
Lord, forgive me for not recognizing all of your works and for neglecting to thank you and praise you!
Tina and I were just talking about how this adoption process could have continued to go much, much longer and things could have been much, much more difficult. God knows we are, perhaps, at our limits. :-)
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
We Are Done With the Adoption!
We are officially done (assuming we make it through Customs in Miami)!
Nothing left (well, save for one $115 bill that our orphanage director owes us).
This is the end of the Adoption Journey paperwork process!
This is also the end of our Missionary Journey Part I (only the Lord knows if there will be a Part II).
Thank you for all that you have done in supporting us verbally in comments, financially in donations, and prayerfully in your prayers! We pray that God bless each and every one of you for what you have done for us in these journeys.
Nothing left (well, save for one $115 bill that our orphanage director owes us).
This is the end of the Adoption Journey paperwork process!
This is also the end of our Missionary Journey Part I (only the Lord knows if there will be a Part II).
Thank you for all that you have done in supporting us verbally in comments, financially in donations, and prayerfully in your prayers! We pray that God bless each and every one of you for what you have done for us in these journeys.
Monday, October 26, 2009
We Paid for the Visa!!
We paid for the visa ($400) and have to go pick it up tomorrow after 2:30PM!! We are DONE once we have it in our hands. The paperwork has ALL BEEN ACCEPTED and we have nothing left but to pick it up!! YA---HOOOO!!!
We'll be working on scheduling flights and determining how and when we'll be arriving in the States. We'll keep you updated - I'll post tomorrow PM after we have the visa in our hand (Lord willing!).
God is good!! It appears that His timing for us to head home is real soon!!
We'll be working on scheduling flights and determining how and when we'll be arriving in the States. We'll keep you updated - I'll post tomorrow PM after we have the visa in our hand (Lord willing!).
God is good!! It appears that His timing for us to head home is real soon!!
Friday, October 23, 2009
VISA APPOINTMENT: MONDAY!
Tina is much more excited than I am! I, personally, am calloused and perhaps a bit worn out, but:
WE
HAVE
THE
VISA
APPOINTMENT
MONDAY
!!!!!!
They have asked us to bring the passport and the US$400 to the appointment, so Tina is making the assumption that everything is OK. She's probably right, but I won't have a near-permanent grin on my face until we have the visa done. There is still a possibility that they didn't like the paperwork and we have to resolve some issue, but let's pray and hope that isn't something that we'll have to experience.
God is good!
WE
HAVE
THE
VISA
APPOINTMENT
MONDAY
!!!!!!
They have asked us to bring the passport and the US$400 to the appointment, so Tina is making the assumption that everything is OK. She's probably right, but I won't have a near-permanent grin on my face until we have the visa done. There is still a possibility that they didn't like the paperwork and we have to resolve some issue, but let's pray and hope that isn't something that we'll have to experience.
God is good!
Cite Soleil
This afternoon and evening I am going somewhere I would not have thought I would ever go when I first got to Haiti. I am going with someone, Joel Trimble, and Cullie (my mechanic missionary friend) to the shanty town of Cite Soleil (click to read about the city - some things have improved since the writing of that Wikipedia website, so please don't read that and think that I am committing suicide because the adoption is not finished). We're not just going to the outskirts, but to the guts.
We have been meeting at Mr. Trimble's house on Sunday mornings to worship Our Lord. He has been showing a film that he made in his minstry and has invited me to go along. The film is basically a current-day, prodigal son story in Kreyol. Mr. Tremble goes to Cite Soleil with his SUV toting a decent-sized screen and projector. With a generator (there is very little electricity in the city) and the projector set up on the truck, he shows the film in the middle of the "street" - he has already scoped out the location and determined where to show the film. He has been going to various locations within Cite Soleil about once a week (usually Fridays) to show the film and has had much success - large crowds gather. After the film, he speaks to the people about the forgiving grace of God in His Son, Jesus, and invites people to come up for prayer if the Lord has called them to begin following Him. He has coordinated with over 100 pastors to followup with these folks.
For those who want a relationship with Jesus, a Haitian pastor will be available to them for the days, weeks, months and years afterwards. Things are a little different in Cite Soleil. Streets signs and addresses are pretty consistent throughout the downtown and larger cities, but here there are no addresses or street names, so for a pastor to know where a person lives in order to follow up with them takes a big long description of various landmarks in an crammed-living-space environment to find where they live.
We will have to be very careful - Joel is a coordinated guy and seems to have his things well planned out. I would like to bring my camera and take a couple shots, but I wouldn't want to make anyone upset or have it cause problems. I'll see what I can do to capture some memories on (digital) film. By the time we finish, it will be dark and pictures will not be a possibility.
Please pray that we are kept safe and that the films will have a great impact on those who view it. As always, we pray that we follow the Lord's guidance as we interact.
We have been meeting at Mr. Trimble's house on Sunday mornings to worship Our Lord. He has been showing a film that he made in his minstry and has invited me to go along. The film is basically a current-day, prodigal son story in Kreyol. Mr. Tremble goes to Cite Soleil with his SUV toting a decent-sized screen and projector. With a generator (there is very little electricity in the city) and the projector set up on the truck, he shows the film in the middle of the "street" - he has already scoped out the location and determined where to show the film. He has been going to various locations within Cite Soleil about once a week (usually Fridays) to show the film and has had much success - large crowds gather. After the film, he speaks to the people about the forgiving grace of God in His Son, Jesus, and invites people to come up for prayer if the Lord has called them to begin following Him. He has coordinated with over 100 pastors to followup with these folks.
For those who want a relationship with Jesus, a Haitian pastor will be available to them for the days, weeks, months and years afterwards. Things are a little different in Cite Soleil. Streets signs and addresses are pretty consistent throughout the downtown and larger cities, but here there are no addresses or street names, so for a pastor to know where a person lives in order to follow up with them takes a big long description of various landmarks in an crammed-living-space environment to find where they live.
We will have to be very careful - Joel is a coordinated guy and seems to have his things well planned out. I would like to bring my camera and take a couple shots, but I wouldn't want to make anyone upset or have it cause problems. I'll see what I can do to capture some memories on (digital) film. By the time we finish, it will be dark and pictures will not be a possibility.
Please pray that we are kept safe and that the films will have a great impact on those who view it. As always, we pray that we follow the Lord's guidance as we interact.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Post to Post, BCS
This is a post just to post. There is nothing going on with the adoption, we're sitting tight until mid/end next week when we'll put some effort to finding sources to help us push the visa through. Lord willing, that will help.
Boring Car Stuff...
We are selling a few vehicles here at the mission and I have been getting them in decent mechanical shape to sell. The one I worked on today was the Mitsubishi Montero. I had to replace two shocks, bushings, and the rear u-joint on the drive shaft. We may have buyer(s) for the Turbo Diesel Ford Ranger and the Mitsubishi Montero IO (smaller, less SUV-like SUV).
Not car related - I picked up a new Access database to work on. My shoulder has been hurting me for a few weeks now (muscle or ligament issue) and it will be nice to have a "desk job" for a little while to work on instead of being under cars/trucks and messing up my shoulder more (and banging my head - like I did today). This database is related the master classes held here at the mission (student, classes, grades, billing, etc...). It should make their administration operations more efficient because right now it is being managed in numerous Excel spreadsheets. Access allows for flexible reporting, too.
Boring Car Stuff...
We are selling a few vehicles here at the mission and I have been getting them in decent mechanical shape to sell. The one I worked on today was the Mitsubishi Montero. I had to replace two shocks, bushings, and the rear u-joint on the drive shaft. We may have buyer(s) for the Turbo Diesel Ford Ranger and the Mitsubishi Montero IO (smaller, less SUV-like SUV).
Not car related - I picked up a new Access database to work on. My shoulder has been hurting me for a few weeks now (muscle or ligament issue) and it will be nice to have a "desk job" for a little while to work on instead of being under cars/trucks and messing up my shoulder more (and banging my head - like I did today). This database is related the master classes held here at the mission (student, classes, grades, billing, etc...). It should make their administration operations more efficient because right now it is being managed in numerous Excel spreadsheets. Access allows for flexible reporting, too.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Over and Over
I need to read this over and over today. I need it!
A Devotional Series by Charles H. Spurgeon
Evening Devotion
Monday, October 19, 2009
"God, my maker, who giveth songs in the night." {#Job 35:10}
Any man can sing in the day. When the cup is full, man draws inspiration from it. When wealth rolls in abundance around him, any man can praise the God who gives a plenteous harvest or sends home a loaded argosy. It is easy enough for an Aeolian harp to whisper music when the winds blow—the difficulty is for music to swell forth when no wind is stirring. It is easy to sing when we can read the notes by daylight; but he is skilful who sings when there is not a ray of light to read by—who sings from his heart. No man can make a song in the night of himself; he may attempt it, but he will find that a song in the night must be divinely inspired. Let all things go well, I can weave songs, fashioning them wherever I go out of the flowers that grow upon my path; but put me in a desert, where no green thing grows, and wherewith shall I frame a hymn of praise to God? How shall a mortal man make a crown for the Lord where no jewels are? Let but this voice be clear, and this body full of health, and I can sing God’s praise: silence my tongue, lay me upon the bed of languishing, and how shall I then chant God’s high praises, unless he himself give me the song? No, it is not in man’s power to sing when all is adverse, unless an altar coal shall touch his lip. It was a divine song, which Habakkuk sang, when in the night he said, "Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation." Then, since our Maker gives songs in the night, let us wait upon him for the music. O thou chief musician, let us not remain songless because affliction is upon us, but tune thou our lips to the melody of thanksgiving. (http://www.answersingenesis.org/devotions/devotions.asp?reqDate=10/19/2009&reqDayPer=2)
A Devotional Series by Charles H. Spurgeon
Evening Devotion
Monday, October 19, 2009
"God, my maker, who giveth songs in the night." {#Job 35:10}
Any man can sing in the day. When the cup is full, man draws inspiration from it. When wealth rolls in abundance around him, any man can praise the God who gives a plenteous harvest or sends home a loaded argosy. It is easy enough for an Aeolian harp to whisper music when the winds blow—the difficulty is for music to swell forth when no wind is stirring. It is easy to sing when we can read the notes by daylight; but he is skilful who sings when there is not a ray of light to read by—who sings from his heart. No man can make a song in the night of himself; he may attempt it, but he will find that a song in the night must be divinely inspired. Let all things go well, I can weave songs, fashioning them wherever I go out of the flowers that grow upon my path; but put me in a desert, where no green thing grows, and wherewith shall I frame a hymn of praise to God? How shall a mortal man make a crown for the Lord where no jewels are? Let but this voice be clear, and this body full of health, and I can sing God’s praise: silence my tongue, lay me upon the bed of languishing, and how shall I then chant God’s high praises, unless he himself give me the song? No, it is not in man’s power to sing when all is adverse, unless an altar coal shall touch his lip. It was a divine song, which Habakkuk sang, when in the night he said, "Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation." Then, since our Maker gives songs in the night, let us wait upon him for the music. O thou chief musician, let us not remain songless because affliction is upon us, but tune thou our lips to the melody of thanksgiving. (http://www.answersingenesis.org/devotions/devotions.asp?reqDate=10/19/2009&reqDayPer=2)
Monday, October 19, 2009
Retrospect: Graces
Shea commented on my last blog post and I wanted to publicly mention the graces that God has provided as we ourselves occasionally look back at the last 18.5 months.
We look at what we had and what we valued when it began: a hobby/race car, a 27' travel trailer, a large house, two full-time incomes with children in daycare and public school, etc... and see how God had worked on us to lead up to this adoption journey.
We think about how he changed our hearts to be more family-focused and not monetary-focused or thing-focused. Tina went from full-time work to part-time work to quiting work - when her full-time job was almost half of our income. She also started homeschooling. This allowed us to have more time overall which led to us thinking that we had much more time to offer to more children. Since I had a vasectomy (something I did when we weren't following the Lord with all of our heart) we couldn't have more of our own. That is something that I often times felt that I shouldn't have done, but in God's overall plan it makes a perfect real life story. We were forced to adopt if we wanted more children.
It then became a realization that we had more to offer than we were utilizing for God's glory. Helping out one of God's children, a disabled orphan, was something God put on our hearts to explore. As we (Tina mostly) explored the details, it became more clear that it was something that God wanted us to do as we discussed it.
Skipping some events, as we realized the poor condition of the orphanage and the poor physical conditional of the son we were in the process of adopting we began to think that if one of our biological children were in the situation that the child we were adopting was in, we would do whatever it took to be with them. And that's what we did.
"Whatever it took" meant that we needed to move to be with him. We sold 95% of our things I headed whole-heartedly in the direction that I felt the Lord was leading us.
Also at the same time and after being to Haiti once, God made me curious to check out mission work. I wanted to know what it was all about. This is a significant thing from the Lord as without the desire to check out mission work, we would have never landed where we are now. As tough as it is sometimes, being on the mission grounds has allowed us to live in Haiti with much more ease than if we had not checked out mission work. Here are some examples:
1) Being here at the mission has allowed us to live in Haiti without having to pay for housing.
2) The mission is set up with someone who goes shopping every day and can get us what we need. We do not have to do our own shopping (although sometimes it better if we did because we do not always get the right things or they may spend more than they should).
3) We have had the opportunity to borrow vehicles from the mission or the missionaries.
Those three things right there have allowed us an easier life as we live here in Haiti and they are related to time and money (a blessing to us from the Lord). Again, if it were not for the Lord giving me the thought of checking out mission work and being a missionary we would not have come here.
It has also allowed us to learn about mission work in ways that we would not have learned from a book or from listening to others talk - real life experiences are very valuable. We have seen good things from missionaries and bad things from missionaries. We see what things work and what things do not work. We have struggles in this area and have learned from those struggles.
Some of these struggles have helped us to realize the seasons that God gives us (people) for our lives. And that is our primary reason for the decision to leave the mission field when the adoption is over. There are other reasons that are significant, but our season of family is the primary one. If God calls us back to the mission field (where ever that may be), we hope that we are in His will and following Him.
As we struggle through the adoption taking longer than we expected and going through trials that we didn't anticipate, we realize that God has a plan for us in these things and that plan is not for our comfort/convenience or for our being glorified, but rather for His plan and for His glory.
These are some of the graces that the Lord has given us as it relates to the significant life/direction changing events. There are so many little graces that we have been given that go unmentioned on this blog. I hope that God is working through what I write on this blog to help others - whether it is relating to missions, the adoption process in Haiti, or however He would be pleased to use it.
God is good! All the time! He is so worthy of honor and praise and glory! How great is our God!
We look at what we had and what we valued when it began: a hobby/race car, a 27' travel trailer, a large house, two full-time incomes with children in daycare and public school, etc... and see how God had worked on us to lead up to this adoption journey.
We think about how he changed our hearts to be more family-focused and not monetary-focused or thing-focused. Tina went from full-time work to part-time work to quiting work - when her full-time job was almost half of our income. She also started homeschooling. This allowed us to have more time overall which led to us thinking that we had much more time to offer to more children. Since I had a vasectomy (something I did when we weren't following the Lord with all of our heart) we couldn't have more of our own. That is something that I often times felt that I shouldn't have done, but in God's overall plan it makes a perfect real life story. We were forced to adopt if we wanted more children.
It then became a realization that we had more to offer than we were utilizing for God's glory. Helping out one of God's children, a disabled orphan, was something God put on our hearts to explore. As we (Tina mostly) explored the details, it became more clear that it was something that God wanted us to do as we discussed it.
Skipping some events, as we realized the poor condition of the orphanage and the poor physical conditional of the son we were in the process of adopting we began to think that if one of our biological children were in the situation that the child we were adopting was in, we would do whatever it took to be with them. And that's what we did.
"Whatever it took" meant that we needed to move to be with him. We sold 95% of our things I headed whole-heartedly in the direction that I felt the Lord was leading us.
Also at the same time and after being to Haiti once, God made me curious to check out mission work. I wanted to know what it was all about. This is a significant thing from the Lord as without the desire to check out mission work, we would have never landed where we are now. As tough as it is sometimes, being on the mission grounds has allowed us to live in Haiti with much more ease than if we had not checked out mission work. Here are some examples:
1) Being here at the mission has allowed us to live in Haiti without having to pay for housing.
2) The mission is set up with someone who goes shopping every day and can get us what we need. We do not have to do our own shopping (although sometimes it better if we did because we do not always get the right things or they may spend more than they should).
3) We have had the opportunity to borrow vehicles from the mission or the missionaries.
Those three things right there have allowed us an easier life as we live here in Haiti and they are related to time and money (a blessing to us from the Lord). Again, if it were not for the Lord giving me the thought of checking out mission work and being a missionary we would not have come here.
It has also allowed us to learn about mission work in ways that we would not have learned from a book or from listening to others talk - real life experiences are very valuable. We have seen good things from missionaries and bad things from missionaries. We see what things work and what things do not work. We have struggles in this area and have learned from those struggles.
Some of these struggles have helped us to realize the seasons that God gives us (people) for our lives. And that is our primary reason for the decision to leave the mission field when the adoption is over. There are other reasons that are significant, but our season of family is the primary one. If God calls us back to the mission field (where ever that may be), we hope that we are in His will and following Him.
As we struggle through the adoption taking longer than we expected and going through trials that we didn't anticipate, we realize that God has a plan for us in these things and that plan is not for our comfort/convenience or for our being glorified, but rather for His plan and for His glory.
These are some of the graces that the Lord has given us as it relates to the significant life/direction changing events. There are so many little graces that we have been given that go unmentioned on this blog. I hope that God is working through what I write on this blog to help others - whether it is relating to missions, the adoption process in Haiti, or however He would be pleased to use it.
God is good! All the time! He is so worthy of honor and praise and glory! How great is our God!
Sunday, October 18, 2009
New Perspective
We went to church this morning where we have been going the last 3-4 Sundays and there is an American lady there (most/all are Americans) who has a well-recognized orphanage. She has been there a long time. We talked to her about our situation and she thought based on what we told her that we may have a week or two left for the visa paperwork to be all sorted out. She has seen a lot the paperwork process and has been through a lot.
That is exactly what we were looking for when we called our orphanage director. We have an estimated time frame for how long it should take. So, now, we'll look forward to the week after this week for an answer. If we hear something before that time...GREAT! But now we have something to go by.
This information will help me BIG TIME in getting through this week!!
That is exactly what we were looking for when we called our orphanage director. We have an estimated time frame for how long it should take. So, now, we'll look forward to the week after this week for an answer. If we hear something before that time...GREAT! But now we have something to go by.
This information will help me BIG TIME in getting through this week!!
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Reminders, Boots
These reminders seem to come up at just the right time.
Boots
Once again, Gerben was here at the mission helping out. He brought a friend of his as well. They did a bunch of things (mostly computer and network related) while they were here. It was for 5 weeks that they stayed and to me it felt like 2 weeks at the most. Gerben is a great guy to have around - a great blessing and change in pace. He would always ask us how things went with the adoption processes we were going through and seemed genuinely interested in what was going on.
He generously left his boots with me again (along with a beautiful "Holland" ceramic item and some good snack-like treats from across the pond). They are steel toed working boots and are exactly what I need. My old pair were also steel toed - I was starting to be able to see the steel from the outside and was losing support in them. Thank you Gerben for the blessing!
Boots
Once again, Gerben was here at the mission helping out. He brought a friend of his as well. They did a bunch of things (mostly computer and network related) while they were here. It was for 5 weeks that they stayed and to me it felt like 2 weeks at the most. Gerben is a great guy to have around - a great blessing and change in pace. He would always ask us how things went with the adoption processes we were going through and seemed genuinely interested in what was going on.
He generously left his boots with me again (along with a beautiful "Holland" ceramic item and some good snack-like treats from across the pond). They are steel toed working boots and are exactly what I need. My old pair were also steel toed - I was starting to be able to see the steel from the outside and was losing support in them. Thank you Gerben for the blessing!
Friday, October 16, 2009
Ya Gotta Love It...
So I called our orphanage director just now to try to understand the process further and to see what she knows. I was completely and absolutely (without it being a judgement call) calm and simply asked a couple questions about paperwork -trying to learn about the system (that's what I said: that I was trying to learn).
After my first question, she started yelling in the phone and in my ear. She didn't listen to what I was asking and rather thought I was asking a question about something else. I tried to talk over her yelling over me as I talked and it didn't help. She seemed defensive.
She ended the call after one minute by taking the Lord's name in vain and hanging up on me.
Sometimes I think this process would be easier to go through if we were blinded by the people moving the paperwork. Coming here has given us sight into the way things operate without someone else's colored glasses.
The biggest problem here is that there appears to be little standardization. I attempted to call and find out from a "professional" what the process is that our paperwork goes through. I am trying to set my own expectations based on what needs to be done. If I am looking at other peoples' cases and am not seeing the whole picture, I want to know where I am wrong in my thinking. My attempt to call the "professional" ended up in being hung up on.
From what we can read and understand (I was trying to learn more by calling the orphanage director), we may have 60 days to go through the "administrative process" that is required before we get the visa. This may be due to the fact that we filed under the "Orphans First" program which is/was a pilot program to speed up the adoption process. Ironic isn't it.
Boring Car Stuff...
I don't know about you, but I need a commerical break from the adoption. I got the Toyota transmission finished a day or two ago and it went out today. If I did everything right, it should come back on its own power. I have been messing with a lot of signal and brake lights lately too because we have to get the annual licenses renewed. These roads are rough! (Is it obvious that I am just reaching for things to say here... A boring commerical no doubt.) I need to go pound sand for a little while.
After my first question, she started yelling in the phone and in my ear. She didn't listen to what I was asking and rather thought I was asking a question about something else. I tried to talk over her yelling over me as I talked and it didn't help. She seemed defensive.
She ended the call after one minute by taking the Lord's name in vain and hanging up on me.
Sometimes I think this process would be easier to go through if we were blinded by the people moving the paperwork. Coming here has given us sight into the way things operate without someone else's colored glasses.
The biggest problem here is that there appears to be little standardization. I attempted to call and find out from a "professional" what the process is that our paperwork goes through. I am trying to set my own expectations based on what needs to be done. If I am looking at other peoples' cases and am not seeing the whole picture, I want to know where I am wrong in my thinking. My attempt to call the "professional" ended up in being hung up on.
From what we can read and understand (I was trying to learn more by calling the orphanage director), we may have 60 days to go through the "administrative process" that is required before we get the visa. This may be due to the fact that we filed under the "Orphans First" program which is/was a pilot program to speed up the adoption process. Ironic isn't it.
Boring Car Stuff...
I don't know about you, but I need a commerical break from the adoption. I got the Toyota transmission finished a day or two ago and it went out today. If I did everything right, it should come back on its own power. I have been messing with a lot of signal and brake lights lately too because we have to get the annual licenses renewed. These roads are rough! (Is it obvious that I am just reaching for things to say here... A boring commerical no doubt.) I need to go pound sand for a little while.
From the US Embassy - Haiti website
"After a petition to adopt a child is approved by USCIS [approved Sept. 19, 2009], the agent in Haiti working with the adopting parents [our orphanage director] should e-mail the Consular Section at PaPAdoptions@state.gov to schedule an appointment with the Adoptions Unit. After all requirements are fulfilled under Haitian and American law [they have to see that we have done all that we should have], the immigrant visa is generally issued on the following business day."
Source:
http://haiti.usembassy.gov/adoption.html
Things that we are told change all the time. We were told at one point to push for a visa appointment. I was just told over the phone minutes ago (by the same person) that now we have to wait because our child is from a town that is an hour away. They have to verify the paperwork by apparently going to his town to check the paperwork out. What the US Embassy - Haiti website says they are doing is not what they are actually doing.
This is very confusing. They have all of the original paperwork with stamps, signatures, and impressed stamps (not just ink stamps). What are those things worth if they have to go there and check things out anyway? All of that time and effort in getting that original paperwork and going through those steps was wasted because they have to go there and check it all out anyway. This is all new to us - and apparently new to everyone else who can get out in 2-3 days.
I continue to struggle (and am failing) with seeing past the circumstances that cause our delays to see that God is controlling the timing of when we leave Haiti for reasons I may never know. Perhaps I am worn out. That is no excuse, however - I need to persevere better. I am a great example of the love of Christ - why would He continue to put up with me complaining (and continue to forgive me) if He didn't love me. I am much, much less forgiving when the kids do the same thing over and over after being told over and over.
I have so many lessons to learn. The older I get the more I have to learn.
Source:
http://haiti.usembassy.gov/adoption.html
Things that we are told change all the time. We were told at one point to push for a visa appointment. I was just told over the phone minutes ago (by the same person) that now we have to wait because our child is from a town that is an hour away. They have to verify the paperwork by apparently going to his town to check the paperwork out. What the US Embassy - Haiti website says they are doing is not what they are actually doing.
This is very confusing. They have all of the original paperwork with stamps, signatures, and impressed stamps (not just ink stamps). What are those things worth if they have to go there and check things out anyway? All of that time and effort in getting that original paperwork and going through those steps was wasted because they have to go there and check it all out anyway. This is all new to us - and apparently new to everyone else who can get out in 2-3 days.
I continue to struggle (and am failing) with seeing past the circumstances that cause our delays to see that God is controlling the timing of when we leave Haiti for reasons I may never know. Perhaps I am worn out. That is no excuse, however - I need to persevere better. I am a great example of the love of Christ - why would He continue to put up with me complaining (and continue to forgive me) if He didn't love me. I am much, much less forgiving when the kids do the same thing over and over after being told over and over.
I have so many lessons to learn. The older I get the more I have to learn.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Visa Appointment?
I may have made it worse for us (we are learning as we go here). I was checking out others' time frames for adopting from Haiti (via blog searching) and I came across enough people with dates to know that we should have a visa appointment date by now (if not actually have the visa in our hands by now).
Again, God is continuing to teach us patience and that His timing prevails. We do not always trust Him (and His timing) - this is one of our sins (just one of them).
I sent an email to the orphanage director to find out when she will be back in Haiti. It turns out that there is a place in Haiti that sounds like Germany. She didn't leave the country. She was back last Sunday. She replied promptly and asked about the visa. I told her that we have heard nothing and that I would like to see if she can do something to help. I'll keep you updated.
Again, God is continuing to teach us patience and that His timing prevails. We do not always trust Him (and His timing) - this is one of our sins (just one of them).
I sent an email to the orphanage director to find out when she will be back in Haiti. It turns out that there is a place in Haiti that sounds like Germany. She didn't leave the country. She was back last Sunday. She replied promptly and asked about the visa. I told her that we have heard nothing and that I would like to see if she can do something to help. I'll keep you updated.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Email and Non-Adoption-related
We may be setting ourselves up for disappointment, but we are expecting an email today with the date of the appointment to get the visa. We are basing this timing off of the other blogs that we follow. If we are in alignment with them, we'll know about the appointment today and have the appointment Friday, but this is Haiti after all. We are looking forward to planning our entrance into the States!
Kids
The kids are doing well. Lou is doing great with going potty in the toilet. The only problem is when he gets up in the morning. He likes to lay there and wait for us to guess when he is up. During that time, he pees in his diaper. If we wake him up he is dry (most of the time) and once in a while he will be dry on his own. He is fully capable of waiting or calling us - he just doesn't want to.
Kayla and Carter are doing well. They have had the opportunity to manage themselves a lot lately as we have gone down with Lou to take care of the adoption things. They have mostly successes, but will sometimes do your basic kid stuff and mess things up. They are really great kids and help out quite a bit.
Boring car stuff
For the last two weeks, I have been working on rebuilding the transmission in the old Toyota that I rebuilt last year. At that time we had replaced a few parts -mostly related to the 2-3 synchronizer and this time, the 3-4 synchronizer went bad. It caused the tranny to eat a few of it's own pieces. I am at the point now where today we'll be putting it in (I hope to get a few good Haitian guys to help).
We are fixing up a few of our 12+ cars to sell them. This old Toyota is one of them (tranny, front differential, locking hubs, tail lights, etc...). Pastor Rob also is looking to get rid of the Ford Ranger, Mitsubishi Montero, Mitsubishi Montero IO and the two US-based Nissan Pathfinders.
Kids
The kids are doing well. Lou is doing great with going potty in the toilet. The only problem is when he gets up in the morning. He likes to lay there and wait for us to guess when he is up. During that time, he pees in his diaper. If we wake him up he is dry (most of the time) and once in a while he will be dry on his own. He is fully capable of waiting or calling us - he just doesn't want to.
Kayla and Carter are doing well. They have had the opportunity to manage themselves a lot lately as we have gone down with Lou to take care of the adoption things. They have mostly successes, but will sometimes do your basic kid stuff and mess things up. They are really great kids and help out quite a bit.
Boring car stuff
For the last two weeks, I have been working on rebuilding the transmission in the old Toyota that I rebuilt last year. At that time we had replaced a few parts -mostly related to the 2-3 synchronizer and this time, the 3-4 synchronizer went bad. It caused the tranny to eat a few of it's own pieces. I am at the point now where today we'll be putting it in (I hope to get a few good Haitian guys to help).
We are fixing up a few of our 12+ cars to sell them. This old Toyota is one of them (tranny, front differential, locking hubs, tail lights, etc...). Pastor Rob also is looking to get rid of the Ford Ranger, Mitsubishi Montero, Mitsubishi Montero IO and the two US-based Nissan Pathfinders.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Papers
We dropped off the papers at the Embassy this morning. We are now going to wait for an email regarding when our visa appointment is. We hope it will be by the end of the week, but if you have been following our adoption journey long things have not usually gone as we hope. We'll keep you updated...
I'll try to have some BCS this afternoon.
I'll try to have some BCS this afternoon.
Monday, October 12, 2009
TB: NEGATIVE!!
He does not have TB!!!
We got there at about 6:30. By about 7:30 we got a little scare - they couldn't find the xray. By about 9:30 they had found it and had it in our hands. We are thankful to the Lord for getting us through this part! Thank you all for your prayers of strength and for getting through this TB testing.
We are very happy! We will definitely feel like it is finished after we get this last step started: the visa.
We stopped by the US Embassy to set up an appointment (because you cannot call or email to get an appointment) and they were not open. :-( So we'll head down there again in the morning and try to set up an appointment. Tina thinks we should hang out and wait for them to do the appointment that day, but I don't think that is realistic. It would be nice, but not realistic.
Again, thank you all for your prayers!
We got there at about 6:30. By about 7:30 we got a little scare - they couldn't find the xray. By about 9:30 they had found it and had it in our hands. We are thankful to the Lord for getting us through this part! Thank you all for your prayers of strength and for getting through this TB testing.
We are very happy! We will definitely feel like it is finished after we get this last step started: the visa.
We stopped by the US Embassy to set up an appointment (because you cannot call or email to get an appointment) and they were not open. :-( So we'll head down there again in the morning and try to set up an appointment. Tina thinks we should hang out and wait for them to do the appointment that day, but I don't think that is realistic. It would be nice, but not realistic.
Again, thank you all for your prayers!
Thursday, October 8, 2009
TB: More Research
If the result of the xray is positive, we have think we have determined that we have anywhere from 2-6 months of treatment to go through before he can come home.
If the result of the xray is negative, we could be home in less than two weeks.
That is the range we believe we are working with. Only God knows.
If the result of the xray is negative, we could be home in less than two weeks.
That is the range we believe we are working with. Only God knows.
Skin Test: Positive, Our Attitude: Mostly Positive
It was positive just as we suspected based on reading the CDC website.
They took two front chest xrays and then I had to hold him for the side chest xray (xrays are good - I am hoping to grow a third arm to help with the mechanic work). Guess what...we have to go back there again - Monday.
While doing the xray, the guy doing the xray asked me if I knew anyone else who wanted a Haitian child. He said he had children of all ages to hook me or my friends up with. This is the second time this has happened to me - I suspect I am not the only person.
This guy looked at the xray and said it looked good, but I don't trust him at all. We'll wait for the official person to read the xray. Based on the way Lou acts all day long, I would guess that he doesn't have it, but... only the Lord knows right now.
Stay tuned until Monday... I'll try to come up with some commercial breaks. I might have some BCS later (Boring Car Stuff) in the week (i.e., tomorrow).
Please pray that we mentally make it through another weekend -they are tough for us.
They took two front chest xrays and then I had to hold him for the side chest xray (xrays are good - I am hoping to grow a third arm to help with the mechanic work). Guess what...we have to go back there again - Monday.
While doing the xray, the guy doing the xray asked me if I knew anyone else who wanted a Haitian child. He said he had children of all ages to hook me or my friends up with. This is the second time this has happened to me - I suspect I am not the only person.
This guy looked at the xray and said it looked good, but I don't trust him at all. We'll wait for the official person to read the xray. Based on the way Lou acts all day long, I would guess that he doesn't have it, but... only the Lord knows right now.
Stay tuned until Monday... I'll try to come up with some commercial breaks. I might have some BCS later (Boring Car Stuff) in the week (i.e., tomorrow).
Please pray that we mentally make it through another weekend -they are tough for us.
Arm
We are leaving now and Lou's arm does not look good. I am thinking that we'll need to do the chest xray and then.... who knows what.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Update
OK. Here is where we are at...
Tomorrow around 5:45 we are leaving to go to get Lou's test results. If it is negative, we'll head to the US Embassy and drop off the paperwork. If it is positive, he'll need a chest xray and I don't know where we go from there...
If we get to the US Embassy tomorrow, we'll be trying to schedule an appointment and discussing why we should have an IR3 visa instead of an IR4 visa. From what I can tell, it will be the Haitian-side that determines whether or not we get an IR3 visa (this is good news).
This afternoon I got an email from the US Embassy in Haiti and that email said that they received an approved I600 (yeah! they finally got it!!) and they want the orphanage director to come in with the paperwork. We have all the paperwork and the orphanage director is now in Germany, so we'll deliver it ourselves...assuming the TB test is negative.
So that's the plan. We'll update you when we get back tomorrow. Your prayers will be greatly, GREATLY appreciated!
Tomorrow around 5:45 we are leaving to go to get Lou's test results. If it is negative, we'll head to the US Embassy and drop off the paperwork. If it is positive, he'll need a chest xray and I don't know where we go from there...
If we get to the US Embassy tomorrow, we'll be trying to schedule an appointment and discussing why we should have an IR3 visa instead of an IR4 visa. From what I can tell, it will be the Haitian-side that determines whether or not we get an IR3 visa (this is good news).
This afternoon I got an email from the US Embassy in Haiti and that email said that they received an approved I600 (yeah! they finally got it!!) and they want the orphanage director to come in with the paperwork. We have all the paperwork and the orphanage director is now in Germany, so we'll deliver it ourselves...assuming the TB test is negative.
So that's the plan. We'll update you when we get back tomorrow. Your prayers will be greatly, GREATLY appreciated!
More Problems
Somewhere between the MN USCIS and the National Visa Center in DC, they have managed to classify the visa as an IR4 and not an IR3 (which you get if you visit your child - oh we visited him...for over 15 months). That means that if they don't fix it, we will have to go through the re-adoption process in the States which means that it will cost us more money. Now we have to mess with that and it will most likely cause delays. We are already delayed because they have not contacted us about scheduling a visa appointment. So...on we go...
God manages to work out His timing in very creative ways. We trust in His timing.
God manages to work out His timing in very creative ways. We trust in His timing.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Frustration
We are so mentally spent.
Every time we think things should go smoothly, they don't. Keep in mind as you read this that in the daily activities of going to town to do these things, only about 20% gets on the blog and then even that isn't the full experience.
We thought we would show up today and do the physical and then go drop off the papers at the US Embassy and schedule an appoint (the final one). We arrived at about 7:30 AM and finally left around 11 AM. We had to struggle with Lou absolutely (ABSOLUTELY!) flipping out because a nurse/doctor wanted to touch him. He freaked. It was not fun and he has done this before. We managed to pin all of his appendages down so they could give him a little shot. The nurse seemed upset that I didn't know enough Kreyol and didn't speak French. "Only English?" she says? Even though she could speak English, she continued to tell this ignorant missionary-mechanic-wannabe everything in Kreyol/French until I could figure it out. Nice.
Why did he need a shot? They needed to test for tuberculosis. Guess what - it's a two day test and we'll get the results back Thursday. Yes, we are going out again on Thursday - we just can't get enough apparently...
What never ceases to amaze me is the amount of necessary details the orphanage director either does not know or does not tell us (I believe the latter based on my experience). After many years of doing adoptions, one would think that she would have it down by now. The tuberculosis test is not new - I asked the person who gave the shot (the one who wouldn't speak English). One more detail that wasn't mentioned...we needed US$65 for the doctor to do the physical exam and all related things. It was a good thing I was a walking "mugging waiting to happen" - I had US$500 on me and a bunch of Haitian cash. We asked the director yesterday if we had to pay for the doctor visit and she told us that she didn't think so. She didn't think so?!?! How long has she been doing this? She decided to not tell us that and to keep it a secret surprise for us - she has to know that because she takes other children to the same place for the same reason.
OK. We swallowed that part OK. Not a big deal.
Then we get home and check our email. The US Embassy in Haiti is saying that they sent the paperwork to the MN USCIS and they should approve it. The MN USCIS told us to contact the National Visa Center to see what the status is of their approval. The National Visa Center says we need to contact the US Embassy in Haiti to check the status. Round and round we go - where we stop nobody knows... The USCIS in Haiti says that we should contact the US Embassy/Consulate General (which is no doubt on the other side of the hall). In ALL of these cases (like just about 90% of all Haitian activities we have been involved with) if you don't ask your 20 questions correctly, you won't get the information. If you don't ask, they won't tell. Nobody tells us how to contact those places unless you ask and only one has responded in all of our adoption situations. This even includes walking around trying to find the door you are supposed to go in.
I am so glad that I didn't order plane tickets yet. It may be a while. We never know what the next day brings here. It is so different here than in the US where you can plan more than one thing and you can expect it to happen within 15 mins of that plan. Some day soon we hope we will have a day in the sun.
We continue to lean on our Lord...heavily - and He is enough.
Every time we think things should go smoothly, they don't. Keep in mind as you read this that in the daily activities of going to town to do these things, only about 20% gets on the blog and then even that isn't the full experience.
We thought we would show up today and do the physical and then go drop off the papers at the US Embassy and schedule an appoint (the final one). We arrived at about 7:30 AM and finally left around 11 AM. We had to struggle with Lou absolutely (ABSOLUTELY!) flipping out because a nurse/doctor wanted to touch him. He freaked. It was not fun and he has done this before. We managed to pin all of his appendages down so they could give him a little shot. The nurse seemed upset that I didn't know enough Kreyol and didn't speak French. "Only English?" she says? Even though she could speak English, she continued to tell this ignorant missionary-mechanic-wannabe everything in Kreyol/French until I could figure it out. Nice.
Why did he need a shot? They needed to test for tuberculosis. Guess what - it's a two day test and we'll get the results back Thursday. Yes, we are going out again on Thursday - we just can't get enough apparently...
What never ceases to amaze me is the amount of necessary details the orphanage director either does not know or does not tell us (I believe the latter based on my experience). After many years of doing adoptions, one would think that she would have it down by now. The tuberculosis test is not new - I asked the person who gave the shot (the one who wouldn't speak English). One more detail that wasn't mentioned...we needed US$65 for the doctor to do the physical exam and all related things. It was a good thing I was a walking "mugging waiting to happen" - I had US$500 on me and a bunch of Haitian cash. We asked the director yesterday if we had to pay for the doctor visit and she told us that she didn't think so. She didn't think so?!?! How long has she been doing this? She decided to not tell us that and to keep it a secret surprise for us - she has to know that because she takes other children to the same place for the same reason.
OK. We swallowed that part OK. Not a big deal.
Then we get home and check our email. The US Embassy in Haiti is saying that they sent the paperwork to the MN USCIS and they should approve it. The MN USCIS told us to contact the National Visa Center to see what the status is of their approval. The National Visa Center says we need to contact the US Embassy in Haiti to check the status. Round and round we go - where we stop nobody knows... The USCIS in Haiti says that we should contact the US Embassy/Consulate General (which is no doubt on the other side of the hall). In ALL of these cases (like just about 90% of all Haitian activities we have been involved with) if you don't ask your 20 questions correctly, you won't get the information. If you don't ask, they won't tell. Nobody tells us how to contact those places unless you ask and only one has responded in all of our adoption situations. This even includes walking around trying to find the door you are supposed to go in.
I am so glad that I didn't order plane tickets yet. It may be a while. We never know what the next day brings here. It is so different here than in the US where you can plan more than one thing and you can expect it to happen within 15 mins of that plan. Some day soon we hope we will have a day in the sun.
We continue to lean on our Lord...heavily - and He is enough.
Dr. Visit - Port-au-Prince
We picked up the paperwork yesterday and in normal "nothing is normal" fashion, the orphanage director's place didn't have electricity and their generator was broke. We waited a little while for the mechanic to fix it because we needed more copies of some paperwork for what we need to do yet in the process, but it didn't get fixed - no copies could be made. We ended up going with one of her workers to go make copies at a store in Petionville (closer to where we live). All of the necessary paperwork (including originals) are now in our hands.
We are going to be leaving here in a half hour to go to the doctor for Lou to have a physical. This is necessary to obtain the visa.
After the doctor visit, we are going to the US Embassy to get our visa appointment which we hope will happen on Thursday since they only make appointments for visas on Mon, Tues, and Thurs.
We'll keep you updated!
We are going to be leaving here in a half hour to go to the doctor for Lou to have a physical. This is necessary to obtain the visa.
After the doctor visit, we are going to the US Embassy to get our visa appointment which we hope will happen on Thursday since they only make appointments for visas on Mon, Tues, and Thurs.
We'll keep you updated!
Monday, October 5, 2009
For the Grandparents
On the newly modified (fixed) teeter-totter:
.jpg)
Can you believe that the boy on the right is only 15 months older than Lou on the left? The boy on the right, David, is Sandi and Cullie's son - Cullie is a former mechanic of the Baptist Haiti Mission that I have mentioned before and he lives/works a mile up the mountain. They have had David since he was an infant.
.jpg)
.jpg)
Can you believe that the boy on the right is only 15 months older than Lou on the left? The boy on the right, David, is Sandi and Cullie's son - Cullie is a former mechanic of the Baptist Haiti Mission that I have mentioned before and he lives/works a mile up the mountain. They have had David since he was an infant.
.jpg)
Can't Sleep
I wonder why (passport perhaps?)... I keep thinking of how life will be different when we get back. I keep going through what the Lord has taken us through to get us to this point. We have done a lot of growing and maturing - our children have, too. There have been so many challenges.
As I reflect back on what we have done and what we have been through here in Haiti, it seems that only recently we have really begun (only begun) to understand what it means to trust in God and turn it over to Him. There are points when we succeed and points when we fail. The points when we fail seem to be when, as we have heard our home pastor say, we listen to ourselves instead of preach to ourselves. We have our feelings and thoughts on what should be happening and whether or not those "things" that should be happening are based on facts, averages, normal happenings, or whatever does not matter. We need to move beyond listening to ourselves complain or even reason about our circumstances and move to what the Bible tells us.
It tells us to be patient. It tells us to trust in our Lord God. If we ask, seek, and knock, he will answer. It tells us that He will give us our heart's desire if we follow and trust Him (i.e., if our heart's desire is to follow, trust, glorify Him).
The last one is one place (just one of many) where I think that we may have gotten lost many times. We feel that, just like some people at a stop sign in the States (an observation that we have made many times), if you have sat waiting there long enough it's your turn to go regardless of what is coming up. It's not about us and it's not about what we know. God knows far more than we can ever know. He sees beyond what we see and He does not always (often?) show us what is coming up and why/how it may be better for us (and sometimes [mostly?] it is not even about us).
I think that we have failed on numerous occasions to rest, trust, and know that God has purposes in circumstances and it is not our way nor in our timing that things be accomplished. Of course this is always easier to say near the end of very long journey. I hope that next time we (I) go through a significant trial that is this much of a challenge (our biggest yet) that we see and realize these critical observations sooner and that we can do much better.
We have certainly achieved growth in our walk and this is one lesson that was well taught by having to go through a significant trial. We have learned things that we did not expect to learn that have nothing to do with adoptions or Down syndrome.
As I prayed and hoped at the beginning of our journey to Haiti, I hope that others have grown in their wisdom and knowledge of Jesus through the trial and circumstances that he brought us through. To God be the glory!
As I reflect back on what we have done and what we have been through here in Haiti, it seems that only recently we have really begun (only begun) to understand what it means to trust in God and turn it over to Him. There are points when we succeed and points when we fail. The points when we fail seem to be when, as we have heard our home pastor say, we listen to ourselves instead of preach to ourselves. We have our feelings and thoughts on what should be happening and whether or not those "things" that should be happening are based on facts, averages, normal happenings, or whatever does not matter. We need to move beyond listening to ourselves complain or even reason about our circumstances and move to what the Bible tells us.
It tells us to be patient. It tells us to trust in our Lord God. If we ask, seek, and knock, he will answer. It tells us that He will give us our heart's desire if we follow and trust Him (i.e., if our heart's desire is to follow, trust, glorify Him).
The last one is one place (just one of many) where I think that we may have gotten lost many times. We feel that, just like some people at a stop sign in the States (an observation that we have made many times), if you have sat waiting there long enough it's your turn to go regardless of what is coming up. It's not about us and it's not about what we know. God knows far more than we can ever know. He sees beyond what we see and He does not always (often?) show us what is coming up and why/how it may be better for us (and sometimes [mostly?] it is not even about us).
I think that we have failed on numerous occasions to rest, trust, and know that God has purposes in circumstances and it is not our way nor in our timing that things be accomplished. Of course this is always easier to say near the end of very long journey. I hope that next time we (I) go through a significant trial that is this much of a challenge (our biggest yet) that we see and realize these critical observations sooner and that we can do much better.
We have certainly achieved growth in our walk and this is one lesson that was well taught by having to go through a significant trial. We have learned things that we did not expect to learn that have nothing to do with adoptions or Down syndrome.
As I prayed and hoped at the beginning of our journey to Haiti, I hope that others have grown in their wisdom and knowledge of Jesus through the trial and circumstances that he brought us through. To God be the glory!
Sunday, October 4, 2009
We have PASSPORT!!!
This morning at 9AM the orphanage director called to tell us we have the passport. YEA!!!
Praise God BIG TIME because she also told us that she is going to Germany next week (we may have had to wait more for her to get back)! She wants us to go there at 10AM tomorrow to get all the paperwork we need for the last two things: Dr. Appt and the visa. We could be done next week.
I have the flight scheduled (on hold until tomorrow at midnight). When we get back from seeing her Monday morning, I'll purchase them if all seems to be OK. We are looking at about 2 weeks until we come back (flights will be cheaper that way).
Help us praise our Lord!! We may be done soon!!
Praise God BIG TIME because she also told us that she is going to Germany next week (we may have had to wait more for her to get back)! She wants us to go there at 10AM tomorrow to get all the paperwork we need for the last two things: Dr. Appt and the visa. We could be done next week.
I have the flight scheduled (on hold until tomorrow at midnight). When we get back from seeing her Monday morning, I'll purchase them if all seems to be OK. We are looking at about 2 weeks until we come back (flights will be cheaper that way).
Help us praise our Lord!! We may be done soon!!
Thursday, October 1, 2009
2-3
Last night after the dog woke us up at 1AM by barfing whatever junk she decided to eat that day, I had a thought. One of the things that Haitians say in Kreole is "2-3" when the English equivalent is a few. So when the orphanage director has been saying "2-3 days" it is really in a few days. Add to that amount the way things are in Haiti and you got yourself at least a week or two. The director was simply translating the Kreole into English for us and I was taking her literally - at least until the dog barfed.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
