Day 1 7-13-12

Day 1 started at 2:30 this morning with an early flight to Miami and on to Port Au Prince.  This was my first trip to Haiti by myself and was fortunate enough to connect with a mission team from Illinois who flew in on the same flight.  When the plane landed in Port Au Prince I was again immediately reminded of the devastation, destruction, poverty, and lack of basic resources that we take for granted.  As we taxied to the gate and the doors opened the smell of burning trash and urine took over and I was able to move my mind to the way of life for most Haitians.  I noticed a few more airlines at the airport this trip and see that as a positive as more business and money move into the country through tourism.  I again rode a bus to immigration and customs and after waiting in line and digging through piles of luggage to find my bag it was time to find our ride to the orphanage.  There were numerous United Nations police officers with shotguns and pistols on guard as we walked out of the airport and exited the gate.  It was prevalent that there is still some uneasiness throughout the city and support is needed.

Today was the first time I had the opportunity to ride in a Tap Tap (Haitian Taxi).  After loading our luggage 16 people climbed into the back and squeezed in to make sure everyone fit.  The driver locked us in from the inside for our safety and to ensure no one tried to catch a ride. After arriving at New Life Children's Home and dropping my bags off at the room, I immediately ran down to see my boy!!  As I walked through the orphanage I saw plenty of familiar faces (Jeremy, Pable, Son Son, Juniors, and Guivens).  The kids ran up to say hi and immediately took off to find Wisbens!! It was an awesome feeling that these guys even knew that I was there to see my son!! It wasn't long after they all ran off to find him that he peered around the corner, waved at me and came over to hug me.  I reminded him of our last conversation as I left in January and that I would be back to see him soon.  I talked with him about coming home to Kentucky to live with his new family and he smiled and said that he wanted to come home with me.  I told Wisbens that Maddox sent him a school picture and he wanted me to imediately go get it for him.  I look forward to the day that I can pick him up and take him home to Kentucky to begin his life with his new family. He has definately grown since my last trip and his English continues to improve.  We talked about Jen and Maddox and he remembered them from prior conversations as well as the picture album I brought him.   He also said that he wanted to talk to Jen and Maddox on the television.  I had to question him a few times to understand exactly what he meant.  I finally realized that he wanted to Skype with Jen and Maddox and had the biggest smile as he asked. (We will have to introduce him to technology at a slow pace).

I had the opportunity to catch up with my friend Barry who is also in the process of adoption about my plan over the next few days.  He assisted me in setting up appointments to take Wisben to get his picture taken to go on file at the attorney's office as well as getting one last document translated before we meet with the attorney on Tuesday or Wednesday.  I have still been unable to connect with our attorney about a meeting and tried numerous times with no response. We have a lot to do over the next few days and I am hopeful that I can complete everything that needs to be done.

In closing I would like for you to please pray for these meetings as well as our potential trip into town for pictures and the final translation.  I pray that we can get all of these tasks accomplished and one more step closer to bringing Wisbens home!