I am again going to apologize for my spelling and grammar. The internet and power go in and out and I want to get as much written as possible. We lost the internet last night and I was unable to finish in time to publish.
My day started at 2:30 a.m. Thursday morning, as I woke up and prepared for a long day at the airport. The positive thing about this trip was that my brother in law was joining me and my anxiety level was immediately decreased as we drove to Nashville to catch our flight. I was worried that we
may have difficulty today not because I have bad luck but every trip I have attempted to Hait has had some type of delay. Thursday was not any different as we checked in and was told that our flight was delayed by one hour. I was not surprised but concerned because we only had an hour layover in Miami before I flight left. Because of the tropical storm all flights into Haiti were full because of cancellations and overbooking. We had to make a decision to chance the flight and get stuck in Miami with no way to Haiti or to cancel the trip. Eric and I were up for an adventure and rolled the dice and took a chance. After sprinting off our plane and running to the gate we missed the plane by seconds and was going to possibly be stranded. We prayed and know that God is soverign and if we were supposed to be in Haiti we knew he would make it happen. We talked to an agent who informed us that they opened up another flight and we got some of the last seats that were available. God answered our prayers and we eventually made it to Port Au Prince and New Life Children's home to see our sweet boy.
We payed our driver and immediately ran down to where the kids stay and it wasn't long before Wisbens saw me. I ran to him picked him up held him and kissed him on his head. I introduced him to his uncle Eric and they immediatley made a connection. We spent the afternoon catching up with Wisbens as well as the other kids at New Life and Eric got the opportunity to see the blessing that I get everytime I arrive. It was a great feeling to have the kids run up to me call me by name and fight for our attention. There is plenty of kids and love to go around and I am excited about Jen, Maddox and our family at Mission Community Church to join us on future trips. The day ended great and we were exhausted from the trip and the kids continously wanting to play. It was cloudy today but extremely hot and humid.
Friday
I woke this morning had a cold shower and prepared for my day in Port Au Prince. I knew that I would miss lunch and packed my bag with plenty of peanuts and beef jerky. Our transportation arrived and we headed towards Petionville to see if there was any news on our adoption. Wilna is a contact I have in Haiti who has been working with individuals on international adoption. She has many contacts at the agencies that we will soon be navigating and this will hopefully help speed up the process. She will be our advocate for while I am at home and will continue to contact our attorney and ensure he is following through. It is good for us because in Haiti if you are not on the ground working it seems as though nothing gets done.
After 45 minutes we arrived at his office and after going through a security gate was able to meet with Jean Luc. He told me that he went to IBESR (social services) yesterday and they told him to go away that they would contact him when our file was ready. After leaving his office we went to IBESR to check on my file and Wilna talked with her contact to get an update. We were told that our file had not even been looked at yet but becasue of her visit was able to get it in the hands of a worker. Wilna is very professional but will not take no for an answer and before we left had the workers cell phone number and will check on our file weekly until it is complete.
We left IBESR and went to Parquet (court) to get a judge to sign off on our file and again Wilna was able to walk directly to his office and ask for him by name. Unfortunately he was not there and we will try again Monday morning before flying out. I have to be present as he will interview me on why we want to adopt Wisbens. He will ask specific questions about his amputation and race and if we see color as an issue.
Wilna took us to a resort where we will be able to take Wisben for the day to swim. It was one of the most beautiful places I have seen in Hait and while we were there had lunch. Our driver Pierre had grilled goat and I knew that I could not leave without trying it. After working myself up I took a bite and loved it. It wasn't what I expected and will be eating it again.
We went to the nearest cell phone company and I purchased an inexpensive cell phone so I can stay in contact with Wilna, New Life and our transportation to and from the airport. The phone was new but looked like one of my cell phones ten years ago. Eric and I looked for the game snake on it but had not luck.
After spending the day in and out of a van that barely ran, crowded streets and angry drivers we arrived back at the orphanage and was able to eat dinner. After dinner we went down to spend time with Wisbens and found about 15 kids huddled around a small dvd player watching cartoons. We were able to attend praise and worship as well as movie night with the kids. It was a great to hear over 100 kids sing at the same time. Friday night at New Life is movie night and tonight's movie was Free Willy. Before the movie even started kids were falling asleep in our arms and on our laps. Again I was reminded about how blessed I am to be able to come to Haiti to see my son and be able to give and receive love from the kids. It has been a great day and I look forward to tomorrow.
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