"Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord Almighty! - Zech 4:6

One thing that is REALLY evident to me is how weak we are...how we have no control over anything...how much we NEED God for our every breath...how much we take forgranted...how we have to live every moment by the power of the Holy Spirit. I was just overwhelmed by this. That it is only by Him and thru Him that we can do these things!I'm praising God for His direction while in Haiti! And we continueto pray for wisdom, insight, and discernment! How overwhelming this all is. We have to remember (especially now!) Zech 4:6 "Not by might nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord Almighty."!!!!!

Saturday -- I am finally back in MN

We got to the airport in Haiti at 2pm on Thursday and I didn't get home until 6:30pm Friday. Our plane was late leaving Miami so I didn't land in MPLS until early morning. Adam picked me up and took me to his house in St. Cloud so I could shower and sleep. When Michelle was done with work, we drove to Morris and closed on their house, then we went out for supper to celebrate with them. I was finally home Friday evening and very tired.

Wow, what a stressful and facinating week.. We wish it would have turned out differently but this is not for us to judge. I am very sad that we didn't come up with any workable solution to getting these girls home faster. I feel the worst for Auddy. She thought she was moving to a different orphanage not once but twice in two days and then had to go back to HIS Home.

Looking at the bright side, I made a lot of contacts in Haiti, learned much more about the adoption process and I am not afraid go around and get stuff done in Haiti. I just pray that the Lord will use those contacts and information to Bring Our Haiti Home to MN.

Tuesday's Adventures

Wow does PAP have a lot of traffic! We were in traffic all day long... bumper to bumper. We started out late because of the traffic and never caught up! We were able to take the girls to all of their appts. They had their psych exams, their labs tests and their medical exams. All of the appts were in downtown Port au Prince so we saw the "palace" and sooo many people and cars. The computer connection never really works from about 5pm until late into the evening so I am finally posting now. The girls had to go back to the "O" for the night so Addy could packup her stuff and say goodbye to her friends. I am sure that Wednesday will be a hard day for her but I pray that we are doing the right thing in the big picture. We are moving her on Wednesday. Thank you for your prayers.

Meeting with Chris at the "O"

Meeting with Chris
We met with the HIS home director, Chris, today. The meeting went about as well as it possibly could have. Thank you so much for all of your prayers! I know that we were covered in prayer….
The result was not what I would have ever imagined …. We are going out on a limb here! Vera, the adoption processor, went with us to Chris’s and she is very knowledgeable.

We decided after much discussion that we would process the two adoptions separately and get started with Rachelle’s ASAP with her staying right where she is at. Her mother has given Chris permission to adopt her and that what we are going to try to do.

Addy’s birth certificate has presented a bigger problem and the mayor’s office that we are working with has proved impossible. Apparently, there have been some that have waited over 2 yrs for just the certificate from that mayor and then they have needed to go thru the rest of the adoption process. We figured out that the mayor’s office that we are using could be changed if we would move Addy to another orphanage that is located in a district with a mayor’s office that is much faster. Some have had birth certificates in as little as two weeks to two months. We are still waiting for this certificate after working at it over a year and the mayor is to blame....So we are moving Addy on Wednesday. She is going to move to an orphanage that Vera has recommended.

Vera had to go to another appt in the afternoon so we drove her there and then went back to HIS home and met with the girls to tell them the plan and why we are doing this. It should process their adoption more quickly and we can get started on something right away. They both took it pretty well. I was able to take them back to the hotel with me today and tomorrow they are getting blood work, medical exams and psych exams then they are going to spend the night back at HIS home so that Addy can say goodbye to her friends there. Wednesday morning we are taking her to the new orphanage.

This has been a very hard day and I am totally exhausted. Please continue to pray that we are doing the right thing and if there is anything we are missing that the Lord would open our eyes to what we need to be aware of. The stories for the two “experts” Chris and Vera are so very different that it’s hard to know what to believe.

Thanks for taking the time to ‘listen’.

Tamela

Traveling to Haiti

We made it! All is well. Fondi is great, he met us at the airport. We were able to get a SIM card for our phone so that once we get it set up, we can call Vera or whoever. Ann and I found each other at the airport with no problems. We have room #7 at Habititation (the same room that Tap and Margaret had.) They have been very nice to us. Tomorrow we go to HIS Home.

Bill, Ann says she loves you...

Tamela

Our Adoption Time Line

January 18, 2008
We met Addy for the first time at Good Samaritian Orphanage.
Don, the one who never makes decisions without thinking them thru... left the 'O' that day with the "call" to adopt.
January 20, 2008
We met with HIS Home Orphanage and talked to Chris about transfering Addy to HIS Home so that we could adopt her.
January 24, 2008
My (tamela's) father dies suddenly... life goes into a bigger tail spin.
February 2008
Don and I start the Home Study process... our life is examined inside and out.
They check our home, our finances, our histories, our child rearing experiences, our medical records, our .... etc
5 reference letters and a ream of paper later....
March 21, 2008
Our psy exams are done... Don and I aren't crazy!!
March 22, 2008
The police in Morris think we are good citizens. Our police records came back clean.
March 27, 2008
Our medical exams are done -- we don't have AIDS, Sickle Cell, .... wow they wanted a lot of tests!
April 20, 2008
Tax records passed the test
April 21, 2008
The bank records passed the test
May 1, 2008
Our home study is done!!
May 17, 2008
The stack of papers are approved by the State of Minnesota
May 21, 2008
Haitian Consulate Stamp of approval on every sheet -- at the tune of $25 each!
June 2, 2008
Delivered our Dossier to Haiti to HIS HOME -- now we are rolling
June 10, 2008
Chris from His Home and Madam Lucien at Good Samaritian go to court for Addy
She needs to be declared an orphan and we need a new, correct birth certificate
December 2, 2008
We make a trip to Haiti to deliver documents
No Birth certificate yet... this is getting frustrating
December 4, 2008
We met Rachelle for the first time and talk further about adopting two!!
December 9,2008
US Homeland Security approves us for adoption from Haiti -- I600A
January 20, 2009
Our home study is reapproved for 2 children up to age 15
Feb 2-9, 2009
Mission trip to Haiti -- Our crew is wonderful! and we get a lot done during that week!
March 6, 2009
US Homeland Security approves us for 2 girls up to age 15 for adoption from Haiti - --- I600A
March 22, 2009
I go back to Haiti ...