Pick Me!!

Dragon Fruit blossom, they bloom at night. 

Remember the classmate who always wanted to be picked for a team or to give the answer in class.

That's how I feel when I think about our chart sitting in a room with hundreds of other charts. Pick me!!! Pick our family! Arms waving. Body wiggling. Voice loud. 

Then I think of the folks who passed the 1 1/2  or three-year wait mark…pick them and us!!  

Start making referrals. Pick someone!

When I read blogs or web pages encouraging folks to consider adopting because thousands of children continue to wait for a family I pray for those, like us who already agreed.

     We made that important discussion.

     We found the time and effort to fill out hundreds of pages of paperwork.

     We cleaned and organized and nervously invited the social worker into our home and lives to
           inspect and question for that all important home study. 

     We asked and reminded friends about reference letters.

     We sat in offices for appointments: medical doctor, the psychologist, finger printing, notary.

     We waited in post office lines, for phone calls, for e-mails and for the mailman.

     We cleaned and organized for home studies.

     We made lots and lots of copies.

     We wrote checks.

Now we wait. And wait.

We pray. We hope. We get depressed. We sigh…a lot. We check E-mails and then check again. 

Lord, give us hope and patience.

Thank You for working for our kids and our family.
Thank you for being with these precious children while they wait for families.
Lord, we praise You even when we do not see progress.
When we do not get news, we thank You. 

A blog from Dixie from God's Littlest Angels about IBESR now making all the matches, New Match Procedure. Don't know if this would be better or not for us. No one knows what this will mean for families with a 'soft match.' Know we need to pray that the children get to the families that fit well with their needs.

This just posted on the Facebook group by someone who's agency told them-IBESR will not be taking any new cases in September to 'catch up on all their current cases'. Now we've heard they have more than 1,000 'current' cases, some going on 3 years. Praying for a miraculously productive month! 

IBESR Update / Prayer Requests

Very thankful to Dixie at God's Littlest Angels for sharing information she learns from IBESR.

Link to her full blog about last week's visit found here.

Points in the blog that I found to pray specifically about:

• Felyne is the IBESR representative putting together matches. Praying for wisdom, health, resources, protection, and efficiency for Felyne.

• Proposals in small batches going to the Children's Judge.  Praying for wisdom and efficiency!! Praying for the judge and staff not to be overwhelmed but motivated!

• Praying that even doing small batches that the batches are big enough to start catching up on the backlog of charts now sitting in IBESR, some for years waiting for a match. 

• Rather confusing, still being changed and multi-step procedure for the birth families. Praying this gets worked out to be as simply, with the least amount of hassle and expense. 

• Praying that the families who already signed off do not need to repeat the 30-day wait and can be exceptions to the new change. 

• Praying that the steps one and two can and will take place in the same visit. 

• Praying for the organization of the visits to the judge and that the families can make their appointments without problems.

• Praying for the Mayors who need to sign for the abandoned children to make the effort. That IBESR will get the lists together so the Mayors can sign in a timely manor all the children from their area.

• Praying for the process to get the trouble spots worked out so the system can stabilize and stop changing. This will also start a timeline which would help folks get an idea of the time frame.

• Praying for patience for all involved.

• Praying for the children and families waiting like us.

Thank you for supporting us on this journey and for your prayers. 

Hope in strange places.

Sometimes hope comes from strange places. 

I expect to find hope in the Bible, in my devotions or when chatting with my Mom who encourages me to look to the Lord. 

I did not expect to find it yesterday in a school book. 

As I read to Anna from The Landing of the Pilgrims by James Daugherty, this passage referring to those on the Mayflower voyage struck me from page 39-40. 

"Among the passengers there was a sense of excitement and anticipation. This was not an ordinary landing after a long voyage. There was a deep and strong feeling among them of something immense and heroic and biblical, beyond the personal happenings of their individual lives. They did not know what the ordeal might be ahead, only that they would never turn back. Something was being left behind forever. Something new and bright and glorious was beginning. They were ready to face untold hardship. They were confident of wide new freedom. Vague, deep thoughts that could find no words drew them together in purpose and high resolve."  

 

It made me long for the day when our children come home. I think we will share some of these feelings at that time. I post it here so I remember. 

 

As the days march on without information of any new referrals I often remind myself of some advice from a friend. She said later it will be like when they hand you your newborn, the pain that just moments before encompassed your life rapidly fades into a vague memory. That same type of thing will happen when you match with your children and the wait ends.   

Waiting to find out if she's right. 

Wondering

I wonder what happened to the lady and the baby she offered us two years ago July 27th, opening the door for our adoption journey.

I wonder if the Facebook comment that IBESR asked agencies to hold off on charts for a while, so they can deal with the 900+ already occupying desk space is true.

I wonder where our chart spent the last six months in IBESR...and pray it's not lost behind a file cabinet somewhere. 

I wonder when we'll get our referral notice… next month, next year? Praying not more than three years like one family as that would bring us dangerously close to the age limit. 

Mostly, I wonder about our children...

I wonder so much about you. Names. Ages. Personalities. Health. History.

What do you think about? What do you remember? What do you need?

What are your days like? Who do you care about? Where are you living?


Are you little enough to only focus on eating and having fun?

Do you long for things you do not understand and cannot name?

Do you wonder if you'll be kept together as a family, or if you'll loose your last blood ties?

Do you wonder when the other children leave with a new family if it will ever happen to you?

Do you want to go back home? Return to the life that once was yours?

Do you go to school? Do you long to see the world or just to have a place to call your own?

Do you have friends? Or hang out at the edge of a crowd wanting to belong?

Does someone dry your tears or do they drop unnoticed? Or have you given up on tears instead relying on an inner strength to bury the pain.

Do you go to bed at night tired after a good day of playing or lay awake at night hungry and in pain?

Do you know Jesus loves you? Do you learn to praise Him in song and to bring Him your needs in prayer?

Do you pray for a new family? Do you pray for us?

Courage.

IBESR News.

Dragon fruit flower bud

My dad once called me an opportunist and I guess I am.

With the conferences on campus this summer with representatives from all 25 northern churches and a few additional churches outside the district we could not pass on the opportunity.

The opportunity to let them know about the lack of referrals the last 7 months delaying providing needy children with families.

We reminded them that while we pray that families can stay together there will always be some children who need a new family and right now many creches are full and needing to turn away children.

We asked them to join us in praying for the children of Haiti. Praying for the adoption process to improve and move forward. Praying for our children. Praying to defeat the devil's delays and blocks.

Together we join in prayer for progress to be made at every step for hundreds of waiting children and families.

Some folks report that over 900+ dossiers currently wait in IBESR.

Our chart joined the numbers 6 months ago and no word since then about our referral.

Some news this week from a meeting held by IBESR.

The short version boils down to some encouraging news:

• Biological families are being helped to understand their options of keeping their children and getting help with schooling and jobs.
• If IBESR feels that a couple over the age of 50 would be a good fit they will make exceptions to the age limit of 50 years. 
• The lawyer in charge of adoptions hopes to see matches starting by the end of July.
• If a foreigner holds a residential visa and lived in Haiti more than 5 years they will qualify for a National adoption. 

GLA full blog The blog also notes that many of the creches are struggling financially to feed their children as the delay in referrals means that adoption funds cannot be used.

After reading this we contacted our USA agency to remind them that we qualify for a national adoption and to ask them to ask about this when their representative next inquires about our dossier.

We resent the copies of our residential visas when it was expressed that the previous copy was too faint to read easily. National adoptions would be prioritized over international.

Encouraging to hear that referrals will start soon but not so on hearing that one family is at the 3 year mark waiting for a referral.

Keep praying.

Help Us Move Mountains!

Matthew 17:20 b "If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you."

Matthew 18:20 "For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them."

Many families pray for us and other's when in small groups or churches. And the Lord hears us when we pray solo too.

Sometimes I wonder how much faith I have?

I know that together our faith adds up to more.

This week a couple blogs encouraged me. Both from large families who moved outside their comfort zones and adopted lots of children including those with special needs.

One reminded me that the Lord continues to work on our behalf even when we cannot see movement or progress.

He remains faithful. He is moving.

Praying earnestly for the mountains blocking the referral process and other steps in the Haiti adoption process to crumble into the sea so that children can be placed in loving families.

Praying that the delays mean that once the process starts up again it will move faster and smoother than in the past.

Even if we still wait for our referral would be hopeful to see other families getting referrals and moving though the system.

Prayer Requests

• Movement in referrals and other steps in the process
• IBESR staff to work hard, stay healthy, be careful/efficient  and have all the resources they need to complete their work well
• That our chart and the kid's charts do not get lost or have mistakes in them
• That our US agency finds the perfect person to be the International Adoption Coordinator
• That the creche our children are at will allow Eli and Anna to come on the bonding trip
• That the creche has all the staff and resources needed to take care of the children well so that they can thrive during the wait. 
• That the trip would work with our ministry schedule without delays
• For the Lord's will and timing.
• To defeat any of the Devil's plans for delays or derailments
• Patience, hope, faith and gratitude during the process.

Dispensation cases and need for new coordinator.

Lalow seed pod. 

Heads Up Old Law Families Without Dispensation Prior to New Law Taking Effect:

From IBESR:

"Gives notice, furthermore, that the Act of August 29, 2013 repealing the decree of April 4, 1974 puts an end to the presidential waiver authorizing adoption for prospective adoptive parents who already have biological children. Cases for which the presidential waiver was not solicited or granted as of November 15, 2013, are exempt from this formality, but will be processed in accordance with section 37, 36, 76, 78 of the Act of august 29, 2013;"

This sounds like the families who needed presidential dispensation when the office closed will be able to move out of IBESR soon. Keep praying as they wait for a letter and files to move to courts.

New law folks like us no longer need dispensation.

For our case we learned from our USA agency that our International Adoption Coordinator left her job and the position will now need to be filled. We pray that the Lord will put the perfect person in that job.

If we were looking to hire this person we'd be looking for someone with the following:

• A passion to help families unite in a timely fashion through international adoption.
• Willing to go a second mile to help families living overseas find the answers to unique questions due to their locations.
• Willing to occasionally work on weekends or nights when occasion warrants so that situations can be dealt with in a timely fashion.
• Willing to touch base once a month on families during the waiting process even if there's no new news or to update on Country adoption news.
• A praying person.

Today we talked to someone in the home office as requested by phone. A visit from staff to Haiti in April did not find out any new news. Our file remains fine. Nothing much for us to do until late January when our fingerprints will need renewal for the US government to update our I-600a.

Praying for movement across all the different levels of this process. Looking forward to getting our referral and learning names, faces, facts. Praying for patience, hope and peace.