October 12, 2010
Dear friends and family,
Our family is about to change and we are all ecstatic to share the news with you. Below you will see three pictures of a very sweet little girl named Jaline (Jzha-leen). We have started the application process to adopt her into our family changing our family of five to a family of six!
The details:
Our church did a big drive last January on sponsoring kids living in poverty abroad. After the drive to sponsor the orphans, Shelby came home with a picture of a child. She came to us crying saying that we had to do something right now.! Her heart was completely broken, outraged at the injustice. When I told Shelby that our house was small she said, "but it's bigger than the hut they are living in!" That prompted many conversations between Todd, me and Shelby. We have always been sensitive to adoptions since there are three adopted kids in Todd's family. Since January, God has placed a growing burden on Todd's heart for the needs of orphans around the world, particularly after getting involved at Avondale with a fundraising campaign for Haiti. That burden has existed for many years, but he probably "needed his daughter to challenge him to have enough courage to act upon his convictions" -Todd's words:). He continued to have God tug at his heart through so many different ways. Through the six months leading up to our time at UPBC this summer, time and time again there were so many ways God continued to draw his heart closer to the plight of orphans. As he shared his thoughts I was right along side him, walking on the journey with him. We prayed that if God desired us to adopt that he would reveal a specific child to us, somewhere in this world. So, while we were moving towards this amazing change, we had no idea where this child was.
Until ....
Todd went on a trip to Haiti this August to study things for a future trip with students. Avondale High had raised $14K after the earthquake specifically to build homes or an orphanage in Haiti. It was an amazing trip for him and he was forever changed. The disparity between their lives and ours was almost too much for him to even take in. When he visited one of the orphanages, the eyes of a little girl broke his heart. (See Picture #1). He could not get this sweet nameless girl out of his mind. This picture are of her sad eyes because she had nothing to smile about, no hope whatsoever. She didn't talk, smile or show any signs of interest in anything. He had another opportunity to take a second trip to Haiti last weekend to fill in for someone who was going on a medical missions trip with a woman he knows. On that visit he found out that she lived in the mountains with her parents. About six months ago, they were unable to continue to care for her so they took her to this orphanage. She is 3 1/2 years old and only 15, yes 15 lbs. She is severely malnourished. There were pediatricians on the team that he was traveling with. They evaluated her and said there appeared to be no real medical issues other than that she was starving and malnourished. After some nurturing and FOOD AND DRINK she would begin to show signs of life. Though Todd did not see her smile, apparently she did the day after he left and Carrie (a worker at the mission Todd visited) took this picture. (Picture #2) She is in a "not so nice" orphanage right now, so the organization Todd was working with, Children's International Lifeline, would go get her with Todd, have her spend the day playing with her and feeding her and then returning her (tears) in the evening. Todd had to leave, incredible that he was actually able to leave, to return home.
So without making this email too too long, we knew this was the girl that God wanted in our family. She stole each one of our hearts. When we told the kids individually, they responded the same way, "Why can't we get her now?" But ... there is so much that needs to happen and big mountains are set before us that with take a LONG time to climb. (18 months or so!) The most immediate need is making sure her birth certificate is correct and to locate her parents to have them sign all legal rights (you think would be a given when you drop your child off at an orphanage!) Once those are found, then it establishes her legitimacy to actually be adopted. Todd is working with agencies here and people in Haiti to try and get things moving as quick as possible but the amount of red tape that tangles up the process is huge. Not to mention the Haitian government is not easy to work with. The expenses and fees will be huge, as most international adoptions are. In addition to those fees, we are imagining several trips to Haiti over the course of time.
So, if you would support us by praying for Jaline to join our family, we would love to know that she has an army praying for her.
1. Pray for immediate safety. The orphanage she is currently in is "not so nice", obviously when she is so malnourished.
2. Pray that the birth certificate and the "Extrait des Minutes du Greffe du Tribunal" (parental release) will be obtained quickly and be placed in the hands of people we trust, so we can proceed.
3. Pray that Todd and I, along with the people he trusts at Lifeline in Haiti, will make the best decisions for her while we are waiting to bring her home. (There are different possibilities, one is having the director release her so we can get her into an orphanage we trust. Lifeline does not have an orphanage, they provide food and medical relief to those in the area. But there are other possibilities too.)
4. That we can financially cover the needs as they present themselves and trust God to provide for what we cannot.
5. That we will be able to REALLY trust God to take care of things. That's easier said than done. As I told Todd today, I feel like I've gone skydiving in the dark. I know God has the parachute, but I can't see it.
6. Pray that God's awesome power will speed up the process in a way that contradicts everything we are being told. Pray that walls will be pushed aside, doors will be opened, and hands will move this process along in a manner that's unheard of. She needs a great deal of nourishment and love as soon as the Lord can bring her home to us.
We are well aware that the obstacles in front of us are huge. We are also aware that the reality of bringing her home is not guaranteed. But we will do everything we can to fight for her and rescue her from the depravity that envelopes her. We are confident that God will move the obstacles. I'm thinking if He can make the Grand Canyon, the Great Barrier Reef and all the stars in the sky, then this will be nothing for Him.
Picture #3 is about Hope. It's about a little girl in her daddy's arms, holding her securely so she knows he won't let go. But it doesn't stop there. The hope is also that one day Shelby, Spencer, Sophie and I will be able to hold her securely so she knows we will not let go. It's about a family and how creative God is in bringing us together.
We are excited to bring her home and tomorrow isn't soon enough. Of course we will keep you posted on any movement that occurs in this process.
Love,
Samantha and the rest of the Hendersons
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