Todd and Shelby returned from their trip last night safe, sound and exhausted! Shelby couldn't stop talking about the people, the orphans and the amazing things the group experienced. I'm shocked that Todd was able to get her back on the plane to come home! While there she was also able to meet Jaline and hold her. Though this was something she was looking forward to, she speaks somberly when talking about the visit. She was broken. I hear it in her voice and I see it in her eyes. We have all fallen crazy in love with this little girl and for Shelby to see her, hold her and not be able to take her was indeed a heartbreak.
On Thanksgiving while us Americans were enjoying some turkey and pumpkin pie, Todd was in a court in Haiti with our attorney, Jaline and Jaline's biological parents. They officially relinquished their parental rights to her and named us her legal guardians. Ah, but wouldn't it have been nice if that was the end and Todd turned around and brought her home? Sigh. It is not. While we are her legal guardians, the head of the current orphanage she is in still has to give us his permission to release her. Crazy, right? When I try to rationalize that, Todd looks at me and says, "That's Haiti." Which is why this process is so unpredictable and so long.
We are hoping to have her moved to a place next week that will adequately care for her physical and emotional needs until we are able to do that for her. We are waiting for our dossier to be stamped by the Haitian Consulate in Chicago then those documents will be sent to our attorney in Haiti. From what we are told, this is when the year long wait begins. After moving so quickly to get our dossier complete it seems rather odd to sit and wait! Again, we are praying that God will intervene in the process, defying all odds and bringing her home.
It really is incredible to be in the middle of something that God is moving for you. To wait in anticipation to see where He is moving next, yet having no idea where that is, is what I believe defines faith. We know that He has the power to move the right people into action, the power to provide for us financially and the healing power to restore a lost and broken little girl, but to wait for all that to unravel requires a patience that I often doubt I possess. The journey seems so very long right now. Discouragement creeps in and tries to eclipse the joy I have in being a part of this amazing journey. And then God swoops down, pulls me in and allows me to feel His presence and His provision once again. When I looked through my mail yesterday there was an envelope from a client of mine that I was expecting for payment on a cookie order. The amount she owed was $96. Inside the note was a folded check and a note that read, "We wanted to give you a little something to help in any way you needed for your little girl or the adoption." I unfolded the note and the amount on the check was $800. I was absolutely shocked! I do not even know this client very well, in fact I have only met her once. But God moved in her heart and brought this to me at a time when I needed to feel Him once again. A time where I needed a piece of the story unraveled.
It may seem trite, but I am incredibly thankful to live in a country that values freedom and democracy. That the founding fathers of my country sought independence and declared that, "all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness." Yet not everyone is given the opportunity to live in a country that respects these rights. We are rescuing a girl who, though she has life, lacks liberty and happiness, and we miraculously get to be a part of changing that. Indeed we are thankful for her and how she is changing our family.
Thanks again for being on this journey with us. I hope your Thanksgiving was time spent well with those you cherish.
~Samantha
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