It's Wednesday at 4:45 am.  I sit here in the Detroit airport, waiting to head off to Haiti for yet another trip. I decided Saturday afternoon that is was imperative that I take a trip this week. I will be in Haiti from today until next Tuesday night. Why?  Because our adoption has stalled yet again. Once again, our lawyer is failing to handle his responsibilities and move this process forward. It has been two years since we started this process and there is still no end in sight. We have seen staggered progress and then the inevitable delays. We are with our 2nd lawyer, because our first lawyer, who had been a great lawyer previously, stopped responding and working on moving our case forward. Our current lawyer owns the firm our first lawyer used to work for. We were about to switch attorneys this summer, yet our 2nd lawyer insisted that he wanted to finish the case and wouldn't give up our dossier. He made a little more progress but has stopped answering calls, stopped showing up for meetings, and hasn't submitted paperwork and schedule an appointment for me in Haitian court, that was supposed to be done a month ago. 

So, here I sit waiting for another flight. I am fortunate that I have six weeks in my contract that I can take for the adoption. Unfortunately, I have to miss a week of school to handle something that doesn't make any sense. Yet, we will continue to fight for our girls. The girls are two years older than the first time I met them. I am excited to see them and spend time with them, yet I already fear the bitter good bye that will inevitably come on Tuesday. The same painful good bye that has happened so many times before...The same good bye that doesn't make any sense to me and is so confusing to the girls...  

What's the best case scenario for this trip?
  
*I submit some necessary documents to the US embassy on Thursday morning. 

*I will fire our Haitian lawyer on Thursday afternoon at our 2:00 appointment. 

*Our lawyer will turn over our adoption paperwork to me, without it costing us a fortune. Yes,    he holds the cards and I will be operating in the world of Haiti. 

*I will meet with the new attorney we are planning to hire,  who is very highly recommended by a major Haitian adoption organization. 

*Our new lawyer will be able to set up an appointment at Parquet, which is the Haitian court that is the next step in the adoption process. It would be incredible if this could happen on this trip. 

*Finally, Shelby and I will spend some amazing time with Jaline and Marie Line. Yes, Shelby is joining me on this trip and she's excited to get to know her sisters. Her heart breaks for her sisters and she has deeply struggled to understand why this process is taking so long. Well, we have all deeply struggled to understand that...  

I've given you the best case scenario. I want you all to know what you can specifically pray for.  We are in a battle and nothing is certain on this trip. I'm headed down knowing I have to do whatever I can to speed this process up and bring our girls home. However, I know our lawyer has failed to show up for numerous meetings and he has refused to give up our case already. I will attend the meeting with a Haitian pastor that will speak on our behalf. I will sit and pray as they talk and inevitably argue in French. Unfortunately, I don't understand French. 

I know our updates have been infrequent, but there's often nothing to say. When nothing seems to move and all that wells up in you is frustration, sometimes it's better to say nothing. We still have to get past Parquet (a level of Haitian court that has a number of steps). Then we head to the Ministry of Interior, which has a number of steps also. Then it's on to the Haitian passport agency and lastly the US government has to issue passports and final approval. Yes, we still face a number of months and the reality that the 3rd Christmas will pass since we started this painful process.  

Yes, our girls are doing wonderfully. They are filled with joy and are in excellent health.  They go to Haitian school every morning and they look ridiculously cute in their new uniforms. I reflect upon the time I was carrying my emaciated three and a half year old daughter, Jaline, and she whispered in creole that she wanted to go to school.  She saw the older kids in their uniforms in class and wanted to join them. Well, now she's got her own uniform, her backpack, and her own books and she walks to school each day with her big sister.   They also have English class in the afternoon. 

It's amazing to see the transformation, yet it's also painful to see them grow and reflect on everything we've missed in their lives. I think of a friend of a family who sees a child for the first time in six months and comments on how much they've grown and changed.  When our own kids grow, we often don't notice how much they've changed.  Well, I am about to see how much our girls have grown and changed in the past six months. I'm a bit nervous and excited at the same time. 

Please lift up our trip in prayer. There's so much that needs to happen and so many obstacles that need to be overcome.  Thanks for coming alongside us in this journey. 

Todd

Below is a picture of the kids in their "u-nies".  Jaline is in the first row, second girl from the left in orange.  Marieline is in the first row, the second girl from the right in orange.  Jaline's smile says, "I've been waiting a long time for this!"  Priceless!

Chances for Children Students dressed and ready for school!