Garrett Adoption Update - 10/31/07

Family and Friends,

Greetings from the Garretts! Our last update was three months ago, and at that time our paperwork had just been logged into step one (IBESR) with the Haitian government. We are pleased to report that we have now, as of Monday (10/29), entered step two, which is called Parquet. Our paperwork went through IBESR in almost exactly three months…maybe just under that by a few days. IBESR had been taking about 3 – 4 months at our last update from Haiti, so we are very pleased with the speed at which our papers made it through. As you may remember, steps are:

IBESR (social services)

Parquet (courts)

Ministry of Interior (passports)

Visa application

We are glad to tell you that things still seem to be moving along in Haiti fairly well for the most part. Dossiers (paperwork packages) are coming out of various parts of the process and moving on to the next. It’s never as quick as anyone would like, but movement is good. Good news: per an update posted on the GLA website October 26, 15 dossiers had come out of the Ministry of Interior (passports) in the ten days prior. The Ministry of Interior has hired two additional people to help process paperwork.

Much has happened in the last three months. First, as many of you know, I am no longer with Herman Miller due to a recent restructure. As strange as that has been, Matthew and I are seeing God’s hand in it, as we had been praying for a long time for God to show us a way to get more flexibility into my schedule before the baby comes home. He has opened several doors for me to do work on a contract basis, and we are very excited about that. I am currently working to get my LLC papers sent in and get everything else in place (business insurance, etc.) by the beginning of December. So, don’t feel bad for me – I’ve wanted to start my own business for years, and lo and behold, I now have the time to do it! The Lord cleared my schedule completely! I’ve also been able to take the time to help my folks move after selling the house they raised us girls in. Thirty years worth of life takes some help to move, don’t you know!

We are also happy to report that our brother-in-law, Mike Fritz (Valerie’s sister’s husband) has accepted a call by our church to come on board as the Associate Pastor, and will be moving back to Michigan in mid-December. We are very excited about this! Mike and LeAnn are very dear to us…a gift from God, really. It will be very special for us to have them local again around the time when Jude comes home.

Otherwise, we are well. For you faithful praying ones, please see below:

We praise God for:

*Mike and LeAnn’s pending move to Michigan (pray for their Pennsylvania house to sell!)

*contract work for Valerie

*good and helpful friends He’s given us; we have extra appreciation for them in the midst of the job loss

We pray for:

*officials in the Haitian government; they are scheduled to vote on a new set of adoption laws in November, which is supposed to clarify and streamline the process quite a lot

*our dossier in Parquet; while we are glad it’s moved to that step, Parquet has become a bit of a ‘black hole’. Only GLA’s attorneys are allowed to communicate with Parquet, and even that is limited. GLA is not allowed to go there to check on dossiers without an invitation, and dossiers aren’t getting out of Parquet very quickly. There are some dossiers that have been stuck in Parquet since April and May of this year. Please pray for these families, as well as praying that ours doesn’t become one of the ‘stuck’ ones.

*Dixie, John, and the staff of GLA, particularly in light of the Parquet issues. They cannot tell anyone where their dossier is in Parquet, and I am sure this frustrates all.

*Chris and Lea – these are two new staff members at GLA and they are the ones who send our monthly updates; please pray for them as they settle in and make the transition to Haitian life

On to the fun stuff – photos! We have attached a sampling of the photos we’ve received in the last three months. The first is a photo of Jude looking at a photo of us; this is first time he’s seen us. We sent that picture enclosed in the box that contained his birthday gift (the rubber duck pictured). And, as you’ll see from the September photo, apparently he likes the water. The staff said he could have stayed in there all day if they had allowed. Also, at our last update, Jude was 21 lbs. 3 oz, and 27.5” long. He’s now 22 lbs 4 oz., and 29.25” long. Enjoy the pictures, and thanks to you all for your prayers and support.

Matthew and Valerie

Garrett Adoption Update - 08/01/07

Family and Friends,

It seems that just after we send an update, we get more information...maybe I should send one every week! Just kidding – I wouldn’t do that to your inbox. However, we really do have new news to share.

First, shortly after we sent the update last week, our excellent caseworker called to let us know that our paperwork had (within the last two days) been entered at IBESR! This is great news. Although we thought this had happened several weeks earlier, and it now means that it could be February before Jude comes home, we’re still grateful to know where the paperwork is and we’re on board with God’s perfect timing for all of it. By the way, we’re still praying for Christmas!

Second, things seem to be “shaking loose” in the Haitian government with adoption paperwork, and this is a real encouragement. The day we sent the last update, an update was also posted on GLA’s website. You’ll remember that there are basically four steps to the process after all the paperwork has been compiled and those are: IBESR, Parquet (a two step portion of the process – Parquet then courts), Ministry of the Interior (passports), then Visa application. The posting on the website stated that in the week preceding our last message:

11 passports were released (that 1/3 of what had been stuck there for months)

5 dossiers completed their course in IBESR

3 children were able to go home with their forever families

4 more families were coming to pick up children within the week.

Another update was posted July 26 and stated that President Preval was displeased with all the adoption troubles and had put pressure on IBESR, Parquet, and MoI to get the glitches resolved quickly and get things moving again. Then, late on the 26^th an additional message was posted stating that 11 dossiers had moved out of civil court (a part of the Parquet portion of the process)! All of this is very encouraging.

Last, when we got home yesterday there was an update just for us. Lea and Chris are the couple who has just started at GLA and are responsible for paperwork and updates. Jude is now 21 lbs 3 oz, and 27.5” long. New photos were attached as well, with a promise for a more detailed update next time. God bless Lea! She’s only been there a few short weeks and Chris won’t be able to join her until September, and we are so thankful that she took the time to get an update for us. The new photos are attached. Thanks for your continued prayers. Happy Wednesday!

Matthew and Valerie

Garrett Adoption Update - 05/24/07 - Happy Birthday to Jude!

Family and Friends,

While we don’t have a green light to travel (and won’t have one for several months), we thought it was time for an update, as it has been two months since our last one. Much has happened since our last update. A flu virus has ravaged the entire country of Haiti. People were dying all over the country throughout the month of June. Our orphanage lost four babies and many staff members were out sick. With no place within the orphanage to quarantine the sick children, and not enough staff to help, the director had her hands full. Praise God “this too shall pass” – and it did.

We wish we had new photos to share, but since our last message we learned that the lady who did the updates has left the mission orphanage and a new couple has taken her place. They are still getting settled. Between the flu last month and the staff changes this month, we imagine things need time to settle down before we’ll get new photos of Jude, so we wait.

We have filled out paperwork for the James Fund grant, as mentioned in our last message. Please continue to pray that we would be awarded that, as it would be such a help to us.

Today is Jude’s first birthday. Last week we sent a rubber ducky to him as a birthday gift…the first thing we’ve sent to the orphanage. Now we are working on a small photo album that the orphanage director requests all the adoptive parents to send to the orphanage after their referral (match to a child) takes place.

We have had many ask us “What takes so long?!” So, we thought this would be a good time to give a few details. When we accepted Jude, his paperwork was coupled with ours and now has to make its long journey through the Haitian government offices. This is fairly complicated, but can basically be boiled down to a four-step process.

1. IBESR (Haitian Social Services) – paperwork needs four signatures – time: 3 – 5 months (has consistently been 3 lately)

2. Parquet (Haitian Court System) – paperwork needs two signatures which legalize the four signatures obtained in IBESR – time: 1 – 2 months

3. Passport Application – time: 4 – 6 weeks

4. Visa Application – 1 week

To our knowledge, our paperwork is still in step one, and likely will be through the summer. Currently, adoptions in Haiti, however are in much turmoil. Parquet seems to be challenging the authority of IBESR to approve adoptions, even though by law IBESR does have the authority. While most adoptions are still going though, this has precipitated much clearer legislation that will be voted on in Haiti in November of this year. The issue that is really pressing at this point is that the Minister of Interior (who has to approve passports) isn’t signing passport applications. Some have been in his office for over five months. Recently a delegation from the US and Canada traveled to see the MoI and the President of Haiti regarding this issue. The MoI agreed that the new process he put in place for passport processing is not working and that he needed to do something. He committed to personally looking into any passport applications that had been in his office for over a month and many adoptive parents were asked by our orphanage director to call Haiti to be sure their case we being looked at. Two days after that, a huge package of passports arrived at immigration. At the time of that update, it had not yet been verified whether those were for the adoptions in question or not.

It is our prayer that by the time our paperwork makes it out of IBESR most of these wrinkles will have been smoothed.

The other thing we’ve heard a lot, both in question form and statement form is “This must be so hard for you!” All we can say is that by God’s grace, we are doing just fine. We decided from the beginning that we would choose not to make ourselves crazy with the wondering. We would trust God and go about this knowing that this child doesn’t belong to us anyhow – he belongs to God. Certainly we have rare weak moments of longing for the child we love but cannot touch, but the reality is that Jude is in the hand of the Almighty God, and that’s the safest place to be. We go about “doing life” and practicing patience…learning how to let go well before the years will come when Jude’s age will require it!

There is something amazing about this journey. Adoption is as much a miracle to us as conception. The adoption world is a volatile one, full of quick changes, hurry-up-and-waits, hoping, longing, excitement, and opportunities for God to reveal his unending faithfulness and unwavering trustworthiness. As we look to Him daily, we can honestly say…it’s a good ride.

Thanks for your continued prayers,

Matthew and Valerie

Garrett Adoption Update - 05/24/07

Friends and Family –

This is the message we’ve been waiting to send!

We received a call on Monday afternoon with a referral from Haiti. Djouvens, born two months early on July 24, 2006, was brought to the orphanage we are working with two months later, on September 25, 2006 (our wedding anniversary). At that time he weighed just 5 lbs 6 oz. He was immediately placed on IV, as he was both malnourished and sick. He responded well, and as you will see from the attached photos, has had little trouble catching up – he has all the baby chub he needs, and more! At ten months, he is now around 17 pounds. He’s a bit small for his age, they say, but that’s to be expected. His progress has been very good – he’s nearly caught up – and we’re told by the orphanage director that he’s a happy baby who smiles a lot.

After receiving photos of him (throughout his time at the orphanage so that we could see his progress) on Monday afternoon, we received his medical translations on Wednesday morning. As we looked through his documents, we discovered that he was born at the Hospital Jude Anne in Port-au-Prince. Months ago we had chosen the name Jude as one of two boy names. After much prayer, and reviewing his medical translations with a doctor, we called our caseworker this morning. In reverence for a sovereign God, we gave her the official acceptance of this child as our son, to be called Jude Manson Garrett. Jude – for the New Testament leader: a clear, strong, and unashamed voice to God’s people. And we are proud to make his middle name Manson, for Matthew’s paternal grandfather.

It has been a strange week for me. Matthew has been clear and steady, as always, with “big shoulders” as they say. I, however, found it so strange and almost disconcerting that we actually had a choice in the future of this child…that we could choose whether he became ours or not seemed so odd to me even though we knew that decision was coming and is just a part of the process. Having worked through that and other turmoil, however, I am now caught up to my husband and my God, and with worship in my heart, am very excited to have a son.

The question of the hour: how soon can we bring him home? Well, it’ll be at least six months (although some of you are sure it will be shorter – pray!). We are hoping he’ll be home by Christmas. We are thankful that the orphanage will begin sending us monthly updates with new photos, his new weight and length, and development and eating news so that we can see him grow from afar. We’ll be sure to send those along to all of you, along with any news about our standing in the process.

There are some delays in the process within the Haitian government. I have attached a document from the orphanage director that details these delays, so that those of you who wish to partner in prayer with us will know what to pray for. In the meantime:

We praise God for:

• His unchanging character
• His faithfulness to us
• Jude!
• The GLA orphanage and its director and staff, for whom their work is a calling (not just a job)
• Our caseworker, Belinda, who is truly a gift. She sat with me for an hour and a half on Tuesday, just letting me “process” out loud.
• My sister-in-law, Laurie, who sent a very encouraging message to us this week. There was much content, but the end was just what I needed to hear: “…here for you both…no matter what you decide.” Thanks Loulabelle.
• Our mothers, who also helped me through the week

We pray for:

• Obstacles within the Haitian government. Please see attached.
• The James Fund – a grant our caseworker is recommending us for. Now that we have a referral, she is proceeding with the paperwork for the grant. It would be very helpful financially. It also would require us to share our adoption experience at Family Christian Store before groups of people, which we would be delighted to do.
• Jude’s continued development and health.
• Wisdom on the part of our orphanage director, as she considers petitioning the Haitian President over what’s happening with adoptions.

Thanks to you all for sharing this journey with us. It’s not over yet, and there is much to be done! Enjoy the photos. Be warned – you might want to pinch the cheeks. We wouldn’t want anyone breaking a finger as they hastily move their hands toward the computer screen!

Matthew and Valerie

Check out www.glahaiti.org

Garrett Adoption Update - 03/26/07

Praying Friends and Loved Ones,

I suppose I should start this message by telling you that we do not have a referral yet. Sorry to disappoint if you just tuned in hoping for a cute photo of our babe. We thought it would be good to send an update anyway, as we have many asking how things are going and if we have had any news. By the way – never avoid asking; it will always be okay. We’ve had some people express concern that it might be a sore thing to discuss if we haven’t any news to share. However, we expect people to ask how things are going; we know they will ask because they care, and we are happy to talk. Expecting otherwise would be unreasonable on our part.

As we wait, there is no lack of things to do to keep us busy and occupied. Life, as they say, goes on. In February we attended a workshop on African hair care (yes, Matthew went, too, and loved every moment of it even though he wasn’t brave enough to practice on the kind people who were trying to help us learn). It was a great workshop. It was really nice to have a forum with people of another race during which we could ask questions (that we knew were ignorant questions) and not worry about being offensive. They were there to teach us, and they knew that we were there with a heart to learn. We owe a debt of gratitude to them, as they have made themselves available to field our questions anytime in the future. On a lighter note, you can begin to feel sorry for our child now. I didn’t do so well at the hair thing. I’m not really much of a preen-before-the-mirror woman. I spend about ten minutes before the mirror – tops – every day; that includes cosmetics and hair. (Those of you who are snickering, thinking that I’m stating the obvious and that you could guess that about me the moment you met me…it’s okay – laugh it up. I’m good with it.) Anyhow, I’ll need to buy a baby doll to practice on. I wonder how many thirty-year-old women Toys-R-Us sees…buying for themselves!?

Earlier this month we attended an educational session through our adoption agency that was all about becoming a multicultural family. This, too, had very helpful content. There was a panel of adult adoptees who discussed the importance in their own lives of learning about their home country and talked about their individual experiences. They also talked a great deal about working through relinquishment, coming to terms with the fact that someone, somewhere gave them for adoption, whether by choice or not.

Other than the adoption education, we are both working (two jobs for Matt), serving at church, and I’m still teaching aquatics one or two times a week, depending on the week. We have joked that we need a child to slow us down. You parents who think we are crazy or stupid to say such a thing should know that we only say it facetiously. The only thing that makes us believe we are ready for parenthood is that we serve a God who can create beauty in our children from the ashes of our mistakes – and I’m sure there will be many.

Now, on to the issue of a referral: The week before last, our social worker copied us in on an email message to the Haiti contact in the corporate office of our agency requesting an update on our referral, as she thought we had been waiting for a long time. We have tried not to focus on the calendar, but as it turns out, this Friday will mark three and a half months of waiting time. Anyhow, we heard nothing last week. Today we received a message from her that had been forwarded from the Haiti contact. Expecting news of possible timing, below is what we read:

“It is really very hard for me to say how much longer for a proposal. The families that have asked for a child under the age of 12 months will likely have to wait longer for theirs, as the demand for infants is definitely the greatest. Unfortunately I can't tell you much more than that. I'm very sorry. I can tell you that we are starting to take more children in as we see the potential of a number of children leaving soon. We are in the process of collecting paperwork for these new children. Again, I apologize I can't give you more specific information.”

So, more waiting is in store for us. While this is difficult for us as an individual waiting couple, we praise God for kindling passion in His people for the orphans of Haiti, as that is the cause of the delay. It’s a beautiful thing to be part of His work. The Haitian orphanage/adoption workers at our mission orphanage have been overrun with families wanting to serve God by defending the cause of the fatherless (Psalm 82:3-4). So, tonight, we trust Him through tears, knowing that He knows what’s best for us. We remember daily that God’s plan and timing is perfect. He will give us a child when He wants us to have one. He knew before the foundations of the earth that here, now, in 2007, we would be waiting for a child. And tonight, we wonder where that child is, and we are on our knees. Hopefully, again, our next correspondence will include a picture of our babe to share. Thanks to you all for sharing with us this journey we call adoption.

Seeking God’s face,

Matthew and Valerie

Garrett Adoption Update - 01/06/07

Hi Friends!

We have just received great news from our social worker. It seems that the Haitian government has relented on their stringent rule changes for now, and we have been accepted by them! Below is a quote from an email sent to our social worker by the director of the orphanage we will be working with.

“We are telling families that at least one parent must be 28 years old, married at least 5 years and no more than 3 biological children for now. Exceptions, if they have 4 boys by birth and they want to adopt a girl or two, a situation like this, Haiti would probably let them.” -Dixie

This is truly the work of God. You see, there are some people in the Haitian government who believe that adoption is human trafficking. They, of course, have not had contact with any adoptees or the families who have adopted them, so they do not understand the blessed miracle of adoption. However, the orphanage director and her attorney worked hard to meet with the director of Haitian social services (IBESR) to discuss with her the reality that these new rules were not in the best interest of the many little ones who need forever families, and that many eligible families had to be turned away to other countries.

Apparently, the heart of the director of IBESR was changed as a result of that meeting. Our agency is now contacting some of the families that had to consider other countries. As for us – we forge ahead! We didn’t expect any news from Haiti until the end of this month, or possibly the end of February. Hopefully our next update will include news of a referral for a little son or daughter.

The most wonderful thing about this is that it’s so much bigger than we are. This isn’t about us. This isn’t about God giving us a child. This is about God Himself being a Father to the fatherless, caring for the orphan by ensuring that many will be welcomed into forever families. We simply have the privilege of watching Him work before our very eyes. So tonight we leave you with the beauty of the scriptures. In Psalm 10:14, the Psalmist says of God, “…You have been the helper of the orphan.” Isn’t it great that He still is, these many hundreds of years later?

Matthew and Valerie Garrett