Since so many are walking this journey with us, we thought you might like to see where Jude actually lives right now. God's Littlest Angels is a mission orphanage in Haiti, started by John and Dixie Bickel as a ministry to the people of Haiti. They were serving in Haiti at a hospital and were deeply touched by the high infant mortality rate in Haiti, and the very high rate of premature births (largely due to malnourishment). At GLA (started in 1994) they rehabilitate some tiny little skin-and-bone babies so that they can then go back to their families; many others are placed for adoption.
For the story of GLA's beginnings: http://www.glahaiti.org/who_we_are
For before/after photos of children: http://www.glahaiti.org/photos/before_after_photos
For the latest adoption news posted by Dixie: http://www.glahaiti.org/adoption_news
Here are some pictures of GLA's current facilities...
GLA is currently raising money to build a new orphanage. With 150 children, lots of staff, director living quarters for the Bickels, and quarters for adoptive families to stay when they come to get their children, space is at a premium. Oh - and we mustn't forget an office where staff works through all the adoption paperwork! Rent is also expensive, and water must be trucked at additional costs each week. Below is a link to an architectural rendering of the new orphanage. Land had been purchased, and building is next! http://www.glahaiti.org/orphanage_building_plans
So, what is daily life like at the orphanage? Well, we won't know for sure until we get there, but why don't you just imagine diapers for eighty children, and laundry and feeding for 150! Oh - and check out the pictures below.
As for Haiti itself, we'll find out firsthand of course when we go, but as we see from here, it's beauty and squalor, culture and weariness...and need. The people are desperately poor, with nearly two thirds without official employment. Average income statistics have been stated in different places at between $377 and $450 per year. That's a month's groceries for many of us. There is little clean water; children die daily. Ministries like GLA set out to change this, one life at a time.
We can't take credit for these great photos. Some came from the GLA website, and some came from a page we found on-line: http://trentrollings.spaces.live.com/photos/This young man has been to Haiti and GLA twice. If you're interested, you'll find his website is rich with photos and video: http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=9202285894695593340
If anyone wants more information about Haiti, we have it...we put together some research to help our niece write a report for school. We'll be glad to send along what we found. Just post a comment to that end, and we'll pass it on to you.
Recently, one of our pastors asked us to study Isaiah 40 together as a couple. We were struck by verse eleven and its relevance to our lives right now: "Like a shepherd He will tend His flock, In His arm He will gather the lambs and carry them in His bosom; He will gently lead the nursing ewes." That's the God we serve. He tends, gathers, carries, and gently leads. He is so tender toward us. It's funny...sometimes I think how silly we must look to Him as he watches our futile efforts to live in our own wisdom, and yet time and again, He choses to respond to us by tending, gathering, carrying, and gently leading.
Another take-away from Isaiah 40 comes from verses 28 and 29 and 31. "The Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth Does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable. He gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might He increases power." "Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary." Those are great words for anyone embarking on a long journey, whether it's adoption or something else. We have at our disposal an endless source of strength, Who understands us and our challenges far better than we can ever hope to understand ourselves. That's our God.
He is the God who "vindicates the orphan and the oppressed" (Psalm 10:18). He is the God we serve.
We have been on the adoption journey since August, 2006, when we first contacted Bethany Christian Services. Along the way, although we've had our "weak moments", by-and-large we've trusted God for His timing. In the last year, we've heard all sorts of comments - from hostile to hilarious - from skin color to child-rearing - from friendly needling to the most "un"-helpful things to wonderful words of wisdom. We know it's only the beginning, and our Lord has heard it all right along with us, and watched as we've responded, and consoled as we have hurt, and smiled as we have looked to Him, and taught us much!
We've had so many random thoughts through these last many months. For example, my mother is known for being outside after dark just to pull a few more weeds, or water a few more plants. This past summer I found myself glancing at the setting sun as I fervently pulled weeds, getting the unmistakable sense that I was burning daylight and almost out of it, and I just might not get all the flower beds cleaned out like I'd hoped. I began to wonder...will my children love the garden? Do I do what I do because I've spent thirty years watching my mother do it, or because my mother's genes are woven into the fabric of my own being? I suppose it's both. I've heard strong opinions from both perspectives. My thoughts: My son is my son...no matter who he "takes after". God has called us to obedience, regardless, and that's where we find blessing. Who he's like...does it really matter? We think not.
There are things about adoption that no one says out loud...like you might not respond the way you think you will the first time you see your child. It might scare you when it becomes that real. Instead of seeing him and "knowing he's yours" you just might see him and think "oh my...it's real now - I hope we're doing the right thing." But that's just another one of the joys, and through it, you know yourself better, you learn God better (if you're listening) and you look forward to what else He has in store.
On a lighter - and funnier - note, my most recent "comment of the week" was from a dear-hearted well-intentioned elderly woman who, upon hearing that we were still waiting for the passport application to be submitted said, "Well gee...he's gonna be walking and talking and all grown up by the time you get him!" Super...that helps the wait! Thanks for the input! We smile at the contributions of the well-intentioned, and once we get over the ouch we usually laugh!
All - we just got word that GLA applied for Jude's passport today! Praise God for His goodness! We are very excited. The two-week process for the legalization signature took two and a half weeks for us. It is what it is, and we are not into the next step. In the meantime, baby keeps growing...funny - that's how things work. We are praying to have him home by his second birthday which is on July 24th. We have passports and Visa to get through, and including the "sub-steps", here's what needs to happen:
- Passports
- Minister of Interior (this is the bulk of the passport time, where the paperwork is studied and approved)
- Passport printing
- While we're waiting for the above, we have to submit an I-600 (another piece of immigration documentation - this one requests to have Jude considered our immediate relative in the US now that he is legally ours in Haiti)
- Paperwork review (spelling errors are common in Haiti, so after the passport is complete, GLA has to go through all documentation to have any needed corrections made.)
- US Visa
- Upon approval of the afore-mentioned I-600 (which will have already been done), the US Consulate in Haiti will complete an orphan investigation for Jude which will include the following:
- an interview with Jude's birth mother
- a medical exam of Jude by a US approved doctor in Haiti
- GLA will complete another piece of paperwork (called a DS-230) and attach it to Jude's Visa application, and submit it to the US Consulate. They generally hear back within 1 - 2 weeks.
- Travel!
- After GLA hears from the US Consulate, they can schedule a Visa appointment and give us travel dates!
To have Jude home for his birthday, we must be out of passports in under three months. God can do that! Join us in prayer. For now, we are thanking God that in Haiti, at least, Jude is legally ours. How great is that?!
Today we received a precious new update from GLA about Jude. First, they expect his paperwork to be out of legalization any day now, and they'll be able to apply for his passport at that point. So, this month's update featured the passport photo they took of him. As you can see, it's not just adults that have to live with passport "mug-shots". Even the cutest among us have passports that don't show us in our best light! Poor little guy...kind of looks like he just woke up.
Second, part of our adoption paperwork from GLA asks that we send a photo album to our child (regardless of how young they are) as soon as we can. So, we sent ours to Jude a few weeks ago and when it arrived they photographed him looking through it. It contained photos of us, his new home, his aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, and pastors...all important people in our lives, who will also be important people in his life. We are told that after a short time of looking through the book, he started "talking" to it.
We feel so blessed. Before we accepted Jude, someone else got him as a referral and they said no because he was born premature. We are so happy that God planned for him to be ours!
We just got word that Jude's paperwork moved into legalization on Friday! This is the last step needed before the application for his passport is filed. Legalization generally takes two weeks, so he should be in passports (with the office of the Minister of the Interior) by the end of March. Join us in praise to God!
We're so excited for the day when we can all be in the same photo!
It has come to our attention that our last post (in combination with the new 'Donate' button) was not very clear, so we'd like to share with you some details regarding the request for help that was part of that post. Please note that this isn't meant to illicit sympathy; we just want to be transparent about the realities of why we've placed the 'donate' button on the site and what it's for.
We started this process at the end of 2006 with an income more than twice what it is today. In the fall, immediately on discovering the coming change in income, I went to see our caseworker to ask how it would affect our adoption. It does not change our adoption. The Haitian government has not stopped the paperwork; it's still moving through the process. With that said, we do still have about $11,000 in outstanding costs, and we'll need about $1,500 to travel (we think in June at the earliest now). We do not currently have this money.
Our first priority is to raise the money for travel. This is why we placed the donate button on the blog. Donations made through the blog go directly into a PayPal account we have set up specifically for this purpose. Anything above $1,500 will go toward the larger costs.
We have applied for two grants, and won't hear "rulings" from either of them until late April or May. The challenge we face with both of these grants is that the tax return information they are looking at does not reflect our current situation. While we anticipate some help from them, we're anticipating that it will likely be on the lower end of their ranges. Additionally, as part of our application with one of them, they want to know what we're doing to raise the money we need; if they're going to give us money, they want to know that we're making an effort as well. Their first suggestion is to ask family and friends, so asking you to help us is one of the main things we're doing to that end.
Even with all of that, we don't think adoption is financially impossible! It's a step of faith. You can't get help until you've already initiated an adoption. There's a lot of help out there through individuals, grants, and tax credits. However, it's only through individuals that we can raise money for the travel costs we need.
God is big. He will provide the money we need, whether it be through you as individuals, through more work for us, or through some other means. He will provide it and we trust Him to do that. He expects us to take responsibility, however, for the part we can have, and that is what we are trying to do by asking for help.
PS - If you prefer donating through our agency, please send your donation (marked "Garrett Adoption") to:
Bethany Christian Services
ATTN: Belinda Geertsma
12048 James Street
Holland, MI 49424
Belinda is our caseworker and has previously expressed her willingness to take donations for us, but advised that those monies would go directly toward the larger amount and not for our travel.
I have been negligent in updating! We have many photos to share, as GLA has been sending our monthly updates as usual. First, here to your right is a belated Merry Christmas from Jude.
Oh - and since it's been so long, Happy
New Year and Happy Valentine's Day from Jude as well. I must admit, I was a little taken aback at the pool photo because we got that update during one of our recent snow storms...and then I remembered how far away this little one is! They get to do that in Haiti...you know - swim in January.
Well, we've made it through the court system in Haiti, and are
now just waiting for a couple more signatures before Jude's passport is applied for. We should be about done with the first of those two signatures, so we're hoping to have his passport application in to the Minister of the Interior by the end of this month.
We had news previously that passports were taking three to six months. They just were moving out of the MoI desperately slowly. However, we have heard word that three months is getting more and more realistic, and the GLA website continues to post updates that are positive in this area. Passports are coming out of MoI steadily now - Praise the Lord! At this point, we expect to go to Haiti in the summer. As always, we hope for earlier and expect later. That's just the way it works.
In the meantime, life goes on here in Michigan. Valerie has continued with her business, and while it's going well, she could use a bit more work. However, she loves being in business for herself! Matthew's workplace is experiencing some change and he's considering returning to school for a business degree.
Frankly, the winter has really nailed our pocketbooks. We've spent our Haiti travel money on our propane bills...ugh! You know, when you build a house and you have propane, the propane company comes and sets up a big "pig" in your yard...that's what they call the tank. Well, this winter it certainly has lived up to its name! We've used our fireplace quite a lot, and have enjoyed many cozy days because of it, but that pig just keeps eating.
We are trusting God to replace that money, and are doing what we can in the meantime, so if you feel moved to help bring Jude home, please click on the button to the left and make a donation! All monies collected will go directly toward his adoption costs.
We must say that we have been so blessed by knowing how many of you have been praying for us. Know that we do not take this for granted in the least. It's such a joy to know that we have so many interceding for us and for Jude. So, for you prayer warriors, please join us in the following...
We praise God for:
- His continued provision financially as Valerie's business is so new
- More people who want to hear our updates!
- The adoption process is moving along again
- Jude is healthy and happy
We pray that:
- God would help us to raise the money we need to travel to Haiti and to finish paying for our adoption costs
- We would be awarded two grants that we've applied for to help with the above (one is from Shaohannah's Hope, and the other is from The Gift of Adoption Fund)
- God would give us wisdom as we consider where Matt should go to school and whether or not to sell our house
- Valerie's business would grow
- Passports would continue to move quicker and quicker out of the Minister of Interior's office
Thanks for reading! Until next time, enjoy these last few photos...does this look like a kid who's loving life or what?!
Matthew and Valerie
