Jude's April Update - 04/29/08

We have new pictures, and news of what God is doing for GLA. We just love sharing this with all of you!

Yesterday we got an update on Jude. He's begun to walk very short distances between people and things, and stands strong on his own now with great confidence. He's also getting more vocal. In addition to "Mwem, mwem!" (me, me!), he now says uh-oh and bye-bye in the appropriate contexts and continually tests his voice with the volunteers and orphanage workers.

It seems that our baby is beginning to finally grow into a toddler, and while it is bittersweet for us as we must watch from afar, we are so grateful to God for the people he's put in Jude's life to help him grow and thrive as he should. Loving our son is their offering of worship to the God they love and serve, and we are thankful He called them to this mission in Haiti.

We also got news in the update of what the Lord has done for the orphanage in the midst of the chaos (rioting, etc.) in recent weeks throughout Haiti:

"Because of the problems downtown and the road blockages, we began to run low on supplies such as cooking propane and water. Just as our supplies had run out, we were blessed with successive miracles from His Grace: six water trucks, a large diesel shipment, and a fresh supply of propane. Each thing we thought we may run out of was suddenly replenished. These are continued examples of how we know that the work we are doing here is blessed by Him! Thank you all for your prayers during this time, as they lifted us up, and supplied our needs."

God is a God of miracles, and He cares for the hurting here and abroad. He meets the true seeker where he or she is and He supplies the needs of His children as they live in obedience to His will. He causes the rain to fall on the righteous and the wicked alike, and He provides His word as a salve to our hearts and a motivator to our hands and feet. He is good. Regardless of the time it takes to get this child home, we will stand firm in the knowledge that God is good and His timing is perfect and exactly what He knows we need.

We still must report that we are yet in the passport phase with the Minister of Interior. If he abides by his word to process passports more quickly (in one month), we should get word of Jude's passport completion any day. If he does not, the passport will not be complete for another couple of months.

This Friday we go to our local immigration office to be fingerprinted again...I still think it's funny that fingerprints expire.

Please join us in prayer this week. We thank God for:

• Immigration returning our re-fingerprinting check due to a new policy that states that one re-fingerprinting appointment shall be free of charge - what a blessing!
• The people described in this link (take a quick peek to put a face on those who are serving our son and our God): GLA staff
• More work for Valerie - what a blessing from the Lord!
• Belinda (our caseworker) and BCS (our agency) - we went last weekend to a session on fostering attachment and bonding with adopted children - it was enjoyable and helpful, and these folks gave up their Saturday to put this on for us and several other families
• Our parents, who are interested enough and supportive enough in what we're doing and who love our son enough already to give up their own Saturday to come with us to the above - what fun it was to have them along!

And we pray for:

• MoI and the passport processing in Haiti
• The orphanage workers in Haiti
• The masses of people in Haiti in utter and complete poverty; their needs are deep and staggering

Thanks so much for joining us in prayer. Now, on to the new pictures - enjoy the cuteness!



(Hmmm...already getting into things - yikes!

Update on the Situation in Haiti - 4/15/08

There has been word from the orphanage that things are indeed settling down in Haiti. The orphanage workers are able to move about again, government offices are open again, and adoptions are moving along. This is good news.

We continue to keep the country in our prayers. They are literally a starving country, with deep-seated economic and political problems. Last weekend the prime minister was ousted, and there have been reports of people in some of the slums eating "mud cookies" (dirt mixed with butter) to keep from starving to death.

There are parts of the world experiencing pain we cannot even imagine. The people of Haiti have been made in the likeness and image of God, just as all people. They are in deep need of compassion, aid, and sustainable infrastructure. Band-aids will not fix the woes of Haiti and its people. They need the hope of the true gospel, and the live sustaining blessing of an economy that can support its people.

Happenings in Haiti - 04/14/08

Please pray for the people of Haiti. Food, which is scarce to begin with, has skyrocketed from a price standpoint. GLA (the orphanage where Jude is) has experienced more than a 33% increase in the food costs for the children. In addition, gasoline last week was at $5.93 USD. There was rioting and looting in the cities. This didn't reach GLA in the mountains, but the high cost of fuel and the roadblocks placed to try to control the rioting have affected propane and water trucks getting to the orphanage. Last week, they ran out of propane and had to "get creative" to feed the children, as it's propane that fuels their stoves. As of Friday 4/11, GLA was out of water, but it seemed that things were calming and people were able to move around again. Roadblocks had begun to be cleaned up, but not enough for the large water trucks to pass. Please pray for the safety of the children and workers, and that things will indeed settle down this week.

Incidentally, this has affected adoptions in that the government offices had to close down for safety during the worst of the rioting last week. Demonstrators broke through the gates of the Civil Court and the Palace. They called for the resignation of the Prime Minister. The workers at GLA tried to take paperwork to the courts, and the clerk told them not to come. Courts, passports, visas...all on hold as of last week. Please pray that things will open again.

Hungry mob attacks Haiti palace
Haitian rioters storm presidential palace

More News - 04-08-08

Well this is wild. We got word today as we confirmed all the documents we needed to send with our I-600, that US immigration has a new person in the Detroit office and has been taking longer than normal with I-600 processing. What does this mean?

Well, the I-600 is what Haiti needs to complete what they call an orphan investigation. Normally it's done while waiting for the passport to be processed. However, if the Minister of Interior does indeed begin processing passports in one month as promised, we could be waiting on our own government next!

Add this to your prayers for us. Thanks to all; happy Tuesday!

-Matthew and Valerie

Developments - Please Join us in Prayer - 04/06/08

We've just been on the GLA website and saw an encouraging update. Apparently there was a meeting last Thursday (4/3) that included the Minister of the Interior, the Director of Immigration, and all the orphanage directors in the country. It is the MoI that approves passports, and they have been taking a very long time this past year. Currently they stand at around three months, and this is good compared to the time they have been taking.

The Minister was questioned by one of the other officials regarding why passports are taking so long. He responded that he was not aware of the problem and agreed that there was no reason for the delay. At the passport stage, there is no reason to re-evaluate all the papers. They should simply be signed, as at that point the adoption is already legally complete. The attorney for the MoI was told that unless there are problems with the paperwork, passports are to be approved within one month of going into MoI. It was agreed upon.

Also - developments on the grant front: We were contacted this week by the Gift of Adoption Fund, and were told that they have tentatively planned to bring our application before the grant committee in the month of April! Getting this grant would be a huge blessing! We're also considering a "baby bottle drive" as a way to raise funds. There are orphanages that need cleft palette bottles, and we are considering buying a box, placing the bottles in various locations so people can fill them with change for Jude's adoption, then sterilizing the bottles and donating those an orphanage that needs them. Let us know if you think this is a good idea - post a comment; we'd love to hear feedback ahead of time.

Please join us in prayer for the following:

• That MoI would abide by their commitment (this means Jude's passport could be done by the end of April instead of the end of June!)
• That we would be awarded a Gift of Adoption Fund grant in the month of April

If MoI abides by their commitment and Visa applications also get a bit quicker, it is possible that God could work to have us travel at the very end of May or very early June. As always, we hope for the best and prepare for the worst. Adoption is a moving target!

I-600 - 04/02/08

You might remember that in our post "We're In Passports! 03/28/08" that we mentioned the I-600 that we have to fill out while we're waiting for the passport papers to be processed. Well, a group of documents has to accompany it, and we got those documents today so we'll be submitting the I-600 in the next day or so. The approval of this document will allow the orphan investigation to be completed in Haiti so that Jude's Visa can be applied for when his passport is done.

What we didn't know is that those documents that we received would be Jude's Authorization of Adoption, Adoption Certificate, Birth Certificate, and Relinquishment Papers, all with their English translations. We were blessed to see that his legal name in Haiti is now Djouvens Derise Garrett. How about that!

With that said, it was bittersweet to read the documents. Things are so sadly different in Haiti. Jude's birth certificate wasn't created until October 10, even though he was born on July 24. No excited family waiting at the hospital for the joyous arrival of a new addition. Just a scared impoverished mother in the middle of the night bearing a child she would be unable to provide for. There were two witnesses with her at the creation of the birth certificate, and the certificate states "we signed it with the person appearing (Jude's birth mother) and without the witnesses. They did not know how." I cannot imagine not knowing how to write my own name...

The excerpt from the Relinquishment: "She declared to us that she is entrusting and giving her minor son unconditionally and irrevocably to the nursery 'God's Littlest Angels', run my Mrs. Dixie Bickel, who will place her above mentioned son for adoption either abroad or in Haiti, to be adopted by any couple who wishes to do so, conforming with the decree of April 4, 1974 concerning adoptions. Then she requested that we record her declaration. She was requested to sign. She did."

We have a photo of Jude's mother, whose name we choose to protect. She is lovely, slender and tall with high cheekbones and wide eyes, which Jude got from her. As I read this I see her signing, in my mind's eye, and I hurt for her. She will miss the joy that we will experience for the rest of our lives. She hasn't seen the smiles on the face of the chubby child we have come to know through monthly updates and photographs. She has given up a part of herself, so that he could become a part of us. Adoption is a bittersweet miracle.