What a trip!

December 22, 2012

Gideon's 7th birthday

 

Wow! What a trip we had. We travelled for @ 24 hours to arrive in Haiti. The airport was hot and more primitave but not as scary as I thought it was going to be. We were picked up by the man we were told would be there and off we went in an unairconditioned Ford Bronco. The drive is about 40 miles. It took us 1 hr and 30 min to drive it. I was in awe of what I saw. I saw everything you see in the pictures, the garbage, the small plastic covered boxes families live in, really skinny dogs, people selling all kinds of things. I also saw beautiful people. They were all beautiful in their own way. It was hard to see but I loved that I was there and tried to take in every sight to not forget it.

As we pulled up to the orphanage I tried to take in everything around the concrete wall. I wouldn't see outside of these walls again for 5 days. As we drove in the gate their were many children all around. I saw Gideon right away. I was scared for this moment when I would first see my boy but once I was there it wasn't scary anymore. It was natural. It was beautiful. I hugged him. I looked at him. I said "Hello Gideon" and touched him gently, "I am so happy to see you." The children immediately took all of our bags. They would not let us carry any of them. They took them to where we were sleeping. It was a bunk room with screens for windows and no electricity. A board came down to lock the door. It was great. In the past people slept in tents so this was fine.

Driving up- Gideon in red

The boys taking our luggage

 

We spent the next five days seeing how our Gideon lived. The food was plentiful. It was different then what we are used to but it was good. It was hot. You wanted to sit and get away from the heat but there really wasn't anywhere to do that. You just had to sit still in the shade. We got used to it but really enjoyed our nightly shower in the cool water.

Calvin reading to the boys

 

The kids gathered each night and sang worship songs and then a good night song. Then they would gather in their bunk room while someone read a story. Gideon had over 15 boys in his big room but he got to be with us while we were there.

Gideon was great. It was easy to see him fitting into our family and running around our house. He is generous, he is caring and thoughtful, he is smart, he is fluent in english which made things really easy. He was translating for us when others would say things. He loved playing games and watching movies. He loved being silly and laughing and smiling. He called Calvin "Coalvin" and water "Rotter" and lunch "lunsh", because of his accent. Calvin and I repeat those words often just like Gideon was with us.

It was hard to leave. I really don't know when we will go back. It was not an easy journey, physically, mentally or financially. What do you say when you say goodbye? I told him Haiti will tell us when we can bring him home. I told him we would take him right now if we could. Does a 6 year old understand that? I walked him back to his bunk with all the other boys. Those boys were so precious. They all clung to us all week. They were all asleep now except for Gideon who curled back up on his bunk with everything we gave him in an envelope and a bag. He knew as I did that one or two of the other boys would be taking a lot of it from him once they woke up and we were gone. We cried but it is as it is right now. I left knowing I would see him again, knowing God orchestrated every moment of this, knowing God is good and he loves this little boy so much. He has a plan and a purpose for this little boy and He is allowing us to be a part. Thank you Lord. Thank you Lord that you did not allow me to sit back and be comfortable in our easy life. This life is not about being comfortable. You give us life to the full. Life to the full is not a comfortable life.

We wait now and pray. We pray that Gideon feels Gods presence. That he always knows God has a plan and purpose for him, that he will walk in peace through the waiting. We pray that God would move our paperwork through the Haitian adoption process quickly. We received the birth certificate we had been praying for. We are now waiting for 4 signatures and then it will go to the President of Haiti to sign. These steps can take months. After these steps are many more steps. We are expecting to be waiting for more then a year for the Haitian side of the process and then it will take many months for the US to do what they need to do for us to bring Gideon home. In the mean time all of the paperwork we have done to this point will expire and we will have to have it redone as each expiration date passes.

 

As crazy and complicated as it sounds I wouldn't change a moment of it. I listened to a broadcast on Focus on the Family. It was a couple who had been married and them divorced, found the Lord right after the divorce and then were remarried 7 years later. The woman said she didn't know why the Lord waited 7 years to bring them back together but she reflected on how she was taught new things by Him each year. She said, "If we would have remarried at year 3 I would have missed out on all I learned year 4-7". I wonder how much better her life is with her husband now because they got remarried at year 7 versus year 3? I want to learn more. I want to be exactly where God wants me when our son comes home!