in the BOX

A couple weeks ago i was feeling really down about things and situations. I was feeling just plain misunderstood. I don't mean that it's always a bad thing. For the most part i don't care if people get me! =) People just tend to assume what it is i am thinking or what my motivation is for some of the things that i do.

When i talk about feelings, future plans, or desires... here in the states i am often bombarded with "how?" "what?" "but..." etc. Maybe it's human nature to try and fit someone else's thoughts into our own little box. But what gets to me is why some people have such a small box. LOL.

Now this is another perfect example of needing grace. I give parents the most grace bc i know they are being "parental" and worry about my well-being. And i know that generally most people i know do just care. But what would be nice is that support... that positive "Go do what your heart desires and what God calls you to do." "i am HAPPY for you." and "I support you." It's really just a positive spirit. I hope that i convey that to other people too.

A friend told me tonight that i was one of the most intelligent people he knew. Boy do i have him fooled. LOL. But really, i think it's a combination of learning from others, getting out of your bubble, reevaluating yourself, being HONEST, and most importantly, prayer. You know the more you learn, the more you realize you do not know.

As i sit here and think about all of the amazing things i have seen, heard, accomplished, lived, and learned, i feel like i could write a book. I could write a travelogue, or a tortured soul romantic novel, or a cookbook ;), or a "letter to my daughters" sequel to Maya Angelou's. More to come....

Inshallah

I read something today in Tom Davis' book Scared that really stuck with me... A young girl in Swaziland remembers part of an English poem called Tears by Elizabeth Barrett Browning.

Those tears will run

Soon in long rivers down the lifted face,

And leave the vision clear for stars and sun.

I wrote this a couple years ago, but i still feel much the same way.

Inshallah

another year passes, ça va, ça va
a good year that only gets better
inshallah

you think this is about you mon ami
its not
rest assured its bigger than you OR me
your words are strong in their own way
i remember
its not everyday sunday
inshallah

i am free as a bird, yet trapped in this heat
moving in circles, bel far niente
yet still waiting, hoping for a heartbeat
your heart IS my heart
your hand IS my hand
your swag IS my swag
the LORD is my all…
my mother, my father, my brother, sister, lover, neighbor
HE will tell me when the time is right
nos vemos algun día
inshallah

my heart warms, beats fast, skips around
mi pena me hace fuerte
mis recuerdos keep me firm on the ground
i am supafly and confident
yet i am nothing compared to you
i am nothing if not passionate
the music plays and the sun goes down
i lean towards you
can you feel that?
inshallah

i love both quietly and loudly – but ALWAYS hard
another year passes, i am so very blessed
i can't wait till sunday
inshallah

•·.·´¯`·...@

Lizards

We are settled in for another visit. This time staying at the Habitation Hatt not far from the airport. Most all of the kids have a colds since the rainstorms last week. We were both up with our coughs most of the night, but it's still better than the bad sinus infection he had last time. My friend Ashley, who was on this trip to Uganda with me, is here too.

So yesterday evening when Chris brought him to the hotel we were in the lobby playing and he obviously didn't want his little shoes on so i helped him take them off. Something fell out of the second one and it looked like a piece of trash. I picked it up by what ended up being the tail of a tiny lizard and quickly dropped it back to the floor and pushed it out of Isaac's reach. Ashley and i just exchanged looks, like "did he really just have a baby gecko in his shoe?" LOL

Adoption Steps

This can be very confusing and I don't understand it all myself, but this is to clarify some of your questions :)

It certainly doesn't help that Haiti is constantly changing how adoptions will be handled and ways of locating children and different orphanages may vary just a bit. However, maybe this can be a general guideline as to what the process currently is:

Step 1: Gathering your dossier and sending it off to Haiti
Step 2: Orphanage puts together dossier for your child or children
Step 3: Your dossiers go to Minister of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), 1st legal - This is where my papers are authenticated in Haiti (2-4 weeks)Step 4: Your dossier is submitted to IBESR, Haiti's Social Services Department - This is four stages of approval (3-6 months)
Step 5: Once your dossier is approved by IBESR you enter Parquet (1-3 months)
Step 6: Enter Civil Court Legalization, 2nd Legal- This is where your child or children legally become yours in Haiti! (1-2 months)
Step 7: Application for the child's Haitian Passport which starts at Ministry Of Interior (MOI) and then to Passports for printing (1-3 months)
Step 8: While the passport application is in the works your I-600 (your I-600A should have already been done during your wait) should be completed and approved.
Step 9: Visa application is filed and adoptive parents appointment in Haiti to receive the visa is scheduled. (1 week lead time)

Congratulations, It's time to bring home your child!!!

Very rough and oversimplified, but it always helps me to have a list :) I believe I'm in Step 3. Also, my I600 was processed and approved. I receive the form I-171H. This form means I am pre-approved by the USCIS (US Citizenship and Immigration Services) to adopt from Haiti!

POLLO A LA CARTA

This was forwarded to me by my friend Katy in Santiago, Chile. True story, short film of hunger and poverty in the Philippines.

Gracias amiga. TQM.

Esta pelicula fue la ganadora en un festival de cine en Alemania...dura 6 minutos, no duden en verla hasta el final! Los comentarios se los reserva cada uno. Simplemente se pide reflexión....

Reflexionemos al respecto y tomemos conciencia no duden en verlo hasta el final

Dale click al enlace que está a continuación...

Click aqui / Click here

this makes me so happy...

Orphan: The Film

The new movie Orphan, as many of you may have seen the previews for, is now out in theaters. A movie is just that... a story, but it is sad when Hollywood portrays the villain as none other than a 9-year old orphaned girl. I'm not a fan of horror flicks anyway, but this endorsed stereotype of orphans being anything other than children who no longer have families to care for them is sad and at the very least unsettling, especially if you saw the preview.

July 24th marks the release of Orphan, or as the Washington Post referred to it, a:

"depraved, worthless piece of filth...a high-gloss horror show about a well-meaning couple who bring home a 9-year-old girl to join their family, only to discover, way too late, that she's a homicidal psychopath."

Tom Davis, defends the cause for orphans and talks about it here.

And many other articles have been published: example

If you want horror stories about orphans there are many stories concerning the circumstances of the 150 million orphans in this world that will tear your heart out.

Warner Bros. new horror movie Orphan proclaims that it must be hard to love an adopted child as much as your own. Let me tell you about how an orphan changed my life...

I have quite a few moving experiences with orphans. The situation first made itself known to me as a teenager when I traveled to Mexico for mission trips. But in the last 5 years I have seen and heard so much more.

The first orphan who changed my life was a precious little girl named Mirloudes Massenat. I always knew I wanted to have boys, maybe 2... but my first trip to Haiti changed all that. There were only 7 children at Cabaret Children's Home when we arrived in '04. By the end of our stay this little tomboy and I were inseparable. She is the first child to really hold a special place in my heart. In subsequent trips there were a few times she was jealous of other children who had my attention. But as she grows older I know she understands she was the first and I will always love her :) Now I can't wait to have girls too and likely much more than 2 kiddos.

One of the orphans that lil miss Mirloudes was jealous of at first was Davidson Darisme. He was the number one reason for my deciding to adopt. I can't explain what happened to me after my trip to Cabaret/Bercy in January '08, but it was life-altering. Davidson has me wrapped around his little fingers. It's a good thing he doesn't realize to what extent. He came to the Orphanage very skinny and sickly. His older brother Wilguens is a very handsome little boy too. Davi has bad allergies and always runs around with scraped up knees and no shorts if he can get away with it. I will never forget his first trip to the beach when Rusty said he was big enough to go. He sat in my lap, facing me, in the tap tap and happily say Jesus Loves Me all by himself. I have a video of him singing to me again on my last trip in May and confess I watch it over and over sometimes. Cheryl... if you read this and you think there is any way to add him to my paperwork along with Kervenson's I still have that one wish to make it happen.

There are so so many other orphans that have touched and changed my life. A boy at the Children of Love Foundation in La Paz, Honduras. A beautiful, yellow-eyed girl at Bukedea in Uganda. And in the last year I have learned of so many people in my life that were once orphans and adopted at some point: from my neighbor, to a regular at Mosaic, to a friend who invited me on one of these volunteer trips. Last but not least, is the one most of you know about. My baby Isaac is the most precious thing that has ever happened to me. This blog is filled with updates and photos about him...