PeekabooNWA

Our Journey to Haiti

Posted on 29. Oct, 2008 by admin in Personal Stories

The adoption journey, for most, begins for similar reasons, the desire to have a child, the desire to help a less fortunate child, or to fulfill the empty nest syndrome. For us it was all of these reasons.

As we began this journey for our own reasons, God had his own plans for us.  We decided to adopt internationally. My heart ached for the children of Haiti. The country is filled with so much poverty and a darkness, plagued by the repercussions of being a country with the religion of Voodoo.

Soon after we settled on adopting from an orphanage in Haiti a little boy was brought in that would soon be our son.  He was intended  to be abandoned in a ravine and  left for dead. In Haiti the ravines are trash filled and full of raw sewage, and unfortunately they are used to dispose of anything and everything, including young life. A  women observed what was about to happen and intervened. She pleaded with the abandoner to let her take the baby to her pastor who ran an orphanage. Finally, after much persuasion the child was released to the  woman and taken to safety.

Two weeks prior, an infant was left in that same ravine and had been eaten by wild pigs. Praises for this little survivor who  is   our son Zechariah Carl. His name proves to fit him well. Zechariah means remembered by the Lord and Carl means strong man. Zak was nearly one year old weighing only fourteen pounds. He was severely malnourished and his head was covered with weeping sores. The orphanage shared with us that they were concerned with his development due to the undernourishment. Even though we could not take him home right away,  we knew he was ours — we already loved him.
Our adoption turned into eighteen months of ups and downs. Throughout this time we experienced what felt like an emotional roller coaster. We  longed for our son to come home on what we now refer to as our “Gotcha Day.” October 26, 2005 he joined our family and is now a perfectly healthy and a happy little boy.

While in Haiti bringing Zak home, we met a five year old girl at the orphanage. She was very frail and  her face told a life story of a much older person. While visiting she hovered around me wanting me to take her picture and repeatability calling my name and smiling at me. After being home for about two weeks,  I could not get her out of my mind. I felt the Lord tugging at my heart.  I recall saying, “Lord, I’ll pray for her a family.”  We knew that we would adopt again, our plan was to adopt a child younger than Zak and only when our finances were in order.

A few weeks went by and still thoughts of this little girl stayed in my heart and on my mind. I finally laid it all on my husband and asked him to pray about adopting her.  We waited for the Lord to provide the finances before we committed to her adoption. When he did we began the adoption journey for our second time. Her American name would be, Anna Ruth. We call her Ruthie. Anna means gracious giver and Ruth means satisfied, she is both.

We have been in the adoption process with Ruthie for nearly three years. Many changes have taken place since the adoption of Zak. Haiti has added a few more offices for documents to be reviewed and unfortunately many times they are lost. We’ve experienced delay after delay as the documents move at a snail’s pace through the Haitian offices and now we are waiting on the US Consulate in Haiti.

We are told that this could take 2-6 months. The wait causes our emotions to be uncharted at times with emotional melt downs and then times of rejoicing followed by heartbreaking disappointment. When we began the adoption journey we were told that it was not for the faint of heart and those words are all so true. As each day passes and we go a step further into our journey, God continues to reveal his plan for her to us.

My granddaughter Tessa  said, “Nani, I forget that Zak is adopted. It feels like he has always been with us, he’s just one of us and  I love him so much!” That just shows how it was all God’s plan for our family! Zak has brought much joy and love to our family, just as Ruthie will. We all anticipate her “Gotcha Day”!

Zak and Ruthie were conceived of my heart. It’s amazing how much I love them, just as if I carried them for nine months in my womb.

We know that we will adopt a third time. We have been praying about a teenage girl currently residing in another state. We are focused right now on getting Ruthie home and caring for her needs. We anticipate that she will adjust fairly well. She is an amazing girl.