Haiti Update

An update sent to us from our adoption agency:


Haiti 
May 4, 2012 
Alert: Temporary Suspension of New Adoption Cases 
  
Haiti's adoption authority, l'Institut du Bien Être Social et de Recherches (IBESR), informed U.S. Embassy Port-au-Prince that it will suspend processing of new adoption cases effective May 7, 2012. IBESR indicated that the suspension will enable it to expedite processing on its backlog of pending cases and begin internal restructuring to bring it closer to international standards. The U.S. Embassy has been assured the suspension is temporary and that IBESR will continue to process all cases that are filed before May 7. 
  
This is consistent with the information we sent to you on 4/23 and 4/24, with the exception of the dates of the IBESR closure.  IBESR has indicated they will not accept new dossiers starting May 7 instead of the previous April 18.  We have also heard that it is possible that they will extend the closure to July 31 instead of June 1 as previously reported. 
Sincerely, 
Haiti Team


How you can pray for us:


Please pray that IBESR will use this time wisely in order to reorganize and restructure in a way that will allow for a smoother process of adoption paperwork.


Please pray that there will not be unnecessary delays in IBESR reopening and accepting new cases.


Please pray for our patience in going through the home study process and for accuracy when we begin completing our paperwork for Immigration at the last home study meeting.

Home Study Begins!!

We had our first home study visit with our Bethany case worker on May 2. It went really well and it was so nice to meet Jeanette in person after chatting with her via the phone and email for almost 5 months!

Our next home visit is tomorrow, May 14 at our home. We have scheduled it after school so Jeanette can meet the girls! We are so excited to get the home study completed and move along to the completion of our dossier (huge stack of paperwork that we send to Haiti).

There have been some changes in Haiti with their adoption processing and I'm going to post next about how to pray for Haiti with regards these changes!

So....we are moving along! God is still proving His faithfulness and we are trusting in Him for the details!!

waiting.....

So this is what the waiting feels like. Just waiting. 

We've got our packet of forms into the Columbia Bethany office and now we are waiting on two things.

1. Our background checks to clear.

2. Our reference letters to go out and come back from our friends and family.

This will take around 2-3 weeks. So hopefully by the end of April we will be able to begin our home study visits.

In the meantime, we are working on finishing up online training videos and reading the required three books to be discussed at our home visit.

We covet your prayers as we seek patience and God's perfect will for our family and the children He has for us.

How You Can Pray

Specifically, please join us in fervent and consistent prayer for the following:
(from the GLA website and also my own requests)

• Pray that the Haitian government will not make any decisions regarding adoptions and the children in Haiti without consulting with the Association of Creché Directors.
• Pray that in the absence of a Prime Minister (just stepped down after just 4 months in office), God will still move adoptions through the process and find a way for forever families to unite.
• Pray that the orphanage directors will be able to consistently and fervently communicate the need of the children in Haiti for an adoption system that works well and reduces the time that children spend in an institutional setting.
• Pray that the Haitian government will not ratify the Hague Convention without taking the time to make sure that they have sufficient staff and resources to handle the increased requirements.
• Pray that UNICEF and IBESR will realize that adoption is an integral part of the overall plan to care for the children in Haiti who don't have parents who can care for them.
• Pray that the children at GLA and the other orphans in Haiti won't be damaged by pending changes in legislation in Haiti.
• Pray that people will rise up and speak on behalf of the orphans in Haiti and be a voice for those who can't speak for themselves.

What we've been working on....

Our Formal application was sent in and our contract with Bethany is signed! We are now officially clients of Bethany Christian Services!
Our next step is to complete the following paperwork that pertains to our home study in South Carolina.
So here is what we're working on:

Affidavit of Health insurance
SAFE questionnaire (questions about our childhood, family values, how we discipline, etc.)
SLED criminal record inquiry
Family Residence History
Physician's report for all four of us
Net Worth/Cash Flow Statement
Statement of Intent from our Will
Parental Discipline Policy
Adoption Release and Consent
Permission to serve as a Reference
Training Commitment form
Duty of Disclosure form
Special Placement Needs questionnaire

Copies of:
Birth certificates for all four of us
Marriage certificate
IRS 1040 from most recent tax year
Verification of vaccinations for household pets (two dogs)

We also need to reapply for passports.

In our spare time :) we are to be completing 10 hours of online training and choosing three books from their book list to read and be prepared to discuss at our home visit.
I've pulled the following three to read:

20 Things Adopted Kids Wish Their Adoptive Parents Knew by Sherrie Eldridge
Talking with Young Children about Adoption by Susan Fisher and Mary Watkins
Toddler Adoption: The Weaver's Craft by Mary Hopkins Best

A lot to get done but we are hopeful to complete this in the next month and be close to our home visit.  :)

Formal Application - ACCEPTED!

We are so amazed at how God is moving! We just got word that our Formal Application was accepted! We received an email with documents that we must sign and send back along with our application fee. Once those documents are received we can begin our home study! Thank you so much for your continued prayers! We see God opening doors for us! :)

Creche Application - ACCEPTED!

We were thrilled to hear today that our Creche Application to GLA (God's Littlest Angels Orphanage) has been preliminarily accepted. We have been invited to submit the Formal Application to Bethany!
Praise God from whom ALL BLESSINGS FLOW! So overjoyed at God opening another door for us!
We plan on finishing up our Formal Application and submitting it this weekend!
One step closer.....