Prayers answered......

Hello from St. John, USVI!! We are having a wonderful time! Our Ministers Getaway has been a huge success thus far. It's awesome to see these men of God that pour their heart and soul into people day in and day out, get to relax in this beautiful place, enjoy being with other ministers as well as spend some quality time with their wives. God is good!!

On the 20th I posted about an appointment we had scheduled. I am thrilled to say it went well and both of his birth parents attended. I didn't realize they were suppose to go so you can imagine my surprise and excitement. They do have to go again, however word is they are being extremely cooperative!! Praise the Lord!!!! DHS required some more documentation so Nathan is scheduled to go on Oct 3rd to submit it. I'll continue to keep you posted as I receive news.

Thank you all for your prayers!! I am so thankful we serve a God who hears and answers!!

Pictures as promised......

Wow he looks like a big boy!!




"Ok, I guess I'm ready." So far so good. Although he doesn't look too thrilled.




"So you're saying you like my uniform, right? 'Cause I'm thinkin it's kind of cool, but I'm not sure about these shoes, what do you think?"







"Ok, so I'm thinkin, why follow the croud,right? I mean if I want to stand out I should be different. If I don't stand out I won't get any special treatment at all. So I think I'll just do
the opposite of what everyone else is doing. Yes, now that sounds like a plan."



Ok, I admit the quotes aren't really quotes. I know, I know, you are completely shocked but it's true. I inserted them. I couldn't help myself. I have a really bad habit of looking at pictures and finding a funny side. I hope you enjoyed the photos of our extremely handsome boy!! This, obviously, was before the breakdown. He doesn't really look like one that would think it's cool to poop his pants, does he? Peer pressure you never know what it will do to a person. Ok, ok, I'll stop with the sarcasm (another bad habit).

Thank you so much, Angela, for sharing these great shots of his first days at school. We loved looking at them and he is definitely adorable in his uniform, if I do say so myself.

Prayer ......

Well, we are coming up on an important appointment, the first of many. Monday, September 25th we are scheduled to finally submit our paperwork to DHS under the Orphan First program. We had hoped to be much further at this point but due to circumstances beyond our control, this is where we have found ourselves. This appointment is to begin the DHS' investigation to determine, yes, Noah is an orphan. As part of their investigation, DHS will meet with the birth parents, where they determine the parents willingness and understanding of their child being adopted. They also may require DNA testing to insure those are his parents. We are excited to finally be making progress. If you could pray with us that this appointment goes well and as the investigation begins, that the parents will attend their scheduled appointments to prevent further delays. We will update you as we get updates.

Next week Jeremy and I will be out of town so I will not be posting on my blog. I will post when we return of how the appointment went and when the birth parents appointments are. Thank you for your continued prayer support!!

Better.....

Well, we are making progress. Yesterday in our prayer group we prayed and I have been praying for peace over Noah with regards to school. We prayed his little heart would be comforted. I received word from Angela that she didn't hear him cry today. Yeah!!! Praise the Lord it's getting better!! Of course she also mentioned he is adorable in his little uniform. I can't wait for her to send the pictures next week!!!

Well our big boy doesn't like being so big......

Angela writes:

we've started school.
we all knew it would be nothing for steven.
he loves learning and now he's a veteran around these parts.
it was a little hard for angela but she bore up well.
noah, well, he's noah, right?

we had a meeting on sunday about school, talking to the teacher so you
can go to the bathroom, etc.
on monday morning we were all up early getting ready.
it was chaos but a lot of fun.
i sat with him and helped him get dressed.
( i took lots of pics of them all, by the way.)
he was doing great.
we went out to stand in line and bethany, nathanaelle, and fritzson
were all crying but he was just playing around and holding my hand.
i had to go inside because one of the nannies needed me.
when i came back i found he was still fine.
he was sitting with the rest of the kids just looking around.
then i went back tothe house.
from inside i could hear the breakdown.
he pooped in his pants twice and screamed the rest of the day.
i don't know what set him off.
yesterday he pooped again.
today he's in a diaper.
everyday he tells me he's not going to cry again.
he's fine as soon as he gets home.
well, i'll send pictures next week.
sorry, michelle!
he'll get passed it!

angela

It's so hard being a big boy!!

Update

Noah started school today!!! I wish I could have been there. Thankfully Angela took lots of pictures and will send them to me, probably once she is back in the states. I will post them once I receive them.

He knows his name......

The other night we were eating dinner and the phone rang. I didn't pick up because I didn't recognize the number, so I sat back down and let the machine get it. Well all of sudden I hear Noah saying "Mama, Papa". If you could have seen Jeremy and I's faces. I was looking at him like, "Oh my gosh, it's Noah!" and he was looking at me like, "Get up and answer the phone!"

Angela (aka You-You), is this young woman who traveled with us in March to Haiti. She is from California and had decided to volunteer six months at the "O". Instantly I had a huge amount of respect for her, simply because she was willing to give up all she had in the states to go to a third world country and bless the children at the "O". Well upon meeting her and spending time with her, I grew to not only respect her, but love her. She truly is an amazing woman! Although I have only known her for this short time, I feel like I have known her for years. She, without a doubt has a special place in both Jeremy and I's heart!! I hope she realizes that! Anyway back to my story.......

Angela had called, she didn't have a lot of time, but she began to tell me this story. Lourdesmia, a 5 year old little girl at the "O", was teasing Noah and calling him Wilbeark (as most of you know by now his name in Haiti is Wilbert, pronounced, Wilbear). As she continued teasing him, apparently he decided enough was enough and he began to yell back at her, NOAH, NOAH, NOAH. I was thrilled to know that he knows his name!! And I believe he is proud of that name, at least it sounds like it. The conversation quickly ended with Noah saying "Papa" to Jeremy and I told him, "Mwen renmen ou" (I love you).

I would love to go visit again, but it hasn't worked out to go this month. Every e-mail and this time phone call, helps me get through the time away. God is awesome, in that He has provided this means of communication for us!! I am so thankful He has called us to do this and has been with us every step of the way. I can't wait for Noah to come home and when he does I am going to share the complete testimony so you can fully understand how God has worked in this adoption!!

I love you all!!!

The Ripple...

I wanted to share with everyone the ripple effect that has occurred since the beginning of our adoption. When we began our adoption process we didn't know anyone who had adopted from Haiti. I first learned you could by watching a television show about adoption. Watching that show was one of the first leadings for us. We had been researching and praying about where our son was and during this TV program something sparked in me and we began to go in that direction, obviously now Noah is indeed in Haiti.

The ripple.....currently there are 5 Haitian children coming to our area to people we know. We take 0 credit for this, it is all God, but it has been awesome to see how He has used our adoption to unite other families with their children.

First was the Burnett family, Todd & Kristina and their girls, adopting Jonas.

Second was the Collins family, Shawn & Angela, adopting Steven & Angela, cool huh S A S A.


Third was the Burnett family, Troy & Cathy and their 2 daughters & 1 son, adopting Manthania.


This makes 5 including Noah.

Now the really cool thing is, it's not over yet. We have one family from Troy & Cathy's church who are now filling out an application. Another family, friends of Todd & Kristina's, are praying and working to pay off some debt because they too feel they are to adopt from Haiti. One family from the mission trip in June believe they will adopt an older boy one day and are praying about that. Finally, at least for now, a family spoke to us last week about sitting down to discuss adoption, what all is involved and the cost because they are strongly considering it as well. God is AWESOME!!!!!!

This is so exciting to me, one because it's going to be awesome to have this little Haitian community here in Southern Indiana, but mostly because I love the children of Haiti. My first trip to the "O" changed my life. I fell in love with this little country and it's people, especially the children. I am so thankful God has allowed me to be a part of their lives, they bless me in a way I never imagined they would. I came home in March wanting to find homes for all of them. I know I can't do that, but I know a God that can and He is.

If you would like to know more feel free to call or e-mail me anytime or you can visit the Three Angels website using the link on the right. On the page for the "O" you can view the children that are available. Please join me in praying for these precious children, because every child deserves to have a family!!!