Great Day/Terrible Day

The opportunity to bring Sheldon back to the guest house and spend an entire day with him has been one of the best days of my life. But that will crash down on Thursday when we visit and leave the orphanage for the last time. Our translator has done a great job explaining, but a 6 year old is still going to cry (as we will)when we leave and not understand everything. Please pray for Sheldon's comprehension and my strenght for that moment. I don't think there is a way to describe what it is like to see how the people of Haiti and the orphans live to do it justice. It truly breaks my heart to leave him for whatever amount of time, but in God's eyes 3-6-9-12months is only a brief moment. JC/Jeannie have to realize this and come back to our faith for support, grace and answers. I pray this week gives Sheldon true hope and excites him in what God has in store for him. Thanks to everyone for your continued prayer and support. I will upload all videos Friday morning when we hit Miami and a strong WIFI signal.

Meeting Sheldon for First Time....

I finally got the pleasure/blessing that Jeannie has enjoyed for some time now. I held child #3 today for the first time. The swell of emotion was there just like for Josh and Jana Claire. It was surreal to finally be in Haiti, face to face with Sheldon, after looking at pictures and videos for over a year now. He was as a cute as I thought. He is a pretty big ham, I think he is ready to give Jamison a run for his money.

I am already dreading leaving him Thursday night. Please pray that the adoption moves forward, and forward quickly. It will be so hard to leave him and the other kids. To drive up the hill to the orphanage and watch 100+ kids run to see you and mob you like a rock star when you get off the bus, it is unreal. I made some really good friends. Valina pretty much stayed by my side the entire 3 hours I was at the orphanage. I got into a wicked 3 on 3 soccer match, scored my first international goal. Never mind it was against 8-10 year olds who had so much better skills.

I apologize for no pictures and videos as promised. The WIFI works to get info, but videos are too big to transmit and keep getting rejected. Take care, more info soon.

Hello Jeremie Haiti!

Ever been on a plane that landed on a dirt runway? Well, cross that off my bucket list. I will add some video later. We just checked into the guest house and it is so nice. We are leaving in less than an hour to see Sheldon. Video on that as well soon. Thanks for the prayers so far, everything has been great other than a mechanical delay in Miami.

Sheldon on the Drums

Video from recent trip to Haiti by our good friend Stephanie. Having some fun on the drums. If you notice the watch he has sitting on the drums, that is Jeannie's watch she left with him on her last visit. It is her promise of return to get him soon. He knows Stephanie is Jeannie's buddy and he ran to get the watch out of his hiding place to show Stephanie.

Jeannie and I are going to visit on 12/10-12/16. Can't wait to see him.

Benefit at Sweet Ce Ce's on Conference Drive

Please come by and enjoy a cool treat Tuesday November 15th from 5:00-9:00 PM at the Sweet Ce Ce's on Conference Drive in Goodlettsville. It is just in front of the Kroger, right across the street diagonally from Arbys. 20% of the profits from all sales during that 4 hour period will be donated to help with Sheldon's adoption. We will be there the entire time and look forward to seeing you and thanking you for your help.

Update- November 2011 with Praises to God

Still waiting for Sheldon to move from orphanage to Port Au Prince, the capitol of Haiti. Praying it will happen soon. Jeannie is for sure going down in December and I may be making my first trip with her. Still some obstacles to overcome. One giant hurdle leaped this week. Two anonymous donors at our church gave a total of $5,000 to go towards our adoption!!!! Truly amazing the heart of some of God's children.

Update for July 2011

The home study has begun. We are getting references together at this point. Many things to do for this but the ball is rolling.

Just this past Friday we sent money to El Shaddai ministries, which will be used for relocating Sheldon to a new home in Port Au Prince, Haiti. The plan as of now is for Sheldon to be moved in August. Please pray this happens. This is a big step in the adoption and Sheldon receives more individual care at the new home. He is there with other adopting children and starts the preparation for him coming to us. Our best estimate is he will be there at least 9-12 months.

We will send an update once he does move. Thanks for following and praying for us.

We Have a Birth Certificate

More good news from Haiti. I have attached a picture of the birth certificate, which is progress. We now know that Sheldon was born on 5/24/05 and he just turned 6 last month. We also can see from the birth certificate that Sheldon is a female- LOL. If you know french you may be able to comprehend more from the document.

We are praising God because this is another step closer to getting him here. Just so you know what is next, this document has to be signed by mayors of Jeremie and Port Au Prince. Once completed, Sheldon moves from the orphanage to a home that prepares him for life in the U.S. Once he gets to the new home, we are 9-12 months from his arrival(best case scenario). With a little luck, he can go to the new home in a couple of weeks, but that is very uncertain.

Continue to pray this momentum carries on. Each passing day means we are closer to having him here.

Some Movement Forward

We were blessed to meet with our group of 6 families(currently in adoption process) Tuesday night to get an update. Progress has been made and it looks as if the 6 birth certificates are ready to go to Port Au Prince for processing. A contingent from Long Hollow Baptist was in Haiti this week and able to send back this good news. We hope to have an attachment/photo of Sheldon's birth certificate soon to post on the blog.

Hopefully in 1-2 weeks the birth certificates will be processed through Port Au Prince(Haiti's capitol) and Sheldon will move from orphanage to the home where he will be preparing for a different life in the U.S. He will be there a good 9-12 months best we can tell.

Praise God for the good news. His timing is perfect and we excitedly await. Check back again as we hope to post his birth certificate soon.

Update-March 23, 2011

We are currently waiting- as is the situation with adoption a lot of the time. Long Hollow Baptist has a group of adoptions currently in process that has to get to a certain stage before we get going with ours in the 2nd group. We praise God for He is in control and His timing is perfect.

A praise also goes out to our God and His giving believers who strive to live a life pleasing to Him. Just last week one person gave their gold chain to sell and use the money for Sheldon's adoption. They wanted to be a part but not bring attention to themselves, giving the glory to God. We praise God for the friends He has truly blessed us with.

Be on the lookout for fundraising events we will be having soon. We appreciate your prayers for our events as they happen if you can't come and be a part. First on the calendar will be a yard sale in the next month to six weeks. Please check back regularly for more info.