Article 5 letters!

So last weekend I was violently ill. I'm not using that term loosely, just so you know. I literally didn't leave my room/bathroom for 3 days (well, from Thursday night to Monday morning) and may have set a new world record for longest continuous use of a bath. So...coming off that I was a bit out of sorts.

Sunday night I was not sleeping well and kept waking up from nightmares of the twins' car being ambushed on their way to the embassy (where they were actually going to that next morning) and them being kidnapped. It was horrible. Glad it was just a dream.

So, I tried to pull myself together Monday and just stand long enough to take a shower (I promise I'm not being melodramatic here)...I was a bit nervous while showering to see a call come in from Chareyl. Most of the time I'd just call someone back when I was done, but...it's Chareyl...and I was already anxious about the embassy appointment and had leftover emotions from my upsetting dreams about the girls. So! I answered and was glad to hear, among other things, that Nisthone had mentioned to her that their appointment went well. She said that Nathan (the rep for the orphanage) was the one in charge of that meeting, so we'd wait to hear about details from him like if any additional documents were needed...but the reassurance that all was well with our sweet girls was so welcome.

And! *Drumroll please* That afternoon I received emails from the U.S. Embassy in Haiti with copies of both girls' Article 5 letters attached! I was so happy to hear that the approved everything! And they don't usually issue those letters same day! What's this?...something in this process went faster than expected? We'll take it! And as a random side-note: the article 5 letters were issued exactly 4 months to the day from when we started our bonding trip to meet the girls.

So, things are turned over to the Haiti side now. The next step is a bit unpredictable in length as our file is now presented to the director of IBESR and once she signs off on it we exit IBESR and their files head to the courts for the girls' adoption to be finalized. After that it's on to MOI (Ministry of Interior) for approval, passport approval, article 23 issuance, document translation, exit medicals, visa finalization, and travel to pick them up!

While still riding the high from our actual concrete step yesterday, I was disheartened to see that the Haitian congress ruled a vote of no-confidence in their prime minister, which essentially shuts down the government...which is a problem for many reasons, namely among them in our case processing adoptions. This morning I read that the prime minister has rejected the no confidence vote and is proceeding as normal. I'm not sure what that will mean and if it will lead to a resurgence of protesting, but time will tell. Such is Haiti. I'm trying really hard to learn to go with the flow, but it's so hard when the stakes (bringing our girls home) are so high and so personal.

For today though...I'm rejoicing to finally have gotten those article 5 letters!

We got our preliminary visa appointment!!!

Say whaaaat??! We just got notification by email that we have visa appointments for the girls this Monday!!!

I think that the woman that Chareyl reached out to in D.C. was all over this in order for this to happen so quickly. She's the acting chief for Haiti right now, but is in Washington. She emailed both Chareyl and myself to apologize about the miscommunication regarding the hold on adoptions and assured me that our file would be pushed through quickly. She wasn't kidding! I didn't think the government could get anything done quickly!

Wahooo!

So, now I just need to go process some applications online and make sure everything is in order for the appointments on Monday. I'm so grateful!!!

(Now hopefully this appointment date/time works for the rep at our orphanage who has to attend our behalf...)

Whew!

Well it's good we looked into this!!

The response we began hearing yesterday was thank you for bringing this to their attention. They didn't realize that NVC had suspended adoption cases. There was a mistake in communication in February when they were asked to put a hold on non-immigrant visa interviews due to the staffing issues at the US Embassy in Haiti (from the evacuations)...but adoption cases were never meant to be part of that group!

We were assured that NVC was contacted about opening back up adoption processing in general and that they specifically requested that our files be sent on right away!

This morning I had another email in my inbox stating that everything was in the process of being sent and another email with documentation showing that each of the girls files were sent on!!

Hallelujah!

So now we just wait for the files to arrive in Haiti and for a quick review before they can issue the appointment for the preliminary visa appointment. I'm hoping to get the appointment notice before the end of next week, but we'll see.

At this point, my prayer is for a quick visa appointment and very speedy exit from IBESR. If we could be out of IBESR before I go visit the girls next month I would be really happy. We still have a long wait on the Haitian side of the process after that so I'm anxious to get going on that...

In the meantime. Prayers of thanks for resolution to this stage of unnecessary waiting!

Therapeutic dump

So yesterday I said that I had to contact USCIS to see what was going on with releasing the girls case files to the US Embassy in Haiti. Well that was easier said than done. After multiple calls and emails (thank goodness Chareyl encouraged me to start chasing this down)...we have been able to figure out that our file was sent from USCIS to the National Visa Center.

I tried calling the NVC, but every time I call it says that their call volume is too high and to call back later. *sigh* So I sent an email. This morning the NVC wrote me back a short email saying that the US Embassy in Haiti isn't currently open and processing visas and they will send our file on when it is. Mind you...the US Embassy in Haiti just emailed me yesterday morning saying that they are just waiting for our file to get there. They are open and processing. This is just sooo frustrating. The delays in this process are plentiful enough...and while difficult I can understand the complexities on the Haitian side... economic/political issues, cultural differences, length of time to accomplish things being complicated by a myriad of things including infrastructure, natural disasters and on and on...

but when the delays are your own government?? So frustrating.

Chareyl is reaching out to some contacts of hers in Washington D.C. and I forwarded on my response from the NVC to the US Embassy in Haiti to see if they could do anything from their end.

Hopefully we can get things moving because we still have a long road ahead to get these girls home and we haven't even gotten the girls' files back to the Haitian side yet...

Rodeo Rules

This isn't our first rodeo. We have had many chances in our life's journey to build our family that have taught us how to wait, to develop patience and faith...and times when it was prudent to follow up, fight for things, ask for help (divine or otherwise) to get things moving.

We have known the rollercoaster of adoption, the waiting and wondering. The thrill of hope and sadness at it not being right. We've felt the simultaneous heartbreak of our hearts and another young woman's heart also when things didn't go as planned with the placement of her child in our family. We experienced the vulnerable abandon of caution as we joyfully welcomed our little unborn Noah into our hearts while we waited for him to join our family...to again have that fall through (the indescribably heartbreak that accompanied that)...and then to have his mother change her mind again a week later and go through with her plan to place him with us (and the elation, humility and joy that accompanied that).

We have endured many years of aggressive fertility treatments, fought through fears and heartbreak there, waited and trusted, advocated for a surgical procedure that our doctor didn't do often since we felt it was our best shot...accepted negative test after negative test...endured injection after injection, complication after complication. When pregnancies finally happened we lost twins, we managed an HG pregnancy...and experienced the joy of bringing a child into the world (twice) - which only broke our hearts more for Noah's first mother and the difficult decision she made.

We officially began the journey for this adoption nearly 6 1/2 years ago. We advocated for ourselves when there were roadblocks right in the beginning, we struggled to finance things especially at first, we obsessed over paperwork and updates and worries about the program we felt led to...until that door was closed and we were clearly led to an adoption worker at our current agency with the Haiti program. Since that time it's been updating paperwork, praying, trusting (both our agency, God, and our own intuition with changes we felt led to make over the years). Many times the only thing we could do was trust the agency we felt led to, and ultimately God who we trust orchestrates things of this magnitude of importance. Other times there have been things we have really felt impressed to push and follow up on. That right there has been one of the biggest challenges for me lately.

This may not be our first rodeo. We may have collectively many, many years of experience when it comes to adding children to our family by fertility treatments and adoption...sometimes we need to act and push for things, and other times we need to wait patiently and trust in the Lord.

So while this may not be our first rodeo, the trick I am finding is that I have to remember that the rules seem to be a bit different from rodeo to rodeo. And, ironically, things play out different from person to person that signed up for the same rodeo.

Right now I am struggling with how much I am missing our girls. We know there is a long road ahead of us to be able to bring them home with us, and I am always anxious to do anything I can to advocate for them and for our file...but mostly there isn't much I can do, but wait and pray. The times I've needed to push, and advocate I certainly have. Yesterday was one of those times...

I received an email from our adoption coordinator saying that she felt that I should email the embassy in Haiti to see what is taking so long to schedule our preliminary visa appointment for the girls. We had a lot of delays getting our preliminary I800 approval from immigration, but we received that last month and normally the preliminary visa appointment is issued within days of that happening, but nothing has happened.

So! I sent the email to them and they responded this morning that they are still waiting for the actual transfer of our daughters' cases from USCIS, and that once they receive that they could issue the visa appointment within one or two days of receiving it. Say what? Why hasn't it been received? I didn't even know that was something that I should be following up on! I guess I will call USCIS today and see why that hasn't been sent over.

This is exactly the struggle I'm talking about...when I try to be patient and trusting and then find out that there is something I could have been DOING to move this process along. We're more than 1/3 year out since receiving the referral for these girls and no closer to bringing them home that we were then except our I800 approval which should have been done LONG before it was. It just feels so discouraging. I just want that dang visa appointment so we can exit IBESR and get this show on the road with the courts! With the tense climate in Haiti it seems more like a matter of when (not if) another huge shut down will happen and I want progress to be made on our file when it can be, so I can be patient when progress can't be made.

I sure hope we get this visa appointment soon so we can exit IBESR. I would love to see that happen before I go visit our girls next month. Let's get these files to the courts so we can make these girls legally ours!

So yeah...this ain't our first rodeo, but the rules are still unclear and things still feel pretty rough in here.

You are my sunshine...

Exactly 3 months ago today we had to put the girls in their beds at the orphanage, say goodbye and walk out the doors of the orphanage. It was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. My heart felt like it was broken. The girls were ok...we left, but the rest of their world was in tact just as it had always been. Same routine, same nannies, same kids at the orphanage, same food. But we left with a hole in our hearts. We loved these girls before we even knew who they were, and we fell head over heels for them over the 15 days we spent with them in Haiti. We got to know their little personalities and quirks, their little expressions and mannerisms. It felt so wrong to try to go back to "normal" life and leave them behind.

Mark and his mom got to go visit the girls last month, and hopefully I'll get a chance to hold them next month (if things continue to improve in Haiti)...but today I felt like I had to write something to recognize the longing I've had to hold them everyday for the last 3 months.

Two things just recently happened that made me happy/sad cry...one was that I got a picture and video clip from a mama who just went to Haiti to pick up her daughters (from the same orphanage). It was unexpected and wonderful and it meant so much to hear her tell me about our girls.

The other thing was that Mark's Aunt Nancy (you know those family friends that you grow up with them having the honorary title of Aunt even when you're not related)...she gave us these sweet gifts for the girls. Little dolls and blankets that say "You are My Sunshine" on them. First of all it was just so thoughtful, secondly that song. I'm sure lots of parents & grandparents have crooned that sweet bedtime song to children they love like me...but I also remember posting about the second verse and chorus striking me differently a few years ago after a dream I had. It resonates even more poignantly now. Let me post it below...

"The other night dear when I was sleeping, I dreamt I held you in my arms. When I awoke dear, I was mistaken, so I hung my head down and cried. You are my sunshine my only sunshine, you make me happy when skies are gray. You'll never know dear how much I love you. Please don't take my sunshine away."

I can't wait for the day that I can sing that song to these girls, tuck them in and just walk across the hall to my own bed. That I can see their beautiful faces first thing the next morning.

They really are beautiful rays of sunshine. And I miss them so very much.

Protests in Haiti. What are they all about anyway?

I want to touch briefly on how the most recent protest affected us this month and then give a little background on how things got there...

In prior posts I touched briefly on the complicated emotions involved with Mark going to see the girls for a visit. I was so grateful for he and his mom to go spend time with them...I just ached to be there also. I loved the pictures and videos they sent, but just yearned to be able to interact with them myself. To complicate the emotions I was dealing with...the political situation in Haiti was become dire. And I was really worried.

Before Mark left there was some question about if he and his mom would be able to take the trip. Big protests were planned to start the morning he got to Haiti. It was decided that since they arrived early they should be able to quickly get out of Port au Prince before things heated up. The stress began with a storm that came in...would it delay their flight leaving?...even without a delay would they be able to make their connector with their short 50 minute layover in Florida??...and then we got an email about construction at the FLL airport slowing down connections between flights. If they missed their flight they would have to wait until the next day to fly to Haiti and would the protests be too heated to allow them to fly in? Would a driver be able to pick them up???...so many questions.

It all turned out ok. They made their connecting flight and the driver was there when they arrived! They got out of the airport quickly, but roadblocks were already popping up and they were stopped at a heated roadblock where rocks were placed in front of the vehicle's tires to prevent them from progressing. Their driver was able to negotiate and they let them pass. They stopped at the grocery store to get food for their time in Haiti, but the store was already low on some supplies (out of bread for example), and this was the first day of protests. Luckily we packed some essentials in suitcases (which also both arrived thankfully!) and they were able to get some things from the store.

During their stay there we watched as things spiraled out of control in Haiti. Everything was shut down...public transportation, government offices, schools, government hospitals...access to gasoline was slim (and increasingly controlled by gangs), electricity was spotty (more than usual), roadblocks were inhibiting travel. Food and water were scarce and the already high cost of food that was to be found (due to inflation) was skyrocketing to even more expensive. 

The protesting had turned violent (even deadly) on multiple occasions and there was concern about if they would be able to get Mark and his mom safely back to the airport. They looked into leaving a day early, but the roads/protests were deemed too bad. The morning they were supposed to depart (several hours earlier than planned) they originally told them they couldn't go that day. The driver talked staff into letting him try to get them out. He is very experienced and said that if things looked to bad that he'd just come back.

They hit one particular roadblock on the main road coming down the mountain that was not passable. The driver (Jean Robert...don't know if I'm spelling that correctly) was able to drive off-road up the mountain and back down just 15 feet or so past the roadblock. Protesters tried to stop them, but he was able to negotiate with them and eventually they relented (this is not always the case). When they got down to PaP Mark said it looked like a war-zone. Burning tires, rocks, debris everywhere. They had to quickly find alternate routes to avoid roadblocks and Mark said they were driving at least 80 mph through the streets of PaP to get to the airport. They got there. I tried all sorts of things to get them on an earlier flight to no avail, but they got home safely. Not every American trying to leave the country was that lucky. I know of several that weren't able to get to the airport that day who eventually had to be evacuated out of the country after things got even worse and the US declared a level 4 "no travel" warning - the highest level possible, usually reserved for countries at war. And honestly, that's pretty much what this is for the Haitian people. War against their government. Here is a brief, simplistic summary of why...

It isn't anything new that the government in Haiti has a history of corruption. However Haiti also has a history of rising up and overthrowing their oppressors...they became the first black republic and Haiti was the first ever nation to gain independence through a slave revolt! So, it's part of their heritage to rise up when they need to. Back to current government corruption though...

I'm not good at being concise, but this is my best attempt at a summary on recent Haitian politics!!!...

In 2006 Haiti joined a coalition (alongside other Caribbean nations) called PetroCaribe with Venezuela. In short Venezuela provided oil to Haiti at 60% of the cost with the remainder due in payments over 25 years at 1% interest. The money saved by purchasing at this discounted rate was to be funneled into government programs to strengthen the economy, improve infrastructure, etc. 

Following the 2010 earthquake in Haiti (which killed hundreds of thousands of people) the US under Clinton basically muscled in to get the current Haitian president's candidate pushed aside and helped Michel Martelli  into power. From 2011-2016 Martelli's administration corruptly mismanaged, embezzled and misspent most of the PetroCaribe money (and hefty donations on Venezuela's part post-earthquake also). For years Haiti was so decimated that there was no accountability from the government on its financial dealings.

On February 7, 2017 (this date is important) Martelli used his money and influence to get his protégé Jovenel Moïse "elected" (with 20% voter turnout and lots of corruption in the process). This allowed the corruption of PetroCaribe fund to continue and continue to be covered up. However!...now enter Trump administration in the US. They began to slap heavy economic sanctions on Venezuela which made it impossible to continue PetroCaribe and without those funds, Haiti could also no longer afford to make any repayments.

Although the Haitian government had nothing to show for these billions of dollars of aid (due to embezzlement and misspending) they now also no longer had PetroCaribe to rely on and needed to raise gas prices. The Haitian government tried to pull a fast one and announce the huge price change during a world cup game that the whole nation was enraptured with. This backfired royally. Not only was Brazil (the team all of Haiti was rooting for) ousted from the world cup after losing that game, but Haiti found out that their government was planning to raise gas prices so significantly that it would be devastating. Huge riots and protests broke out. These protests became the precursor for the protests/riots that would follow in November and April (both of which we were there for)...

Let me add that around this time the value of the Goude (Haiti's currency) began to diminish and a steady march of inflation took hold. The senate committee completed an investigation of the handlings of PetroCaribe which showed a paper trail ending at several government officials so the people demanded the president to investigate...and he declined. This happened as we were leaving on our 2 week bonding trip to Haiti in November. Protests flared as people demanded the resignation of their president. They no longer could have any faith in him if he wouldn't represent them by holding those accountable who participated in this corruption. The protests (sometimes violent) lasted a couple of weeks and fizzled out as protesters had to be able to go back to providing for themselves...

Now enter February 7, 2019. Inflation is skyrocketing. Gasoline is difficult to come by and electricity is spotty. People are struggling even more than before not being able to buy food, and their president who ran on the platform of food on every Haitian's table has now been linked personally to the years of PetroCaribe corruption. He was the president of a company that was a financial beneficiary of those funds (but never provided services contracted for). Haitians are hungry and tired of being lied to...and they want their president's head. Can you blame them?? So, they chose February 7th...two years to the day from when President Moïse took office, to begin aggressive protests. Of course that is the day Mark was set to arrive in Haiti to visit the girls.

As I mentioned, with good negotiating on their driver's part, they were able to get safely up to the orphanage, but protests continued and spread over the time he was there. As "Operation shut down Haiti" took effect protests became more aggressive and at least 7 lives so far have been lost as things became violent. Most Haitians just hunker down and stay out of the fray, but thousands marched and protested and demonstrated...and they were angry at no response from the president.

The day Mark and his mom were able to leave Haiti the protesters marched on the Presidential Palace. Things were heated and unpredictable. After 8 days of aggressive protesting and silence on the part of the president he finally gave a speech saying that he will not step down. Immediately following his speech the US government raised its travel advisory to level 4 (highest possible level) indicating do not travel, and advised Americans in Haiti to leave the country. The next day C4C evacuated its American staff. US Embassy employees evacuated. I continued to read about Americans who were in Haiti trying to get out on helicopters. One tried to get to the airport for his flight the day Mark left, but was unable to get there. 

As I watched all of this unfold (with nearly zero attention from US media) my heart just broke for all the Haitian people affected by all of this. Comprehensively it's so tragic, but acutely the lack of access to food and water was so difficult to read about. People chasing water trucks with containers to fill. Wondering how long this would go on. I was grateful to learn that an employee at C4C stocked up on food and water for the orphanage out of his own pocket since the banks were closed to withdraw money from the organization's account. Anybody would worry about their children being somewhere in that state of unrest, even in the most ideal of circumstances, when they can't be together with them. That being said, I did recognize that our girls were in far better circumstances that most children in Haiti...they were safe and have food and water.

So, 10 days into the shut down/protesting the Haitian Prime Minister gave a speech outlining 9 changes he plans to oversee in the Haitian government including a list of measures he will oversee including revocation of government employee perks and further investigation. Perhaps party due to his promises and party due to the affects of 10 days of protesting, things lightened up significantly as the general consensus from protesters was to give the government a few days (one source I read said 72 hours) to show that they are going to implement these changes. So far things are looking more promising. Nothing has been fixed, but people are able to move about and get to food and water, return to work and open businesses. We will continue to pray for improvement, but we also need some big changes to happen...otherwise this fire will simply stay stoked and only need to be fanned to break back out into a giant uncontrollable fire again very quickly.

A few friends and family members fasted with us for Haiti last Sunday. We continue to pray. There is nothing that will be a quick fix for the complicated economic situation in Haiti, but we pray that a new trajectory will be set and that things will move generally in the right direction for this beautiful country that is so subject to so many struggles. I am so inspired by the Haitian people's grit, how hard they work, and at their tenacity. My girls should be so proud of the heritage they come from.