Overcomer

o·ver·come   verb

1.  to get the better of in a struggle or conflict; conquer; defeat: to overcome the enemy.

2.  to prevail over (opposition, a debility, temptations, etc.); surmount: to overcome one's weaknesses.

Overcomer is a current song on the radio station we listen to in the car.  The lyrics remind me of the girls, but especially, Ruth.

You're an overcomer
Stay in the fight ‘til the final round
You're not going under
‘Cause God is holding you right now
You might be down for a moment
Feeling like it's hopeless
That's when He reminds You
That you're an overcomer

Overcomer video

This week marked Ruth's first three full days in an American high school.  Prior to school, I met with administrators, took Ruth to meet her principal and counselor and tour the building, and she attended orientation.  On day one, she was up on time, came down smiling beautifully, took the bus, and made it through the first day.  She found the right bus to bring her home and immediately launched into a litany of questions.

The I.D. I had told her about didn't come - The lock and locker we'd discussed wasn't provided - She wasn't understanding most of what the teachers were saying - Would I please help her figure out the papers she brought home and organize her supplies?

Several phone calls and e-mails resolved the initial challenges.  We have several more issues to work out.  However, even with the challenges, she has come down with a smile each morning.  She faces each day with a positive attitude, is now comfortable walking to the bus stop by herself, and diligently worked on homework with us at night.  She even spent some of Saturday reading aloud from her French textbook.

This girl is an overcomer.  We can't wait to see what a few months' time brings.

Thanks to all who continue to have us in your thoughts and prayers.  School begins this week for the other two.  I have a feeling this word will represent the trio well.

Diametrically Opposed

Diametrically Opposed
-Two points directly opposite each other on a circle or sphere.
-Completely opposed : being at opposite extremes

We currently exist in a reality where each day can be 
diametrically opposed to the next.  We've experienced a bit of Little Shop of Horrors and some scenes more likely found on Little House on the Prairie.

Today, for instance, I provided the girls with some simple flash cards on numerous topics - Coins, addition, subtraction, multiplication, and some basic word-building.  After a brief amount of time with the girls, I went on to other tasks.  Shortly after this interaction, the girls came to ask how to pronounce some of the numbers again in English.  They wanted to practice saying the names of the numbers.  They asked me to write out all the names of all the numbers.  Having the words in the dictionary wasn't enough.  They wanted each numeral and written name on a legal pad that they could count, repeat, and write in their own hand.  While I was making dinner, I could hear their chanting of names of numbers.  It wasn't too much longer before they were downstairs wanting to recite the words to us.  At one point, two girls were practicing words and one was practicing the guitar.  Moments like this help us somewhat make it through the scenes from Little Shop of Horrors.  :-)

As the calendar continues to move on, despite our best efforts to slow it down, the girls are faced with the start of the school year.  Each of the girls has shown excitement for school in their own way. They've asked if they get to ride the bus, when we will shop for school clothes, and when we will buy their supplies.  Soon enough, each of the girls will be on their own in the wilderness of an American school.  Fortunately, I've had some encouraging conversations with school administrators and look forward to working closely with the adults that will have primary contact with the girls.

We continue to need support in many ways.  We gain strength from your thoughts and prayers, and we will never be able to adequately thank our family and friends for their love, patience, and generosity. 

Thank you for being with us throughout the adventure.

More Firsts

Thank you for your patience as we attempt to figure out our life together.  

Tomorrow makes 6 weeks that we've been home as a family.  There have been many firsts for all of us.  The girls have experienced their first appointment with an American doctor, including the first round of shots needed to catch up for school.  Later today, they will experience their first dentist appointment here in the states.  

In addition, they've played at the splash park, visited Brookfield Zoo, floated in a lazy river, ridden down water slides, celebrated the 4th of July, chosen dare-devil rides at a local carnival, and met my brother Andy and his wife Tiffany.

Many other adventures are on the horizon, especially with school around the corner.  We continue to need your thoughts and prayers every day.  Many days are good, but as expected, some days are immensely challenging.  We are trying our best to stay calm, roll with bumps, and wake up each day with a renewed perspective - sometimes easier said than done.

Thanks again for all of your support.

May 31, 2013

May 31, 2013

• Departed from the orphanage to the airport in Port Au Prince around 8 a.m.
• Arrived at the airport a few hours later
• Flew out of Port Au Prince about 1:00 p.m.
• Landed in Miami by 3:00 p.m.
• Waited in immigration for several hours and missed our flight to Chicago
• Barely avoided a mighty kid meltdown
• Booked another flight to Chicago leaving at 8:10 p.m.
• Arrived home by midnight
• Began life together in our home exactly one year to the day of being officially "matched" with the girls

New adventures in the airport:

• flushing toilet paper
• faucets that turn on by themselves
• soap that dispenses itself
• escalators
• doors that open by stepping on the mat
• and just about everything else

Amazingly, we've been home for just over two weeks.  We've experienced incredible challenges and an equally incredible amount of growth.  The girls started day camp at Grandme and Grandpe's church on Monday.  Although camp starts at 9:00, they were up at 5:30 a.m. getting ready-the youngest had her backpack on by 6:00. The girls enjoyed their day, engaged with the games and activities, and were bummed that we weren't going back until Wednesday.

We cannot begin to thank everyone appropriately for all the blessings we've received.  The girls have a wonderful room because of many of you.  They've looked beautiful in new summer outfits and shoes, played for numerous hours on scooters, and braided the hair of dolls...because of you.

While we continue to be dazed part of the time, amazed at our new reality, and crazed by the food bills, increased utilities, and the number of times we repeat a certain name, we remember that we've only been in the game for a few short weeks.  

We so appreciate everyone's continued prayers and thoughtfulness.  We truly do not know how we would have ever gotten this far without you.  The prayers and support are needed every minute of the day and we know you are supporting us from afar.

Without any action on our part, the girls were seated in first class for the flight to Miami.  They did beautifully during the flight and enjoyed being treated to hot towels and a big salad.  :-)

Men Anpil Chay Pa Lou

Men Anpil Chay Pa Lou 

Many Hands Make the Load Light

A friend found this Haitian proverb many months ago when we first started this journey.  How grateful we are for the friends and family that surround us.

We are truly stunned by the generosity, care, and blessings that we've received from our family and friends over the past many months.  Whether it's Dad painting the girls' room (and many other rooms), Wayne putting together beds we were given, friends throwing a beautiful shower, or all the generous gifts and donations - we are blessed.

Our anxiety has been eased by everyone who has shared a kind word, offered support, or provided a gift that's allowed us to purchase mattresses, comforters, shoes, hair care products, counseling sessions, classes, swimsuits, and everything in between.

Vivid

viv·id

    adjective

1.

strikingly bright or intense, as color, light, etc.: a vivid green.

2.

full of life; lively; animated: a vivid personality.

We've always had "vanilla" walls.  Neutral paint, no wallpaper, ordinary.  While many of our walls will still be neutral, the girls come from a land of intense and vivid colors - amazing hues stretching across the color spectrum.

Our task of selecting the right color for their room started in the Home Depot paint department.  Staring up at the wall of color squares, trying to determine what might be a good fit, feeling uncertain. 

After several minutes of pondering, a color caught my eye..."I really like this one...not sure if it will be too bright, but it's beautiful."  Pulling the paint swatch from the wall, we looked curiously for the name - Haitian Flower.  No pondering needed.
#UL 100-16 Haitian Flower Interior

One wall, highlighting the beautiful furniture from a friend.  The rest of the walls are vanilla.   :-)

pleth·o·ra

pleth·o·ra  noun
overabundance; excess


We've been meaning to post this picture for awhile now...

One of our recent tasks was to finish the required paperwork for the U.S. Immigration process.  Many forms, phone calls, and filing tasks later, poof!  One set, 93 pages...3 sets, 279 pages.  One tired printer.
Huge sense of accomplishment.

Learning Curve

We are experiencing the Mount Everest of learning curves.  In preparation for the "becoming a family" learning curves, we are crawling our way through language learning, feeling our way through understanding the impact of trauma, and braiding our way through hair and skin care.  

Fortunately, mountains are for climbing...and persevering...and standing in awe of the beauty around you.

Last Saturday, one of our stops along the climb was our first hair and skin care class.  The Cradle, an agency in Evanston, offers this and other classes.  We're grateful for their training and support.  Wayne and the other dads were applauded for their effort and growing skill. 

Shoes for Orphans

New shoes provide health.Shoes are foundational to good health. In many developing countries we serve, children are forced to walk barefoot for miles to gather clean water, to visit a doctor or to go to school. Diseases like hookworm, jiggers, tetanus and other parasites enter the body through the feet. These diseases can stunt a child’s growth and development, as well as cause life-long cognitive impairment. Walking barefoot in rocky or muddy terrain can also cause injury to a child’s feet, further opening the possibility for infection or disease. http://www.shoesfororphansouls.org/about-shoes.shtml

We don't know if the girls have received our letters.  If they did receive the letters, we don't know if our words were translated.  We aren't sure if the clothing we sent actually worked for each of the girls.

What do we know?  We were thrilled to receive this simple sentence from our social worker.

The shoes all fit and the staff is working hard to prepare the girls for the transition!

Tidings

ti·dings

    noun 

news, information, or intelligence.

Hopeful tidings-familiar tidings-reassuring tidings-warm tidings...

We aren't sure how our letters have been received.  Were our words translatable?  Did someone read our words to the girls?  How did the girls respond?  We don't have the answers to any of these questions.  We have to have faith that our words are helping to build the foundations of family from over 1,800 miles away.

A letter, individual Valentine's Day cards and heart candies are leaving for Haiti today.  We wrote about the recent snow, what Valentine's Day is and how it is celebrated, how we think about and pray for the girls everyday, how we are looking forward to being together soon.

Inspiration

in·spi·ra·tion   noun 

a thing or person that inspires.

a divine influence directly and immediately exerted upon the mind or soul.

Many of you so kindly take the time to check in with us and ask how things are going-how the girls are-what we know about the timeline.  Very often, we lack answers to these seemingly basic questions.  

We certainly find ourselves questioning-wondering-puzzling over the challenges that arise during this journey.  It's these moments that lead us to seek inspiration.  Inspiration from words, from songs, from others in the pursuit of a brighter world.

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think on these things.  Philippians 4:8

The verse above and the story linked below are a few recent sources of inspiration.

Correspondence

cor·re·spond·ence   

noun

Communication by exchange of letters

People often ask us how things are going...what we've heard recently.  As crazy as it seems, there are weeks that go by where we don't hear anything.

Our correspondence is really one-sided.  We have sent an e-mail, not knowing if it has been shared with the girls, and we included cards for each of the girls when we sent down their clothes, shoes, and backpacks.  We are hopeful that we'll receive an update when our social worker returns from Haiti. She may not get to see the girls, but hopefully we'll hear how they are doing.

Selecting cards proved a bit challenging, not knowing each of their favorite colors, animals, etc.  However, I've always liked the quality of cards made by Papyrus. When I was ready to write our messages, I noticed the insert that Papyrus includes with all their cards - amazingly apropos.

Remembrance

Today's date marks the third anniversary of the devastating earthquake in Haiti.  We may never know the memories that are locked inside our girls' hearts.

We continue to be amazed by the resilience of the Haitian people and we feel truly blessed to have the honor of supporting the girls in their healing. 

If you'd like to read more, here are a few interesting stories I came across today.
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/us-family-builds-haiti-orphanage-daughter-18145086

http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/view-post-quake-haiti-run-18179489

Diffident

dif-fi-dent   adjective

1.  lacking confidence in one's own ability

We've shopped for countless baby gifts, books and toys, crafts and candy.  Shopping for clothes and shoes for pre-adolescent girls and a teenager?  Not so much.

After a great deal of wandering, picking jeans up, putting jeans back, holding up jeans in the air and looking silly, we settled on what we hope will work for the girls.  

We are grateful for your ongoing support and generosity.  Thank you for continuing along the journey with us.

A New Year

Approach the New Year with resolve to find the opportunities hidden in each new day.  ~Michael Josephson

Opportunities hidden in each new day:

• Practice patience and perseverance
• Express gratitude
• Study a new language

Limitless opportunities exist for us each day. The challenge is consistently making the most of every moment.

2013 potentially holds for us the greatest opportunity we will ever experience.  The joy of joining a family - the privilege of parenting three amazing girls.

Thank you for your continued support of our journey.