Wow....another REALLY long day, full of ups and downs, both literally and emotionally. Once again, I find myself with enough thoughts and emotions to write a novel on the days events with only enough time, space, and energy to give the clif-note version.
Our agency and our orphanage told us before we came that our trip would be much better and we would enjoy it much more if we were willing to be flexible and not cling too tightly to our expectations. We now know exactly what that means. There are a few generalizations that we've heard about Haiti. One is that this is the "land of endless impossibilities". Haiti's people encounter impossible situations every day, around every corner, and just do their best to take it all in stride and survive in the best way they can. There's also a general consensus that you don't know anything for sure (or count on anything) until it's actually happening. You may even have to wait until it's happened. Our adoption process has reflected those truths and while we haven't enjoyed all of the obstacles and "impossibilities", we feel that it's fitting that the process has mirrored the culture so accurately.
Today provided several more opportunities for us to let go of our expectations and go with the flow. Right now, all of you that know Matt and I well are laughing at the idea of us "going with the flow". Could it be that God has some character development to do in us on this brief trip? God is the ultimate multi-tasker and can accomplish so many different things in so many different people in the same situation. So, one of the many things he's taught us this week is to learn to really and truly be flexible and let go of our expectations at every opportunity.
Here were the unknowns we faced just this morning...
--would we be able to go to Port au Prince to appear in court?
--would we both be flying home tomorrow or would one of us be staying until next Tuesday?
--when would we get the chance to go see the local judge to sign our paperwork with him?
--would Chelley get to have the Dr. appt that she needed to have today and would we get to go with her?
--how would we divide our time between all of those things and still spending individual time with each of our girls?
--how would our girls respond to us in our time together today?
So, here's how it all played out. We spent time with Chelley from 8:30-10 am. She wasn't quite as playful or open with us as yesterday and seemed to be a bit overwhelmed by everything. The hardest part as an adoptive parent in that situation is that you want with all of your being to make it better, to do what you can to ease your child's discomfort or sadness. But you can't...because you are part of the problem, not part of the solution....yet. Eventually, we will get to be the ones who comfort and make it better but that's not the case yet. So, even though we love them to pieces, we must allow them to seek the comfort they need from the caregivers that they know and trust.
We found out at 10 am that we would get to head to the courts and we quickly prepared for the long, winding, and bumpy hour drive back down into Port au Prince. Praise God that we were able to get that taken care of today. All it consisted of was us appearing in the court building and waiting for 10 minutes while a clerk took copies of our passports...that was it! Good thing we didn't have to rearrange so many things for a 10 minute appt next Tuesday! We were back to the orphanage by 12:30 pm but by then, both girls were resting. At 2:30 pm, we got word that we could go to see the "local" judge. That involved another bumpy but breathtakingly beautiful ride farther up the mountain to go see Judge Bob and take 5 minutes to sign our names in his presence. We were back to GLA again by about 4 pm. That left us 30 minutes with Naika before we got picked up at 4:30 to drive almost all the way back down to Port au Prince for Chelley's Dr. appt. 30 minutes was not enough to love on Naika today and she wasn't thrilled with us for part of that time either. We decided to divide and conquer so Matt stayed with Naika and I went with Chelley and 2 of the GLA staff to the Dr appt.
The appt was not for a big problem but just something to have checked out. Chelley just has some pain in her hip joints from time to time and it causes her to limp or not want to be on her feet. We saw a wonderful orthopedic Dr who spoke fluent English, French, and Creole. He was able to rule out anything serious and gave us a simple and reasonable way to deal with it if it flares up again. The only problem was that it's the rainy season in Haiti and it was POURING down rain when we got to his office. Our appt was at 5 pm local time and I had brought nothing with me...no food, no activities for Chelley, etc. The GLA staff are often prepared with bags for the kids for these occasions but they thought we'd just be in and out so Chelley wouldn't need it. However, the Dr. wasn't there when we arrived and as it turned out, he got stuck in another of Haiti's "impossibilities". He was stuck in a traffic jam caused by a rockslide and muddy flood. He showed up at his office at 6:30 pm but we were 3rd in line. Yet another chance to be flexible! It was a long wait and we were all hungry and tired by the time we got home at almost 8 pm. However, I got the rare chance to get to experience this appt with Chelley and very few other adoptive parents have that opportunity. I also got to spend all that time with Chelley on my lap or holding my hand and that was priceless and worth every minute! And I got to hear some wonderful insights from one of the GLA staff that is with Chelley all the time about her life, about the adoption process, and about what the kids understand about what is happening with all of these adoptions.
Now it's time to recover from this marathon day, pack our belongings, and prepare to spend about 2 hours with each of them separately tomorrow before we say goodbye. Thanks for reading all the way through another marathon post and for your constant prayers.
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