Where do I even begin? Our time here has been so amazing, so precious, so perfect...it's almost impossible to take it all in. So, I guess I begin where we should always begin...in giving praise and thanks to our loving and sovereign Lord for every blessing of these last few days. God's love, care, and blessings for our family over the last few days have been so plentiful that I feel like I'm standing under a waterfall with a small paper cup, trying to catch and store up as much as I can. Thank you, Lord, for answering the prayers of our hearts and the prayers of so many for smooth travel, precious bonding time, sleep and health for everyone...and so many more.
For those of you that have been following our blog as the main means of updating and are not on facebook, I apologize that this is the first you are hearing from me on this trip. I know many of you have been praying and wondering and hoping and loving from afar and have been anxious to hear word of how it has gone. As you can imagine, my time and arms have been full, as they should be, and it is a lot faster to put a few pictures on facebook than to write a blog post. I don't have time for a lengthy update right now either but something is better than nothing, right?
These last days have been so full of amazing moments and unforgettable experiences and I have so many thoughts and emotions rumbling around in my head and heart. For now, I'll have to just give you the short version. :)
Our travel on Thursday and Friday all went very smoothly. Two of the couples that we were traveling with barely made it out of the snowstorm in Denver and we are so thankful that they didn't miss any flights and escaped the snow just in time to make it without any delays. We all connected in Miami on Thursday night and had a wonderful time celebrating before heading to bed for our abbreviated night's sleep. We were at the airport by 4:30 am on Friday, running on pure adrenaline. By 9:30 am (Eastern time), we were on the ground in Port au Prince, ready for the drive up the mountain.
GLA was smart and had sent one vehicle just for all of our luggage and one vehicle for all of us parents. Note to self, if I ever have another "Gotcha" day, it's definitely a day to wear my hair up in a hairdo that cannot get wind blown. This would be just in case the ride up the mountain is in the back of an open air pick up truck surrounded by a tall cage...hypothetically speaking, of course!! Seriously, my hair looked OK at 4 am in Miami, but by the time we got to GLA and we were getting ready to take all these pictures of these unforgettable, life-changing moments, my hair looked like I'd been in a tornado. :) But, I guess if that's the only thing I have to complain about from this trip so far, I'm doing pretty good.
We were taken first to the Main House where Naika was waiting for us and we had our first "gotcha" moment with just her. She did fine at first and let us hug and hold her. Then for a few minutes, it was as if the weight of this big change was pressing on her little heart and she was so very sad. Once we took her downstairs and prepared to make our way up to the Guest House where Chelley was waiting, she got distracted and has been fine ever since. She obviously sticks pretty close to one of us, me in particular, but has been content and peaceful since those first moments.
Chelley was waiting for us at the Guest House and our reunion with her was so full of smiles and joy for all of us. Molly and Joyce, the amazing young women who run the Toddler House, told us that Chelley was sooooo excited and had been bragging to all her friends that morning that we were coming. Her classmates had walked in to go to school just before we came and she was sure to tell them that her Mama and Papa were coming soon! Both the girls were dressed so beautifully, with their hair all done in this beautiful beaded hairdo that I won't be able to replicate for at least 10 years. :)
The rest of Friday was quiet. We just spent the day together at the Guest House, playing with each other and with the other families and kids that are staying here. We dropped off our 150 lbs of donations and the staff were THRILLED to have received so many things that they really were needing desperately. The highlight of my afternoon on Friday was getting to hold Naika as she slept on me for an hour and a half. We hadn't even gotten to see her sleep when we were here last time so this precious moment for me to get to hold her while she slept on me was beyond description.
Yesterday was a little busier. We spent the morning at the Guest House and waited for another family to arrive from Canada to pick up and bring home their children. That brings the count to FIVE families here right now, preparing to bring home SEVEN precious children that will now be with their forever families. Praise God!!! Once this other family arrived, we all piled into several vehicles and headed farther up the mountain. Our first stop was the Baptist Haiti Mission, where we had lunch in a beautiful cafe with open air windows overlooking the mountain, and got to do some shopping and bartering for beautiful Haitian handmade crafts and artwork. That was FUN!! This mission also had a playground where the kids could play, as well as a little petting zoo. After that, we all headed up to Ft. Jacques, which is the site where GLA is building with the hopes that they can at least move the older kids up there soon. Eventually, this will be where all of GLA is located. It is a gorgeous location with an amazing view of Port au Prince, the ocean, and the Northern mountains of Haiti in the distance. It was so fun to see this beautiful location and imagine the kids having so much more space to run and play.
Last night was amazing as we got to experience "Cinema Night" at the Toddler House with all of the older kids. It was truly magical to get to sit outside with all those sweet kids, the courtyard lit only by all the beautiful Christmas lights and the giant movie screen. The weather was perfect, snacks were enjoyed, kids were excited to see Chelley's Mama and Papa, and it was just the perfect way to end that full and unforgettable day. Naika even stayed awake for the whole movie but then went easily to bed when we got back to our room. Both girls have slept really well. Naika likes to fall asleep on me but after 15 minutes, I can move her to the pack and play and she sleeps all night. Another answer to prayer!!
This morning, we'll be heading down to the Main House for church and lunch and for Naika to get to say goodbye to her nannies, her nursery, and her friends. Then this afternoon, we'll go back to the Toddler House where all the kids will gather to sing the goodbye song to Chelley and the 2 other girls that are going home from the Toddler House. I really haven't cried at all on this trip so far, but I have a feeling that today will be the day! After the goodbyes, it's time to get packed up and prepare for our early morning departure tomorrow morning. Please keep us in your prayers, especially Chelley and Naika, as we travel tomorrow.
Thank you for all the prayers that you have been praying on our behalf so far. We have felt them and appreciate them so much!! I was going to try to upload some pictures but my phone and the computer don't want to talk to each other so I'll have to share those later. At least I ended up having plenty to share in this "abbreviated" blog post. You know me, never at a loss for words! :) Please pardon any typos or sentences that don't make sense as I don't have time now to go back and proofread. Will try to share more as soon as time allows.
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