Missing Haiti

Yes, another team has had the pleasure of spending a week with our kids!  Oh, how we miss them! We miss Haiti!! We love the pictures and the wonderful stories!!  We are being blessed with three awesome Heaven Sent Haitians from what we hear!

There are not words describe how we long to snuggle on the couch and watch what becomes their favorite movies.  We are just curious what lunch box they might pick out or what their favorite colors are.  There comes a point that the wonder becomes a longing, an ache in your heart.  When we go shopping we wonder...  Not just the girls either!!  Steve and Josh are even finding themselves saying "hey look, I wonder if ______ will like this?"  We have been pretty good at NOT buying anything.  Well, there is the shirt we got Monique and the cool hoodie we just found for Frantz.  Hey they were on clearance...  I am sure over te next several months we will no longer be able to control our wants for their needs.  They need clothes, toys, lunch boxes, etc...  Right?

Lord, we pray we don't have to wait longer than what feels like forever!

Amanda, Josh and I were able to talk with Junior on the phone last Thursday.  He has such an excitement in his voice.  He wants us to come visit but doesn't understand we have to pay for the adoption 1st then if there is money leftover we will visit.  We don't want to have to tell him that, we just want to go!!  He is a special young man!

Nous remen Monique, Junior and Frantz!

Quiet

Everything is too quiet.  The forms are filled out, we are waiting...  And by forms I mean FORMS!!

Josh is going back to public school this year!  This was a family decision for many reasons.  I am not sure I am ready for this but he is and he will be fine.  This I think is responsible for at least the loss of 1/4 acre of forest...

Amanda is dual enrolling...  I am not sure I am ready for this either!  Yes, this means my highly intelligent, independent, strong willed beauty will be attending both High School and College.  This I am sure is responsible for at least the loss of an additional 1/2 acre of forest...

Adoption anyone?  Yes, we have filled out the home study paperwork, the I600A, I600, 864, the request forms for birth certificates, and ALL the other forms for the "certified" copies of our past.  This is surely responsible for at least another acre of lost forest...

To the Colson family it is ALL worth it!  We do apologize to the folks who fear our World is coming to an end due to carelessness.  We would have preferred WAAAYYYY less paperwork but this was out of our control.  We did plant 3 new trees on our property...

We look forward to the next few months.  They will be too quiet for me.  Amanda will be all too busy with skating, school and working.  Joshua will be at school all day and I will miss him on my days off.  With the paperwork done for all 5 kids and their "stuff" I will just have to fill my silence with rearranging and reorganizing.  These two things Steve, Amanda and Joshua hate for me to do if they are not here to guard "their things".  What else is a Mom in waiting to do?  Just what I thought, clean, re-organize, donate to goodwill and the cycle starts over and over and over.  I am not sure a Moms job is ever done.  I know that this will help my time speed by and it will help us to be ready!!

Monique, Jinyò and Frantzy Frantz will hopefully be "home" by next spring and they will surely help to fill my rearranging and reorganizing time!

We think of the kids every day and we just can't wait to bring them HOME!  When the kids get home, we will plant more trees!

Blessings!
p.s. don't forget to buy a t-shirt!

Paperwork Plunger

We are sitting waiting on paperwork.  We are helpless, at the mercy of New Mexico's Bernalillo county court clerk. BIG sigh...  We would have a complete home study if they would just work.  I called yesterday to check on the progress and they said they had been behind 8-10 weeks and because my request was only 6 weeks ago I had to wait another 2 weeks before they would even check to see if they  received our request.  Really??
Does anybody know how to get a lazy government to move?
URGHHHHHH!!
We have children waiting in Haiti for this paperwork so they can come home!!
I think we need a paperwork plunger so we can get the clog out!
Just a thought...

A Hope That Stares

Yesterday marked the six month anniversary of the Earthquake that devastated an already devastated and impoverished country.  A team just returned from Bethel house and the pictures from Port-au-Prince as you can see are no different than the pictures we took three months ago.  The devastation is still there.  There is a difference;  there are less volunteers and less money coming in to help.  People have forgotten, CNN has moved on and so has the World. Well all except Haiti and it's people.  They are still there sorting through the pain and devastation that shook not only the foundation of their Nation but the roots of their families. The devastation goes beyond what can be described in a simple blog post.

Our hearts break as we hear the hopelessness and apathy towards Haiti and her people.  Our family can't look at pictures from Haiti and not long to be there or at least do something to help.  Amanda and I can remember the men hard at work making "anything" they could to sell in order to put a meal on the table.  The children carrying water buckets on their heads for miles.  You do not see this in America, not even in the poorest area.  We are a "me" mentality in America.  We wait for the government issued unemployment check. There are help wanted signs all over this city yet there is an unemployment rate at it's peak?  "I don't want to work at Wendy's"  and there is a man in Haiti right now widdling the handle of a machete hopeful a tourist will buy it just so his family can have rice for dinner two or three times this week. He is hopeful if he sells two he can buy a chicken too.  Really.  I am fairly certain he would prefer a 9-5 job in the air conditioning making a solid salary but he is hopeful what he is doing will at least provide a little. 

Yes, there is a hope.  There is a hope that stares back at you which causes my heart to break for a people who have fallen victim to first a corrupt government and then a natural disaster.  How far does a people have to fall before their brothers and sisters will lend a hand without expectation of a return?

Please if you would like to help in anyway we know two solid ministries who have been sending teams to Haiti for years and we would gladly put you in contact with them.  You may not be able to take time off to serve in Haiti but you could donate supplies, sponsor a child, donate to an adoption fund or donate towards the sponsorship of someone who does want to serve but doesn't have the financial resources to go.

A Little Haiti

Dr. Bernard was here in Franklin speaking at the People's Church!  It was really great to see him and hear him speak.  He gave a great message from Acts.  We hope the people God is calling to Haiti will hear God's voice and obey.  Maybe it is to serve on a missions trip, maybe it is to to donate money, or maybe it is to adopt? 
There is so much work to be done in Haiti.  The country was 3rd world before the Earth quake and with only 6 months of work the country has not yet been restored to it's condition prior to the quake.

God bless America and God bless Haiti!

A Special Gift

OMgg... I received one of the greatest gifts in the World today! No it is not my birthday just a day God knew I needed to hear my children's voices!! Thank you Missy!!! Yes, I spoke with Monique, Junior and Frantz today - AMAZING!!! I am still teary eyed savoring the moment with each of them!

Here is the picture I received via text message after we hung up!

Lovies

This is a post that will have a sequel for sure! 

We certainly hope the kids love these as much as we enjoyed putting them together!

And the proud parents!!

 Only $15 dollars gets you this cool tee!!  Pre-order your t-shirts now!  

Hot pink or medium gray tee are the color choices.
Use the donate button to the right then just
send us a comment to confirm color and size.
Thank you for your support!!