It's a FUNdraiser

FUNdraiser

click above link

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Heaven Sent Haitians Fundraising Details

We would like to offer 5 for $5 or even a BOGO

BUT  we are asking you to donate only $12.50

because the reality is we just need to finish paying the orphanage!

Our kiddos will likely be coming home late February or early March of 2012!

YES, that is right around the corner!

We only need $18,700

($17,500 remaining orphanage fees and $1,200 visa fees)

That's a lot of cash!!

Total Cost to adopt 3 from Haiti with airfare:  $53,700.00 (approximate)
$18,700 doesn't look so bad anymore does it??

    SO... The plan is...share our link and ask your friends to donate just $12.50 (that's one dinner out)

Then they share the link too, and if 1500 people donate $12.50 each... we are covered!

  Share our link, ask your friends to donate, tweet, facebook, email and blog about it!

Stop strangers on the street, put flyers on windshields,

be creative just keep it legal and moral!

God will bless every donation and turn yours into thousands bringing our kiddos home!

    Thank you for bringing our Heaven Sent Haitians closer to home!

Blessings!

~Steve, Melanie, Amanda, Joshua and our Heaven Sent Haitians

p.s. all excess funds will be given to other adoptive families we know currently in the process.

FUNdraiser 

click above link

While We Wait

                            While We Wait

I have been here before, I have been here twice.  Amanda was only 8 weeks early with 12 weeks of bed rest and Joshua a mere 6 weeks early with 6 weeks of bed rest.  That is 18 weeks of bed rest due to pre-term labor!  Those who know me well know that was not fun for me and surely not for those around me!

Amanda Senior 2012

Amanda Senior 2012

I feel like we are on bed rest.  We know the kids are coming and we know it is soon but we have to wait!  I mean really!?  Haven't we waited long enough?  OK so Haiti is a "Third World Country" adoptions from "those types of countries" take time.  Well, for those taking notes, we are done in Haiti.  Yes, that is right, we are done!  We have gone through IBESR, we have adoption decrees, been through Parque, MOI and we now have passports.  So what are we waiting for?  Um...  The United States of America!  Yes, that is right I said the United States of America, you know the forward progressing country, the #1 country in the World, the promised land for so many. Our USCIS made choices that were not favorable to our case.  She has done this with other families so we would appreciate it if you could pray for her, for God to change her heart towards adoption or move her to another position.

Amanda Senior 2012

Amanda Senior 2012

So while you wait with us check out a few pictures of our oldest daughter Amanda.  Not just because she is beautiful but because she is a Senior and deserves to be "show cased" this year!! She is now dangling her head in embarrassment because she hates to be the center of attention.  Sorry Amanda every now and then it is just your turn!

The King's going HOME!

While we wait we also watch others going home.  Was their road easy?  NO! But hope is given when we FINALLY see others bringing their children home.  Please note the King's would have had their daughters home 2-3 months ago if the U.S.A. had been on the ball, yes I said U.S.A not Haiti.  We have been with the King's in their journey almost since the beginning.  It has not been easy! The parent interview did not go well, we made new holes in our already worn out jeans but the girls are now home and the King's are now complete, praise God!  January 16, 2012 the King's landed in Nashville and are now home and feeling quite complete!

MyLifeSpeaks

While we wait and become desperate we also visit. Enjoy a few pictures of the recent visit Joshua and I took January 11th - 16th 2012.  We attended a celebration of sorts on the 12th with My Life Speaks for their grand opening in Haiti.  This was the 2nd memorial of the devastating earthquake of January 12, 2010.   We had a great time serving God in their facility.  Please stop their website to learn more about their service in Haiti and here in America.  They are an amazing organization we are honored to support.

Over looking Port-au-Prince

We also got to visit the over look of Port -au-Prince and the Baptist Mission.  We have to love the zoo.  They have rabbits, peacocks, goats, and a monkey.  Yes, that's it and it is called a zoo.  The kids love it!  Hey they get out of the creche, out of the confines of the 10 foot fences with razor wire and live a little.  If they get to go there twice a year with their adoptive families they are thrilled!  They haven't been to any other zoo so they don't know that there is more waiting for them when they get home.  It's a brand new world as Disney proclaims.

Mom, I love her!

There came a point in this adoption process that our 6 foot teddy bear Josh just couldn't wait any longer to see, meet, hug you know to know that he knew the kids are real we really are adopting these three beautiful children in all these pictures.  So... we went to Haiti to visit.  Now Josh is Josh and other than Frantz there really isn't anyone that comes close to this amazing young man's energy, love for life and well determination.  So... there came a time in our visit where Josh said "Mom we can't leave with out visa's and passports, I mean it."  I get that, visas and passports mean we take the kids home with us!  I'm game!!  The next morning we learned we were out of MOI!!  That means we can get passports, whooooo, hooo!!!  We were so excited!   We are so close now!  Ahhhhh.... this trip was so worth it!!

Brothers!

Monday morning we get up and know we have to say goodbye.  We knew it would be difficult at best.  I struggled with the thought when we planned this trip we didn't even think how hard it would be for Joshua to say goodbye.   Not exactly the thinking a head kind of planning we usually do.  We knew a visit is what Josh needed so we did it. 
We tried to explain to the kids that the steps needed to bring them were; passports, physicals, biological parent interview and the final visa appointment.  We have come a long way!!  We are so close but still so far away.  The kids do not understand, we do not understand. Please be praying for the last few steps, our children and our fund raising process.  When we were getting ready to say goodbye and take the kids to their school Dr. Bernard said "Do not take your children to school, they are not going today.  We are taking them to get their passports prepared."  WOW!!! 

Frantz, Josh, Junior, Mom and Monique

So on the way to the airport we dropped the kids off at the New Life Link office where they met Dr. Bernard and he took them to immigration.  To our surprise just 3 short days later we received an email with photo copies of our children's passports!! 

We are so excited and we just can't wait to be a family all under one roof.  Being separated by 1400 miles might not be much for some but is too far for us!!

If you have been on this journey with us for a long time or just joining us please know we appreciate you so much!!  There is still time to pray, donate, email us if you want to help in other ways and we can tell you what we need still as far as clothes, toys, etc...

Here is a link for immediate donations.  We have sent out a challenge if you can give up one meal out and want to help just click $12.50 to donate.  Please share this link, you never know who might want to donate let them decide.  We do appreciate it!!  Let's watch that thermometer rise!!

Thankful!

147 Million Orphans has taken their fundraising efforts for families a little further! Now you can shop through this special link below (just click on the picture) and approximately 30% of all your purchases will go towards our Heaven Sent Haitians!!

Feel free to get your Christmas shopping done a little early this year from the comforts of your own home!



THANK YOU 147 AND THANK YOU FOR SHOPPING HELPING TO BRING OUR 3 HOME!!

Thankful for News!!

We are in MOI, Ministry of the Interior.  We have to stop and ask ourselves how did we get here?  A year ago I (Melanie) was still recovering from major surgery and was very unsuccessful in obtaining the necessary documents needed for our dossier.  We struggled for several months just to get our home study done! Seriously what takes most families 3-4 months took us 10 LONG months.  So to be here is SO surreal!

We ordered a specific investigation to be done on our children to ensure they are truly orphans and provided that investigation doesn't take more than a minute our children should be home very soon!  Very soon to us is before the Holidays.  We had hopes the children would be home by October 15 so Monique could be home for her birthday.  Our God is a God of miracles but that is only 2 weeks away.

In the mean time we are looking at another fund raising event!  We are getting so close to bringing the children home and so close to our financial need!  Can you believe we raised almost $30,000 in just 8 SHORT months?  We can!  Because of your commitments financially, prayerfully and just walking with us God has answered and He is providing one dollar at a time!!  Thank you will never be enough!

Our next project?  We are hopeful we will be doing a both hands project.  This organization teams the adoptive family up with a widow.  We will send out letters requesting donations for the supplies and costs to repair her home.  The hope is we will have all the supplies donated, the funds donated will far exceed the costs, we have enough on deck hands to help and it will be a win/win/win situation!  The widow will have her much needed repairs, our kids will be funded and all donations are of course tax deductible!

We will need volunteers; the much appreciated ones who will donate, people who will write letters to their friends and family on our behalf, people who will help get supplies donated and of course the hard workers those of us who will do the actual repairing.  Please contact us at heavensenthaitians@gmail.com if you are interested in helping in any way with our adoption.

There are lots of ways you can help with our adoption besides prayerfully and financially.  This is the hard part for us, don't like asking for help and this help goes deeper.  Adopting takes a team of players, period.  Typically adoptive families have mom, dad, siblings, grandparents, and... the Colson's well we just have us and a few dedicated friends.  So we are looking for support team members.  The people who want to be apart of the adoption once the kids are home.  To help with getting settled into a daily routine, tutoring, encouragement, respite care and...  Basically this is loving us on the good days and well the not so good days and then the truly honestly horrible days.

Don't forget we are also selling gear through our "support us" tab and you can window shop on www.147millionorphans.com and then purchase through us via email or phone 615-594-9954 and a portion of each purchase goes towards feeding an orphan and our adoption.  I know 147 gear makes great Christmas and birthday gifts.

You all are fabulous and we are honored by each of you walking with us.

Blessings,
The Colson's
Steve, Melanie, Amanda, Joshua, Monique, Junior and Frantzy-Frantz!

Grieving the Loss of a Living Loved One

Well today we sit at 15 weeks out...  Out of IBESR.  It has been 13 weeks and 2 days (93 days or 2,242 hours) since we last held our precious Heaven Sent Haitians.  We miss them and grieve for them.

13 weeks and 3 days ago

Do you see the space in the back of this picture?  The space between me and Steve?  Yep, Amanda and Josh belong there.  They would fit perfectly.  I have considered photo shopping them in but... One day we will retake this picture and we will be one whole family and it will be a perfect picture no photo shopping necessary.

We have been patient through this journey or so we believe and like to think we are being patient.  But honestly, our hearts ache and they ache nearly every moment of every day. Not just mine, Steve's, Josh's and Amanda's.  Conversations start with "when the kids get home..." or they end with "I hope the kids will like doing this too." "Will the kids be home in time to watch one of my games this year?" "I am afraid the kids won't be home for enough time before I go to college."  Every prayer ends with the pleading for God to bring our children home and sometimes with tears.  This is a real life journey for each of us and we pray this is not too much for our 5 children.  We know and trust "this" is all in His hands.

If we have been asked once, we have been asked 100 times, "when will your kids come home?"  Our general response is we are one day closer today.  It's true we are, every day we are one day closer to bringing our precious children home.  The next question usually asked is "whose fault is this wait, they should be home already right?" We blame no one.  We can't control governments and how they process paperwork.  America has it's issues as well as Haiti and every other government on this planet we call Earth.  Yes, in our opinion our kids should be home already but we are selfish and want what we want.  Do we want them home at the expense of incorrect paperwork?  NO!  Do we want them home at the expense of anything? NO! So they shouldn't be home yet because the paperwork isn't right yet.

There is a lot to juggle in life, struggles, over comings, blessings and just every day life.  We are doing all these things with the hope we will be blessed soon with "that" e-mail.  Until then we covet your prayers, encouragement and if you feel led to contribute please see the information to the right of this post for immediate donations and tax deductible donations.  We also sell items on our "support us" tab.  You may also shop 147 Million Orphan gear through us (view on their website contact us to purchase).  We are so blessed by those who have already given, those who continue to give and those who continue to pray diligently.  God has an awesome plan and we will continue to do our best to be patient waiting on His plan.

In Him,
Steve, Melanie, Amanda, Joshua, Monique, Junior and Frantz
One day soon we will be ONE family under ONE roof!

Isaiah 41:13
I am holding you by your hand - I, the Lord your God. And I say to you, "do not be afraid, I am here to help you."